To The Mom Who Is Questioning Herself

With all this Social Media, there is one thing that I've noticed, everything is out there to question your ability to basically be a human being. There are "Life Hacks" for everything. Pinterest has every possible way to make your house, your kids, your family, your marriage, your dinner, and your dog.... Perfect. There are articles at our fingertips that make us question ourselves every day, whether we like it or not. I just want to sit and browse through the Facebook feed and BOOM! "Are you Poisoning Your Child?!" Of course I click on it and it is someone explaining every ingredient in Mac and Cheese that is going to put my kid in a whirlwind of obesity and depression and it is MY FAULT because some days, heaven forbid, I am just too tired to make a well-balanced, every food group called-for meal.

I've also noticed, with myself, I hear and read about "Fat Bashing" "Breast Feeding Bashing" Bottle-Feeding Bashing" "Discipline Bashing" Bash bash bash bash bash... I don't question others, I question myself. So, I am pro-circumcision, does that make me a bad person? I'm pro-vaccination, does that make me a bad person? I don't vacuum my house every day, does that make me a bad person? I question myself as a mom, EVERY SINGLE DAY and the Internet makes it 100 times easier to do so. There are those moms out there whose house is spotless, nothing out of place, her 4 kids are perfectly dressed in ironed clothes, hair in place, she makes all organic meals and carries snacks every where she goes, she drives the perfect black SUV with tinted windows and has the top-of-the-line car seats for all her kids. I'm over here with snot on my shirt, putting my kid in the corner for tying a scarf around his brother and dragging him around the house, making lunch of mac & cheese, trying to get a load of laundry going so the mountain of clothes isn't SO tall, trying to turn on a show on Netflix to entertain the scarf victim while discipline the guilty party. I question myself Every. Single. Day.

How do these mom's do it perfectly?

I am the one that sees others and compares them..... to myself. I'm not keeping my house clean enough, I'm not taking my kids to the park enough, I'm not teaching my children enough. I would wake up every morning and start cleaning. Front of the house to the back.... Before breakfast and a shower. Then, I would keep cleaning. With a 6, 5, and 1 year old in the house, after I was done cleaning, I would start over again because toys would be scattered across the floor in every room.

One day, I decided I was too exhausted to deep clean my house. My kids played, I left the toys. There were dirty dishes, I left them. There was a pile of dirty laundry, I stepped over it. Around 4 PM, I decided to throw a load of laundry in, only to hear a knock at my door and a 'Hello! Just stopped by to say hi!" (My laundry room is at the back of my house) this person walked ALL THE WAY THROUGH my horribly dirty house. The first thing I did.... Apologize for a dirty house. Why!? Because I have been told from different sources that I should always have a clean house, my kid should look perfect.... Not in a diaper and cowboy boots like they were... I was so embarrassed. I couldn't even pay attention to the conversation, I tried to casually pick up toys off the floor while talking. Not that she didn't notice I have three little kids running around... No, in my head my house and life needed to be perfect. How ridiculous! What was I thinking?!

And, then I realized... Who cares?! My kids love me. That is all that matters. Some day I'm going to have a perfectly clean house with beige carpet and a manicured lawn with no trikes on lawn and chalk covering the sidewalks. I'm going to have well-balanced meals and no laundry pile. I'm not going to have my hair thrown up in a messy ponytail. I will have time and money to go to the salon regularly. I will wear make-up everyday, or more than just Sunday mornings. I will have time to sit and read a book quietly in a "reading chair", I will have a quiet conversation with my husband about his day without interruptions, I will go on dates with my husband regularly without tag-a-longs, I will be able to test that new recipe I've been dying to try, I will be able to buy that blouse that is out of my price range and not shop at Goodwill on a regular basis for all my clothes and my kids clothes, I will actually have a realistic grocery budget and not have to scrounge for meals those last 3 days before payday....

But, you know what will be missing? The tiny little giggles and "Mommy, I Love You's", The "Mommy, I want to sleep in your bed tonight" (Which is also an internet no-no.... Co-Sleeping... How dare you!), The little hands who reach up and grab yours, the funny conversations with a 3-year-old, the tiny underwear that come through the laundry that makes me giggle every time because of their size, the pillow fights, the movie nights, the grocery shopping buddies who take up the whole cart, my three sidekicks who keep me going, The kid shows that run continuously which in a way are somewhat entertaining especially when you know every answer on Super Why!.

My kids are going to grow up. They are going to graduate high school. They are going to move on and away. They will be married someday. And, my house will be clean and quiet.... And, I will want ALL of this back, even just for one day. The messy house, the dirty dishes, the Kraft mac and cheese, the co-sleepers, the poopy diapers, the little hugs.

Cherish every moment. You only get them once. Ignore all those stupid articles that make you question yourself as a mom. You are a PERFECT mom for your kids. You are doing the best you can. They love you and wouldn't want anyone else as their mom. Who cares if your house is a mess, your hair hasn't been washed in 3 days, and you know every word to every theme song to every PBS Kids show.....

You are amazing.

Enjoy the chaos!

My Minimalism Journey: One Month In

Well, it's been a month. One month since I decided to declutter my home and life, live with less and minimize the junk in my life. And, there is no looking back. Seriously, my life has changed for the better. I will explain more later, but let me just give you a timeline of what has happened this past month.

Week One: MINIMIZE THE CLUTTER IN MY HOUSE!
This was the week my firefighter husband was gone on a fire. Ha! Little did he know I was getting rid of a TON of stuff. I went through every single room in my house, every single shelf, closet, table, under bed, you name it, I minimized!!!! My goal was to live with less. I asked myself a few questions, 1. When was the last time I used this. 2. Will I need this in the near future. 3. Is this making me happy/helping me/needed in my life.

You would be surprised at how much I got rid of. I donated 9-10 garbage sacks, 5 large diaper boxes, and another large amount of toys and things that didn't fit in a box to the local thrift store. I had an employee come and help me, plus my two boys, to get everything out of the car and donated. I also threw out/recycled 8-10 garbage sacks, plus 2 large recycle bins full of stuff. I'm telling you, I thought I didn't have much in my house, but when I started going through it, I realized I had WAY more that I wasn't using and needed to get rid of.

So, the first week was exhausting, especially since my hubby was gone and I had 3 kids around during the whole process with no other help.

When my husband returned from the fire, late one night, he crept into the laundry room to put his gear by the washer and get things for his shower. He came into the bedroom and said, "I'm not sure what you did in that laundry room, but it's so open and roomy. I feel like I can breathe in there."

Success.

He noticed the change also.

And, our laundry room is just that. Every piece of clothing, towels, sheets, blankets, everything stays in our laundry room. I have dressers set up so it's easier for me to do laundry and fold and sort and put away. So, it gets a little messy in there, let's be honest. But, once I got rid of 8 bags of unused clothing it opened up so much more room!

WEEK 2:

After a long week of exhaustion, I gave myself a little break. The house was literally gutted out and things went back to normal. But, I noticed a few changes.

During the first week I cleaned out my kids bedroom. TOYS TOYS TOYS! Toys in their room, toys in their closet, dress up clothes, shoes, papers, old crayons.... stuff EVERYWHERE!!! They are now down to a small 3 drawer wheeled cart and a small toy box. That's it. They have 3 larger fire engines under a bed and a pop up tent another the other bed, but that's it. Not a lot of toys. Our one year old daughter has her cart in the living room for her toys. She uses 2 drawers, the top one is for controllers, remotes, batteries, etc. But, I realized something the second week....

My kids were playing with their toys MORE!
More!
 More!??
HOW!? It didn't make sense. I get rid of 2/3 of their toys and I thought they would complain and whine. No. They played more with the toys they had. There was less to choose from and it was less chaotic. THEY were more at peace in the house. They were content. Happy. Playing. Less clutter, less stuff makes life better. Even for my little ones.

Week 2 was filled with swim lessons, so the mornings were busy and the afternoons were relaxed.

I began going through paperwork that was shoved in multiple drawers. During week one I didn't want to take the time to thoroughly go through it all, so I put it off. Again, I almost filled our recycle cart with unneeded papers. A shredder is a best friend of mine. Why do bills come with 3 pages of unnecessary junk mail? And JUNK MAIL!? UGH! The hardest decision I made was with my kids schoolwork. I decided that anything that wasn't personal... You know... The letter A written  50 times that we feel the need to hold on to... Gone. I threw it away. I kept the handprint pictures and the little thanksgiving "What I'm Thankful For" art and the important ones, but I got rid of the rest. The random workbooks and papers with doodles. Gone. It was hard, but why was I keeping it? I wasn't going to look back on all of it someday... Just the few I kept. I now have them in manilla envelopes on a shelf and they are all labeled the grades that the schoolwork is from.

Week 3 was a week we went grocery shopping. Since my husband works and we have no family around, I take the kids with me while I shop. They have always done this, so there has never really been an issue with the "I want" "Can I have" stuff. But, we tend to buy stuff we don't need. Especially food items. My next big goal for minimalism is food. We waste food. We don't eat it or it sits on a plate uneaten. It's wasteful and takes a toll on our budget. So, I tried to be more aware of what I was buying.

We spent less money at the store, I told myself "No" to many items that we didn't need and it went much smoother. The kids are on the same page with me with buying less, living with less, Less Stuff More Adventures idea. So, it's very helpful to have them with me. We keep each other accountable.

Week 4 was a short vacation to the beach. Our second little one was turning 5, and he loved the idea of going on an adventure rather than having a party. I LOVED this idea. We didn't have to deal with a ton of presents from a party, we didn't have to buy the goodie bags or the cake and ice cream or the balloons or pinata. We just went to the beach. It was AMAZING! We found a great hotel with a great price and spent two days at the beach. We did go into town to a little toy store where he was able to pick out a toy for his birthday gift. We also took him to an Italian dinner and bought a little cake and candle to celebrate. It was perfect. More memories. Less Stuff.

Within this last week, I decided to start working out again. I used to wake up in the morning and start cleaning. My house was always a mess. There was always clutter. With less stuff, I have less clutter and that means I have more time to do things for myself and for my family. Not just clean and "organize".

When I minimized my stuff I noticed having more time. More energy. More fun. More family time. More adventures.

I know I'm just a month in, but this has literally changed my family's life. It's seriously amazing. It's a  struggle at times, to keep the mindset of less stuff and I recognizing I don't need something when I think I do, but I'm so much happier, so much more content. My anxiety has dropped drastically. My mind is clearer. My husband and I having been reading more books together. We aren't distracted with stuff. I could keep talking more and more about how it has changed us, but I doubt anyone wants to read that.

But, in all, I hope you try this lifestyle. You won't regret it.

Continuing to Minimize! My Dining Room & Our Bedroom

First off, I need to talk randomly for a second.

I thought this process would literally just be getting clutter out of the home and having more room. But, the past few days has been so much more. I completely cleaned and removed SO much stuff from our bedroom today and walking into it every time is so peaceful. It's simple, clean, organized, and fresh. With having half the house in a minimal setting, I feel like I can do so much more during my day. It's like a snow ball effect. At first I was afraid to get rid of things and as time has gone on it's just refreshing to get things completely out of the house and out of our lives.

So, today I was also busy busy busy taking that first step to a minimalist lifestyle. This post is about our dining room and my (And the hubby's) bedroom.

DINING ROOM

My dining room table is NOT a storage space.

This was the SIMPLEST room to complete. I have always had the motto that the dining room table is just for that... Dining. No matter where we lived, our dining room table is used at least 3 times a day for eating. So, nothing is ever on it, except wipes and paper towels (Because I have messy kids...). I just wiped it down and swept around it. Nothing to do in this room. But, I figured I would show it. I love utilizing my dining room as a place to eat, enjoy company, and make memories, not to be a storage space.

Completely clean, ready for a meal to be eaten

MY BEDROOM

Okay, Thank goodness I started in the dining room this morning. Something super easy, no-brainer, and no questions asked. Because once I moved to my bedroom, things changed. It got so much harder to get rid of things.

I started on my bedside table. Seems simple enough. This is supposed to hold my lamp, clock, a few books... but then it started getting water bottles, crayons, bobby pins, nail clippers, legos, coins, a random cord, coloring books, and lots of dust. This thing isn't big.... It's actually really small, but I could stack stuff on that bad boy. It was frustrating at night when I would get into bed because I didn't have anywhere to place anything. I would have to move stuff around, carry stuff to the kitchen, etc. It was NOT a peaceful sanctuary like it should have been.

So, I went for it. Books I have read and will never read again, GONE. My clock that hasn't been plugged in for about a year, GONE. A pickle jar holding odds and ends (bobby pins, change, etc), GONE. All I have on there now is my lamp, a few books I am currently reading and my glasses. Nothing else. I love to drink water at night so I usually have a glass sitting there, which I will remove each morning. Simple. Clean. Organized. So much better. And, I don't miss a single thing I threw away.

Side table, after. I can now enjoy my evening more

I then moved on to my hubby's side table. His actually wasn't as bad as mine. My husband LOVES books. So, that was one thing that I wasn't going to get rid of. There were a few that haven't been read in a long time or that were mine and needed to be gone anyway. He had lots of papers, binders, and random things sitting on it. So, he now has his fan (That he likes to sleep with) on top, and books on the bottom. Simple. Clean. Organized.

Simple. Clean. Organized. Goodbye clutter!

I then moved on to the TV stand (Honestly, a dresser). This holds on one side DVD's, some paper work and cords for different things. It then also held so many different things that I could barely shut the drawers. You know, when you are cleaning and don't want to take the stuff to the trash or you aren't sure what to do with it, so you just shove it in a drawer... Yeah, that stuff. It is now completely organized, and almost empty. Who knew majority of the stuff in there was unneeded JUNK! The other side is our pajamas. I had 2 drawers, one for shirts and one for pants and the hubby has the bottom one for his pajama bottoms. My overflowing drawers are now almost empty because I truly only wore 2-3 of the PJ shirts and about 3 pajama bottoms. No need for 2 drawers. My hubby's drawer is almost empty also because he really only wears a handful of his shorts and the rest were tossed into the donation pile. The top of the dresser holds our TV, a DVD player, our AppleTV and the XBox 360. Clean, clean, clean and nothing that is unneeded.

We have a huge IKEA closet in our room. Stuff falls out of it all the time. We just keep shoving more and more and more stuff into it. I have over 10 sweaters, tons of dresses,  and lots of papers in the drawers. I don't wear 80% of it, making it the reason it's just shoved in there and the hubby's side is the same way. Dress shirts, ties, sweaters, most of them unworn for over a year. I cleaned out and put into the donations 2 diaper sized boxes and 2 garbage sacks full of unused stuff. It's completely gone and out of our lives!

Ready to be boxed up and donated!

I also threw away 3 garbage sacks full of garbage and a huge pile of recycling from the bedroom. I thought my bedroom was semi organized. I would clean it and make the bed every day. I vacuumed twice a week, but everything was just hidden. Now, everything is gone and it's so clean and freeing.

Today was harder than the last couple days. I like to hold on to items. But, once they were gone it's not like I missed them. I felt more calm and at peace. Like a weight being lifted off my shoulders. Not being held down by my stuff anymore. It was an awesome feeling.

I am loving this first step to a minimalist lifestyle. I know I'm just in the beginning stages of it, but it is feeling so good already.

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My Minimalism Journey: The Living Room!

First of all, I should have said this before...

I am not a professional organizer. I am not an interior designer. We don't have lots of money. I am not a good home decorator. I am just a normal mom who wants to clean up my house, minimize the clutter, organize my life, and feel more at peace with my daily life without my STUFF holding me down. 

So, when you see the pictures of my home, it's just a basic home of a family of three little ones. I'm not the one who thinks my photos will EVER be in a magazine. NONE of my furniture is new. It's mostly all hand-me-downs and second hand. We make it work. So, that being said....

I decluttered my living room!

We have a TINY house. Well, it's not super tiny. We all fit. But, with 5 of us living here, the living space seems smaller than it really is. I think after minimizing the clutter in my home, it will make it feel much bigger and the space more useful. 

I started my cleaning with the toy drawers. We have a plastic, rolling 3 drawer cart in our living room that holds toys. The top drawer is for the X-box games and controllers, remotes, batteries, and chargers. This was overflowing with junk. When someone needed batteries, they would open the package and leave it there. Multiple packages and scratched old DVD's that no one watches, and random wrappers that someone shoved in there. Completely cleaned out. The bottom two drawers are for our one-year-old's toys. We made a decision a couple months ago, before fully immersing ourselves into the minimalism journey to have a cart of drawers for each kids toys. Just enough for them to have toys to play with but little enough that my house wasn't consumed by toys. Her two drawers had so many random things in there that toys were sitting next to the cart, not able to fit in. I got rid of about 8 stuffed animals, some musical books that didn't work anymore, baby toys she was too old for and broken toys. I put her doll house and blocks on top. Those are the toys she plays with and whatever doesn't fit in the drawers doesn't stay. She does have her little ride-on toy that is sitting next to it, and she rides that multiple times a day. 

From cluttered to organized!

My little corner of the living room was what I was dreading the most. I do most of my photography work sitting in this little corner next to a table that holds everything I need. But, things just keep getting added. Old, dried up pens, water bottles, opened envelopes, an old laptop I don't use anymore. This TINY table was stacked with CRAP! I cleaned it up, wiped it down and put the essentials on it. Everything else went into the trash. (Except the old laptop that I may need later, that went into the closet). Underneath the table is the diaper basket. Diapers, wipes, creams. Again, as time went on the basket was filled with dried up wipes, binkies, paper, shoes, and I just shoved them aside to get a diaper. No more. Completely cleaned out and organized. Everything else was thrown away. Into the dumpster outside. Never to come back!

Clean and organized side table! Much more functional!

I have two other side tables that have cupboards in them. I would love to eventually get rid of them. I don't use the cupboards (I cleaned them completely out and found Christmas catalogs in them) and they are old and falling apart. But, again, we don't have the money for it, and they are functional, so here they sit. Cleaned out, wiped down and nothing in them. Clutter... GONE! 

I vacuumed, swept and mopped the floors. Within minutes the kids had toys on the floor, but it's called a living room for a reason. However, having the extra clutter cleared out of the room, made it feel less overwhelming when they had toys out. 

Living room, DONE!

Again, I am NOT a professional at this. My house isn't Better Homes and Gardens material. I don't know how to "Stage" a house to make it look trendy. Just a mom with 3 littles with a basic, ordinary house, trying to make things calmer, more peaceful, and less CLUTTERED! 

I'm really enjoying this journey. I thought it would be much harder than it actually is. These rooms have been the easier ones, but I'm excited to keep going.

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My Journey To Minimalism: Decluttering my entry closet

Decluttering my entry and entry closet. Doesn't sound too hard right? Not much there to organize, so I thought.

Our front closet is where majority of ours shoes go. I try to "Organize" it every few months but it always seems that it is overflowing with shoes, hats, coats, and random items all year long. So, to minimize, I followed a few things:

1. We need 3 pairs of shoes: Sandals, Tennis shoes and dress shoes.

This obviously will change throughout the year when weather changes, and with 5 of us in our family I added some wiggle room. I have winter boots for all of us that are pushed to the back. We obviously wouldn't be wearing those in the next 3 months, but we WILL be using them in the winter, and we don't have the money to buy new ones. One reason to do this was to save money, and that wouldn't be a money saver. But, 3 pairs of shoes, Sandals, tennis shoes, and dress shoes.

My husband LOVES shoes. He has a (Small) collection of shoes. This is one area where there is NO wiggle room for him. And, seriously, he wears all his shoes on a weekly basis. He loves tennis shoes and has about 8-10 pairs... and wears them all. So, his shoes are off limits. But, I did clean out some old ones of his that haven't been worn in about a year.

3 pairs of shoes per person sounds like nothing, but that's at least 15 pairs of shoes in that small closet. With a family of 5, that adds up. It may not look super organized, but it is definitely minimizing our clutter.

Before decluttering the shoes!

2. Each person only needs 1 hat (Except my husband, he has 2)

The next step was to clean off the coat rack (Which is minimal in July) and the shelf above. How did we accumulate so many hats? I narrowed it down to one hat per child, because they only have one they like anyway, and put the rest in a donation box. On the top of the closet was also soccer shin guards (Which will be used in the fall, and we have a tiny house so there is no where else to store them), work gloves, and seasonal door decorations (I have one small door decoration for each season and store them there...again, small house, not a lot of storage). Coats that don't fit any of us were added to the donation box and I kept the two umbrellas because those are used on a daily basis when the kids go to school in the winter. We now have room for each of our coats to hang in a few months and place to put our hats when we come inside.

Coat rack and shelf before

I always think of myself as an organized person, but I realized I was just moving my clutter from one place to another, making it look nice in pretty stacks and cute boxes and I was accumulating more every day. I kept having to tell myself not to put things back because "Someone may need this, someday" or "We were given this from so-and-so" or "I got a really good deal on this!". No. If it's not being used, I'm getting rid of it. There is no reason we need 10 hats in the closet when there are only 5 of us. Especially when majority of them didn't fit. It feels good to not "Organize" the clutter but to actually get rid of the clutter. I don't think I will miss a single article that I got rid of.

After

Obviously, with 3 kids and 2 adults in the house, it's not going to look completely "Minimalistic". There is still lots of stuff in a tight space. But, getting down to a third of what was shoved in there, feels so good. I can now just grab my shoes and go.


ENTRY WAY

The entry way in our house is connected to the front closet. The entry never really gets too cluttered, BUT we do have a chest on the floor that I shove stuff in and on. I completely cleaned it out. I left a couple photo albums and picture frames that I don't have a place for right now, but other than that, it's completely cleaned out. The top is cleaned off and the only thing is envelopes that need to go out the next time I leave the house. This area will be used for keys, purses, and things that need to be grabbed before we head out of the house.

Completely clean and rid of clutter

This first step was a pretty easy one. Getting rid of shoes and hats and items we haven't used in the last year was pretty simple. My box of donations is full and my trash can is overflowing with clutter. Things are leaving my house and not coming back. Minimizing the clutter just in these two places has made me feel calmer already.

On to the next room: The living room. Eek! This one may be a little harder. Stay tuned.

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My Journey To A Minimalist Lifestyle

Minimalism. What is it? Why have I chosen to take this step? Will it help my life?

We shall see.

What is the definition of Minimalism: Living without clutter. Living with the essentials and getting rid of the extra unneeded items around you. Getting rid of things in your life that are holding you down and not letting you reach your full potential.

Sounds super "Hippie", right? I never thought of myself as someone who would jump on a bandwagon for anything, but I feel like this is more than just getting rid of some unwanted shoes, it's literally freeing up so much clutter in my life, that I don't need, and actually doing things with my family, going on adventures, saving money, realizing what's important in life and finding happiness with less stuff around me.

How did I get here?

Why do I have so much stuff in the first place?

I think, for me, there are three reasons why I have so much stuff. Throughout the years I just accumulate stuff and the amount that was entering the house was matching what was leaving. More and more and more stuff came into my life and not much was leaving. The three reason I think I hold on to stuff is this:

1. Sentimental value. I don't want to get rid of it. Someone gave it to me or it reminds me of some memory. Or, I bought it (Clothing) and someday I may perhaps wear it or need it, even though I haven't needed it in the past 5 years.

2. Guilt. When someone gives me a gift, I feel like I have to hold on to it, even if I can't use it, it's not my style, or it's just something that would get shoved to the back of the closet. And, that's just what happens. I feel too guilty to throw it away, donate it, or re-gift it, that I hold onto an item that means nothing to me and just takes up space.

3. Laziness. Let's be honest. This is a big one. I don't want to take the time or energy to actually go through everything, load it in my car and donate it. I will get it in a box. The box will sit in a corner for a year and the unwanted items will go NO WHERE!

I'm feeling held down by stuff. With three kids, I am constantly cleaning and rearranging. And, partly that is because we have way too much stuff. Toys that aren't played with, movies we will never watch, books that will never be read, blankets that are shoved in a closet, appliances that go unused for years. I'm overwhelmed by STUFF! And, I'm ready for change.

So, this is my journey. I'm going from clutter to minimalism.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not moving my family into a tiny house or only having 2 pairs of underwear, but I'm getting down to the basics. The things we need to live. My kids don't need ALL those toys. I don't need ALL those clothes. I'm freeing myself from all this clutter and stuff and giving myself and my family more freedom for adventures and experiences rather than spending time, money and energy on stuff.

Keep up with my journey, if you would like. It may be a bumpy one, but I think in the end, I will be a calmer, less anxious, freed-from-clutter person!

To learn more about minimalism, check out this website.
http://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism/
I watched their documentary on Netflix and was ready for change. Obviously, not to the extreme of some of these people, but enough to free me from clutter.  

7 Ways We Survive Road Trips With Littles

Summer Vacation. Road Trip season is upon us. We look forward to these trips for months, and then the inevitable comes into realization. We are going to be spending many hours in a car with our three kids to get to our destination.

Our kids, ages 6, 4, and 1, have traveled quite a bit in their short lives. We live 10 hours away from our families, so we are on the road multiple times a year to visit them, or to take different family vacations. Driving is cheaper, you can pack more, you have more flexible with time... But, it's much longer in a confined space with kids than an airplane ride.

My husband and I feel like with have road trips down to an art. Of course, there are ALWAYS hiccups along the way. Something will most likely go wrong. But, if you are prepared enough those hiccups won't seem like earthquakes in the moment.

Here are our 7 ways we survive (And enjoy) road trips with our kids:

1. DVD PLAYER, TABLETS & LOTS OF MOVIES!!!!

I'm not going to pretend I'm the anti-screen mom. When you are in a car with kids for more than a couple hours, a DVD player, a tablet, or something of that sort with lots of movies to watch is a must. Yes, I limit my kids' screen time at home. But, whatever keeps them occupied and quiet and happy in the car for long hours, is a must. So, seriously... bring out the portable DVD player, if you car doesn't have one built in, get the DVD's in a case and charge those tablets. Our car doesn't have a built in DVD player. We found a really cool holder than sits in between the front seats' head rests, so everyone can see the movie.

Also, with movies, you figure a normal movie lasts 1 1/2 to 2 hours long. Don't tell your littles that you will be there in 4 hours. Tell them, "You need to watch 2 movies and then we will be there." They will understand that much easier. Our kids understand 5-6 movies and then we will be at grandma and grandpas house!

2. SNACKS, DRINKS, & TOY BAG!!!!

All our kids are still in booster/car seats. So, their legs are still pretty short. We take advantage of this. There is extra storage space under those feet for the essentials. We drive an SUV. So, under one kids feet, we have the toy bag. This bag is filled with small toys, color books and snack sized zip lock of crayons, that they get to choose that they are allowed to play with. We have the rule that it can't make noise. So, dolls, action figures, animals, etc. Nothing noisy. Under the middle seat (Usually where our oldest who can work the DVD player and who we trust with the snacks sits), is the snack bag. I put everything into snack sized zip-lock bags so if there is  a spill, it's not a big one. We always bring cheese crackers, fruit snacks, bananas, mini muffins, and granola bars, Behind the middle seat (the oldest) we have a small, easy to open, cooler. This is filled with ice and drinks (Capri Suns, water bottles, a half gallon of milk, and drinks for mom and dad) This is also filled with perishable snack/meal food. Depending on how long we plan on driving for the day we may throw some sandwiches, cheese sticks, Lunchables, apple slices, or anything else to tide them over.

In the front seat with me (I usually ride passenger, while the hubby drives) I have multiple plastic grocery sacks in the car door holder. I fill this with all trash and whenever we stop, I toss it and pull out a new one. It keeps things clean and organized and the kids know just to pass the wrappers up to me when they are finished. Keeps everything running smooth.

I also carry in the center console or the glove box, GALLON SIZED ZIP LOCK BAGS! Essential! We sometimes have a kid that gets car sick. A gallon zip lock will most likely hold all the mess, and it zips shut and so nothing can get out and it keeps the smell down. I constantly carry 3-4 in the car no matter what, but I really stock up before a long road trip.

3. ORGANIZATION!!!!!

Some people like to "wing it" when it comes to road trips. When you have littles, winging it is the worst thing that you can do. We've done it, we failed, and now we over organize and our travels run much smoother. It's like night and day.

Be completely organized. No matter how you like to pack your bags, I personally put the boys clothes together, my daughter and I share a bag, and the hubby has his own bag (For clothing)... This is all because of the size of suit cases we own. Those always go into the back of the trunk, because we don't really need them until we arrive, and it conveniently props up the cooler.

 We then have an "Overnight bag" "Essentials Bag" and "Toiletry Bag" that sits at the front where its easily accessible.

The overnight bag is filled with a change of clothing and pj's for each person. You never know if and when you will need to stop for the night. Plans may change. You may have a flat tire or car trouble and you have to stay the night somewhere. Nothing feels better than not having to pull out every suit case to stay overnight somewhere and you just grab the overnight bag. This has happened to us before, and we didn't have the bag and it was a mess. We've done it when we had the bag and it made life so much easier.

The "essentials bag" holds diapers, wipes, pull-ups, extra blankies, binkies, extra sippy cups.... The "essentials". Even though I have that stuff in my purse up front, I never know when I will need a quick swap.

The "Toiletry Bag" kind of goes hand in hand with the "overnight bag". Grab and go. All our toiletries in one spot, no searching, everything at our fingertips.

I love using fun canvas bags. They are reusable, sturdy, and can be washed.  

4. HAVE A SET PLAN!!!!

Plans change, yes, but when you have a plan set, it makes things easier. Especially when you can tell your kids, "We have 2 more hours and then we are stopping for dinner! We are going to have pizza tonight at a fun restaurant called Mo's Pizza!" They know the plan, you know the plan, it's awesome. This is one reason I love having a smart phone. We can really know what time we will be in what town and then I can google restaurants in the area. I can even look up their menu's to see if it's what we like and read reviews. And, if all the kids are in a good mood we can semi choose a restaurant together.

We plan most things around meal time and sleep time. If we have to leave in the afternoon, we have a light lunch before heading out somewhere, we will most likely get a good 2-3 hours of napping kiddos and then it's a snack in the car and a couple movies before we stop for dinner.

If you kids are lousy road trippers, plan on leaving a couple hours before dinner time. Play a movie, stop for dinner, then they will fall asleep for the rest of the trip. We've done this before (Because of scheduling) and our kids slept most of our 8 hour trip. We got to our hotel at 12:30 AM, slipped them into bed (we had them in pj's before we left) and it went smooth.

Have realistic expectations for your kids. If you know they don't like the car, stop half way through the trip for the night. Don't get upset with them. Stay calm. You getting upset and yelling won't make the trip any better and everyone will be on edge, making the environment in the car uncomfortable.

Sometimes you just have to power through. You have 2 hours until you get to the hotel for the night, but the toddler is screaming? You gotta do what you gotta do. The driver drives and the co-pilot entertains. I've twisted my body in the strangest positions to hold my one year old's hand to keep her calm for an hour and a half. I was achy and my arm fell asleep, but I did what I needed to do to keep everyone comfortable and calm and keep the car environment peaceful.

5. POTTY TRAINING TOILET!!!!

You know the potty training toilets that sit on the floor? Invest in one and stick it in the back where you can grab it easily. We've had many side-of-the-road poops with the littles. They do their business, throw the business off to the side into the grass or bushes, rinse with bottled water, wipe with a baby wipe and use a gallon zip lock to hold the used wipe. This, obviously isn't for Interstate Freeway driving. You don't want to stop on the side of the freeway to do this. But, we've pulled off the off ramp, stopped on a county road, set them up in the back of the Explorer, let them do their business, clean them up and go. There is no searching for a gas station or rest stop, there is no uncomfortable going potty in a weird bathroom, there's no temptation of having to buy something at the place you stop. Seriously, we have used this potty so much. Some trips we don't use it at all, but when you need it, it's so worth it to have it right there and ready.

6. COMFORTS OF HOME

Our kids have neck pillows. These are AMAZING for road trips. They can nap without their heads turning down and causing them to be uncomfortable, they can sit them on their laps and use it as a table to color or eat on, they are great! We always bring a small lap blanket. Even if it sits at their feet the whole trip, it's still nice to have if they want to cuddle up with a blankie and take a nap. They always bring their fave stuffed animal also, Their "lovey's". A comfort to hold on to. If the kids are comfortable, you are comfortable, and the trip is easier.

7. DON'T ARGUE!!!

Last, but not least, don't argue. Know your jobs before the trip starts, have the GPS going, and keep conversations lighthearted. A long road trip isn't a time to get in a heated debate and argument over some stupid issue. Nothing makes a road trip worse than tension. I know my job and the hubby knows his. He drives and keeps track of time and where we are supposed to be and when. I keep track and entertain the kiddos. If he needs me to tell him where to turn, I do. No complaining or arguing. If I miss telling him where to turn, I apologize and help correct the error. If he messes up with something, he apologizes and we work together, calmly. Arguing will not make the trip quicker or smoother. Staying calm and knowing your job will. Suck up the pride, stay level headed and do what needs to be done.

We love to have deep conversations during trips. It's helps get through listening to Toy Story 3 again. But, if it gets heated or we disagree, we stop, pause, and move on to another subject. Our kids don't want to hear it, we don't want them to be uncomfortable listening to it, and we want to show our kids that mom and dad work together as a team and do things mature, calm, and level-headed.

There are so many other small things that we do to survive road trips, but I think those are the biggest ones. Road trips can be so much fun. Sight seeing, stopping to take a picture by a monument, finally arriving to the destination. The journey there doesn't have to be hell. It can go smooth. Just remember to stay SUPER organized, stay calm, and have a set plan!

Have any other tips!? I would love to hear them! Leave me a comment!!!
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