Spring Cleaning & Baby Proofing

They say that cleaning your house when you have kids is much like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos. I think someone says that, anyway.

Ruffle Sleeve Onesie, Hunter Flats, Headband

I actually love Spring cleaning. If I don't get to put pumpkins everywhere or put up a Christmas tree, I want my house to be clean & clutter free. That is a total joke when you have a kid, so this year, we focused more on kid-safe cleaning products & containing the clutter (rather than getting rid of it, since there is really no such thing). At least I want to have the appearance of a neatly organized home! :) I am a basket hoarder. Diapers, blankets, toys, and all other "everyday essentials" are hidden away in baskets around every corner. It's a BREEZE to clean up. 

Our cleaning schedule really consists of two things, picking up each night after Harper is in bed & a deep-clean every Sunday afternoon. We do dishes/sweep/pick up toys every day, which keep things in working order. Then, on Sundays, we scrub bathrooms, floors, vacuum, lint roll our cat-hair-coated-furniture & dust. We also do ALL of our laundry on Sundays. It's a joke to try keeping up with it throughout the week & things end up sitting in the washer overnight.

Spring cleaning also means organizing & making room for new things (psst... that's my favorite part). Here is my list of Spring Cleaning Favorites! :)

Mason Jars - I use these for EVERYTHING. You can buy them by the dozen here. I use these not just iced coffee, but for cotton balls, q-tips, washi tape, pacifiers, paint, chalk, etc. We also use the quilted jelly jars for drinking, but these are also perfect for storing small things all around the house.

Glass Canisters - You've seen these in lots of my pictures, we store Harper's headbands in them, flour/oats in the kitchen, makeup & craft supplies in the play room. If you're looking for a super affordable, pretty storage solution, these are perfect for every room of the house.

White Zip Organizers - We have these stashed away in drawers & cupboards all over the house, helping to organize everything. You'll see them in Harper's Nursery Tour too, they are so great for getting a baby's room organized, plus they are soft & safe for kids to get their little hands on.

Method Lemon Mint Dish Soap - Smells amazing & looks good enough to leave out on the counter all the time!

BabyGanics All Purpose Cleaner - We use this for just about everything, it's always hard to find a baby-safe cleaning product that smells good & actually works. Babyganics, we love you!

Glade Plugin Sweet Pea & Lilac - I always hated the idea of scented plugins & always stuck to candles, but on a whim we picked this one up a few weeks ago because of the scent, and LOVE IT. Our house smells so great, every time we walk in the door you notice the fresh, spring scent right away.

Wire Baskets -These are perfect for containing the clutter, even if you have a bunch of little bottles, cleaners, odds & ends, if you contain them in a simple wire basket, everything looks a hundred times better. We use these all over our house too, super affordable & they make such a statement when grouped together.

Accessory Tray - Love these for countertops, again you don't have to get rid of clutter, just contain it. If you typically have nailpolishes, jars, facewashes, etc. all sitting on your bathroom vanity, put it all together neatly on a tray & you will see a totally different, more organized look. Another favorite is the acrylic tray that I have from the Container Store, the clear finish will match any room in the house! :)

CLUTTER. CONTAINED.

 
 On the topic of cleaning & organizing, one thing that we desperately needed to do in our house was finish BABYPROOFING. Harper has been given the freedom of no more baby gates, so she runs laps around the entire downstairs, getting into anything & everything within reach. The biggest debate between my husband & I was about how we would babyproof our cabinets.
I despise the plastic spring loaded door/drawer stops, they drive me utterly bonkers. We were determined to find a different solution.
I absolutely do not have the patience to hear a door open & slam shut for children's everlasting entertainment, nor would I be able to contain my self from hulk-smashing our silverware drawer to the ground every time it taunts me when I try to open it. I'm a bit of a "ram-rod" as my husband says. I yank open drawers when I'm in a hurry & would lose my shit at the sound of all the metal slamming to the front as the drawer comes to a hault after opening one measly inch.

ANYWAY.
We did some research, and ended up going with the Magnetic Locking System & I will never look back. They are more expensive than the alternatives, but well well well worth the money. The doors/drawers don't open at all unless you hold the magnetic key up to the spot where you have attached the lock, which then pulls the little lever inside down. That means no partial opening slamming at all.

 BEST PART. They have an on/off switch. So once you put the kiddos to bed, you can just turn the switch to off for the night, so you can cook or put away your dishes like normal. Hell yes.

Harper has tried opening the doors, realizes that they don't budge & now doesn't even bother with them. Jackpot. You can find them here. 

I'll be sure to include more of the baby proofing products with our 13-14 month favorites post soon, but for now, time to get back to birthday week fun (aka. a guilt-free slice of Publix cake).

Spring Decor

I have been obsessing lately over Target's Easter decorations, like big time. I have lurked in that aisle far too many times.  I knew that I wanted to decorate our entryway for spring, so I finally got a few things that matched the amazing yarn wreath that I picked up a few weeks ago & got to work! 

I just used a few old mason jars that we had & filled them with some branches from the back yard to hang the egg ornaments from.

 

It's colorful & it smells good (not to be confused with the made-up song "silly & she smells good," that we sing to Harper) ...everything that Spring decor should be! :)

Have no fear, this room is baby-gated off, so all is safe from little critter fingers.

Of course, our house is totally the MULLET of holiday decorating right now. Business in the front, party in the back. Easter in the front, St. Patty's in the back.

We are having a St. Patrick's Day Brunch & Green-Beerfest with some friends so this festive saying has to stay on the chalkboard until then. This has been made available as a print here if you love this Irish saying as much as I do! :)

Biggest BOO of the weekend? It was way too cold to do Harper's one year pics outside. Instead, we bundled up and helped dad hang some hammocks (plural! and more on that later) in our backyard early this morning! Her smirk here kills me. 

Do you SEE the effing hair outgrowth that I am dealing with from losing my hair after Harper was born?! A year later and I still have two inch antlers. 

 Neon Jacket, Neon Scarf

I also got started on the Easter basket this weekend after discovering all the awesome Dr. Seuss books that were on sale! This one totally looked Easter-ish to me. I got our magic lollipops, dug out the plastic eggs that I got on clearance last year (a whopping fifty cents instead of a dollar, score!) and found this sweater dress that we are OBSESSED WITH on sale, so I got it in every other size that we didn't already have. Triple BOOM.

We are about to soak up every last second of today, since this week will be filled with busy work schedules, business travel & one year shots.

  Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend!