Sherpani Sojourn Luggage Tote Bag

So we leave for Aruba in 7 weeks. Most people who know me, know that I can be a tad... obsessive about things. Wendie got a huge kick out of the fact that Bob and I expedited our passports, even though we ordered them like 3 months before we leave. So yeah... a little obsessive.

The trip to Aruba is actually more than a vacation. We’re getting married there. We’re super excited about it, and we’re going to have a party for our family and friends about 2 weeks after we return.

As you can imagine, I’ve made lists. Lists of what we need to do for our trip, for our wedding, for our party. Lists of things we need to buy... oy.

One of the items on the To Buy list was a tote for me to take on the plane. I ordered it from Sherpani and it arrived today. I am in love.

Here are the specs:

67% Recycled Fabric
Luggage Tote Bag
Non-Toxic Dyes
Removable Shoulder Strap
Internal Zippered Pockets
Zippered Security Closure
Internal Water Bottle Pocket
Signature Floral Lining
14.5in x 13.5in x 5in
1000 cu in
1b 9oz

It’s so cute and functional. How much do I love the fact that it’s 67% recycled fabric... and is made using non-toxic dyes??? When I took it out of the box, I expected it to have a chemical-y smell to it, but was pleasantly surprised... chemical-y smell free!

The inside liner is adorable, and it has tons of little pockets. And I love that I can fit my little netbook in nicely.

I think I’m going to get a lot of use out of this little love.... oh and they have the cutest little matching lunch bag....

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Less Clutter: Part Two

Ok, that wasn’t so bad! Beth from Fake Plastic Fish challenged me to find ways to de-clutter without buying any plastic bins/drawers and I’m happy to say I only made two small (non plastic) purchases – more on that later.

As I mentioned, this is a two part series. Part One listed my main clutter issues and I actually addressed them all. I told you in Part One that Bob’s on board with the de-clutter idea. I think that if you live with other people, it’s a huge help when you’re on the same page. So, he definitely did his part to help.

CHALLENGE ONE: Bob’s “stuff” – keys, wallet, eye drops, sunglasses, loose change. Here’s purchase #1:

BUT it’s made of bamboo and canvas (I got it at Target)! Not plastic  It’s the simplest thing but so useful – AND I can keep current bills in it. OH and new rule… when mail comes in, we immediately decide whether it’s junk for recycling or a bill that needs to be paid. If it’s recycling, it immediately goes into the bin, so we don’t have piles accumulating. So it’s great to have something like this in place, but again… everyone needs to be on the same page. It took Bob some getting used to – remembering where to put his “stuff” but it’s totally working!

CHALLENGE TWO: Bob’s work stuff

Remember the drop zone idea I mentioned in Part One? I created my own. Ha! My intention in the beginning was actually to spend money. I wanted to get a tall table and some canvas bins. BUT… and here’s the best part: I didn’t have to spend anything for this project. It’s all about repurposing baby! We took a desk we weren’t using from another room and moved it into the dining room (where he used to “dump” everything). Then… I was in my storage closet at work one day and saw all these boxes that we no longer have a use for at the office. I asked my boss if I could take two home. He said yes and… voila! We have a new drop zone!! The point is… look around your house. I bet there’s some stuff you could find a new use for.

CHALLENGE THREE: My Laundry Folding Issues

I just dislike dealing with laundry. But I also know that I feel less stressed when the bedroom is nice and clutter free. So I simply have to suck it up and put my clothes away when they’re done. I’m finding it easier to do it each time I do laundry, rather than letting it pile up. Also, it’s helpful to periodically go through your drawers and closets to see what can be donated. This way there’s no struggling to get your stuff into drawers (which is sort of my problem). What’s that rule? If you haven’t worn it in a year… get rid of it?

CHALLENGE FOUR: Random items: receipts, magazines, product manuals, coupons, pay stubs.

You gotta just put in some time each week – come on, I know you have 30 minutes. Here’s what I’m doing now… about once a week, I go through the "random stuff" pile and do the following:

Have a scanning party. Grab a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and cozy up to your scanner. Lots of printers (like mine) come with scanners now and if yours doesn’t have one – you can pick one up for under $100. Try Amazon, Craigslist or Ebay. It’s a great way to catalog old non-digital photos, too. So… spend 20 minutes a week and scan any receipts you need to keep. Also, why not scan your product manuals and then recycle them?

File anything you need to keep that you don’t want to or have the ability to scan (pay stubs, etc.) Accordion files are pretty inexpensive, and don’t take up a ton of space.

I’ve never been much of a coupon girl. But recently, I’ve been paying more attention and started clipping a little bit. But I was just throwing them in the junk drawer and forgetting about them. It was time for a coupon organizer…so I headed to Etsy.com to find one that was interesting, hand made, and would support an artist! Cute, right?

Random Every Day Tip: I read this one years ago - When you leave a room, look around to see what you can take with you. Say you’re in the family room watching a movie and you have to take a bathroom break or grab a glass of water. Look around… can you take a couple of magazines to the recycle bin? If you’re going upstairs, is there anything that needs to go with you? We tend to accumulate shoes downstairs, and our bedroom is upstairs. Sometimes, I’ll even put things on the steps to remind myself when I go up. Maybe teach the kids to do the same? (I can hear you moms laughing already).

Random Tip for Less Paper: Sign up for paperless billing whenever possible. No paper bill will come to your house. You’ll get an email from the company that your bill is ready for viewing online. I do this with my mobile phone and utilities.

So we've made some changes that seem to be making a difference in our house. What are some of your favorite "less clutter" tips?

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Less Clutter: Part One

I’m so excited to have been asked by Beth at FakePlasticFish.com to write a post for her site! She was wondering if I had any tips on reducing clutter. Turns out… I do have some, but I need to be better. So this will be a two part series… Part One will be listing my own personal challenges. Part Two will be what I’ve learned and what tips and ideas I’ve started to incorporate.

Luckily, Bob’s pretty much on the same page as me in terms of simplifying. He doesn’t like to have a bunch of stuff laying around for no reason and he doesn’t buy unnecessary items. However, the every day stuff is more of a challenge for him…on any given day, you could walk into my house and find these 5 items either on the microwave, the mantel, or the dining room table: eye drops, wallet, keys, sunglasses, loose change. You know those “butler” things they make for men’s dressers? Yeah, he has one. What does he use it for? I couldn’t tell you… but I do know he doesn’t use it for this stuff. We need to think of a better system for the guy. I read an article once about a builder who was incorporating a “drop zone” in a home he was building. It was the coolest thing… cubbies for shoes, shelves, drawers, cabinets, hooks. It was lovely. But, we’re not building a new house nor are we remodeling. So, we have to come up with our own plan.

Another challenge is the fact that he is a Realtor and works from home often, and at any given time you will find folders, binders, house listing printouts, scraps of paper with phone numbers – again, on the dining room table or the coffee table. We do have a home office - but in reality, lots of phone calls come in when we’ve settled in for the night, and it’s much easier for him to have access to his active files and laptop, rather than needing to go into the office every time the phone rings. But I really don’t like our family room being overtaken by real estate.

Ok, so it’s not all Bob. Here’s my confession. I HATE folding and putting away laundry. I just do. I don’t know why… maybe because my mother made me do my own laundry from a pretty early age and it used to take me so long to fold (oh yeah, I’m still a bad folder) that I just resent it now? Or, maybe we don’t have enough storage space for clothes? Yeah, it’s probably the mother thing. So as a result, there’s usually a pile of clothing on my bedroom floor. I know Bob hates it, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s a good egg.

My last challenge is this: We always seem to have a pile somewhere of random items - receipts, warrantees, manuals, coupons, pay stubs. I have some ideas for this stuff that I will put into action.

The idea is to deal with these challenges without buying a bunch of plastic storage bins and containers. As I see this on “paper”, it looks a little overwhelming… but these are workable challenges, right?

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Simply Organic Southwest Taco Seasoning

So we had taco salad for dinner last night.

I never remember whether we have taco seasoning packets so I have a ton of them in my cabinet. Since making a commitment to eat less food with chemicals and organically when possible, I found this taco seasoning at Whole Foods by Simply Organic.

Out of curiosity, I put the Simply Organic next to the Ortega. I wanted to check out the difference in ingredients and calories/carbs/sugar.


Here’s what stood out for me:

The Simply Organic has less sodium but a few more calories than Ortega

The Simply Organic has no added sugar (though it does have added maltodextrin, which is a starch made from sugar). I am curious about whether maltodextrin is gluten-free though. I’m hoping my GF friends will chime in here.

Simply Organic contains something called silicone dioxide. This sounded scary to me so I looked it up. Apparently it’s used to keep the spices from clumping together. A preservative, really. I found this article – and I have to say, I’m not too pumped about this ingredient.

Whereas Simply Organic is mostly spices, Ortega only has two identifiable spices on their ingredients list.

Taste: I wasn’t in love with the flavor of Simply Organic, but I’m not a fan of overly spicy foods. It was very flavorful but just a bit too heat-spicy for me.

So now I’m convinced I just have to make my own taco seasoning. How hard can it be?

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