Organizing the Freezer & Pantry

Since baby Sara was born, we've starting using a large stand-alone freezer in addition to our regular refrigerator/freezer.  Last week after ordering a large amount of groceries, I finally got frustrated enough to organize it.  Then this evening, inspired by my freezer organization, I finally organized our balcony pantry. 

I didn't take any before pictures of our freezer, but it was certainly a mess.  Before turning on the stand-alone freezer, my husband would marvel at my "Tetris" skills as I put away the frozen food in the small freezer section of our refrigerator.  Here are the after pictures:

After we got our last groceries, I was feeling overwhelmed and just left a lot of them on the counter and balcony table:

There was room in the balcony pantry, but it was just such a mess that I didn't know where to put things. 

Before picture of the balcony pantry

I was feeling really overwhelmed at the sheer volume of it all, and I didn't know where to start.  I decided to start with what annoyed me most: for years I'd been wanting to put the aluminum foil closest to the door opening, since I use it more often that the ziplocs.  So, I took everything off that shelf and put it on top of the cabinet.  (I cleaned the top first - man was it dusty!) Then I put it back with the aluminum foil and plastic wrap closest to the door opening.  I threw away the non-zip bags that have been in there for years that we've never used.  I have such a hard time throwing things away, but if we've lived here for 4 years and never used them, they needed to go.  Also, I realized that I had bought aluminum foil when there was actually another roll in the cabinet.  My disorganization led to buying something I already had.

All the aluminum foil/plastic wrap/ziplocs on top of the cabinet.

 

After picture of the foil/plastic wrap/ziploc shelf.

 The next thing that has been annoying me is the disorganization of my Asian sauces.  We cook a lot of Asian food from scratch, because most of the Asian restaurants here are expensive and not that great.  They used to be on the middle shelf, but since they are one of the things I use most frequently, I decided to move them to the top shelf closest to the door opening.  To me, what logically followed was the corn/peas/carrots, spaghetti sauce, beans, and cream of chicken soup. 

Top shelf

 Since I started nursing, I've been eating cereal as a snack pretty frequently.  I never ate cereal much before, so I didn't have a good place to keep it. I've been keeping it on the kitchen counter for months.  I decided this evening to find a place for it in the pantry.  Since the cabinet is so deep, I combined the section for cereal and formula.  After that, I was at a bit of a loss for how to organize the rest.  I ended up just making a fruit section and labeled the rest as "various sauces/seasoning."  I used the bottom section for overflow.  I couldn't believe how much more I was able to fit into the space once it was organized. 

Middle shelf

After picture of the cabinet

After picture of the balcony table (the missing cushion is in the other room)

After picture of the kitchen counter

I left a few things on the kitchen counter, but overall I thought it was pretty good work for one night! 

Packing for Geneva: Clothes for Mom & baby

Packing for a 2-week trip with a 3-month old baby was quite an undertaking.  For this post, I will focus only on clothes for Sara and me.

Before I could begin to figure out what to pack for baby Sara, I had to first transition her wardrobe from newborn to 3-month old. 

1. First, I went through her drawer and took out everything.  
2. Next, I put back in what still fit her.  I chose a few items to keep (the outfit she came home from the hospital in, etc).  I bagged and labeled the other clothes, which I will pass on to a friend having a girl in March.  I also only put in 10 pairs of regular socks, plus 3 pairs of fancy socks.  I took out the lightweight spring hats.
3. Third, I went through all the size 3-6 month clothes to decide what I liked and was seasonally-appropriate.  (Some clothes we received from friends who had babies born in different seasons - some worked, some not.)  
4. Fourth, I put everything in her drawer that I envisioned her wearing for the next 2 months or so.  I used the drawer as my physical limit of how many clothes she would have.  It worked out very well with the clothes I picked out.

 

5. Finally, I picked out 10 outfits for her to wear in Geneva (with a plan to do laundry over the weekend).

 I packed a short-sleeved white onesie for each long-sleeved shirt, so that her shirt wouldn't ride up and show her belly/make her cold.  I packed a 10 pairs of socks and 10 sleepers.  At the last minute, I packed two zip-up jackets that she ended up wearing a lot, because it was chilly in the cafeteria.

And of course, her winter coat and hat:

Since I'm writing this after our trip, I can also comment on how my packing worked out.  First, I ended up not doing laundry, because it was just too much trouble.  Sara pretty much never spits up, so her dirty clothes only had drool and maybe a few drops of milk on them.  I felt a little bit bad having her wear dirty clothes, but it was just too hard to do laundry.  In the future, I would rather pack at least enough shirts to have a clean one for each day.


Clothes for Mom:

I didn't have time to fully transition my wardrobe from maternity to current/nursing-friendly clothes.  Instead, I just picked out outfits that would work for Geneva, with a focus on layers and nursing-friendly shirts.  I chose navy and cream/white as my neutrals and teal and burnt orange as my colors, to keep it simple and help with mixing and matching. 

These are the outfits I planned:

This is what I ended up wearing:

I planned a mostly casual wardrobe for hanging out on campus while my husband was in class, with a few nicer outfits for touring the city on the weekends.  I also wore my white/gray nursing infinity scarf, even though it didn't really fit into my theme.  I found that the nursing infinity scarf and the traditional nursing cover I made worked equally well.  Since coming home, I have ordered a navy nursing infinity scarf, which will work better with my wardrobe.

I tried to be somewhat minimalistic (for me) with shoes and accessories.  Although I brought a few different scarves, I brought only one pair of earrings and two pairs of shoes.  Sara has started grabbing and pulling, so I can't wear dangly earrings or necklaces unless I am out without her, so I just didn't bring any.  This was a huge change for me, since I love dangly earrings and necklaces and normally bring several with me while traveling.  I also brought only snowboots (which I wore on the airplane) and slip-on walking shoes (which I used both as indoor slippers and around campus).  It was such a blessing that the cafeteria was in the same building as our room, so I could just wear the walking shoes Mon-Fri.  It was so nice taking Sara in the stroller to meals without having to put on our winter coats.

I discovered quickly that my teal and brown batwing shirts were by far the best for nursing in public, because they have a v-neck that can be pulled down, instead of having to pull my shirt up and worry about my stomach showing/getting cold.  I rearranged from my original plans to wear those two shirts every Saturday and Sunday, when we were traveling.

Overall, I feel like I really did well at packing for both of us for this trip.

I didn't really take and "outfit" pictures, but here are a few where you can see our outfits:

Baby Clothes: Thoughts on Sara's first 2 months

I would like to put down some thoughts about baby Sara's clothes for her first two months.  I had originally wanted to write a post before she was born about my plans, but it didn't happen.  I'm writing this mostly to process and for myself to know for any future children, but perhaps it may help someone about to have a baby.

I'll try to start from the beginning...

Washing 0-3 months clothes to get ready for baby Sara's arrival!

We don't have a dryer...

Cameron built this beautiful dresser for me.

Drawer organizers from Ikea.

All of Sara's 0-3 month clothes fit perfectly into one drawer!

After reading Marie Kondo's book, one thing that I have truly changed is the way I put clothes into a drawer.  I now always put them in vertically, so you can see every article of clothing from the top.  Even before reading the book, I had started using drawer organizers, and the vertical folding makes them even more useful.

Starting from left to right in the drawer, here are some of my thoughts - things I did well, things I thought I needed but didn't, and things I wish I had bought/bought more of.

1. Short-sleeved white onesies (5) - I thought these would be incredibly useful as undershirts, but I only used one of them ever in the past 2 months, and now they are too small.  They may have been useful to wear around the house if Sara had been born in spring/summer, but as it was, they were basically useless.  I had also envisioned her wearing them under sweaters with pants, but it didn't work out because of my obsession with her having mittens at all times.  I wish I had bought long-sleeved white onesies with mittens and more sweaters.

2. Socks/tights - Very useful, Sara wore socks almost every day with her gowns, but I had way too many pairs.  Basically I just needed one pair of socks for every gown.  I also enjoyed having her wear the lacy ones to church with jeans.  We bought a 2-pack of tights, which was perfect.  The smallest size is just a little too big for her, so I think they will last all winter.

3. Separate mittens (3) - I didn't use these for a long time, because I thought they would not stay on.  However, when I started getting frustrated with all the clothing that didn't have built-in mittens, I tried these, and they worked pretty well.  I wish I had bought more of these.

4. Gowns w/ built-in mittens (12) - Sara wore these almost every single day at home.  They were especially helpful for newbie parents changing diapers in the middle of the night, because there are no snaps or zippers.  The only downside is that her socks fall off constantly.  My regret with gowns is that I only bought only two size 0 Carters gowns, which fit her very well.  The rest were all Gerber size 0-6 months, which didn't really work.  Nothing that fits a 6 month old will fit a newborn very well.  They were functional, but too big.  I wish I would've bought 10 or so Carters size 0 gowns for the 0-3 month period and had her wear only them.  The Gerber gowns will probably fit her very well in a few months.  If you are looking to save money and get more use out of your baby clothes, the Gerber size 0-6 month gowns will work for a very long time.  However, it felt more like just dressing my newborn in size 6 month clothes which were constantly falling off her shoulder.  Also, if you have a chubby baby, they may work, but Sara is a skinny little girl. 

Here you can see the difference between Carters size 0 (left, age 4 days) and Gerber size 0-6 months (right, age 13 days). 

Sara in both gowns at age 2 months.  The Carters is getting a little small, but the Gerber is still too big.

Also, 10 gowns may sound like a lot, but Sara peed on all three of these gowns in one day, so you may go through them faster than you think.  ;)

5. Hats - Sara really hates hats.  We have a million of them, mostly the ones that match the gowns/other outfits.  We have only used one of these, and it was so big that it kept falling into her eyes.  We have a few thicker, winter-type hats which we do actually use.  In retrospect, it would've been easier to just get 1-2 small winter hats for her.  Maybe in the spring, as she gets bigger, we will use the lighter bigger hats, but I have my doubts.

While the hat on the left looks really funny, clearly the hat on the right fits her better.

6. (Starting the left half of the drawer now) Colored/designed short-sleeved onesies - I didn't use any of these.  They probably would've been useful had Sara been a spring/summer baby.  I didn't have very many, just a few I inherited from a friend, so no loss here.

7. Newborn shirts w/ mittens - These were somewhat useful, but I wish they had been onesies instead.  Sara wore them under dresses mostly, because they were too short to wear alone with pants.  She also wore them maybe once or twice at home with leggings when all the gowns were dirty.

Newborn shirt with dress (left) and with leggings (right).

8. Sleepers - I have several of these, but unfortunately only one has mittens.  I used it frequently, but mostly when we had to go somewhere with the car (like to the doctor), because it is better for her legs to be separated for the car seat belt.  I didn't use it as often as I wanted to, because I was always afraid it might be dirty when I needed it.  I wish I had had at least 5-6 sleepers with mittens.  I only have used the sleepers without mittens a few times, with the separate mittens.  I could've done without them, if I had had more with mittens.  The one with mittens is a newborn size, and it has fit her very well.  It's just now starting to get too small at 2 months.  I wish I had more in size 3 months.  I know I need to let her hands go free, and we do sometimes, but she scratches me really bad while breastfeeding, so I like to at least have the option to just fold over the sleeve to cover her nails.

Bringing Sara home from the hospital (left), age 2 months (middle & right).

9. Long-sleeved colored/designed onesies - Sara did not wear any of these.  She could've worn them with jeans, but we didn't really have anywhere to go.  By the time we were using the separate mittens/going without mittens, we started putting her in special Christmas long-sleeved onesies.

10. Long-sleeved colored/designed shirts - Sara wore one of these once, with the newborn shirt underneath before we realized the separate mittens would work.  We probably would've been fine without them.

11. Leggings/jeans - She didn't wear the leggings often, so we probably would've been fine with only 2-3 pairs.  I had a problem with getting clothing from different places/people in that they didn't seem to ever match the shirts.  Many of the leggings I had matched short-sleeved onesies, and it is too cold for short sleeves.  However, she wore her jeans quite a bit.  I had 2 pairs of newborn size jeans, and I could've used maybe one more pair.  As an adult, I have no problem re-wearing my jeans before washing them, but babies tend to drool and spill milk on their clothes, so it would've helped to have duplicates.

Sara smiling in her Christmas long-sleeved onesie, separate mittens, jeans, and lacy socks.

12. Dresses - I only had 2 dresses, both of which I received from a friend, and I was so glad to have them.  I would've been happy to have a third, but I was able to make due by having Sara wear jeans to church sometimes.  Our church is pretty casual, so it's not a big deal to wear jeans.  Sara wore both dresses several times.  Also, I wish I had bought a jean skirt.

Brown polka-dotted corduroy dress (left), pink plaid dress (right).  I even happened to have a matching plaid shirt, so we were twins one day.  :)

13. (a baker's dozen) Fancy dresses - Hanging in the closet, Sara has two fancy dresses, a white one she wore for her baby dedication and a Christmas one.  I haven't found another occasion for Sara to wear the white dress, but I still think it was worth it.  She has actually gotten quite a bit of use out of the Christmas dress by wearing it to various parties.

In conclusion, I would like to try to find what would've been the ideal wardrobe.  This is for a girl born Oct. 13, who is rather petite.
 - 10 size 0 Carters gowns w/ mittens
 - 5 size newborn sleepers w/ mittens
 - 5 long-sleeved white onesies w/ mittens
 - 2 colored/designed sweaters
 - 2 pairs neutral leggings
 - 3 pairs jeans
 - 3 dresses
  - 1 jean skirt
 - 1 fancy dress for dedication
 - 10 pairs regular socks
 - 2 pairs lacy socks
 - 2 pairs white/cream tights
 - 6 pairs separate mittens
 - 2 small winter hats

We also added recently (all size 3 months):
 - 3 long-sleeved colored/designed onesies for Christmas
 - 2 pairs colored/designed leggings for Christmas
 - 1 fancy dress for Christmas
 - 1 big fuzzy coat w/ feet, mittens, & hat all built in

At this point, I am putting away the size 0 Carters gowns, the newborn shirts, and the newborn sleeper.  Our little girl is growing up!

Early 3rd Trimester - August 2016

Well, I decided to completely take the month of July off from tracking my wardrobe.  We were traveling most of the month, so I decided to take something off my plate.  Although, living out of a suitcase for a month could be considered a form of a "capsule wardrobe."  I had ordered quite a few new maternity clothes to be sent to my parents' house.  I made the personal decision that, since we can afford it, I chose the philosophy that I want to feel as much like myself as possible as my stomach grows bigger and bigger.  Only one pair of jeans I had received from a friend fit, so I bought a few pairs of maternity jeans.  I bought a few shirts and tank tops, 2 maxi dresses, and a few sweaters.  I really tried to make sure each piece was a good investment.  I also bought some things that transcend maternity, like a pair of shoes and a new necklace/earring set.  Of course, I brought back a ton of stuff for the baby, as well.

I haven't really taken any outfit pictures lately, and the clothing pictures aren't quite as nice-looking this time.  I pretty much threw the clothes on our kitchen floor (the best white background I have), moved them a bit with my toes, then only bent down once to pick them all up at the end.  Plus, maternity clothes look a bit weird and wrinkled on a flat surface.  :)  But here are a few things I've been wearing lately:

1. New basic navy tank top - Old Navy (super long and comfy)
2. Peach tank top that I've had forever
3. Purple dressy tank I received from a friend
4. Blue t-shirt I received from a friend
5. Pink/white striped t-shirt - Gap
6. Navy/white striped t-shirt (from a friend)
7. & 8. "Magical" brown and teal shirts I bought originally for the 1st trimester

 

1. Denim bermuda shorts - Target

2. Brown gaucho pants I've had forever

3. Dark denim bootcut jeans (from a friend)

4. Distressed straight leg jeans - Target

 

1. Teal/green maxi dress - Walmart in 2012 

2. Dark green maxi dress - Old Navy

3. Grey/white striped maxi dress - Old Navy

 

1. & 2. Birthday present

3., 4., & 5. Necklace/earrings - Kohl's

6. Navy Sketchers (really good for when it rains/gets cooler)

 

These are the only outfits I have recorded wearing, since I started keeping track again 2 weeks ago.  Pretty much I'm wearing my brown flip flops and either the denim bermuda shorts or brown gauchos every day, because it's so hot.  I wore the gold dress sandals for a maternity photo shoot.  I mostly wear the dresses for church, but sometimes on regular days too, because they are just so comfortable when it's hot outside.

The distressed jeans I wore for a weekend retreat in the mountains, where it was much cooler, and I anticipate getting a lot of use out of them as it gets cooler.  I really really like them, because they make me feel like I have even just a smidge of fashion sense during this maternity time, without being over the top.   Also, I'm pretty proud of my sewing skills, because, not only did I hem them, I also put a patch under one of the ripped sections.  For some reason, 2 of the 3 ripped sections came with a patch under them, but the third was just open.  I was paranoid about it getting bigger and the white strings ripping off eventually (which has happened to me before by accidentally putting my foot through a hole while getting dressed).  So, I bought a small pair of cheap little girls jeggings to use as material to sew a patch of stretchy denim underneath.  

I also bought a pair of dark jeggings (not pictured), but honestly I'm not sure if I will wear them much, which is unfortunate.  I bought them to wear when it gets cooler with my tall boots, but they are already hard to get on with my big belly, and with my personal heater, I'm not sure I will get cold enough to wear the tall boots before I deliver.  However, they may still turn out to be great post-partum pants for the winter.  We shall see.

So, those are pretty much my clothing thoughts for the moment.  I'm planning to continue to keep track of what I wear for the remainder of my pregnancy, so I'll probably post again at some point in the next two months.  I'll leave you with a picture from the maternity photo shoot:

What I wore: May/June 2nd trimester

I decided to cut this capsule off a little early for two reasons: it's getting warmer outside and my belly is getting bigger fast!  I know I have a few things I had put aside to wear later, and I'm getting to the point of where I would like to wear them (ex. my super comfy gaucho pants).  But I'll write more about that in another post, after I have picked out my next capsule.

Here are the outfits I have actually worn:

I think my favorite item I received was this purple long-sleeve shirt with ruching.  I wore this 5 times (adding a sweater/removing the scarf as the weather required).

I also really liked this green shirt with lacy detailing.  I also wore it 5 times (again adding scarf/sweater, changing shoes as the weather required).  The only thing I didn't like as much about this shirt is how the black belly band shows at the bottom, and I don't  like how this color looks with black.  Another side note is that I rolled these jeans for a while before I finally got around the hemming them properly.

Even though the "magical top" I talked about in a previous post didn't work out to cover a belly, I have really loved wearing them now.  I wore the teal one 5 times and the brown one 4 times.  I wore both of these shirts with jeans and with a black jersey maxi dress I've had for years.

So far in my pregnancy, I've been able to work in quite a few pieces from my normal wardrobe, such as these shirts.  I've also been wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans with a belly band.  I discovered though, that as my belly is growing, it is more comfortable to just tuck the button part under instead of using the elastic waist extender.

As an alternative to jeans, I recently bought these navy/white striped maternity pants and dug out the green flowy pants I bought in Santorini last year.  As expected, the navy/white pants were way too long, but instead of hemming them normally, I decided to put elastic at the bottom instead.  They are incredibly comfortable, and I think I could probably get away wearing them even not pregnant.  I also have a pair of brown elephant print flowy pants that I have to modify a bit before I can wear them.  These peach and pink shirts I had originally bought for my 1st trimester covering a belly stage, but they are continuing to work well even now.  They are not maternity - I bought them in a size XL so they are roomy.

I've been able to wear these non-maternity dresses I already had in my wardrobe.  The orange/navy chevron stripe maxi probably won't last too much longer, because it's not stretchy, but I think I can definitely get more use out of the other three.  I have a love/hate relationship with that black jersey maxi dress.  On one hand, it's perfect: long, comfy, empire waist, crossover neckline that would be good for breastfeeding later...but on the other hand, it's black.  I bought it several years ago from Old Navy, then eventually put it away because I felt that the empire waist made me look pregnant.  It's perfect now for pregnancy, with a ton of room to grow, but I wish I could find something exactly like it in another color, especially brown.  I do have a similar one in a teal/green print, which I will probably put in my next capsule, but it's not quite as versatile color-wise.  I was also excited to be able to continue to wear the green vest I bought recently as an alternative to scarves.

One major thing I didn't expect with this 2nd trimester dressing is how much I hate having anything pressing on my belly.  I had thought that I would wear a skinny belt up high between my chest and my belly to accentuate that I'm pregnant, not just fat, but I just couldn't tolerate it.  Also, as I said earlier, I stopped using the elastic waist extender on my jeans and just tucked the button part under.  It was all covered up by the belly band either way, so visibly it didn't make much of a difference, but it was infinitely more comfortable.

Honestly, the concept of people not knowing whether or not I'm pregnant hasn't been an issue for me.  Most people here are pretty skinny, so I was asked a few times if I was pregnant even before.  I've also noticed that most pregnant women here don't seem to try to draw attention to their belly.  They just wear looser fitting tops, which is easy for me to do the same thing.  I feel like my belly has gotten big really quickly, and I can't even imagine what it will look like in a few months!  But it's all a beautiful process, and I'm so happy to go through it all for my little girl.

2nd trimester capsule - May/June 2016

Thanks to two sweet local friends, I received quite a bit of maternity hand-me-down clothes.  It took me a while to go through them all, while also going through what I already have to see what could function also as maternity wear.  It's a difficult balance between frugality and wanting to look like myself during pregnancy.  For example, I've written before about how I don't really like wearing black, because it washes me out.  A lot of maternity clothes are black, I assume because it is so slimming and versatile, but I would prefer to keep it to a minimum even in my maternity wardrobe.  However, I am excited to work in some free new clothes, some that are great for my size now and others that will be great later as I get bigger.  I will probably still buy a few things when we go to the US this summer, but I want to plan well to keep it to a minimum.

Today I used a method I've never used before to create my capsule wardrobe for the next month to month and a half.  I just pulled clothes out of my closet and laid them all out on the bed.  I chose things that I feel like I would want to wear right now.  I hope that this capsule works better than my last one!

This is the entire capsule, all laid out on the bed:

 The shirts I picked out are:
1. teal batwing with rouching
2. brown batwing with rouching
3. purple long-sleeve with rouching
4. navy/grey striped long-sleeve
5. cream/navy striped 3/4 sleeve
6. salmon tee
7. white polka dot tee
8. pink tee
9. army green tee w/ lace detail

Pants/Skirts:
1. dark skinny jeans
2. medium wash bootcut jeans
3. black skinny jeans
4. brown leggings
5. brown jersey skirt
6. blue jersey skirt

 Dresses:
1. navy 3/4 sleeve jersey dress
2. teal long-sleeve jersey dress
3. orange/navy chevron stripe maxi

Completer pieces:
1. navy open sweater
2. orange blazer
3. army green vest

Scarves:
I kept the same scarves from my previous capsule.
1. teal
2. pink
3. teal/pink
4. leopard
5. purple
6. orange
7. dark green
8. navy
9. brown
10. navy floral
11. blue/orange




A few other things that have been really helpful during during this time:
1. Bravado nursing bra - stretchy for changing sizes, extremely comfortable, plus will come in handy later.  I bought two of these, and have worn them every single day, since my old bras no longer fit.
http://www.amazon.com/Bravado-Body-Silk-Seamless-Nursing/dp/B000XV7ORI

2. Waist extender - I have just recently started to be unable to button my pre-pregnancy jeans.  This waist extender is really helpful so that I can continue to wear my jeans.
http://www.amazon.com/Belly-Band-Combo-Maternity-Solution/dp/B0010X4F02/ref=sr_1_3?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1462976140&sr=1-3&nodeID=7141123011&keywords=maternity+waist+extender

3. Belly band - I received a belly band from a friend.  I don't know what brand it is, but it is a lifesaver.  It really covers up the unbuttoned jeans and helps hold them up so they don't fall down.