Back again and cleaning up

Okay, I'm back again. I left for the school year for two reasons: 1. I really wanted to focus in on finishing off my college experience strong and without regrets (success!) and 2. I was really struggling financially and no amount of cutting back or diys made it any better. With that said, I'm in a much better place than I have been in I don't even know how long. As I wrestled with if I should continue keeping a blog I had to ask myself what about blogging drew me in. I have concluded that the reason is similar to the career field I'm working my way into: I want to help people. I spend way too much time searching the internet for inspiration in simplifying my life and making it that much more enjoyable. Sometimes I can't find exactly what I'm looking for and am forced to be my own sort of creative so why not share that with others that can't find exactly what they're looking for.

Lets start off easy: 

A simple cleaning checklist for a stress free life

Though I only have pets and a boyfriend, I like my apartment to be as clean as possible at all times but going to school and work can sometimes get in the way. Whether you're living on your own or have a full house of rambunctious kids, finding time to keep your own space clean can be a challenge. First I started with a day of cleaning and what I usually did.  Next, I divided those tasks into days and made a cleaning list that worked for me with items to do daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Finally, I slid it into a page protector and hung it on the fridge. This allows me to use my nifty dry erase markers to check things off and wipe clean at the end of each day.

 Occasionally, I'll go back and move items around or add new to-dos but for the most part, my list has stayed the same. Some weeks, I'm only able to do whats listed for the day but other weeks I go through and do the entire list in one clean-all day.

As you can see, I don't have anything besides the dailies on Friday-Sunday. That's because I know that even if I had something down, I probably wouldn't do it. It also frees up those days to do the monthly and quarterly cleaning when those come around.

I also have a section for groceries and other notes. That way, as I head out the door to go grocery shopping, I can either copy down the list or snap a picture of it on my phone.

And there you have it. My own cleaning task list - nothing fancy or high tec. Click here if you want this cleaning list (don't worry, its free!). Feel free to copy, change, or take inspiration from this as you see fit to your own cleaning needs.

You can also follow me on Pinterest to see my inspiration, Twitter to see whats new, and Instagram to catch my photo-a-day.

Thanks for reading and join me next week. Live long and prosper in the sun!

The end of summer

If I had to summarize my summer in one word it would have to be: "difficult". I don't think there has been a single season during which I have driven more miles, cried more tears, or suffered through as many stress-induced migraines. Through those miles, though, I got to know the ones I love most. Through those tears, I began to find relief through exercise and strength in myself. Through those hours of head-throbbing pain, I discovered how to let go of what I couldn't control. As difficult as this summer was, I learned more than I could ever hope for. It wasn't exactly how I would've hoped it to turn out but, now that's its all over, I can say simply that I learned a lot. There is no doubt more struggles to come as Jeremiah continues to search for a job and as I enter into my final undergraduate year. Sitting on the beach, yesterday, I thought over everything we have ahead of us. As my heart started to race from the stress, I took a deep breath and reminded myself of everything we had already conquered. While we waited for the sunset on the last day of summer, for the second year in a row, I said a little prayer. Not for thing to get easier or for some miracle to occur. Simply that, together, we continue to grow and learn through whatever life throws at us.

Today marks the first day of the fall semester so lets take a quick look at how I did on my summer goals and my new set of fall goals

My 5 summer goals:

• To see things I had never seen <- Check: cross country road trip, stopping at spectacular sights such as the Grand Canyon at sunset and Mount Rushmore
• Eat healthier <- Check: For example, I currently have no food that could be labeled as "junk food"
• Exercise more <- Check: It was touch and go for a while but then I really got on track and have worked out everyday for the last 3 weeks
• Get on track with my blogging <- Ehhh I'm still workin' on it.
• Improve my crafting abilities <- Checkish: I made a few clothing items but I have a lot of room to improve

My fall goals:

• Purposefully improve my healthy habits - so far I've only bought healthy food for a well planned out menu and am taking a Monday/ Wednesday step aerobics class, in addition to riding my bike to class, hiking, and running
• Continue improving my crafting abilities - if practice makes perfect than no doubt my new work-study job as a seamstress will tone my sewing skills
•  Make Dean's list - careful planning should make this the easiest one
•  Smile more - first step: remind myself of all the things I have before thinking of all the things I think I need

Until next summer dear readers, study hard and prosper!

DIY shorts

What a glorious Oregon morning it is! As promised, here I am with the tutorial on how I made my lovely shorts for the Color Run.

Materials:

• Fabric for shorts (Remember, mine was a bed skirt)
• scissors
• seam ripper
• sewing machine
• pen/ pencil
• elastic (at least 1" wide)
• 1-2 safety pins
• comfy fitting shorts to trace (just like with the DIY shirt)

Instructions:

1. If using a bed skirt or something similar, detach the skirt portion from the rest. You can do this by simy cutting it away or by taking a seam ripper to it. I opted for the seam ripper to save as much material as possible. It took for an entire episode of Battlestar Galactica to go around the whole sheet.

2. If you bought your material from a thrift store, I strongly suggest washing your material at this point. As always, I also suggest ironing the material to insure a straighter cut.

3. Take your comfy shorts, fold one leg into the other, and lay on top of your fabric. Folding one leg into the other will allow for easy tracing. Keep in mind that you will need 2 front pieces and 2 back pieces (front and back are not the same!)

Yeah, I used pajama shorts

4. Trace (if the waist of the shorts is elastic, remember to stretch it out/ trace straight up) and cut

Front trace

Front pieces cut

The crotch piece of the back side is longer so you may have to move your shorts around to trace the whole thing

Viola, back pieces cut

5. Take 1 front piece and 1 back piece, right sides facing, and sew along your straight side (this will be the outside of each leg). As with other clothing pieces, do the zigzag stitch, then go back and sew a straight line (I would've taken a picture but white thread on white material wasn't working so well). Repeat for other set of front/back pieces.

Sorry, not the greatest picture

6. Taking your now two pieces, with right sides facing (front piece to front piece; back piece to back piece), sew along the curve from top to point. When you're finished sewing, you should have an awkward looking skirt.

7. With your entire project inside out, with front pieces right side facing your back pieces, sew the 'V' (the crotch area of your shorts)

At this point, your shorts are complete with the exception of the elastic to hold them onto your waist. Try your creation on to make sure all is fitting right. I got lucky and had the fancy stuff at the bottom of my material. If you don't have this, go ahead and hem along the bottom of each short leg by folding the material inward and sewing 2 straight lines close to the edge as with step 8 for the DIY shirt.

8. With your project inside out, measure the width of your elastic band + 1/2", fold the top waist over (for me it was 1.5") and pin.

9. Cut a small slit straight up where you will eventually insert the elastic band. I placed mine on the side of my shorts but if you later intend to insert a draw string, the front would also work.

10. Now get to sewing! Sew all the way around your band, close to the bottom raw edge. I broke my nifty hem needle so I had to go around twice. I did this by aligning my needle to the far left, sewed all the way around, then middle aligned the needle and sewed around, following the raw edge the entire time.

11. Measuring your elastic approximately 3/4 of the waist of your shorts (or stretch around yourself for a comfy fit), place a safety pin into one of the elastic and string through the band.

12. Finally, when your elastic band it all the way through, sew the two raw ends of the elastic together. I prefer to sew a rough rectangle so I'm not sewing along the same line, breaking up the elastic.

I know, it's difficult to see

 

 

And there you have it! Your very own customized shorts. What's great is that while I made this particular pair specifically for the Color Run, I made another for pjs and they are crazy comfy.

Shorts in action

Thanks for tuning in for another "that kinda makes sense" DIY tutorial. Check back in on Thursday for some tips on how to cut back on everyday things to stretch that penny a little further. Until then, crafty readers, live long and prosper!