Home Organization 101: Easy Steps to a Clutter Free Home

When you first move into your home it seems like you have so much space.  As the years pass, you might find yourself becoming a pack rat.  What are you going to do with all the stuff you have accumulated?  Perhaps it’s time to weed out the unnecessary items and organize your home.
Home organization is a step-by-step process.  It will take more than a day or even a week to get everything to a manageable level, but once you do staying organized is an easier task.  If you have a family, enlist their help.  They can pitch in and learn a thing or two about controlling clutter in their life. 

1. Start with the high traffic areas.  The living room and kitchen are usually the two most used rooms in the house.  Everything gets dropped on a counter or the couch in these two places.  Concentrate on getting everything set up the way that you like it before moving on to another room.

2. Use storage containers.  Over the years, the style of storage containers has upgraded to be pretty as well as functional.  Instead of storing containers in stacks in the garage, purchase ones that match your décor in each room and integrate them so that no one would even notice they were being used for storage.

3. Divide items into categories.  You can use heavy duty trash bags for this part.  Everything that you find can go into a pile: KEEP, THROW AWAY, GIVE AWAY, and RELOCATE.  Items that will stay in that room are to keep.  Things that you don’t need or are broken can be thrown away.  Clothes or furniture still in great condition can be donated and scheduled for pickup by the Veteran’s association or Goodwill.  Anything that definitely belongs in another room can be labeled for relocation when you get to that room.

4. Remove everything from drawers and cabinets.  This is a time-consuming process but it is easier to start with an empty space and fill it instead of simply pushing things around.  If you line things up on the counter, someone else can help by putting the items in some type of order.

5. Make use of all of your available space.  In the kitchen, for example, appliances or extra containers can be stored on top of the cabinets provided they don’t extend all the way to the ceiling.  That’s extra storage space without benefit of a storage container.  Also use the top of the refrigerator for cereal boxes and breakfast food like boxes of instant oatmeal or grits.  In the bedroom, shoes and winter clothes can go into flat storage bins that slide easily under the bed or the dresser.

6. Label your containers.  Use tape and a permanent marker to identify the contents of your storage containers.  Avoid writing on the actual container in case they are reused and the contents are changed.  Labeling also makes for easy identification if you decide to sell or give away a container of books or something.  You won’t have to open each container to locate them.
Organizing your entire house takes time.  But, once it is done, returning everything you use to its proper place will maintain that same level of organization.

Shana's Baby : This is what i am going to do next week! :D Just Sharing Articles I found online

Thank you Levine for creating such beautiful handmade pillow & bear for my little one

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150316552308973.390140.631933972&type=1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150155294318973.338809.631933972&l=f413afd8be

I found her website by chance while surfing for bean spout pillows. Online i found the prices are quite similar and yes there is cheaper alternative but i like her patch work very much.
You can contact her through facebook for a quote on your desired bean spout pillow.

Do note that it will take some time to do get the patch work as its really a handy craft and carefully sewn, so must have patience. I believe my patience had paid off :)

Parenting + Childbirth Education Course - Is it necessary?

 

I find these 2 pictures really cute.. Just reminds me of being a family...

Though many have choices of different hospitals and budget and services. I still feel its up to individual.

I do enjoy going to TMC (Thomson Medical Centre), beside the narrow road and lack of parking space but overall experience was quite pleasant.

http://www.thomsonmedical.com/parentcraft_centre.htm

My hubby suggested that we should go for 1 course there to learn about being a parent. Or what to expect instead of being clueless. We decided to sign up for the course below. You can click to find out more.

Childbirth Education Course

We didnt know much about Madam Wong BB until we met her. Her first impression to me was that she was fierce lady. But when she started to talk and I have enjoyed her lessons very much. Her lessons are mostly full and she will share with us with her personally experience and things to avoid etc. I found it very useful and less scared though being a first time mother still feel quite scary. 

Madam Wong release 3 books to help parents to learn about pregancy, breastfeeding and child care. I find them very helpful and I am not a person to read much, but they come in very handy. Do check them out if you have time or visiting TMC. Not sure on other hospitals on their parentcraft centres, so I am just sharing what i know from TMC.

I didnt regret spending that time to attend her lessons. One thing to note she likes to say this sentence," is that clear?" 

I will try to avoid that sentence but my hubby will keep having fun with it and even talk to my baby and let her kick when he just repeat how Madam Wong says it. :)

I guess its her habit that sometimes she repeats without knowing its too often.. That is the only thing you have to bear through all 5 lessons..... :)

What is next?

After found out being pregnant, usually the next thing you will ask yourself is what’s next?

Seriously, with internet, world wide web is full of information and you will feel like drowning inside.

What should you do? What should you avoid? What should you not eat or should eat?

Depends on your culture and upbringing, it varies from family to family. Some are more traditional with the things they do and what they can “pantang”, simpler terms superstitious about on what they will do.

For me I am quite “half half” on being “pantang” and some things I will follow and will not follow. I guess it’s due to my upbringing that I have quite traditional parents while we are influenced by western culture. For me I feel it’s being practical what I do for my baby more than old wife’s tale. Some stuff I cannot follow, I just try to avoid doing the old wife tale. After all, we are in a 21^st Century and medical terms we are more advanced in Singapore and with the internet easily available information, I would say take what you read online as a pinch of salt. I remember in class for my diploma the teacher advise us not all flower history is accurate and there are different type of versions of stories and we just read for knowledge information. I am not going through what are the “pantangs” as there are too many to list down.

Even I take time to read and understand what is pregnancy, I feel I am still clueless even I am in my 7^th month! 2 more months to go!! I only can pray my baby will come out well and healthy.

2 sites I usually go and visit is

http://www.babycenter.com.sg/

http://www.whattoexpect.com/

I have both application on my iphone, so it is easier reference when I am on the train or bus to take a look on the notes and some general information.

I feel they are quite good and they do consolidate all the necessary information and the Dos and Don’ts. It is a good reference for a start. Thanks to friends who sharing it, I forgotten who shared them with me but thanks for giving me some clues along the way.

After the first visit from the gyne, you can know what is the estimated week your baby is and you can read up some tips and what is good for the baby and diet and stuff. Then you feel your body changes with the morning sickness and either you get more grumpy or mood swings, every woman have experience it differently.

Fortunately for me I don’t have much mood swings just more of evening sickness and hardly I am able to eat my meals properly. I didn’t gain that much weight during my 1^st Trimesters (1^st 3 months), but I gain quite abit in my 2^nd Trimester (2^nd 3 months) so I do need to control more with the gyne advise. It is really not easy to eat healthy and not gain weight! Due to lack of exercise and growing tummy, tend to gain weight faster. I do hope that I will be able to lose all the weight I gain within 9 months. I am dreading the diet but for my health and baby, I hope I can do it!

During those months, I feel I walk more carefully and yet sometimes I feel I am more clumsy and forgetful at times. Try to get more rest and stay happy most of the time, they say mother’s mood will affect the baby outcome and baby is able to feel the mother’s mood. I feel more connected to my baby as I talk to her and soothe her if she get uptight in the tummy. It is not easy to be a mother and now I tend to appreciate my mom more, though my relationship with her still not very close, but I hope with my daughter, things will change for the better as I feel more growth up and soon I will have a younger one to look after.

I do Thank God for giving us this baby as through health reasons, it is hard to dream to get a baby. I just pray hard she will be born healthy and well to this world.

The first time feeling of being pregnant.

I still remember I was dieting to lose weight and end up I ate too much proteins I got gout instead during Nov / Dec 2010 period. I stop dieting and tried to recover as much as I can and later I found my neck was abit thicker than usual. I had to go see the Thyroid Specialist just 2 weeks before I found I was pregnant.

I told my best friend that I felt all those pregnant symptoms and she says just go test myself with the pregnant kit. My hubby don’t believe it as there were false alarms previously, but I sure felt very different from usual self. I thought it was the gout and thyroid related problems but I just say why not just test it, and if its negative at least I don’t feel buggy over it.

I tried during office lunch time and saw the 2 lines, I can’t believe and quickly sms my hubby. He didn’t believe it too. We went to get another 1 and tested it. We can’t sleep well and he went to get 3^rd one to test it. It came positive all 3 times. We went to see the doc in the morning and the doc says don’t need to test as 3 times already means positive. We were very excited as we were married for 4 years and trying for the past 4 years. Due to my size and built, its not easy for me to get pregnant, so I was dieting to lose weight and getting better in shape, but over doing it make me get gout as my body cannot process too much proteins food. So dieting can be very dangerous too. Really sensible diet and eat healthy alternatives are better. I hope I can do that after giving birth and continue to lose weight wisely.

I was quite scared and even up to now it’s still not an easy emotion to deal with being pregnant. I was not prepared as I wanted to go for a nice trip after my diploma course ended. Check out my Shana’s floral blog if you are interested to know the story. My focus had changed and we decided to find a gyne with friend’s recommendation.

The first appointment with Dr AL Lim at Thomson Medical Center was quite uneasy as I never go for any check up on those areas or what is to be expected.

We were told he is very popular and services wise he is much cheaper than other gynes. I didn’t go and compare so I don’t really know much. I just based on recommendations and took the first doctor. To me most of the gynes are the same, but if I were to choose again, I still stick to him. I feel that he was very fatherly type and know what is the necessary stuff. No long conversations or hard sell on anything just the basic needs for the baby n normal check up.

I never like to see doctor very much so he suits my style very much. There is a lot of different type of gynes, so this is really up to individual preferences.

They took my weight and blood pressure and we waited quite a while to see him. First time meeting up with him on 31^st Jan 2011 was a quick one. We didn’t know what to ask and do actually. We told him we took the test and want to confirm whether we have a baby. He did a normal check and we saw the little round bubble in my womb. It was really a little amazing sight. I cant forget it even now I am in my week 28^th. I still remember it just seems to be so small n precious little one. He just congratulate us and told us to visit him in 1 month time. We walk out with that little scan in our hands feeling very happy.

About Shana's Baby

Hello!
This blog is specially for new mom to be and everything about babies!

Whatever information i have and gathered or what i get for my little one will be posted up here.
Most of the information is based solely on research and advise from friends/relatives/online.

So its really up to individual how they want to bring up their child and have the best for them.
I am still learning alot from mommies and i am not sure how i am going to handle my little one when she comes in Sept 2011.

Will be updating this blog soon!
Stay Tuned!