Keepsake Organization Part I: Family Yearbooks

What a labor of love and a long time coming. Our family yearbooks are finally here! I set out to make these happen a few years ago after seeing my friend Melanie share hers, but I knew I needed to get caught up after doing a complete overhaul of my digital + iPhone photo organization, changing my mindset around taking photos of my children, and really getting serious about those photos being our family’s legacy – not just taking up space on my phone.

Twenty years from now, our kids won’t be scrolling through our phones to revisit their childhood memories. We NEED tangible memories – and to narrow it down so they’re not burdened with an overload of photos.

I cover all the details of how I manage and store my personal photos on this blog, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but part of my system includes copying my iPhone photos onto my external hard drive (and a backup drive and the cloud) at least once a month. As I’m doing that, I go ahead and pick some favorites from that set of photos to save for our annual yearbook. This makes it super easy at the end of the year because we already have our very favorites saved and ready to go.

Why I Chose mPix for Our Family Yearbooks

After lots of research and even starting an account to test things out on four different websites (Artifact Uprising, Milk Books, Blurb, and mPix), I ended up choosing mPix to create our yearbooks. Artifact Uprising’s products are gorgeous but a book the same size and same number of pages was more than twice the cost of mPix. I also very much preferred mPix’s layout options and the ease of their drag and drop features over any of the others.

TIP: If you do an mPix book and want the most easily customizable pages, choose “Empty Page” as you’re building out your spreads, then drag and drop the photos you want onto that page, then change the layout if needed. Way faster!

Product Information for our MPix Family yearbooks

I went with the 11x8.5” Premium Linen Hardcover photo book, in the color Sand, with silver foil debossing on the front cover, and a dust jacket. I really would’ve preferred our last name and year foil stamped on the spine itself, but that option was super hard to find on any website in my price range. I ended up loving the dust jackets anyway! I chose a photo from the beginning-ish and end-ish of each year.

Doing a landscape layout meant I could fit more portrait-oriented photos on each page, plenty big but still with plenty of white space so it’s not too overwhelming. I did 3-6 photos per page for the most part.

These books come with 20 pages – ours ended up with 35-45 pages each (about 250 photos per year), so the extra pages, plus debossing and dust jackets made them about $120 a piece. I think these are WELL worth the cost. The quality is incredible – the cover is gorgeous and sturdy, the matte pages are beautifully printed and THICK – almost like cardstock. Plus, mPix usually runs a 40% off sale every first week of January, or you can get 25% off your first order any time.

Helpful tips for creating family yearbooks

Double check that whichever website you’re using has an auto-save feature and if not, save your work after each page – mPix does not have auto-save and I learned that the hard way, unfortunately!

Beware of issues with HEIC images (what your iPhone probably defaults to). None of the websites I tried accept HEIC photos, so you’ll have to convert to JPEG (use this website to convert several at once, or you can open one in Preview on a Mac and Export it as a JPEG). HOWEVER – when you convert from HEIC to JPEG, the image loses its original date taken info, so keeping things in chronological order was a complete mess. From now on, I’ve changed my phone settings to capture everything in JPEG (Settings, Camera, Formats, Most Compatible).

Another tip – make a Shared Album with your spouse to house your favorites/best of the best, so their favorites from their phone get included. I’d been keeping track of my favorites all along but getting caught up on five years’ worth of books meant Andrew had to go back and look through five years of photos on his phone and pick out his favorites, too. Having him put them in our Shared Album will make things easier from now on.

We’ll also do a Shared Album for videos that’ll make our yearly family movies even easier, too. For these, I just drag and drop all of our videos from each year into iMovie and it automatically puts them in the right order and makes a compilation. No transitions, no fancy editing, just all of our favorite videos from the year strung together to make one 30-45 minute movie. It’s so easy but such a treasure!

Thoughts on Quality over Quantity

Honestly, I haven’t been taking as many photos of my kids these days. They’re little busybodies, and while I want to remember these days, I also want to cherish them as they’re happening and not have my phone or my big camera in their face constantly. I took about 650 total photos and videos on my phone in 2023 – there’s no magic number, but narrowing down 250 favorites from those was tough enough, and we still ended up with beautiful yearbooks full of photos that make us smile.

No Matter What – Print your Photos

These yearbooks are incredibly special to us and I know will be cherished for a lifetime, and hopefully beyond. Whatever you do, no matter how you choose to do it, whether it’s monthly Chatbooks, big yearly albums, a combination of both, or even just regularly printing 4x6s of your favorite iPhone photos and putting them in an old-school album – print your photos. It’s so worth it!

How I Organize Our Important Family Documents

If you know me or you’ve followed along for a while, you know how deep my love runs for all things organization. Today I’m sharing how I organize our most important family documents – things like legal documents, taxes, insurance, and medical bills. Everyone has their own system for this – just sharing what’s worked for us and what’s helped keep the paperwork under control over the years.

My Filing Rules

When it comes to important papers, I have two rules. One: do something about it NOW. Whether that’s paying the bill (when feasible of course), calling customer service, filing away a paper where it actually should go – don’t put it off. Deal with it as soon as possible as things come in.

And two: if there's also an email/online copy (utility bills, most receipts, etc., something I could print if I needed to) I don't keep a paper copy. Sign up for e-statements and auto-pay, auto-archive those bills to an email folder so they never even hit your inbox, and read/toss the papers that come in the mail. There are rare instances where I do like to have paper copies, or multiple copies, of things, but for the most part, I want these things on auto-pilot so I’m NOT wasting time messing with actual papers.

Our Fireproof File Boxes

I keep our important family documents in a fireproof file box like the ones below (scroll through the widget below to see options - our heavy duty one is from Walmart, another great fireproof option with extra pockets is on Amazon), with colored hanging folders and tri-cut manila folders. We actually have two boxes – one is not quite enough room to hold everything for our family, but the peace of mind from having these things safely tucked away is worth it.

How I Color Code Our Files

A pack of hanging file folders with FIVE colors (like these!) makes it so easy to color-code these things. Here’s how I handle ours!

BLUE = LEGAL

This section includes things like passports, birth certificates, immunization records, social security cards, wills, powers of attorney, advanced directives, and business formation documents. This may sound morbid, but having an attorney for a husband and a funeral director for a father-in-law (they’ve seen some drama when it comes to these things), I cannot emphasize to you enough the importance of having an estate plan, which includes things like wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives in place – especially if you are married and ESPECIALLY if you have children. The complications your family members will have to deal with (or fight over) if you don’t have specific plans in place… just not something you want to burden your loved ones with. You do not have to have a large or complicated “estate” to be worthy of having an estate plan – these things are for EVERYONE.

Texas friends – if you do not have these things in place, Andrew and I highly recommend our attorney friend Marley Elliott! She’s helped us with all sorts of things, from estate documents to business formations. She’s super great at explaining things in an easy-to-understand way, very fairly priced, and can do everything remotely.

GREEN = FINANCIAL

This is where I file anything credit card-related (disputes/payoff records, but not statements – opt for e-statements, always), retirement/investment account documents, 3 years of tax returns, and any loan/line of credit documents.

YELLOW = HOME

The yellow folders house anything related to our home, including property taxes (these could also go in Green but since these are more “active” tax documents, I put them here), lease/purchase/refinance documents and anything real estate-related. I save home repair invoices here and receipts for major purchases (furniture/appliances). I also keep a couple of copies of a recent utility bill, as these are needed occasionally. Otherwise, all utilities are handled online!

RED = INSURANCE

All things home/life/auto/health insurance go here! I have a separate file for each family member's medical bills and explanations of benefits (EOBs) for the last 3 years. Definitely keep your EOBs for a while (this is one thing I do prefer to keep hard copies of, in addition to online copies) – I’ve learned hard and expensive lessons there.

Always, always compare your medical bills to what the EOBs said would be covered, and do not be afraid to call and advocate for yourself. Doctors’ offices make billing mistakes (intentionally or not, at the expense of patients who aren’t paying close attention) ALL. THE. TIME.

If any family member has a significant medical procedure, I keep all documents and bills related to that in a separate file. And on that note, I keep all pregnancy/delivery-related bills and EOBs in a separate file for each baby.

I only keep the current and one most recent previous car and home insurance policy – if our coverage changes, I like to have one previous record to compare it to, but that’s about it. No need to keep years’ worth of those things.

ORANGE = OTHER

This is where I keep things like job records (offer letters, contracts), vehicle purchase and maintenance records, charitable giving records, veterinarian records, and hobby-related things like membership documents and large purchase receipts. School records (report cards, transcripts, etc.) are kept in our kids’ personal keepsake file boxes. Read more about those HERE!


If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the never-ending influx of paperwork, I hope this was helpful! Obviously every family’s will look a little different. Just having a specific place for things to GO makes a difference in keeping clutter under control so it doesn’t pile up, on the counter or on your to-do list. If you’re on a decluttering mission this year, taking care of tasks related to these things and safeguarding this kind of documentation would be my number one place to start.

Shop all of our important document organization items, all in one place, HERE.

Favorite Buys of 2023

Recapping my favorite buys throughout the year – I had some specific items and categories I wanted to focus my shopping efforts on in 2023, and some unexpected wins too. Here’s what I loved the most!

JEWELRY

Monica Vinader oval pendant + Amazon adjustable gold chain | after getting rid of a LOT of old/outdated jewelry (looking at you, Kendra Scott earrings), I was on the hunt for a few gold jewelry staples. This engraved oval necklace is my new everyday necklace and after searching high and low for a gold pendant I could do 3 lines of engraving on, I love how this one turned out. They include 2 sides of engraving, so I did our wedding year + the kids’ birth years in roman numerals on the front and home team on the back in script – it’s so special to me! With the 14-24” adjustable chain I can move it so the pendant hangs at just the right spot no matter what I’m wearing.

Brinker + Eliza heart necklace | I’ve loved this statement piece (stacks well too) – it would also be a great piece to engrave!

Julie Vos Savoy hoops | Became a big Julie Vos fan this past year. I’m eyeing more of her pieces but wide gold hoops like these had been on my wish list for a while and these fit the bill. Lightweight and good backings so they stay tight against your earlobe.

clothing

Joyspun t-shirt bra | A $13 Walmart find — no wires or seams but makes ‘em look alive without being a push-up. A winner!

Banana Republic wide-leg jeans | If you have wider hips/bigger thighs like me, these are worth a try. Not too tight, not too baggy. I got the black wash and this dark wash denim pair – love the raw hem and the pocket placement is perfect. (BR does come in Petite and Tall but I’m 5’10” and their talls are too long on me, FYI).

BEAUTY + FACE

Revision Brightening face wash | Magic. It truly does brighten your complexion immediately! A little goes a long way – it took me several months to finish a bottle using this every single morning.

Alpyn BHA Liquid Exfoliator | Added this to my routine in the spring (a bottle will last you 6+ months) after reading the insanely good reviews and have zero regrets. It’s helped with texture and tone so much! I rotate between this and my beloved Luna Oil.

Merit makeup | I’d been wanting to try a cream based makeup routine and liked that Merit had cleaner ingredients, but I was impressed by how smoothly it glides on and how glowy it makes my skin look. I got the Minimalist (complexion corrector) in Bisque, Flush Balm (blush) in both Stockholm and Beverly Hills, Day Glow (highlighter) in Cava, Bronze Balm in Clay, Tinted Lip Oil in both Au Naturel and Jeté, and their brush. I wouldn’t put it in the longwear category, but for a daytime routine that looks incredible natural or a glowy, pigmented nighttime look, it’s worth a try!

THE tortoise sunglasses | These are all over Instagram but dangit, they’re a classic look and for $30, feel really nice. I got rid of every pair of sunglasses I owned except these and my favorite aviators from two years ago – they’re all I wear!

HOME

Let’s Love to Cook | I could not stop talking about Larson’s resources all year long because they truly have changed my life. Sounds dramatic but really, using her cookbooks has helped me to ENJOY cooking with confidence and not be intimidated by the process of making from-scratch, hearty, healthy meals for my family. Cooking with my kids became a regular thing in 2023 thanks to LLTC. And the pre-made meal plans and grocery lists are just a no-brainer. Can’t say enough good things!

Silpat reusable baking sheet | Eliminates the need for cooking spray, parchment paper, etc. With all the things I’ve been making and baking (see above) this was a must.

Label maker | A tiny but mighty winner for my home organization efforts in 2023. Works with an easy-to-use phone app.

Locket frame | As soon as I opened this frame, I immediately bought another one for another room. Gorgeous! Comes in antique gold too if that’s more your vibe.



KIDS

Karaoke set | This thing is so fun! Has bluetooth so you can play any song from your phone, and it’ll turn down the artist’s voice so you can sing karaoke, or you can just play it like normal and sing along (comes with 2 mics). Our kids have loved it but it would make an awesome gift for any age or great to have if you’re throwing a party.

Tangle teezer brush | So good I bought two to have on hand. Frizzy + fine little girl hair has met its match.

Personalized dry erase board | I bet Steele wrote her name 487 times this past year thanks to this. Bought a few for gifting, too!

Raising Emotionally Strong Boys | One I’ll read again and again as the boys get older. So much wisdom and practical advice for all age groups (lots of validation and answers for moms of toddlers) but especially relevant for mamas of elementary-age boys. I really enjoyed this one.


Still loving everything on my 2022 list, too – there’s some good ones on there. I’d love to hear if you have any of these and love them as much as I do!

Brothers Turn Two | Little Blue Truck Birthday Party

Another year, another book-themed birthday party for our boys. Last year, it was one of my favorites – this year, it was theirs! They’d been requesting to read every book from the Little Blue Truck series (we now own all of them) so much throughout the summer that we had to put them away for awhile (IYKYK). But when it was time to start planning, I knew they’d love a Little Blue Truck theme and knew it would be an easy one to DIY!

You can shop everything from this Little Blue Truck party all in one place HERE on LTK.

I found the sweetest watercolor Little Blue Truck invitation template on Etsy, along with matching milestone posters that I thought would be cute to hang and let guests read a little spotlight on each of our boys. Both templates were super easy to edit online and I had everything printed at Office Depot. Click below to shop Little Blue Truck party invitations and designs!

I’m a sucker for some punny party food labels, so for our Little Blue Truck themed party food, we served:
–Cow patties (chocolate cookies)
–Truck tires (Oreos)
–Hay bales (Rice Krispie treats)
–Chicken feed (Chex mix)
–Pitchforks & shovels (forks & spoons)
–Fresh produce (fruit tray and burger fixin’s)
and a fillin’ station (drinks).

I saw the dump truck full of chips idea on Pinterest – a little sticky tack rolled up in a ball held the bin at just the right angle and voila! And if you’re wondering why the dump truck – there’s a very grumpy dump truck that Little Blue Truck ends up befriending in the original story.

We ordered a lemon blueberry cake from a local baker (my husband’s idea – he said “lemon blue” for “Little Blue” just made sense lol) and I had her keep it simple on top so I could use a few of our farm animal toys as cake toppers. I love how it turned out!

The big hit of the party was a surprise we saved for after burgers and cake – our guest of honor! I thought it would be a long shot to find someone local with an old blue truck they’d be willing to bring over for the party, but knew if anyone had the connections to make it happen, it’d be my father-in-law. Sure enough, he knows a classic car enthusiast with the perfect “little blue truck” who was more than willing to drive it over from the next town for us for the afternoon. So kind of them.

The boys were starstruck – Shep was nervous to sit inside but Hayes was SO pumped. They got to go for a ride around the culdesac in the truck bed and “drive” in the driveway and had the biggest time. The adults enjoyed checking out the ‘58 Chevy, too!

Felt like this was a little glimpse into my future – I’ll need every bit of the 14 more years before they’re actually driving to mentally prepare!

Their personalized Little Blue Truck shirts were another Etsy find – the seller was so great to work with and I was really impressed with the quality of the design and the screen printing. I love that they’re not necessarily “birthday” shirts, and I sized up, so they’ll be able to wear them quite a bit! They also got these Little Blue Truck pajamas – such a hit.

Such a sweet day celebrating our big two-year-olds with family and friends. Time sure has flown with these boys and the days only get more fun! We love you, brothers!

My Deep Cleaning Rotation

Keeping things organized is just part of my nature. Always has been. Keeping things clean… not so much. I’ve never cared as much about cleanliness as I have about edited and simplified spaces, but as a mom with three little ones and a big dog running around creating messes all day long, clean is a higher priority now.

Of course we have our daily cleaning routines — running the dishwasher, doing a load of laundry, sweeping, wiping down surfaces. Other tasks I’ll do as needed - vacuuming, cleaning toilets, etc. But when it’s time for a deep clean – when I want things to feel CLEAN clean, I’ll set aside a bigger chunk of time. I’d rather clean a space from top to bottom all the way than doing a little bit here and there.

I was inspired by Francie Outlaw to create a set of deep cleaning lists for our home. When she first shared hers, admittedly, I didn’t get the hype. I thought “Who needs a checklist for cleaning? Just clean!” But the more she shared them, I got on board and appreciated having a checklist for each area of our home to make sure I’m really being thorough and not forgetting anything.

While she has physical notecards, I realized I prefer the lists as a Note/checklist on my phone, so I can mark things off as I go, easily add a notation for when that particular deep clean was last done, and I don’t have to worry about cards getting dirty. Plus, I can edit the lists as needed, as our kids grow and things look different, and as the items in our home change. So far it’s worked great!

For my lists, I grouped certain spaces if it made sense to knock them out together. From start to finish, each area takes about 1-2 hours and I’ll complete them as needed. I’ve made it a goal to get through the entire list a few times a year: early summer, pre-holidays, and hopefully once more. Feel free to copy these lists and tweak to make your own set!

MASTER BATH

  • clean sink + bar keepers friend

  • clean window + lights + mirror + decor

  • clean shower

  • clean toilet

  • disinfect tub

  • disinfect counters 

  • wipe down cabinets

  • wipe out drawers

  • baseboards

  • empty trash + clean trash can

  • sweep + mop

  • wash bath mat

  • wash linens

  • refill soap

  • inventory

MASTER BEDROOM + CLOSET

  • wash sheets + pillowcases + duvet cover

  • all dirty clothes in hampers

  • dust furniture + fan + shoe shelves

  • wipe down decor + TV + mirror

  • clean windows

  • clean under furniture

  • vacuum curtains

  • baseboards

  • tidy dresser + nightstand drawers

  • make bed

  • sweep + mop

LAUNDRY ROOM + HALF BATH

  • dust shelf + decor

  • tidy cabinets + inventory

  • wipe down washer + dryer

  • clean inside washer + lint trap

  • clean window

  • clean toilet + stool

  • clean sink + bar keepers friend

  • refill soap

  • wipe counters + decor + mirror

  • baseboards

  • empty trash

  • sweep + mop

  • iron clothes

KITCHEN + DINING

  • clean appliances inside + out

  • purge + wipe out fridge

  • dust all lights

  • clean + disinfect sink

  • soak silverware

  • wipe down coffee area + refill machine

  • refill canisters

  • refill soaps + clean soap dispenser

  • refill centerpiece candles

  • clean windows + blinds

  • clean trashcans

  • wipe out drawers + cabinets

  • wipe down cabinets + backsplash

  • tidy + disinfect countertops

  • wipe down table, chairs, buffet + decor

  • disinfect booster seats

  • wipe pantry shelves + inventory

  • wash linens

  • baseboards

  • sweep + mop

LIVING ROOM + Stairs

  • tidy + rotate toys

  • wash pillow covers + blankets

  • wipe down coffee table

  • dust lamp, decor, mantle, tv

  • wipe down picture frames

  • clean + vacuum out fireplace

  • clean windows + blinds

  • vacuum curtains

  • vacuum couch + under cushions

  • clean + sweep under couches

  • sweep stairs

  • sweep coat closet, tidy + wipe down shelves

  • baseboards

  • sweep + vacuum + mop floors

  • wash Ruggable

KIDS’ ROOMS

  • wash linens + make beds

  • tidy bookshelves + baskets

  • dust furniture + decor

  • dust fans + lights

  • clean under furniture

  • tidy closets + dust shelves

  • baseboards

  • vacuum drapes

  • clean windows + blinds

  • vacuum floors

  • empty + clean vacuum

UPSTAIRS BATH + HALL

  • sweep upstairs hallway

  • dust hallway frames + windowsill 

  • clean sink + bar keepers friend

  • disinfect bathtub + tidy toys

  • disinfect non-slip mat in tub

  • clean toilet

  • dust lights

  • wipe down counters, mirror, decor

  • wipe cabinets

  • wipe out drawers

  • refill soap

  • baseboards

  • empty trash

  • vacuum rug

  • sweep + mop

  • wash linens

  • inventory

GARAGE

  • tidy toys

  • rotate seasonal things to/from attic

  • tidy + wipe down counters + cabinets

  • wipe down workout bench

  • wipe freezer + fridge inside and out

  • put donations in car

  • break down boxes + take out trash

  • inventory

  • sweep floors

OUTSIDE

  • leaf blow

  • pick up dog poop

  • wipe down chairs

  • clean windows

  • clean grill

  • shake out and sweep around door mats

  • sweep porch + patio

  • sweep doorframes + cobwebs

  • clean dog bowls

  • disinfect patio table

  • wipe down tv

  • water plants

A quick note on cleaning products — at the beginning of 2024, I started fresh with all new cleaning products. We now use Branch Basics for everyday cleaning, wiping surfaces, etc., and Force of Nature as our disinfectant. Both are completely non-toxic and fragrance-free, and I’ve been so impressed with their effectiveness. The Force of Nature link above will get you 40% off and earns me extra capsules for sharing. I recommend the Year’s Supply — it’s a really great value and should last you closer to 2 years or more!

Hopefully this was helpful to you, even just to articulate what exactly it takes do a true reset in each area of your home when it comes to cleaning. Whether you’re frequently hosting or in the thick of motherhood with young kids, it feels good to know that even as the daily messes pile up, your home functions at a baseline of cleanliness, with an extra fresh slate when you need it.