Summer Cleaning: 10 Tips for Cleaning Out Your Closet

This last semester, I eagerly awaited summer. Probably not for the same reason many of you look forward to summer though. I wanted to deep clean my closet. Here is what I did, and a few tips for de-cluttering your most dreaded closet.

1) Take every thing out! As you take stuff out organize them into certain piles, so you have an idea where certain items are located.

2) Sort through your items and have trash bags ready. One for items to get rid of and one for trash. If your closet is as messy as mine was, you'll need way more than just two trash bags.

3) Be prepared for a mess! Slowly sort through items. Don't get too attached to things. Be willing to throw stuff out or get rid of it. Always ask yourself how often you use the item.

4) Clean out the empty closet with a dust cloth and Clorox wipes. Get rid of that dirt! Don't forget to vacuum too!

5) When sorting through clothes. Ask yourself the following questions: How often do you wear it? Would you buy it, again? Is it still in a good condition?

6) Use scarf hangers to organize belts, headbands, or ribbons.

7) Use the same kind of hangers to save space, reduce tangled hangers, and achieve a uniform look. Also, try hanging them backwards. After wearing clothes, hang them normally. After a few months, you will know what clothes to get rid of.

8) If you are a shoe lover like me, I highly suggest you invest in a shoe rack. I love mine! Also, keeping your shoe boxes is an easy way to store shoes.

9) Have two bins (one for light-colored clothes, and the other for dark-colored clothes) in your closet. Having these bins in the closet has helped me to put my dirty clothes in the correct spot instead of just leaving them around my room.

10) To save space, fold t-shirts like the photo below. I also folded the t-shirts that were too small for me and put them in a storage bin. Maybe someday I'll make one of those t-shirt quilts.

Don't get discouraged if you don't get this done in a short amount of time. I've spent a week on my closet, and still haven't found a home for all the items I've cleaned out. It's better to take your time and do a good job, than to do it quickly and sloppily. Don't forget to step back and look at all the work you've done! Look at the bags of stuff you cleaned out, and all the space in your closet! It can be an overwhelming task, but the outcome is rewarding.

I hope you are inspired to tackle the messiest closet in your home now. Have fun cleaning!

A Ragged Old Treasure

I want to tell you about something that is old, imperfect, flawless, beautiful, unique, and thrifty. It is a blanket; such a beautiful quilt. It was made, I believe, by my great grandmother, which makes it a special quilt. Its many worn holes show its imperfections, and yet that’s what makes it flawless to me. The holes show it’s been loved for many years. It has probably seen rough years and that adds character. Despite the few holes, which I have learned to love, it is really a gorgeous quilt. At first glance, it is very colorful. So many beautiful patterns dance all over the quilt! This is what makes it so unique. There are so many patterned fabrics that normally I would not have thought to put together. This is probably because the fabric squares of the quilt were once fashionable clothes before they were worn out and made into a quilt. There is even a square from the skirt my Mimi wore in the fourth grade, which makes the quilt all the more special. This beautiful quilt, in some ways, reminds me of individual people. Individuals are all unique and beautiful in their own ways despite their flaws. God has created us in unique and intricate ways that I know we would have never thought about if it had been up to us. Thank God for making you the beautiful and unique person you are today! 

Are You Stressed?

School is crazy right now, and I am stressed. I have so many exams to study for all at once! For those of you who are stressed like me, here is a prayer I quickly wrote. I hope it is encouraging.

Dear Father in heaven, stressed and tired, I fall at Your feet. I send a pitiful cry for help. I know only You can give me  the rest and strength I need. You constantly protect me, but I rarely acknowledge it. And yet, when I run to you in time of trouble, you are never disappointed or unloving. So here I am, again looking up at Your glorious face for help. Help me realize You are always there holding my hand. Hold it tightly to reassure me that nothing is out of Your control. Thank for for Your unconditional love. Amen.

DIY Valentine's Day Ideas

No matter if you're in a relationship or single, Valentine's Day should be a day to tell your friends how much you love them! My friends and I had a fun night together! Here's a few things we did. Take a look! Who knows maybe next time you're with friends, you might want to try these out.

Raspberry Floats
You will need: 1) Paper Straws 2) Glass Jars 3) Raspberry Sherbet and 4) Sprite! It's pretty self-explanatory, just put the sherbet and sprite into the glass jars and enjoy! They are delicious! They are super cute for Valentine's Day since they are pink!

Craft Time!

You will need: 1) Mason Jars, 2) Paint, 3) Sticky Stencils, and 4) Something to paint with. I  bought some adhesive stencils at Micheal's and they worked well. Just stick them on the jar, and let your creative juices flow! We were able to wipe the stencils off with Wet Ones and reuse them. 

Food!
For the food we had fondue with pretzels, marshmallow, strawberries and heart cut brownies (shown in picture at right). We also had some delicious cucumber and dill finger sandwiches, as well as cream cheese cranberry sandwiches on pumpernickel bread. Oh, and of course we had pizza, too!

Easy Decorations 
These Valentines decorations were so easy. For the heart chain on the left all you will need is construction paper, a stapler, and scissors. Cut the paper into long strips, form into a heart, and start stapling the chain together. For the banner on the right, all you need is construction paper, string, tape, letters, and scissors. Fold the construction paper into eights to cut out the triangles, tape the triangles to the string, put the letters on the triangles, and you have made a banner!

Many of these ideas came from pinterest and Bethany Mota's YouTube channel. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I hope you give a few of these a try!

Breakfast in a Hurry!

How many of you skip breakfast? I thought so! I skip breakfast most days as well. Here’s a super easy way to eat a yummy breakfast either in a hurry, or on the go! I love it, and best of all, it can be made in 5 easy steps!

1) Grab a mason jar!

2) I started by plopping some blueberries into the bottom of my mason jar, but you can use whatever fruit you choose.

3) Then I scooped some vanilla Greek yogurt in next. 

4) After the yogurt, I added raspberries because those are the best!

5) Add some old fashioned oats to the top!

                                Now place it in the fridge and it’s ready for tomorrow’s breakfast!

Before you start, let me warn you: do not fill the jar up all the way to the top because you will want room to stir the fruit, yogurt, and oats up together. I hope you enjoy it! It is SO delicious and makes life so much easier in the mornings! School starts tomorrow morning. Can you guess what I’ll be having for breakfast?

Six Lessons Learned for Teachers

This was my first semester to teach a class! I learned so much! I want to thank each one of my sweet students for teaching me these six important lessons.  This is for any of you future teachers out there or any of you who enjoy young children. I'm sure other teachers and even mommas can relate to this. Hope you enjoy.

1) Very few things go as planned. It's true, things will run a whole lot smother if you are prepared, and preparing is vitally important. However, don't expect things to go exactly like you planned, because I guarantee they won't. I hate to burst your bubble of joy, but be ready to be flexible.

2) You will learn to think on your feet. Children have a way of throwing the unexpected at a teacher. Be ready to make quick decisions. 

3) Prayer time will turn into story time. In my K-2nd class I have 12 students. On a normal day we probably have about 8 to 10 prayer requests and before I know it they all have stories to tell me. I love hearing all their prayer requests and stories, but it takes up way too much class time. I finally found a solution. Every week I take only 5 prayer requests at the beginning of class, and I write them down. Then, we say a prayer and start class. Writing them down helps if one of the students would like to pray, but has trouble remembering the prayer requests. Then after class as they leave the classroom, the children that were not called on tell me their prayer request and I write them down in my book. This way I can pray for them over the week.

4) Don't be afraid of correcting misbehavior. I want to be their friend as well as their teacher. So when I had to correct a child it was sometimes difficult. I initially thought they may not like me as a teacher anymore since I had to correct their behavior. However, I learned that this is not the case. Generally, the children want to please the teacher and they will improve their behavior. If that doesn't work they will straighten up if something they enjoy is on the line. 

5) Consistency is key. Don't be discouraged if  your students don't understand what is required of them immediately. I remember trying to get my 12 twirling students into two straight lines facing the mirror. As I tried to give them instruction they would either make a line perpendicular to the mirror or face the wrong way. It was frustrating for me. I tried so many different ways. You see that was the problem. Since I tried so many things, they didn't know what to expect. I soon discovered that if I used the same technique over and over they soon knew exactly what to do. 

6) Stay firm in what you say. Don't let your students persuade you into something you told them not to do. One of the little girls in my class has really taught me to stay firm in what I say. It's difficult when she asks over and over and over again. Many times I just wanted to give in so she would stop asking. However, I didn't. I knew that if did, she would most likely end up questioning my authority more often. I didn't want to make that mistake. 

The Unlucky Box of Lucky Charms

It's Thanksgiving! It's time to eat turkey and enjoy family and friend's fellowship. On this thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things, but I am extremely thankful for my little students! This is my first year teaching and I love it! So today I will include a story that is about one of my students and her box of Lucky Charms.

Once upon a time there was a box of Lucky Charms that went to ballet class two weeks in a row. It all started when one of the cute little girls in Miss Caroline’s ballet class, brought a box of Lucky Charms with her to school. Why she brought a box of Lucky Charms, is still a mystery to many. As Miss Caroline talked to the little girl at lunch, the little girl tried to shove the big box of Lucky Charms in her backpack. Miss Caroline offered to take the box of Lucky Charms to the classroom so she would not have to carry it around. Miss Caroline thought this would reduce the risk of the little girl forgetting the box somewhere. As the class began, everyone asked why Lucky Charms were in the class room and the box of Lucky Charms was given much attention. After class, however, the little girl was rushed out the door because she needed to get to the pickup line. Unfortunately, the box of Lucky Charms was forgotten. Now fast forward to the next week. At lunch the little girl waves and exclaims to her teacher, “Hi, Miss Caroline!” So the teacher walks over and sits in the seat next to her. They talk about her food. She opens her mouth and shows Miss Caroline her dessert. Then the little girl looks at the lost and found, which is located in front of us, and shockingly screams “My Lucky Charms!” So Miss Caroline asks the little girl if she would like for her to go get it. Of course, the little girl says “yes”. Now, Miss Caroline isn't very tall and it’s up high. So Miss Caroline asks, “Do you think I can reach it?” The little girl answers “yes,” again. As Miss Caroline walks over to the lost and found, sure enough, she could reach the box!  As Miss Caroline walked back towards the little girl, she exclaimed “I reached it!” In her confident, matter of fact little voice, the little girl excitedly proclaims, “I told you so!”  Then Miss Caroline leaves the little girl to check on some other students. However, the little girl approaches Miss Caroline a little later, asking if she’ll take her Lucky Charms to the classroom. So Miss Caroline takes it and tells her she will put it in a different spot where it’ll be easier for her to remember. At this point you should start seeing a pattern here. Yes, the Lucky Charms box was forgotten again! It is now sitting lonely on the top of the lost and found until after Thanksgiving Break. And that concludes the story of the unlucky box of Lucky Charms!