making the most of your closet space

I have a #firstworldproblems confession.  My closet is too small!  It's a walk-in, but there is barely four feet of hanger space, total.  I have to share this with my husband, which means I get about two-and-a-half feet to myself (he is surprisingly protective of his hanger space!).  I have purged three times in the last year.  I still have more shirts than I wear, but the number one thing that eats up my closet space is my massive maxi dress collection!

During the summer, I wear max dresses at least twice a week.  Last summer, when I was pregnant with little bear, I wore them almost every day.  Combine my  love of the freedom of skirts and dresses with my tall figure and voila!  I give you my incredible selection of maxi dresses.  This photo was taking two years ago when we moved, and only includes 3/4 of what the collection was THEN (minus maxi skirts!).  So, ya, lots of dresses.

If they each hung on their own hanger, it would take up ALL my closet space, easy.  But I learned a trick back when I was in college, sharing an even smaller closet with another girl.  

Pants hangers!  Duh!  How easy is that?  I use bar hangers for my maxi dresses.   I found these particular hangers at Target, but they only have them in stock once in a while.  They are on amazon here.  You can get smaller versions (with only three bars) at Walmart.  I love these because the bars unhook and swing out, so I can hang one skirt at a time without having to lay the whole hanger flat.

I use the clippy pants hangers for my skirts!  I also got these at Target and have occasionally seen them at Walmart.

I love how I can pull out a hanger and see all my skirts and dresses easily.

I have four dress hangers, and five skirt hangers.  It takes up less than a foot of my precious hanging space!  The bulk of the skirts makes these take up more space in the bottom half of my closet, which balances out nicely with all my shirts that take up the of the top half.  Plus, it makes me feel super organized every time I look at them. 

I still need to get my shirts under control... how to you keep your shirts organized?  

seven things

1. We are considering moving to a smaller apartment. Right now, both of the boys has their own room, but we are thinking they could share.  Financially, we don't need to move, we are just thinking of ways to save more money.  But the boys nap at different times, Oso still wakes up at night, and I just don't think we can fit two boys and all their toys in one room.

2.  I recently re-discovered how delicious nachos are.  Gained two pounds this week.

3. I am IN LOVE with this paper boxwood wreath from Lia Griffith.  I need to buy some green paper and whip it out with my cameo one of these nights.

4. My husband and I went and saw a Norman Rockwell exhibit last weekend.  It was not our usual scene at all, but we totally loved it.  The stories that each piece tells totally enthralled me.  He is one of the few artists I would buy an original of.  Whose original art would you buy?

5. I am browsing apartments while I type.  Why are apartments in Provo so dumpy?

6.  Dinosaurs are all the rage at our house right now.  We got a big stack of dinosaur books from amazon to read, and Mono got a very cool walking-talking dinosaur toy from his aunt.  We even went to the natural history museum a few weeks ago and everybody loved it.  Museum lighting is weird.

7. I am taking a few classes online right now and I hate them.  People who go back to school full-time are amazing.  

welcome 2016

Some years, when I look back over what my goals were, I am wracked with guilt!  Not so in 2015.  Hooray!  I had two major goals for this past year.

1. Take control of our budget
Man, we killed it in budgeting this year.  A HUGE step for us was moving from monthly to weekly budgeting.  We have an entire year of finances in our excel spreadsheet.  We know where our money goes, and so we always know how much we are spending.  We went from almost always being $200 or more over our budget to being under budget more than half the time.  We started a teeny, tiny retirement fund and purchased a life insurance policy for Tyler.

2. Plan meals
This was to help with our budget, and it made a huge difference.  We ate out significantly less when I didn't have to think of something to make every night.  At the beginning of the year I planned a month at a time, but now I only plan a week at a time and we waste a lot less food and have cut about $50 out of our grocery budget.

I'm not sure I want to make goals, but I want to have a new attitude as a mom.  I've been marinating a couple of phrases and here is what I am down to:

I call these my "mom rules."  It seems like a lot, but they all contribute to the overall attitude and spirit I want to nurture in our home.  

Lighten up is the big one - to me, it means let things go.  TJ spills his cereal?  Say uh-oh, clean it up, and let it go.  Don't lecture.  Don't let it make me super mad.  Because he is little and that is okay.  

Right along side that, I want to take more time to play with the kids.  I want to be present and enjoy my kiddos - stop to play, go outside, and do it now because maybe he won't want to play with me later.  

Last but not least, if  I am happy and if I have fun, my family will too.  I am a firm believer that if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy so I need to set the tone for everything from family interactions to discipline.  

I am so excited to work on the "spirit" of our home this year, and I hope I can be as successful as I was in last years goals.  Wish me luck!

I did think of one GOAL goal I want to have - return to writing.  I am a huge journal-er, but my entries are getting farther and farther apart.  I love, love re-reading my journals and I don't want to miss anything from this time in my life because I was too lazy to sit down and write once a week.  I guess this falls right in with my mom rule - do it now!

Do you set goals or resolutions?  How do you stick to them?