Reining in all those clothes!!

I wish I was talking about my own clothes! Well, those need organizing as well but not to the extent my kids' clothes do. Since we're still considering having a 3rd kid, we're holding on to Derek and Kristen's old stuff but it's so hard to keep track of what is where.

** By the way, hello and thanks for checking in even though I have written in 3 months! Still catching my breath from the move - renting throws a whole other variable to the what-furniture-to-buy when under tight budget constraints, which puts askew what-goes-where, so we're still living with boxes - but I'm trying to gain traction again. Much has been going on in my head that I want to share and I can't wait! **

I originally bought these grey cloth storage thingies and thought they were the awesomest things ever. They're pretty spacious and....and...and!!.. they come with dividers. Dividers. I love dividers. Helps me find things. Bags with just one compartment throw me off because they're like cavernous mouths that swallow up my stuff. Dividers at least make the mouths smaller.

Anyhoo, I found out during the move that they aren't that great. We have to be gentle with them as the handles were tearing off, and I can't really see what's inside. Yes, there are windows but I have to position them a certain way in order to view them.

I've decided then to use plastic bins. I was advised by a professional organizer to get ones with straight sides so that there isn't wasted space when putting them away but I've barely had time to get the bins, never mind be uber picky. I happened to be at Target last weekend, looked at the bins and decided to go with ones which allow me to stack well. The lids allow the bottoms to nestle in and not slide around.

Since we're still adjusting to the budget of not living in a condo and have had other purchases due to the move (the Expedit cube is my new furniture fave, which I'll possibly write about in another post), I'm only going to buy a few at a time. The first ones I bought are 3 of the 60L size and a shallow one with the same perimeter dimensions.  I've started unpacking 2 grey thingies but realize I need to open up the others to see what goes in which bin. Yeah yeah, I'm a perfectionist, but I'll breathe easier once it's done. =)

In conjunction with this rearranging is my desire to inventory the clothes. Yep, I want to know exactly what baby and kid clothes I have, or at least how many of what, if not down to the colour and fabric (kidding! I don't have that much time!). I looked up any clothing inventory templates and surprisingly found very few offerings. I thought if there are tons on organizing chores and such, surely there would be a good handful on clothing inventory!

So, I decided to make my own, which is what I ended spending most of today on. I'll use these while I unpack the grey thingies and keep the sheets in a binder for easy reference for when people want to borrow things or if we have that craziness called a 3rd kid. =D

Here's a pic of my day's efforts, done in between meals and light cooking and nursing to sleep and consoling a clingy kid. Not bragging, just saying that you shouldn't expect much! At least it's useable and nice to look at. I'm hoping to make it a bit prettier and eventually purchasable on Etsy. If you're interested in a rough version tho, I'll be happy to send a copy to the first 10 people who comment!

Potty training update is coming!

Sorry for keeping you in suspense but as you can imagine, we've been doing a lot of running to the washroom and it's been tough getting anything significant done.  The kitchen was in the third ring of chaos until Derek was able to go to Grandma's for a couple nights.  We thought that would happen sooner but then realized that Grandma needed training in how to maintain the training, so we used her day off to come over to our place and observe how it works.  Consistency is important with training!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some tips on how we're tackling baby stinky cloths and toilet-training toddler laundry.  Infant poop just ends up every where and stains almost anything it seems.  Kristen spit up a lot so I was cleaning milk vomit from her and my clothes.  Derek's recent learning is creating lots of stinky clothes but the reusable absorbency sheets we got shouldn't use fabric softener (which generally reduces absorbency of any material).  Aaaand he sometimes doesn't get the poopy in the potty, which makes me wish for Kristen's infant poops! =S Those are my issues; these are my solutions!

1. Buncha Farmer's stain remover.  After an initial rinse-off of the poop/milk, rub the stick over the affected area until foam builds up.  Rinse out the remover.  Repeat until the stain is not very noticeable (I usually only have to do this 2x in total).  Rub and foam one more time as a leave-in for the actual wash.

2. Baking Soda.  I soak smelly baby cloths in the sink with a liberal dusting of baking soda and enough cold water for me to swish the cloths around in.  I use baking soda in the "bleach" compartment of every wash cycle EXCEPT when I'm using vinegar for items that don't recommend fabric softener.  Let's not explode the budget-unfriendly washer!

3. Vinegar rinse* before washing for anything particularly smelly.

How about you? What tricks do you have for removing stains and smells?  What have you "lived with" because you couldn't find a workable solution?


*I've read recently that vinegar may harm the plastic tubing and such in a washer.  I don't have any definitive info, just someone posting on a forum thread what their service person told them. Vinegar compounds differ from bleach and it's that composition which is incompatible with the plastic.  Others, of course, have been using vinegar rinses in their washers for years and haven't noticed any issues.  Just thought I'd note this so you'd be aware of the health of your washer!

Wardrobe Wednesdays: Layering

FLast week I mentioned H&M being one of my preferred stores for inexpensive yet stylish shirts which allow me to nurse without fumbling about too much.  The next day, I stumbled across a $7 shirt sale of semi-opaque, texture-patterned layering t-shirts!  They are perfect to go over tank tops that don't cover the wide nursing bra straps enough with a neck hole flexible enough to allow nursing access (although to keep from disfiguring the shirt too much while I'm out I pull it up if Kristen isn't fussing much).

As with all cheap things I find which will get a lot of use, I scooped these up in multiple colours after trying them on and settling on a flattering (enough) size.  I got one in black, grey-blue, peach, and white.  The only 2 things I don't like about them is that a) they are hang-dry; and b) they have those annoying straps to help keep the shirt's shape when hanging.  Since these will be stuffed - I mean, nicely folded into a drawer, I'll cut them off and save myself the embarrassment of having them flap around (or just the plain annoyance of them tickling me as I go about my day!).

As it's late right now, I can't take a good picture of them so I'll do that when it's day light.  Or, you could just go to your nearest H&M store and check these out for yourself. At $7 a pop, they may not be around much longer!

A bit more about layering: I find this to be a great way of looking less frumpy and a bit more stylish, if done well enough.  It also allows for me to extend the mileage of my separates into other seasons and maximize my wardrobe as I mix and match various combinations.  Right now these shirts are going over tank tops but come fall (or cooler summer days, which we've gotten a good dose of already!), I'll switch the tanks for some long sleeve t-shirts instead.

How about you?  Do you have any tricks for dressing easily without looking (too) frazzled?  Any items in your closet you find flatters your post-partum shape?

Wardrobe Wishes

Sorry, this will be a short post!  I almost forgot to post and was about to head to bed when I remembered so to respect my need for sleep and my commitment to post daily, I'll put up a short blurb today.

One delight that's been taken away when I roam around a mall is the possibility of buying much of anything due to a) my new and ever-changing body shape, and b) the unlikelihood of nice clothing surviving a day without having some form of food, pre- or post-digested, on it.  Perhaps, though, it's a blessing in disguise: now I can look at clothes wistfully without having to crunch numbers about whether I can afford it!  Makes window shopping a lot easier, in a sense.

What's become my best fabric friend, however, is jersey or anything stretchy.  I do have some Thyme Maternity shirts and while they are more stylish than Motherhood/Destination Maternity, now that I'm more than 8-weeks post-partum I find that they look more mumsy than I'd prefer.  I can't say that wearing jersey on a roly-poly figure is miles better but I feel more... normal, for lack of a better word (which I kind of hate using but I'm not going to get into a debate about what's normal for a woman to feel and beg you to understand what I mean without splitting hairs).

Items I've found useful, even as I'm still nursing, are basics from H&M and stretchy tops from Joe Fresh.  They can usually get me looking somewhat stylish without seeming like I'm trying too hard.  And they're not hard on the wallet too.  As a result, I have tank tops in at least half the colours offered at H&M. =P Some thin long-sleeve T-shirts from Joe Fresh are serving as home/night clothes, due to them being a little thinner and therefore more see-through than I'm comfortable with.  I did layer them under other shirts during colder days.  I've found them incredibly useful and wish I had more!

How about you? Have you had any clothing finds which make you feel more comfortable post-partum and while nursing?  Do you still keep pants of smaller sizes hoping you'll fit into them soon?