I’m loving these MMM posts.  Why?  Because after I take the photos of our apartment, I think, “Hmm… I’d better clean that up!” and start to do chores.  It’s motivation, but in a strange sort of way…

In the meantime, here’s a look around our home:

Dishes in the sink and by the sink.  I’d say that there’s only one time of day that there aren’t dishes in the sink, and that’s in the evening.  One of my “tricks” for keeping on top of chores is to always run the dishwasher before going to bed.  Waking up to an empty sink and clean dishes is one small way of staying sane.

The lounge, aka, the play area!  I think that it’s time for me to put away the play mat.  Joe never uses it, and its main function these days is a place to store toys when I pick up in the evenings.  I need to get a bin and bookcase for this spot.

Then, there’s Joe’s room:

This suitcase was chock-full of baby clothes that were given to us while visiting family.  I have enough clothes now that I don’t need to buy Joe anything till he’s at least 2 years old.  I organized them by size and put them in plastic bags before coming back to NZ.  The idea behind this was that, when we got home, all I’d have to do is open the suitcase and put them in the right spots.  One problem, though.  Here’s Joe’s closet:

Not pictured – a very full clothes rack underneath that bottom drawer

All of the clothing that was still “out” when we got back to NZ was in the size 3 – 6 months range, which meant that before putting away all of those neatly organized bags from the USA, I would have to go through his current clothing and find a place to store it.  He has a dresser, but it’s entirely occupied with cloth nappies and baby cot linens.

So, I went to The Warehouse to buy some under-bed {or in this case, under-cot} storage bins.  I looked and looked and looked.  We asked a staffer to help us, and he told us where they were.  I got there, only to discover {at the very back of the shelf after wriggling past several big, heavy bins} that there were some lids, but no under-bed bins!  The staffer had assured us that they were there, and told me that I shouldn’t look for them in the sale aisle near the front of the store.  Wouldn’t you know it, on my way out I decided to have a quick peek at the sale section {exactly where I was told to avoid} and there were my under-cot storage bins.  Without lids.  Grrr.  I wasn’t about to walk to the back of the store, worm my way through the shelves, and grab the lids so I took 2 bins and 2 lids from similarly sized bins and checked out.

Anyway, I got the bins.  I got the lids.  I filled one bin with very small baby items (newborn – 3 months) that were already being stored in the hanging shelves of his closet.  This freed up space for some of the suitcase items.  Then, I went through the clothing rack and drawers and removed all of the 3 – 6 month items and put those in the 2nd bin, which freed up space for the 6 – 9/12 mos clothes.  I’m happy to say that the suitcase is now empty and all of his clothing sizes are up-to-date.  Still, it was sad for me to put some of them away.  There was one hooded sweater jacket in particular that I found myself getting a little misty-eyed over.  It was so cute on him, and now it’s too small!  When did my baby get to be so big?

That’s Joe – 7 months + 1 week old and very messy 🙂  Joe has taken to solid food like a duckling to water.  He pretty much gobbles down anything we spoon out!

Thanks for visiting our home – see you next week!