Resource Review- The Messies Manual

I picked up a bunch of books a couple of weeks ago. They were laying out on a table and said "free"... how could I refuse? I did leave some for others, but went back at the end of the time and grabbed a couple more. I sure do love books!

One of the books I snagged, was called "The Messies Manual: The Procrastinator's Guide to Good Housekeeping." I am definetly in a phase where I am trying to get my house under control. I really don't like stepping over things (you know- toys, books, folded laundry) and I don't like having to clean all the time. It's hard to have fun and enjoy my children when I'm constantly thinking about how much work there is to do. I'm learning that it needs to be streamlined and that there are ways to organize my home so that it is less prone to being messy.

I've also been thinking about how much stuff we have. We were able to visit Asia last summer, and it's really amazing how little people can live with. Here in the States, we think we need to have everything readily available. Think about how much stuff in your home just sits there, gathering dust. We have shelves full of books that are rarely read, closets full of clothes that don't even fit, kitchens full of appliances with purposes too specific to warrant the amount of space they take up. The list goes on and on! If I trust God to provide for me when we need it, I should be able to get rid of all the excess and let Him give us what we need. It's a hard concept! If only I could remember that when I give, it will come back to me.

Felton does a great job providing an overview of what causes us to be messy. She talks straight and helps us deal with the reasons we're holding on to our stuff and have a hard time getting rid of it. We all have neat, organized friends that we wish we could be like. She takes us in to the mind of Neat person and helps us learn the things that come so naturally to them. Little tips on how to organize our space more wisely and plan our time better. We don't need to spend all day cleaning to have a beautiful maintained home, and Felton shows you how.

This book was written in 1983, and there is an updated version available. I have not read this updated version, so I do not know where the differences lie between the two. Felton has spend the last thirty years teaching classes and writing books. I'm sure that anything that she has added will be well worth the read.

I now have a vision for clearning out my clutter. We don't need most of the stuff in our home, and it will be so much easier to manage if it's not here! I feel like I need a little jumpstart, though. I have decided to hire a teen or two to come and help me get things off on the right foot. Even having a friend come and take my children to the park would be extrememly helpfull!

What's one project you wish you could get a jumpstart on?

Spring Has Sprung

With spring comes sunshine and beautiful flowers. Open windows and a desire to clean. That's what I've been doing these past two weeks. How about you? I feel like I could be cleaning all day every day and not really make much progress. It takes almost all of my energy just to maintain our household, let alone add in some closet cleaning and pile dumping. But I'm tired of the clutter and ready to get it out of my house. And I wanted it done yesterday.

My kids are good helpers for a little while, but eventually they need their attention turned to something else. So, I'm stuck doing most of the work myself while my kids are playing and messing up a recently cleaned up bedroom. I'm reading a new book right now and a phrase keeps popping out at me: "It should be harder to take out than it is to put away." I'm trying to figure out what that means in my home. The example given is to use a tub for books instead of a shelf. Kids need to flip through the stack until the find one they want, then they just slide it back in when done. We have tubs for the kids toys- small ones for cars and wooden blocks and larger ones for kitchen toys and baby dolls. I thought that these were easy enough to put away. Maybe it's hard because they tend to use the blocks to make buildings and roads, then they each have a couple dozen cars and animals out as well. That's a big job to clean up no matter how easy the work is!

I love reading books about cleaning and organizing. My favorite so far has been Sink Reflections. I'm reading another one right now that's looking really good. What are your favorite resources for keeping your home in order? How does your spring cleaning system work? What jobs do you wish you had the time and energy to tackle?

How to Get a New House Without Moving

I love my house, really I do. We live across the street from a park. We have a living room and a tv room, which is pretty cool. The bedrooms are HUGE. It's about fifteen years old, which means that we don't have a lot of repairs to make. But it also means there's not a lot of character. We have a townhouse, which is great because it takes about forty minutes to mow. But it also means there's not a lot of room for the kids to play.

Periodically, I look at houses that are listed online and I dream about moving. I love seeing the different styles of houses, and what the lay-out is. I would love to have some land for the kids to run and have some animals and a garden. I can become quite discontent with what I currently have and where we live.

Recently I realized what it is I like about looking at those pictures. I love that they're all clean! The paint isn't in need of a touch-up. The dishes are all done. The toys are all put away. The table tops are not buried under mountains of stuff. There are not boxes of more stuff piled in corners. I had a revelation. I don't need a new house, I need to get the junk out of the one that I have! A new house appeals to me because of the thought of everything being fresh and clean. Well, I can replicate that here!

So I have been on a mission this week. The kitchen is being cleaned and organized. Stuff is being thrown out. (I have done this to the kitchen before, so this was an easier room to start with.) I will progress through each room until all of my stuff has been gone through and determined if we really need it. I'm dreading the closet that goes under the stairs and the decisions that will need to be made with that stuff... But I'm looking forward to a clutter-free home. Here is the main "working" counter. You can see how cluttered it was in the above picture behind my son's head. :) I moved my mixer and blender under the cabinets and got rid of a few items that have been stored (and not used). It's actually been fun to clean up after dinner this week!

I'm excited to see where this takes me and my family. Already, the kitchen feels lighter and airier. It's pleasant to be in there whether I'm working or resting. I can't wait for that calm, relaxing atmosphere to overtake my entire home! Do you have any other tricks for making your house the home you want to live in? I'd love to hear them!

Resource Review- Sink Reflections

Sometimes I wish I had a housekeeper. The amount of stuff that we have to keep picked up is often overwhelming. And cleaning bathrooms used by little boys is a dirty job. We have talked about the possibility of hiring a college student to come in and help at different points in my motherhood. But eventually, I decide that I don't want to give up anything else in our budget to pay for it. That means, that I need to find a way to better manage my household in order to maintain some standard of cleanliness that we can find livable.

One book that has really helped me to get a handle on my housekeeping has been Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley. She takes this monumental tasks of keeping a clean home and breaks it down into pieces (called Baby Steps). She helps you build one habit at a time until the jobs that are required become natural.

The title "Sink Reflections" comes from Baby Step #1- Shine Your Sink. When my sink is all shiny and clean, my morning starts out so much better. It's like a big smiley face is waiting for me in my kitchen. It drives me to make the rest of the kitchen as clean and sparkly.

Each and every chapter covers another step in helping you get a handle on home maintenance. Everything from that kitchen sink all the way to laundry and paperwork are covered. her principles are the driving force behind my cleaning schedule and goals. I'm sure there's something in here for you to draw from, as well.

Works-for-Me Wednesday Cleaning Rotation

House cleaning. We all hate it. We've all got to do it. We all need a system to get it done. One would think that my system would change over the years as more kids and responsibilities are added, but I've realized that the basics have stayed in place. Apparently, it's working for me!


There are certain things that should be done daily. For most of us this includes dishes and sweeping the kitchen. There may be more. You know what they are in your house. Then there are things that don't need to be done each day, but are more of a weekly or monthly job. These often include things like vacuuming and changing sheets. So, start with making lists of what needs to be cleaned in each room, and how often it should be done. Then take a look at your schedule and determine what you can actually accomplish.

Then set up a cleaning rotation. Assign each room a certain day of the week to get tackled. You'll find that there may be a room that needs more attention. For me, it's the kitchen and bathrooms. It turns out these are daily chores in my household! A weekly job like the living room gets assigned a day (Monday) and on that day everything gets picked up, goodies are pulled out from under furniture, vacuuming is done. If there's extra time, I might tackle some extras for that room- vacuuming under the cushions, dusting the bookshelves, or whatnot. 


It's also important to get the kids involved in the cleaning. My kids are responsible for daily jobs- cleaning up their room, setting and clearing the table, putting their toys away. I'm excited about the book Managers of Their Chores and getting my kids set up on their own system. It's similar to what I do already, but it's organized in a kid-friendly manner. 


Check out other great tips at We Are THAT Family.

My Famous Freezer

My good friend Audra, over at Penny Pinching Penguin asked for some pictures of stockpiles. Well, I've only been doing this crazy couponing thing for a few months, and don't have much of a stockpile. But I grabbed my camera anyways and snapped a few pictures. I hadn't been out to my deep freeze in weeks and was appalled at how "messy" it was. (When my husband butchered a deer in early Jan, my six year old was in charge of putting it in the freezer!) I grimaced, but took the photos and even sent them to her. Since then, I've bought some more meat that was on sale, and got that freezer organized!



When we first got our freezer, I wondered how we would ever fill it up. And it's not even all that large. I had just been so used to only have the small one attached to my fridge and making things fit in there... It was months before we finally plugged it in and started filling it. Now, I don't know what we'd do without it! There have even been a few times that it was too full, but because of this cold winter I was able to stack things on top of it :)

Once it got so full, it was really hard to find things. If you're planning on filling your deep freeze, you really need to make a plan for being able to get things out, and not forgetting about what's on the bottom. Last fall, I found five packages of venison sausage that I thought I ran out of in July! My freezer came with a little basket, and that is useful for smaller bags of veggies, or your husband's fishing bait. There's also a "shelf" where the compressor is, and it makes a great spot to store frozen pizza or baked goods. The rest of my freezer is devoted to meat. Mostly we have venison, so that's just thrown into the bottom. In a dairy crate, I have stored all other meats. I can easily lift the crate out and access my venison. There is some wasted space because it's not a perfect fit, but the grocery sacks I was using previously kept getting brittle and breaking. At least this way I can still find my meat!

If you have any other tips or tricks for organizing a deep freeze, let me know. I'm always open to revamping the system! Also, check out Penny Pinching Penguin- she's got loads of great advice for saving money- and you can see my cupboards, too. :)

Resource Review- Managers of Their Homes

Are you scrambling every day to get things done? Do you get to the end of the day and wonder if you did anything of importance? Do you have a lot of things on your plate to pack into a day? Is your family going every which direction? Have I got the resource for you! Managers of Their Homes by Steven and Teri Maxwell is a book about scheduling and priorities that will change your life.

This book is designed with the Christian homeschooling mom in mind, but is useful for everyone. The book starts with a couple chapters on scheduling in general. This is enough to whet your appetite for the meat that is to come. Interspersed throughout the book are quotes from people who have used this method and how they have found it helpful to them.

The next several chapters tackle key scheduling challenges. Scheduling school and chores top the list, but a mom also has to prepare meals. Many moms also have babies and toddlers hanging out while they attempt to do school with older kids. This book is packed with encouragement to go ahead and schedule the younger one's time and has ideas for making it all fit together.

The last chapters of the book cover some more general scheduling issues, including a question and answer chapter. There's even a chapter for dads! The appendix is also extremely helpful. The Maxwell's include several of their previous schedules, with kids at different ages. They also have schedules from other families for you to look at and draw inspiration from. The book comes with a scheduling kit, so you can lay out your own schedule using their method. Also available are Managers of Their Chores and Managers of Their Schools. Check out their website at titus2.com for more info and many other resources.

As my kids are now entering their school years, and we still appear to be having babies, this book is becoming more and more of a lifeline to me. We have our kids home for a reason, and I don't want to waste the opportunity we have to fill their heads with knowledge and build character into their hearts. Yet, it's so easy to let a day slip by and not pick up a school book, or be intentional about doing a project. This book helps me to focus on our priorities and put down on paper what I hope to accomplish in a day or a week. It helps me to take into account the toddler and the nursing infant. It makes me think about how much time things will actually take, and make the tough decisions about what's just not going to fit. It's an invaluable resource to me as I make plans for a semester's schedule or think about new commitments.

Homeschooling is a commitment of time and energy. Having a schedule laid out gives a rhythm and routine to our days. I know what's coming next and the kids know what's coming next. Some days are really hard and I struggle just to get through the day with minimal loss of impatience. But then there are the times when I "catch" the boys reading sweetly to their sisters, or they're playing a chess/checkers/dinosaur game and are snuggled in sleeping bags making up new rules for it. That's why I homeschool. For my kids to have the opportunity to love and grow together, to have time to use their imaginations, to learn that God and family are the most important. Managers of Their Homes is a resource that helps me take my vision and make it a reality.

Planning My Life

I love organizing and planning- a fresh new calendar, a color-coded schedule, a well organized to-do list. I'm a little strange, I know. It's easy for me to sit down and plan. The tricky part is implementing that plan into real life! I'll share a little about my planning methods. Most of it has come from some great books I've read- maybe you'll add them to your 2010 must read list!

Priorities

What's really important to you? What do you want your time and money to say about you? I've learned that each of us has a most productive time of day. Into that time slot is where we should put the activities that fall high on our list of priorities. For me, my high production is in the morning. If it's after lunch, the day's over! So, it's into the morning that I put spending time with God, school work with the kids, and one chore that HAS to get done. A great book that helped me sort through my priorities is A Woman After God's Own Heart®by Elizabeth George. I read through this every couple of years to keep myself on track.


Daily Schedule

There are some things that you know will happen at about the same time each day- meals, car pools, work, etc. These fall into a schedule with very little thought. But now it's time to add the other activities based on your priorities. Think about your most productive time of day and start from there. Don't fill it all up with things to do. Remember to add "transition time" (putting coats on the little ones), and down time- when you can just play with your kids or get out a book you've been meaning to read. the day should have it's own ebb and flow and the more days of your week you can get to look like each other the easier it will be to follow. I loved Managers of their Homes by Teri Maxwell for helping me figure out a schedule that works for me. I've also enjoyed the FlyLady website for cleaning help.

Calendars/Planners
There are so many out there to choose from! I love a calendar that gives you lots of space to write things. This year I'm going to try the Mom's Plan-It Calendar It divides the grid into space for each family member and retains the calendar look.


A planner is important for the times you're standing at the clinic trying to schedule the next appointment. Essential for me in a planner is a week at a glance, space for a to-do list, and a monthly view. I'm really enjoying Amy Knapp's Christian Family Organizer which even has space for a menu plan and a "tearable" grocery list. The Christian version also has a space to record prayer requests.


Budgets
Our monthly budget is put together in a similar way as my schedule. What are our standard expenses?- house, utilities, insurance, etc. The rest of the money is then alloted according to our priorities- food, gas, clothing, savings, giving, date night, babysitter, fun money, etc. There are times in life when there's no room for fun money, and that's a season that must be gone through. There are a number of computer programs out there that can help you track your spending. If you've never done a budget before, I recommend keeping track of all your expenses for two months. You'll see how things fall into a pattern. Once you can see where your money has been going, it should be easier to figure out how to allot it intentionally. Maybe you don't really need to eat take-out twice a week and you can put more money towards something else. Or you can turn that second take-out meal into the date night you didn't think you could afford and let the kids eat mac and cheese! We went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and loved it! Envelopes are a great method of controlling your spending.

Every time something "new" starts up I re-evaluate all of these things. The start of a new calendar year has many people looking around themselves desiring to make changes. Being intentional about how I spend my time and money means that I'm more likely to make it happen in real life. These are the tools and resources I've found particularly helpful in the past few years. What are your favorite tools? Do you have a favorite resource? How do you make it all work?

My Faves- Internet Resources

I love the internet. There's a plethora of information and resources out there. Sometimes I get sucked in and spend WAY to much time in front of the computer. When used wisely, the internet offers a great place to get recipes, coupons, tips, and ideas. Here are some of my favorites. I check each of these websites at least weekly, and all too often, daily!

http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/ As moms we're in charge of both how much we spend on food and what goes into our families bodies. A great resource to help you with both!

http://www.gettingfreedom.net/ Deals, recipes, and other ideas for cutting your expenses.

http://pennypinchingpenguin.blogspot.com/ A great blog with lots of helpful hints and tips for getting great deals and making your money work for you. She has a couple of other sites that I think you'll like, too. Check out the sidebar.

http://chicksdigdeals.blogspot.com/ An awesome website for here in Lincoln and Omaha. They go through the store ads and match the sales up with coupons. They even have a list of all the current coupons that come out of the paper! Takes a lot of work out of getting the best deals for my family. I just log in before shopping, print my coupons and go!

http://www.5dollardinners.com/ A great website that offers truly frugal meal ideas! Includes recipes and approximate cost per meal.

http://www.afullcup.com/ A web site that offers coupons and ways trade coupons with other moms. I just signed up for this site and look forward to learning how to use all the resources it offers.

http://thehappyhousewife.com/donate-expired-coupons-to-military-families-overseas/ Feel good about all those unused coupons when you donate them to overseas military families!

Envelopes Make It All Work

Let's pretend that you've sat down and figured out how much you have to spend on various things each month. You go through a month or two and tally your receipts, only to find that you've over spent in a couple of categories. Month after month. "This budget thing isn't working" you think. But really it's not that the budget isn't working, but you haven't found a system to make it work for you.

I struggled with this for a couple of years. I diligently kept track of my expenses at the grocery store, but each month that last bill bumped me up over what we had agreed to spend. We tried increasing my budget- only to go over that one, too! We heard about the envelope system, so I gave it a try, and we found that it really, truly works! Dave Ramsey is a strong advocate of this method, as well.

We actually use one of those "coupon organizers" you can find for $1 at Target or a dollar store. Each month, I take the cash for our cash expenses (groceries, date night, etc), and put them each into it's folder. Once it's gone, it's gone. We can take the money out of another folder to cover an overage, but it doesn't get replaced until the new month begins. The cash that we start out with is all that's alloted, and we don't withdraw more. There's no more budget overages with this system!

Some people use this system and have it broken into a weekly or bi-monthly budget so they're not carrying around huge amounts of cash. Often, I'll take the money out of the folder at home that will cover the cost of my list, plus a little more if I stumble across a good deal. This is another way to prevent me from going over budget, or purchasing items we don't really need. And I'm not carrying a month's worth of cash around the store!

If you struggle with staying within your budget guidelines, give this method a try. We've done some tweaking over the years, adding or changing categories and adjusting how much goes into each folder. It's not static, so it may take a couple of months to get it all working for you. But the simplicity of it makes it an incredibly useful tool for managing your cash expenses.

It works for me! What works for you?

For more helpful tips on a variety of topics check out We Are THAT Family.
Also linked to Thrifty Thursday- check it out for more stories of using cash envelopes.

Get It Out

It's so easy to get stuff here in America. Everywhere we go, people are selling or giving things away. And, of course, we need it ALL. So our homes become filled with stuff, that we never use, don't need, and create clutter. All we really need to do is get rid of it. Then commit ourselves to not bringing any more in.

We spent two weeks in Asia this summer. The most spacious apartments there would fit into two rooms of my house. That is the case in the majority of the world. Could you get rid of half the things in your house? Look around you, what's been sitting on the shelf or in the back of the closet for months or years? What do you have boxed up "just in case?" Get it out!

When you clean up the clutter, you could have a garage sale and earn a few bucks. Or you could give it away. I have discovered that the more I give away (to friends or shelters), the more I get in return. We have four kids and they are clothed almost entirely by hand-me-downs from other people. My counter is overflowing with fresh produce from the gardens of two or three others. And if you're still not convinced, I once heard it said that keeping all that stuff (hoarding) is not trusting in God's provision for your future.

So, we give it away. Baby clothes, maternity clothes, books, toys. Whatever we're not using can go right out the door. If you need help getting started, here's a list of my favorite websites to motivate me to clear out the clutter.

SHE - don't get sidetracked, get organized

FlyLady - simple steps to starting the process of cleaning up the clutter

Organizing Junkie - great tips and tricks for home organization

Titus 2 - home/school management, and a chore book for your kids, too!

Organized Lifestyles - just found this one, but it looks like a keeper

What's your favorite tip or tool for clearing out the clutter? How do you convince yourself you really don't need to hang on to particular items any more? Who do pass it on to?