31 Days Unplugged – Day 5 – What to do with all that time?

Welcome back!  We are on day 5 of the 31 Days Unplugged challenge.  At this point, we have unplugged from all forms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) during the day.  We are still using these things after the sun goes down, but we are dedicating our days to God and enjoying the abundant life he has promised to us.

If you’re like me, you are finding yourself with some extra time on your hands.  By cutting down on time in front of the computer or staring mindlessly at my cell phone, I have lots of time to do other things, even some things I have been putting off by saying I just didn’t have time to get to it.

Throughout the month, I (and some great guest-bloggers) am going to be giving you some inspiration for things to do to fill up the time that you will inevitably find throughout your day.

Challenge #4-Do something you have been putting off for awhile.  This could be cleaning or organizing, calling someone, writing thank you notes, ironing clothes, whatever it is you have been procrastinating.  You know, the thing you think about every day, but never seem to get done?

I have been wanting to organize my jewelry box for weeks, ever since I got a wonderful new (to me) jewelry box that was my grandma’s.  I have been keeping my jewelry stuffed in a drawer in our bedroom, and it was so messy that I could hardly open the drawer, and a lot of my jewelry was turning into a tangled mess.  I didn’t even want to wear any of my jewelry because it was such a hassle to get to it!

This is my messy drawer full of jewelry…

…and my beautiful, organized jewelry box!

I feel so great having this done, and all I had to do was take 15 minutes I would have otherwise wasted scrolling through Facebook.

Ephesians 5: 15-16 says “So be careful how you live.  Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”

So let’s spend our new found-time wisely!

A Great New Use for Empty Baby Wipes Containers

Well, Christmas is over and we are dealing with the aftermath of the toys.  They are everywhere!  Right now Charlie and I are deciding what toys we are going to put away for awhile to bring out later and what toys are going to be given to Emma, my neice who will be born in March. I am coming up with lots of different organizational ideas for all of the toys.  Here’s one idea:

I had 2 children in diapers for about 7 months, so I have thrown out (well, we did recycle them) a gazillion baby wipes containers.  I just came up with a great idea for them. 

I have been trying to keep up with all of Charlie’s little matchbox cars.  It seems that they are everywhere, and there is nothing worse than stepping on one of them barefoot in the middle of the night.  I decided to put some of the enpty containers to use to hold small toys.  Use foam letter stickers to label the containers with whatever toy you need to gain control over, and there you go! I made one for cars, people, and animals.  I think I am going to also make one for trucks.  This would also be a great way to store art supplies.

One unexpected plus of this system is that Maddie (10 months) really loves taking the toys out and putting them back in the small slots at the top of the containers.  That is great fun for her.