Wormies

I am the proud new owner of a worm bin. Exciting isn't it? I looked FOREVER for the right bin to put under my kitchen sink. It had to be just the right size and NOT be clear. Apparently, clear is the new color because every bin I found that would fit was clear. In all the research I did, every single piece of information indicated that the bin must not be see-through. Worms do not like to be looked at, I guess. It was not worth my time to try and outfit them all in little tube tops just so I could use a clear bin. Sigh. Rick finally did some research and found a LEGO bin. Yellow. Nice and sunshiny for under the sink. I bet LEGO would not appreciate me piling in wormies rather than LEGOS. It is under the sink, though so if I had a LEGO audit, I don't think they would look there.

Why a worm bin? We are cutting back on what we put into the landfills and worms love all the tidbits we toss out (except meat, dairy, and a few other choice items). They will consume everything else: coffee grounds, last bits of waffles, leaves, egg shells, lots of great stuff. Go get a worm bin. It will be worth it. I'll keep you posted on my success!

Dog Days of Summer

So why do they call it "the dog days of summer"? I always thought it meant to lay around and enjoy the warm weather like a dog would. Do dogs really do that? Most dogs I see are running around with their tongues hanging out chasing a butterfly. In this picture that I took last night, Ava was blowing bubbles from her unicorn bubble bottle. When I saw her, I thought that this is a perfect picture of what enjoying summer is all about. It is too bad that many people (myself included) sometimes find themselves too busy to really stop and notice the instant beauty around them. Get yourself organized and get out and enjoy summer before it is too late. Before you know it, fall is here, school is starting, and these magical days are gone.

Camping with the Perrys

We love to camp. We still tent camp although I think those days are coming to an end. I look forward to the day when I don't have to blow up the mattress and sleep on the ground. We will probably upgrade to a nice pop-up tent trailer sometime soon. Hopefully before I have to use a walker or cane. Every winter Rick reserves us 3 campsites: 1 in June, 1 in July, and 1 in August. We try to visit different places every year. This year, we went to Silver Falls outside of Salem. We had so much fun I think we are going to make it an annual trip. If you are interested, send me $5 and I'll tell you which site number is the best. Kidding. Really.

As you might imagine, when we camp we are pretty organized. One tidbit I will share with you is about packing our clothes. We take one large duffel bag for the 4 of us. I put each of our pile of clothes into smaller trash bags and then put those inside the duffel bag. When the tent is up, all I do is toss the appropriate bag onto the sleeping bag of the person they belong to. Not only does it make it easy to find your clothes in the morning, we each have a dirty clothes bag to use. Simple, easy to do.

The other day I was driving back from horse summer camp with Ava and she asked me what the words were to the song Blah, Blah Black Sheep...

Patience Pays Off

I have an orchid that was given to me 2 1/2 years ago for my birthday. I have always loved orchids. When I retire (some day) I plan on growing orchids. I'll probably wear a muu muu (orchid pattern, of course) and stumble around my green house all day long, sipping sangria, waiting for my orchids to open. Anyway, I have worked hard to keep this plant alive: watered it, not watered it, put it in the sun, put it in the shade -- you name it, I have tried it. This was my big test to see if I could actually grow one of the more common types of orchids. Well, guess what. TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER it is blooming. I could not believe it! For awhile I figured all this plant could produce was big, thick leaves and long roots. Ah, my patience has paid off. I just hope it doesn't take another 2 1/2 years to see it bloom again. I may not find myself THAT patient.... I am sure you are asking yourself, "what it the world does this have to do with organizing? This is just another crazy orchid lady blogging." How it all connects is this: be patient with yourself when it comes to organizing. Tackle a little bit at a time. It took awhile to get unorganized and underneath your stuff so be patient. It will take a little while to get it all put back together and to see your own orchid start to bloom.

Todays Ava-ism: we were baking cookies and one sheet of them came out a little bit too dark. Ava said "those are fine, Mommy. They are just a little rusty."

In With the New, Out With the New

It seems to me that I receive a lot of product catalogs. REI, Office Depot, Uline, Coldwater Creek, it pretty much goes on and on. The good AND the bad news is that if I toss them in the recycle bin, another one is sure to show up. I have had my name removed from this list and that list but the catalogs and brochures keep coming. One of the best ways that I stay organized under this onslaught of paper is I quickly recycle them. If there is a coupon in one and I KNOW I will be shopping there within the month, I cut it out and put it in my coupon holder. The rest of the catalog goes in the bin. Think about it: What is the worst that can happen if you recycle the catalog? 99% of companies have websites that post their new specials. So, if you really think about it, the catalog is probably out of date by the time you get it! By recycling the catalog as soon as you can is one of the easiest ways to keep the paper clutter down. Give it a try! You'll be glad you did. Here is my green tip for the day: For those of you who want to get your name off of mailing lists, start with this site: https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/proto1.php. Good luck!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July. At last count, we all still had 10 fingers each...

The Natives Know Best

My husband, Rick, is a native Oregonian and very proud of it. Both of my children are native Oregonians. I, on the other hand, come from Southern California. Granted, I moved to Oregon when I was three, but that doesn't make me a native. I consider myself a native by marriage. It sounds impressive unless I am talking to a true native. They are always less than impressed.

The reason I bring this up is because about 2 nights ago we had the most incredible thunder and lightening storm. It was powerful, noisy, and it dumped a bunch of rain. Right before it hit, I was looking outside where I had hung up some of Rick's bicycle riding clothes to dry. I mentioned to him that we may have a thunderstorm roll in but it sure didn't look like it out west (which is where 95% of our weather comes from). He said (and I quote) "Native say if you like wet riding clothes, leave riding clothes outside." Of course this was done in a deep voice so I could get the full force of the Me-Tarzan, You-Jane effect. The lesson? Don't question the knowledge of the natives. As I mentioned before in my bee blog, listen to those who are "in the know" and don't always try to navigate everything alone -- call on the experts. It will save you time, money, and some really wet riding clothes.