We Don't Need More Organizational Products

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After a lot of coming and going the past little while I had a quiet weekend to really acknowledge what a total wreck the house was. Disastrous. So I took the time to start cleaning and getting everything back to it's reasonably organized chaos. As I did I found myself compiling a bag to take to the thrift store.

As I step over a three-tiered paper organizer I bought a couple of years ago (that I have never found  a helpful use for) I thought, we do not need more tools to help us organize the house. What we need is just less stuff in the house, period.

How about that organization industry. Every retail store seems to sell organizational products in pretty colors, shapes and textures now. But are we taking advantage of these tools to help us live simpler lives or are we spending millions of dollars every year just to store more stuff we don't really need? The thought of that really energized me to keep getting rid of stuff.

As I opened and closed closets and drawers around the house I increasingly frustrated at the amount of things I saw that were not important or necessary. Sure it's great to have options in life, but at some point options and things you are keeping because you "might need them one day" or because you "paid good money" for them once upon a time just don't make any sense. You end up spending more time and money than it would cost to replace the items, so that you can store them. Silliness.

So I am spinning around my house with an open bag and getting rid of unnecessary stuff. It sneaks up on you fast. This is a house I just deep cleaned this spring and already it feels cluttered again. Today I am making a trip to the thrift store. I can't wait to dump things off and be rid of them and have a little more space and sanity in my life.

Have you thought about how much you are spending on organizational tools, rather than just getting rid of things you don't need? How are you acting on this concept in your own life? I'd love to hear!

Squeeze In A Few More Fun Activities This Summer

Even though we are only a couple of weeks away from the beginning of school here, there is still lots of summer to enjoy. It's time to get serious about making the most of the remaining longer, warmer days before the cold winter comes.

Here are a few things I would like to do before the end of summer with my little clan.

1. Go stargazing. We really only see a handful of stars here in the city if we are lucky. But just 20 minutes from our house, if you can duck behind the hills of the city, the whole sky opens up. We just downloaded the Night Sky app onto the iPad.

2. Barbecue. I don't think we've done this in any form yet this summer. That is pretty embarrassing. We need to get on that.

3. Roast hot dogs and make s'mores over a bonfire. I think the hot dog needs to be wrapped in bacon. And the chocolate needs to be more upscale that that uber famous American brand. We like to use Guittard large milk chocolate chips in my family.

4. Overnight camping. Obviously quite a few of these can be combined into one event. I think beach camping might be in order this year. I'm checking out options.

5. Dutch oven cooking. I love cooking in a dutch oven. I love making dinners and desserts. Did you know you can even bake a cake at specific temperatures based on how many charcoal briquettes you use? Here's a great chart. We made a gorgeous pie once inside a dutch oven. It was delicious. I have to sneak in here that I would also really like to make Tin Foil Dinners this summer.

6. Spend time with friends. I am seriously considering contacting some of the families we are friends with and organizing a weekend camping trip to a group beach campground near here. We have not spent nearly enough time with friends this summer. The week school got out my dear friend and I started scheming summer plans we could do with our kids. We have not seen them once this summer due to crazy schedules and travel.

7. Go to an amusement park. I think we'll try something different this year. Last year we had a multi-visit pass to Disneyland and California Adventure. We can buy those again in September for the coming year but before that it would be fun to check out Knott's Berry Farm or one of the smaller local amusement parks. It's always fun to try something new.

8. Go to a concert. We didn't even go to fireworks this year. Lame. We need a good concert in the park. I may check out The Hollywood Bowl or one of the other local amphitheaters. There might be something fun going on there.

9. Swim. I haven't been swimming in quite a while. I like to swim. This is a standard summer event that should be happening.

10. Play games in the park. We haven't been making much use of our family sports bag this year. That is probably because The Bug is full throttle into bike riding now, so we're more mobile and less tied to playing in grassy fields. But we should use it!

What are you hoping to squeeze in before the end of summer? Any of these? What other great ideas would you suggest?