Category Archives: household managment

Keepin’ it real

Posted on by

So I had a question about how I handle my mail. Real Me asked:

Can I ask you what do you do when your mail comes in? I have a station
in the kitchen where I put them but my desk and stuff is downstairs in my bedroom. I feel like I have too many stations to maintain. Do you have a tip?


First of all I have to admit that I am terrible when it come to piles, I pile everything everywhere. After reading Fly Lady’s site I have bee trying to keep my piles picked up. Honestly it is working (there are some piles, rather large ones that I am ignoring for the time being) my living room and kitchen seem to stay cleaner longer. In the past I would always skip my piles, I figured I didn’t have time to take care of my piles unless I had a big chunk of time. What I have learned is that it really only takes 5 minutes or less to clear off my “hot spots” (Fly Lady) and I would have a clean room.

Now for the mail issue. It use to get piled on my desk, or the counter, or any other flat surface. Then in January I did a big cleaning of my bedroom (this is my biggest pile zone) and I think I had three months of mail on my desk….sigh…not very efficient. I set up my desk as I have it now with little baskets to organise things, specifically bills, my envelope system (thanks Dave Ramsey) stationary. Just because I have the tools of organisation doesn’t mean I am going to be an organised person. Being the person I am there is always going to be some level of ciaos around me, but I came to realise that my behavior needed to change too if I wanted an organised home

So, for mail, this is what happens on a typical good day: The mail is brought in and placed on the table by the door, I will sort it, all adds, catalogues and credit card applications go into the recycle bin (shred the credit card apps.) I do have to say that most of the time I don’t do this durring the day and Dadzoo will quickly sort through it when he gets home. Anything Dadzoo needs to see; medical statements, bill statements or maybe a catalogue that I know he will like stays on the table, he looks through them when he gets home then takes it downstairs to file it away. Bills that need to be paid get put in a certain place on my desk to be paid when Dadzoo gets his check.

We really only get two bills in the mail, the rest are paid on-line, so we only get statements in the mail for those. I don’t feel like I can throw those statements away (for instance our morgage payment) so Dadzoo just files them, they require little attention.

There you go, what I do with mail, very simple, very easy, it really is just a matter of making yourself take care of it as soon as it comes in the door.

And for the Keepin’ it real part, here is a picture of my management center as of 8:00 this morning!

I am still a work in progress, but aren’t we all!

De-Junking the piles

Posted on by
I am a piler
I have piles everywhere
if there is a flat surface in my home, there is a pile on top of it.
the problem with piles is that they make the house look messy
and there is stuff all over,
even if the piles are neat
the house just looks out of sorts.

The last month or so I have been making a real effort to eliminate my piles.

I would say that I have been moderately successful,
I have eliminated many, stayed on top of many and ignored a few big ones (I swear I will get to those)!
I am finding that there are a few piles that just won’t go away. I didn’t really know what to call these piles until I read a post on Biblical Womanhood about her “management center”. A-HA! Bingo, these weren’t just piles of garbage, they were my management centers! I have two of them and these places are where I run my home from and they serve a vital function. I could never get rid of them because I needed these areas! I use these areas!

Below is center #1

it is in the kitchen right by the phone.
This is where I do my meal planning and my daily schedule, this is where the calender is and where I take phone messages.

Even though this is a busy spot, it doesn’t need to look so messy and really, in all that mess who can run a home efficiently. It takes up my whole counter and the computer just gets in the way, and is very distracting (I would much rather blog stalk than clean or cook!)


This is my second management center, the desk in my bedroom. This is where I pay bills and write letters. Usually my computer is on this desk too, but my box of seeds are in the way!
What a pile of mess!
And seriously who can keep track of bills in this clutter.


So a couple of weeks ago I deiced to tackle this clutter trap and make my management centers more efficient.

Management center #1
all clean and clear
there is something about this that just feels so good!

It is now easier to keep track of our daily schedules, menus, appointments and other odds and ends that pop up.


Management center #2

The computer is back in its place.
The bills and papers are organised
all the odds and ends are put where they go.


I love this little spot in our house.


I get to sit and blog! (and pay bills) right by our big window

it happened to be a rainy day that day
perfect for de-junking my piles.

Now the real trick is to keep them neat and tidy!

Summertime Scheduling (is that how you spell that, it doesn’t look right)

Posted on by

This is another post that is going to make my Mom smile, and want to say “I told you so.” She won’t say it, but I know she will think it. I guess I am just a slow learner!

Schedules. This summer our days are scheduled! It all stared about March, when I was thinking over the changes our family had made, especially our morning routine. I have really grown to love having breakfast together as a family, where we start the day with a prayer, some scripture and good food. I was wondering what was going to happen in the summer time, and I really didn’t want to stop doing it all, it had been such a blessing. The only thing stopping me was my own laziness. I love, love, love to sleep in. I am naturally a night person. My perfect sleep schedule would be to bed around 1 am and up at 10. While the kids are in school that can’t happen, but in the summertime, with the ages my kids are it was entirely possible. However, The Lord has other plans for me, and I knew that in order to keep receiving the blessing we have been, that I needed to keep our breakfast routine. So much for sleeping in, luckily there are still Saturdays!

Then I stared to get little promptings about my kid’s education, especially regarding punk #1. I haven’t quite figured them all out, and I don’t know for sure what direction it is going to take me, but it did have me thinking about this summer. Punk#1 struggles, really, really struggles with life and school in particular. I knew that if I didn’t keep her tutored over the summer all the progress she has made would fall by the wayside. We don’t have money to pay a tutor, and I didn’t feel right about enrolling her in the summer programs at the school, I felt really strongly that she needed to be here, by my side this summer.


I started to look into summer workbooks and free programs on the internet and I found some good stuff and purchased workbooks for everybody. Here is the thing, I do that every summer, and every summer the workbook only has a few pages worked on and the whole thing ends up being a waist of money. That is when I decided we needed a schedule.

All my life I have been fighting schedules, even though I know they work really well, especially for me. I guess I can’t say that I have been fighting schedules, my babies have all had them, eating and nap schedules, I guess I have been fighting a written schedule. The week before school got out I sat down and wrote up a schedule. Starting at 7:00 a.m. and going until 10 or 11:00 I have every 15 minuets scheduled. It has been working beautifully! The kids try to get done early with their chores and their schoolwork (the workbooks are about 1/3 of the way done!) and then the rest of the day is free time. (I am a big believer in free time for kids). It has been wonderfully amazing. The house gets cleaned and school work is being done, all well before lunch time, which leaves us a lot of time for good, old summer fun!

Favorite Things

Posted on by
One of my newest favorite things is homemade scouring powder.
I really, really love this stuff, and it is super easy and cheap to make.

Here goes the recipe, you ready?

1 part Borax
1 part washing soda
1-2 drops essential oil.

I know! Simple and oh so easy!


The Borax and Washing Soda cost me 4.00$ and this amount lasts me about 6 months, depending on what I use it for.


I only make small batches, I like to change the scent often.

(I am currently working on adding to my collection of essential oils, you can use them for so many things)



I will mix it in the container I am going to keep it in (well labeled) and after I have added everything I just shake it really well. I smells wonderful, the oils mix in easily.

This mixture can also be used as laundry soap. I find that it creates too many suds in my HE front loader so I don’t use it for laundry anymore. Some ladies also use it for detergent in their dishwashers, I found that it left a film and I didn’t like it so well for that. Speaking of dish washers, instead of buying the expensive rinse aids, put white vinegar and a drop of essential oil in your rinse aid dispenser. It is a lot cheaper and your dishes still come out sparkling.

I use this scouring powder in my sinks (kitchen sink too, it is stainless steal and it makes it shine) bathtubs and toilets. They come out so clean and sparkling. One of the nice things about adding oil (it isn’t necessary, I only do it for the smell) is that is creates a thin film so the water beads up on the shower and sinks and they seem to stay cleaner longer. Also my hands are softer when I use this formula instead of dry and icky, like they are when you use other stuff that had a lot of harsh chemicals.

So there you go, one of my favortie things!

The Quiet Art of "Being There"

Posted on by

The quiet art of being there.

It isn’t expensive, it isn’t loud. It takes a lot of time, with very little preparation. It doesn’t require a grocery store, mall, or gas station. You don’t have to wash it, scrub it, shine it or dry it. It comes without parts, instructions or power tools.

It is a whisper, a kiss, a pat on the head. It is blowing bubbles on a sunny afternoon. It is a band-aid on a skinned knee, a tissue on tears, and a hug when the world seems out to get you. It is a feverish baby and a rocking chair in the middle of the night. It is sidewalk chalk and a welcome home message for Daddy. It is a sticky fist full of dandelions and running through the sprinklers on a hot afternoon. It is a stocking hat, gloves and a scarf on a cold morning and hot chocolate when you get home. It is that special dress washed and ironed for that special day. It is a story book at bed time and sugar sprinkled on cheerios. It is waving at the bus as it pulls away, cutting the crusts off of PB&Js and finding the first flower of spring. It is sunsets, and sunrises and a pile of ants. It is a silly dance, a silly song and learning your ABC’s. It is a warm bed after a bad dream and soft arms pulling you close. It is a smile, a cheer, it is a safe place.

It is a Mother.

The quiet art of being there.

Swing on over to Biblical Womanhood and see what others are doing to make their home a haven.