This Messy House . . .

It's been a while since I've sat here at the keyboard pouring my heart out for the world to see. For a while there, blogging just got to where it wasn't fun anymore. It became tedious. I became more concerned about followers and readers than about the real reason I started this journey to begin with: ME. So this and my other blog, Supermom: Losing It will both change slightly over the course of the next few months. Thank you for reading, and enjoy.


My house is driving me crazy.
Let me rephrase that . . .
The fact that my house cannot stay clean for any longer than thirty minutes at a time is driving me crazy.

It has become that even the most mundane tasks, like throwing something away or putting a dish up is not getting done. By anyone, not even myself. I guess maybe the thought in my head is something along the lines of: "if no one else cares, why should I?"

The irony of this is that I have my own self-creted house keeping system. It has worked tremendously well in the past, but I just don't stick with it. I clean for a while, then things get overwhelming again or I realize that I'm the only one doing anything and the frustration sets in. 

But it gets very frustrating when you spend time to clean a room, come back five minutes later and it's completely trashed again.

Thanks for listening,

Making Your Home Sing Monday - A Book Review!

Yea!! Nan is back! That means Making Your Home Sing Monday is back too! Please lift her up in your prayers, kids - she's hurt her back and is still in some pain. Praying for a quick recovery for you, friend!!

If you want to learn more about Making Your Home Sing or if you would like to join in the link-up, visit Nan over at Mom's The Word to find out more about it!

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I don't do a whole lot of book reviews. I don't do a whole lot of reviews, period. There's a reason for that - if I don't really REALLY like or believe in something, I am not going to tell anyone they need to "rush out and get it". Just not my thing.

But there's this book . . .
It's amazing.
It has changed the way I look at housecleaning.
The name of the book is:
Just Clean Enough
By. I.B. Caruso and Jenny Schroedel

The book doesn't preach at you.
It doesn't tell you you you're wrong.
It doesn't even tell you you have to do 50,000 things at once to "get organized".
It goes through 365 days - that's one year - worth of "tasks" that you can do to help get your home where you want it to be.
Here's the secret to this book - you DON'T have to do things in order.
You can go room by room, day by day, week by week.
OR
You can search through the book for a task that takes 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30+ minutes, depending on how much time you have.
OR
You can just pick something at random!

And the tasks aren't hard or time consuming. Most of them don't take any longer than 10 minutes.
Like decluttering bath products in the bathroom.
Or picking up all your shoes in your bedroom.
Or polishing your kitchen table.

Some of these are things I do frequently, but some are things I never thought about!
For example:
washing the shower curtain
decorating the laundry room
putting a bulletin board in the living room

There are some wonderful ideas in this book. And I am going to do most of them (we don't have a basement or a huge attic like some of my northern friends might have).
I encourage you to check this book out. It's not about perfection, but about getting your home Just Clean Enough!

Making Your Home Sing Monday!

Happy Monday Everyone! Let's get ready to Make Our Homes Sing!

Wanna join the fun, go visit Nan at MomsTheWord and link up!

Don't forget that one of the easiest ways to make your home sing is to make a meal plan and shop/prep in advance! Need some inspiration? Here's my menu for the week! Don't forget to check out the recipes too!

PICK UP AFTER YOURSELF

It sounds like a simple thing really, but I think that we adults don't really understand the impact it can have on a household. For those without children, sometimes it's a given and sometimes it's an "oh, I'll get to that later". And MOST of the time (unless you're a compulsive hoarder) that's just fine. If you have kids, though, it quickly becomes a necessity. Why? Well, quite simply because children mimic the actions they witness.

WE CANNOT EXPECT OUR CHILDREN TO EXHIBIT BEHAVIORS THAT WE DO NO EXHIBIT OURSELVES.

For example, you want your child to clean their room.  (If you follow me on facebook or twitter you know my story well with this one). BUT YOUR room is cluttered and filled with garbage and dirty clothes. Do you really expect your child to keep their room clean when you cannot?

It's the same with household chores - putting up dishes, picking up toys, vacuuming, picking up laundry, etc. If the kids witness you do it, then they'll be more likely to do it themselves when asked (and sometimes without being asked!)

Picking up after yourself will elicit a chain reaction in your home. It may take a while, but eventually everyone will jump on board themselves and start picking up after themselves too!

How I Became a SuperMom-In-Training . . .

I know this is going to be hard to take, but it has to be said.

Are you sitting down?

Okay good, now breathe . . . this might come as a shock . . .

I was not always the SuperMom!

Okay.

Now, once you get back into your chair we can continue.

Of course we know that NO one (with the exception of Jesus Christ Himself) is perfect. Perfection is impossible to attain, and really we shouldn't even attempt it. I am not, nor will I ever be perfect.

I'm not even 100% sure I qualify as a SuperMom to tell you the truth.

I was kinda thrown into SuperMotherHood. I'm not complaining, mind you. It was MY choice, and one that I wouldn't trade for the world.

When my husband and I met, we had both recently gotten out of really bad relationships. His ended in a divorce, and mine, while thankfully never even got to the marriage stage, ended up with me as an unwed mother at 28. With his two children and my one child, we were thrown into a family of five, literally overnight.

I had to learn real quick how to cook large meals on a tight budget. I also had to learn how to clean, do laundry, and run a household budget. Needless to say, it was VERY overwhelming.

Ronnie was working evening shifts, so that left me home alone in the evenings with a three year old to feed and put to bed. It wasn't hard, but it was lonely. I really didn't have much time with my husband in those first few months of us living together, especially since they were working a lot of overtime. The depression really set in at that time. I was not the only one suffering from it. My house, my child, and even, to some extent, my husband were experiencing my pain.

The weekends were even worse, because most weekends for the first six months, Ronnie had to work overtime on both Saturdays and Sundays. That would leave me with all the children to tend to by myself for meals and bed.

It was not a happy time for me, and my stress was taking its toll on the children.

Then I started to do something I hadn't done in a long time.

I prayed.

And God led me to a web site that would turn my life around.

(I talk about this site all the time - www.flylady.net )

The Fly Lady's web site really hit home with me.

I watched a Shiny Sink Video and cried.

The tears were cleansing and healing.

That day, I got up and I shined my sink.

Not one week later, my husband was informed that our prayers were answered - he was being moved to days.

While the overtime continued, things improved drastically in our home.

It wasn't long until we decided it was time to have a baby that was ours.

Of course, with pregnancy came hormones, and I'll admit the house really went to shambles again, but I became something. 

I became a mom that DID things.

I was involved with my daughter's pre-school, which was most important at the time.

Now, I am not only involved with my daughter's school activities, but we also have soccer, and my step-daughter has cheerleading this fall. My step son is coming to live with us and he will (possibly) have band activities to boot. 

On top of that, I will be finishing my bachelor's degree this fall.


I have jumped back on the Fly Lady's wagon of hope and my sink shines again. So do my counters, my toilet, and even my bedroom (after many years of it being a wreck - here are the results of THAT!)

But even with all this, I am unafraid.

Because I know that what I have learned from the Fly Lady is immeasurable. 

Marla Cilley has changed my life.

If you would like for her to change yours, first, go visit her web site:

www.flylady.net

Then go buy her book

Sink Reflections

I would not be the SuperMom I am without her!

Making Your Home Sing Monday!

Happy Monday everyone!

It's time for

Making Your Home Sing Monday!

First off, here's this weeks MENU

Now, let me ask you a question.

Have you SHINED YOUR SINK lately?

Now you're probably setting there going "what on earth is this crazy lady talking about?"

Well, if you are like me, you are not exactly the best housekeeper in the world.

You're overwhelmed.

You're distracted.

You're frustrated.

The mess is taking over your home and your life.

Well, for me, this is no longer the case. My house is no where CLOSE to perfect, but it is getting better.

How did I make that change?

Well, first I whined. A lot.

And I cried. A lot.

And I blamed everyone else in the house for the mess.

A LOT.

Then I got on the computer and talked to other moms. 

They recommended the FlyLady's website - www.flylady.net

The first thing the Fly Lady (who's name, by the way is Marla Cilley) tell us to do is to go shine our sinks.

And she gives detailed instructions.

That was the kicker for me.

So, I went and shined my sink for the very first time in my life.

I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Soon the rest of the kitchen followed, then the living room, then the hallway, then the bathroom.

Now, we live in a teeny tiny house, so really, that's all company will ever see.

Little by little, we're working on bedrooms.

Now, for you, you're shiney sink might not be a sink at all -

It may be your kitchen floor or counters.

It may be your bed being made

It may be a clean bathtub or toilet.

Whatever your "shiney sink" may be, go do it! Right now!

Waking up every morning and seeing that one thing shining back at you will make you smile.

And as everyone knows, 

When you give a mom a smile, 

her home sings!

Wanna play? Go visit MomsTheWord and link up!

All In A Day's Work

I made a list this morning.

I am the QUEEN of lists.

But this one was different.

I made a list of everything that has to be done every day in order for my house to stay in shape. 

I also broke it down into time increments (how long each chore should take).

It's a lot. 

6.1 hours worth 

(not including breaks or eating). 

And right now, I'm not doing everything on that list. I'm getting lazy and slacking.

But it made me realize something - 

It takes a LOT to make a household run.

But today I realized something else.

I CHOSE this.

I CHOSE to stay home and take care of my children and my home.

Whatever chaos there is around me - 

I CHOSE it.

The Lord teaches us that:  

". . .whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matt. 25:40)

This is a verse that I have to keep posted to remind me of what it's all for.

I pray daily to be a blessing to my husband and my children.

I made this list with the intention of sticking to it every day. 

It's harder than you might think (some of you "Born-Organized" people probably do most of this without thinking).

I urge you, if you haven't already, make a list like this one. Think about everything you have to do to make your home run smoothly. If there's something you're not already doing, start doing it. Start small. As the Fly Lady says - "Take Baby Steps". Add one thing at a time, either day by day or week by week, however you're comfortable, until you're just doing it.

I know you've all been chomping at the bit to see my own list, right?

Well, here it is. Enjoy!

(still haven't figure out how to link a word document into blogger yet. sorry!)

Daily Routine

Early Morning

Make Bed – 1 minute

Dress to shoes, hair, face, teeth – 15 minutes

Swish and Swipe – 2 minutes

Boot Laundry – 5 minutes

Coffee with God - 45 minutes

Prayer/Meditation – 15 minutes

Breakfast

After Breakfast

Unload Dishwasher – 5 minutes

Load Dishwasher – 5 minutes

Counter/Stove - 5 minutes

Reboot Laundry – 7 minutes

Help little ones make their beds – 10 minutes

Break

After Break (Late Morning)

Reboot Laundry – 7 minutes

Fold and put up clean laundry - 15 minutes

10 minute tidy in one child’s room – 10 minutes

Lunch

After Lunch (early Afternoon)

Clean off table, wipe down – 2 minutes

Vacuum floor – 5 minutes

Daily Chore – 20 minutes

Reboot Laundry - 7 minutes

Fold and put up clean laundry – 15 minutes

Fly Lady’s challenge – 15 minutes

Break

After Break (mid-afternoon)

Fold and put up final load of laundry – 15 minutes

Unload dishes (if needed) – 5 minutes

Load dishes (if needed) – 5 minutes

10 minute tidy in other kid’s room – 10 minutes

15 minute declutter – 15 minutes

Break

After Break (early evening)

Start dinner – 45 minutes

Dinner

After Dinner (mid-evening)

 Clean up dishes – 15 minutes

Load dishwasher – 5 minutes

Last counter/stove wipe – 5 minutes

Shine sink – 5 minutes

Kid’s Baths – 30 minutes

Kid’s bed

Grownup Time

Bed Time

Supermom Product Plug - Lysol Duel Action Disinfecting Wipes

I am a clorox girl.  I have been for years.  But recently I decided to give Lysol's new product a try.  Now, those who have been following this blog know that it is rare that I do a product plug.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure I have ever done one here. But these deserve a plug.

One side has these little purple squiggly scrubbie things and the other side is completely smooth.  I tried it on my disgusting stove top, which hasn't been cleaned in a week - don't ask me why, I'm chocking it up to laziness and hormones.  Generally to do my stove I use a sponge and hot water.  It works after a while, but it usually takes me more than five minutes to wipe down my stove top.  With these new wipes, I was able to clean my stove top and the oven door in less than two!  One aspect that I really liked about them was the fact that you can feel where you're scrubbing, so to speak.  With a sponge, it doesn't really feel like you have the same kind of control.  I also like the fact that it's disinfecting, so you really get two jobs done in one.  The scent is pleasant, and not too overwhelming too.  Additionally, it's 50¢  cheaper than clorox wipes!

While I was at it, I also tried out their original wipes for my morning "swish and swipe" routine in the bathroom.  Typically it takes me two or three wipes to wipe down the mirror, sink, and toilet, because the wipe will start to fall apart.  I was able to do it with ONE of these!

Needless to say . . . I'm a convert!