Laundry Make over… Do you need one??

Laundry Make over… Do you need one??

Take quiz below:

• 1.       Does laundry and the thought of doing your laundry cross your mind more than once a day?
• 2.       Does the task of getting your laundry done make you feel tired?
• 3.       Does your laundry basket often runneth over?
• 4.       Do you ever have ill feelings about your partner when looking at the abundance of laundry to be    done in your home?

If you have answered yes to more of these questions than not, you may just need a LAUNDRY MAKEOVER! Say what…yes you heard me. Why underestimate that beast of a task we call laundry. We organize everything else! I recently took my last look at my arch enemy laundry hamper (single unit/with no dividers) and decided not only did it runneth over, but so did my patience to ever unpack, sort and approach that beast of a pile. I knew life could be better and pinterest made it clear that it could be as well, with all those moms and their sorting and laundry rooms fit for a laundry goddess! Well I am no laundry goddess but I was ready to “pimp my laundry basket” not in like a real pimp way, but in a make it awesome kind of way!

I began my search, reviewed laundry sorters for best reviews, read moms blogs about laundry, and came up with a whole new approach.

1.       Step one: GET A GRIP. Its laundry it is not a super human and should not dictate and create strong feelings for me. Weird & Duhhh….It should not make me resent others, it should not make me avoid certain rooms and it should not cause me to have laundry room envy. Okay  that was my mental health CHECK)

2.       Step Two: Determine if I should have a laundry day designated or no? So I tried this out, did not like having one laundry day, it felt too consuming. So I opted for the one full load a day idea. Complete ONE full load. That means throw it in wash on way to gym. Throw it in dryer before getting Viv up for breakfast. Then fold it during nap time.

3.      Step Three: Identify a system: Sorting – There are so many laundry sorters on the market but I think I found the BEST one and of all places at Wal-Mart! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Canopy-3-Bin-Sorter/15627362

4.      Step Four: Train family. If you have a three sort, like we do. We did towels, whites, and darks. If you get a four sort. It could be Dry cleaning, Towels, Whites, Darks OR Extra soiled (We have a hanging bag for this in mudroom for horseback riding clothes/muddy play/etc.), Towels, Whites, Darks. Anyway, however you sort it to accommodate your perfect home, TRAIN all in home. Allow a week for mistakes and then after that, whoever miss-sorts gets to do the load that day! =)

Happy Laundering!

Mindful Mumm

And a nice quote to send you off! I loved this..

The Free Miracle ingredient that you MUST implement into your life today!!!

The Free Miracle ingredient that you MUST implement into your life today!!!

What if there was one thing you could do to…  Get smarter, lose weight, feel better, lose the witchy-ness (yes like bitchy-ness but this is the other version that comes with a scary witch face too), be a better mom, improve memory, lower stress and reduce the likely hood of depression!

P.S. DID YOU HEAR ME SAY IT’S FREE!

I wish I had a drum roll…. But here it goes.....
SLEEP! 

Yes I know, so simple and I know we have heard it a gazillion times before but I am putting this into practice now and so should you!

The last few days I have been making a valiant effort to get more sleep! It was spurred by trying to start waking up earlier to exercise. Trying to get back to waking up at 5:00 am in the morning like I did pre-mommy hood felt like a task that had taken the shape of climbing Mount Everest. Um.. A ‘not happening’ kind of thing. It used to be so easy? Anyway, it’s not now!

So I started with knowing I 'should' go to bed early but the first night it didn’t happen. First off, I was too excited to meet my friend Molly for this new GPP workout with the personal trainer for the Jazz dancers... my mind was racing with all sorts of things like “omg Melanie this is it, you are going to look like a Jazz dancer, omg I am so excited cuz my post baby body is so last year” “Melanie don’t get your hopes up, you know you always get way overly excited” on and on this went...then texting friend Molly with similar excited notions.. then checking Facebook, then checking Pinterest, then checking facebook…well NO sleep happened and there it was 5:00 am and it was time to get up! 

So what did this day look like…? Morning workout went great. Morning, was okay… by noon… watch out! I was exhausted, snappy and subconsciously irritable.  I say subconsciously because the witchy-ness comes from a deep place that I don’t really identify until it coming out in “oh  I guess I will clean this up since NO ONE ELSE is going to” (impose scary glare at husband (poor guy, casualty of my sleep deprivation) …. Anyway I was TIRED and it DID NOT benefit me or my family one bit!

Next day... I declared early in the day that all children (Sophia and Viviene) would be in bed by 9 and mommy by 9:15 pm.  At 8:00 pm I gave the heads up that play time should be wrapping up and showers/ bath started in five minutes. (You know this process always takes longer than expected, I had to allow room for error. I implemented a little bedtime routine for myself (hot shower, hot tea and 15 min I phone browsing allowance once in bed.) Well all went great…kids in bed and either asleep or reading. Mom in bed at 9:15 pm and asleep by 9:30. Well 4:45 AM came BUT not too quickly, I felt great getting up and welcomed the KILLER workout! Did 60 pull ups Holy Moly! The remainder of the day was wonderful, emotions managed no subconscious crazy tired wife comments to the hubster and life is feeling good. I think I am on to something and I now vow to get MORE SLEEP!!

A few tips to get more sleep:

1.       Redefine family wind-down and end of evening routines. This means BED TIME!

2.       Draw blinds TIGHTLY at 8:00 PM kids know its light but their energy will wind down if you and your home does too.P.S. Don't worry my little ones are not being deprived of life and fun time. We have fun packed days and honestly from 8-9:00 pm everyone under 18 is typically tired and cranky.

3.       Create a bed time routine for yourself; it will help you prepare for restful sleep.

My little favorites!

Best of luck on adding this MAGICAL ingredient to your life in greater quantities!!


PS. Check out the following links for more on SLEEP and the amazing benefits!

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/02/sleep-health-benefits-_n_817803.html#s234474&title=Steer_Clear_Of
• http://www.better-sleep-better-life.com/benefits-of-sleep.html 

PSS. Check out GPP's website for AMAZING workouts, eating plans and even better come on out for a workout!!  http://www.gppfitness.com/

A fun memory...Smiles of 2011

Smiles of 2011

Having one of "those" Days?!? Create a Funky-Mumm-Jar!

Inspiration: Funky-Mumm-Jar all for me! How fascinating that it is World Mental Health day and I am feeling a little under the “mental health” weather today! There is always an upside to any situation and today It helped me come up with an idea that I plan to put in action today!

As mothers (or parents for all you dads out there) we are constantly caring for others. Frequently I think “Are my little ones happy? Is my husband happy? Did I properly thank the cute girl who bagged my groceries at whole foods? Do my mother’s know I am eternally indebted to them for helping me with my daughter while I work and go to clinic? Do my few but fabulous friends know how much they mean to me? All these thoughts for others constantly visit my mind but I have realized that I have been leaving one person out… me!



In an effort to pull me out of my fall funk (which may just last today, and may be a result of a bummer conversation I had last night) I will never the less design a “funky-mumm jar” to aid in days like this! The idea of my “Funky-Mumm Jar” will be to create a collection of small things that would brighten my day, lift my spirits or in other words de-funktify the mumm in anyway and put those items on a piece of paper and  into a jar or container. When a day like TODAY arrives I will pull one out and treat myself to whatever that item may be. Some of the things I may add to my jar are (indulge in a lazy coffee and chit chat day with my bestie, indulge in a Kim K. re-run without thinking of more productive activities I should be doing, bake cookies or cake pops and take them to a friend (it makes me happy to know I made someone else happy), take a day off work and just play with my chubs (no not my left over baby fat, my baby Viviene), buy a mindless gossip magazine and allow myself one hour to browse the latest trends,  buy a new canvas and do a painting, etc)  



The Most Mindful of Mumm’s must realize that in order to take care of others she has to take great care of herself! This won’t detract from my daily responsibilities, but will help me to help myself on days where I could use a little TLC.

Making it happen:

1.       Find a jar, envelope, or container to create your “Funky-Mumm Jar”

2.       Take a piece of paper and write totally self-indulgent things that are simple and easy to do, and not too expensive so you won’t feel too over indulgent and can do them on a whim.

3.       Separate each idea and throw them in!

4.       When you find you are having a “Funky-Mumm” Day reach on in and treat yourself to the randomly selected indulgence that you picked.  



We all have those days!!