I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  It was absolutely beautiful in Texas with lots of sun and nice temperatures.  I just LOVE Spring, it is my favorite time of year!  I always feel so full of energy and ready to tackle new projects when the sun is shining and the birds are singing.  Don't you?  I'm really looking forward to Daylight Savings Time ending in a few weeks.  It means I'll have more hours of sunlight to finish all those painting projects I haven't gotten around to yet.

I got my Scentsy order in today (yippee!) and couldn't wait to plug my warmers in.  I just love walking into our home when it smells all fresh and clean.  These things are amazing!  Just one little block of wax is all it takes to freshen the entire front half of the house.  I'm so excited about all the money I'm going to save not buying all those Glade plug-ins that get used up so quickly.  I bought one for the living room:

And one for the bathroom:



The colors go great with my decor and they work like a charm!  If you don't have one yet, and you want your house to smell as good as mine, you can visit my friend Brandi's website here.  She'll be more than happy to help you make a selection and tell you all about the other great products Scentsy has to offer. 

Another thing I checked off my to-do list today was chair shopping.  Remember me telling you those chairs in my front room just weren't cutting it?  Here's another pic just in case you didn't catch that post:

Um, yeah, it's time for these sad little things to go.  Little sis's shower is just around the corner and these just.    won't.      do.    Now, I also told you I don't like to shop at fancy furniture stores, which is mostly true, but it's because I dislike paying full price!  Well, today I found some real beauties on clearance at Dillard's.   I mean, real clearance.  Marked down like 65%.  And these chairs will last FOR-EV-ER.  If your grandmother never told you about how awesome Lane Furniture is, you can glean that information from me.  My grandmother has Lane chairs in her home that she bought in the 60's, or maybe even before that!  She has them recovered whenever she's ready for a change, but other than that, they are built with amazing quality, so I'm sure these chairs will be around when I'm cuddling my own grandkids!

 Now you have to look past the fabric because this is NOT the color I chose.  While it is beautiful, it's not my style and it definitely would not go in this room.  Anyway, the fabric I ordered is a taupe color, which will be so perfect against the teals and whites in this room.  I bought two, and they recline!  Oh I can just picture us now.  Hubby and I might actually be able to hear each other talk while we sip coffee and work a puzzle.  We can finally leave the kids to their movies and video games in the family room once I have the formal all put together.  I can't wait until they arrive!

 I'll be sure to post pics once they're in so you can see the actual fabric.  Now I just have to do my best to find the perfect second-hand coffee table.  Craigslist is disappointing me lately.  However, a friend of mine has a table in her garage she isn't using, so that's an option.  I just have to see how much she's willing to let it go for and whether she can pry that amount of cash out of my fingers!  Another thing I heard is we have a Value Village not far from here.  I've never been, but I may just have to check it out!  I've been told it's a great home decor/furniture thrift store and that is what I am all about.

I hope you had a productive Monday, and that you have lots of plans for your home this week.  Whether you're doing your spring cleaning, setting up more structure for your kids with chores, or just trying to plan a meal for each night, my prayer is that you find joy in doing so!

Happy Homemaking my friends!

Happy at Home

I don't have any big projects going on today, so I don't have any pics or special tips to share with you.  What I do have to share is my story on what it means to me to be a homemaker.  I hope it will encourage you in your calling as wife, mother and homemaker.

When I first started my "adventure" as a homemaker, I was 23 years old.  My husband and I had two children and I prayed for almost a year about whether or not to leave my job.  I didn't have a fancy career, or a college degree (though I did work on that for awhile!) but I loved what I was doing and I had always been a very motivated person who aspired to achieve great things.  I had so many mixed feelings about it and it was a very difficult decision.  Even after we decided it was the best thing to do, I struggled with it for years!  I kept trying to "figure out" what it was God wanted me to do.  I just knew He created me for a purpose, and for the life of me I didn't know what it was!  (Are you laughing with me yet?)

I would wash dishes, fold laundry, wipe noses and kiss boo-boos.  All the while constantly praying, "Lord, where do you want me to be?  What am I supposed to be doing?"  I was frustrated and felt like I was going nowhere.  My everyday seemed like something I just needed to get through, so I could get to the next day, and the next, and hopefully someday God would show me His plan.

Then, about 3 years ago, I woke up and remembered a book that a friend of mine had told me about years before.  Created to be his Help Meet is written by Debi Pearl and it completely changed my life!  You can order the book through their website: http://nogreaterjoy.org/blogs/createdtobehishelpmeet/

Debi uses biblical references to encourage young women in the God-given roles we fulfill.  After reading her book, I didn't have to keep asking God what He wanted me to do.  He already had me doing it!  My eyes were suddenly opened to all the blessings He has given me and I began to embrace the dishes, the laundry, the errand-running, the meal-preparing, and everything else that goes into my days!

She helped me find the purpose in what I do.  Educating and raising our children, preparing meals, being responsible with the income my husband provides, decorating our home and making it a cozy and welcoming space, need I go on?  If you're a wife and mom you know what you do all day.  Do you find great satisfaction in it?  Do you know that a calling has been placed on you and that you have been entrusted with one of the greatest responsibilities there is?  As wives, we are to be the crowns of our husbands, as mothers we are raising future doctors, lawyers, inventors (and hopefully homemakers!)  Is there any greater task?  What could be more important?

If you're a homemaker searching for the purpose in your life, I hope and pray that you find it in the little things you do everyday.  Today, I'm going to find it while shopping for a Boy Scout uniform, attending a little league baseball game, fixing my daughter's hair, doing the laundry, planning dinner and running through the chaos of whatever else may happen.  When the day is over, I'm going to make sure my husband sees a smile on my face, and I'm going to thank God for promoting me to this most honored position.

I want to leave you with something I recently received in an email.  You can go here to read a wonderful short story about being an "invisible mother".   It brought tears to my eyes and I hope it touches you as well. Blessings to you!  May you be happy in your homemaking!

Simple (and cheap) Home Decor

I LOVE decorating our home.  I don't mean going out to some fancy furniture or home decor store and spending lots of my husband's hard-earned money and having someone else deliver it and put it in.  I mean I love to create the things that make our house a home.  Taking something old and giving it new life gives me great satisfaction, especially when I can do it and spend next to nothing.  (The fact is: I'm a little HUGE cheapskate!)

I told you yesterday that my sister is getting married soon and I am doing some things around the house to get ready for her shower.  Well, last weekend I had some time to myself and I decided to go rummage around for some items to fill up our vast wall of shelving in the living room.  I mean, these shelves are just ridiculous.  I love them, but I am always at a loss as to what should go on them.  Seriously, what would you do with this? 

(Ok, another picture disclaimer, PLEASE ignore the brown striping at the top of the shelves.  Hubby thought that would look good and did that himself.  He's so cute.  It's going to get re-painted.  And the mess under the TV?  This beautiful specimen (of my husband's) is only 2 years old and is NOT working, can you believe it?  So the junk underneath is a bunch of parts he's working on changing out.  This is one item we did NOT buy secondhand.  He luuurves him some electronics!)

Anyway, back to the shelves.  There's just SO much space to fill.  I'm not complaining.  I just want to finish them.  I have lots and lots to buy to fill them up.  (Hence the emphasis on cheap!)  Once I do, I will love them.  It's a constant work-in-progress.

So last weekend I went to a few thrift shops and came home with a few good finds.  My favorite, though, is not going to sit on those beautiful bookshelves.  (I totally forgot about my bookshelf shopping mission when I saw this!)  I picked it up for $2 at a local antique shop.

Ooh, ahh, can you say love?  I just couldn't resist this one.  

But wait, what is that?  I turn it around and eek!  Will you just look at that crack!

I mull it over and decide that once I'm finished with it, no one will even notice it.

On my way home, I stop at my trusty Wal-mart (when I say trusty I mean trust me, I hate Walmart!  But they do carry my favorite paint, so I had to stop).  I picked up 4 cans (you have to stock up when they have it) of Krylon's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.  At around $3 a can, it's worth every penny!  This stuff is awesome!  I have spray painted lamps, light fixtures, curtain rods, shower rods, you name it, I've sprayed it.  It covers wood, plastic, glass, metal and just about anything you can think of.  So I get my paint home and I get to work.  After two coats, about 20 minutes of drying time, and a hydrangea plucked from another arrangement here in the house, this is what I produced:

Ah, beauty.  Much better than that sparkly white, at least in my house!  Do you see the crack?  Nope, it's turned towards the back, and even if it were facing the front, the dark paint hides it so well no one will ever notice!  So for around $2.50 (I used so little paint I can hardly add the $3) I have a new piece of home decor.  I placed it on my buffet table, which now looks like this:



Ignore the unpainted trim, um-kay?  I told you yesterday, I'm getting to that!  I still have some more work to do to make my buffet feel "finished", but I'm loving it so far.  By the way, the plate stand on the left was a goodwill find from that same shopping trip.  It was a hideous gold which I also spray-painted with the ORB (Oil-Rubbed Bronze).  Sorry, I forgot to take before pics of that one.  The candle centerpiece was from the same antique/thrift shop as the vase.  I think I spent a total of $20 on all three pieces.  I wasn't too thrilled about the costs of the stand or candle holder, but like I said, it's better than paying full-price and I think for $20 it looks pretty good!  Oh, I almost forgot!  The table-runner has been sitting in a drawer just waiting to be used.  It's a khaki-colored linen fabric.  I picked that up a few months ago for $.50.  I just LOVE a good deal!  And the buffet table?  A wonderful gift from my grandmother! 

(It doesn't get any better than FREE!  Thanks Grandma!)



Well, it's been over a week since I've posted my friends!  What a crazy week it has been, too.  We are almost finished with the Love Yourself, Lose Your Junk Mission in Grace's room.  All we have left to do is purchase the closet system and install it.  (Hubby is off next week and I am hoping I can sweet talk him into helping me do that.)  If you didn't read the post about the mission, you can do so here.  I'm hoping to post pics of the completed project soon!

I think we are finally getting our house back in order after our crisis move.  (That is another story which I will spare you all.)  Our home is almost back to the peaceful place it was before.  My youngest was walking through the house yesterday and said to me, "Mom, you know what?  The house is actually clean!"  What I'm sure he meant was he could walk without tripping over boxes, there are no more piles of paper laying all over the house needing to be filed, and he can actually find all his toys and school books.  Yeah!  I can almost breathe again!

Now listen people, I could leave it at that and make you think my house is all spickety span and perfect, but that would be mean.  Besides, those of you who really know me are already thinking, yeah right, we know you've got a mess in there!  Do you want to see where I put all that stuff in an effort to get the rest of the house in order?  I don't want to show you, but I will.

TADA . . .

See how perfectly I hid them behind the sofa?  Isn't that a sneaky trick?  Now I can go through them as I have the time, and not worry about anyone seeing them if they come to visit.  You only have to walk around the couch if you are walking outside or into my craft room. 

This is what you would see if you were a guest walking into my living room. 

Ah, yes . . . you can't see those pesky boxes. 

(Ignore the down sofa cushions that need fluffing!)

In my mind I'm praying you don't ask to see my craft room on your visit. 

Otherwise, you will see them, and on top of that, you will see this:

Oh my sad, sad craft room.

It is just begging me to get it in order.

Really people, this drives me nuts, but I AM going to get it done. 

I am doing a little every day.  

Now, even though it is not yet March, I am going to share my next very exciting project with you.  My baby sister is getting married in April!  (Insert squeal of excitement here.) As the Matron of Honor, I am "honored" to be able to give her the Bridal Shower I have been dreaming of giving her since she was a little girl.  (She is 10 years younger than me, so I've had lots of time to think about it.)  Here are some pics I took of her and my brother-to-be.  Aren't they too sweet for words?  (Thank God I am not wearing mascara yet today, they bring tears to my eyes!) 

Last week we finished making the invitations for her Bridal Shower.  I just LOVE stamping, so we got the bridesmaids and a few family members to help us out with those.  I think they turned out just beautiful!  What do you think?

Because of the upcoming shower, I am trying to get my visible living areas ready for her shower.  We have lots of family coming who have never been to my home, and I am so anxious to get so many projects done before then. 

I need to paint the new trim around one of the doors in the dining room.

(See it to the right in this pic?  Ugh - it gets on my nerves every time

we sit down to a meal!  I hate you ugly, unpainted door trim!  Your unpainted

days in this house are numbered!)

 

 I need something on the wall above the sofa in the living room.

(I have something in mind already.)  Ignore the weird shape on the wall. 

It's just a reflection from the mirror.  And that stuff hanging down from

the top of the pic is the chord for our ceiling fan. 

 I need to finish the dining room chair re-do I've already begun. 

(ugh - don't even look at that hideous denim!  These chairs were a

goodwill find and I have yet to find the perfect fabric to recover them.) 

Do you see the pesky half-painted trim in this pic too?  Ugh!  Bugging me!

And finally, I think I have the hub's permission to buy some new comfy chairs for the sitting room.  It's the first thing you see when you come in the house, and it will be so much more cozy once I have those picked out.  These chairs are just not cutting it anymore!  (However, I DO so love the window seat and bookshelves hubby installed for us in there!)  (I do NOT love the view out the window on trash day - hurry up you silly garbage men!)

Well, I think that's all for today.  I PROMISE to post those pics of Grace's room just as soon as it's done.  As for my craft room, you may have to wait awhile to see completed pics in there.  I will update you on my progress with my March projects as they come along.  In the meantime, Happy Homemaking!





My (Belated) Valentine's Gift to You

I hope all of you had a WONDERFUL Valentine's Day and that your husband and children made you feel incredibly appreciated and loved.  My hubby came home with a card and some candy for each of the kids (except for Grant, who HATES candy, he brought a bag of beef bites.  Don't ask me what those are, but I sure didn't want any!)  For me he brought my favorite - peanut m&m's and a funny valentine card.  The funniest part was, I picked out the exact same card for him!!  We had a good laugh over what a perfect pair we are.

We never really make a big deal out of Valentine's Day because our Anniversary is on the 20th, so it just seems silly to do a bunch of lovey dovey stuff right before then.  We like to pack it all in to one occasion.  Of course, I wouldn't have my feelings hurt if he showed up with an unexpected vase of flowers, but I never expect that because we came to an agreement years ago not to celebrate. 

Today, I've been focusing on staying sane with all the craziness of life.  Do you ever have one of those weeks when your calendar is just so full you can't figure out when you're going to have the time to get it all done?  That's me this week.  I am usually pretty good at time management, but every once in awhile, I just can't figure out how or when the laundry is going to get washed (or folded for that matter?!) 

As a homeschooling mom, it is EXTREMELY important for me to keep a set routine for the kids to rotate through when it comes to chores.  Without this handy routine, I would probably go cuh-ray-zee!  Even with the routine, the house is never really up to my standards (which my kids will tell you is the essence of perfection, and I would be fibbing if I tried to disagree). 

Anyhoo - I thought I would share this handy little set of spreadsheets that have brought the sanity back into my life in the hopes that you might be able to utilize them in your own household.  Homeschooling or not, what mom wouldn't like a helping hand (or few) around the house?  My children are 7, 9 and 13 years old and most of these jobs require little or no supervision from me.  They are learning responsibility, teamwork, and most importantly, that when a mess is made, if they don't clean it up then, mom will NOT be cleaning it up later.  They have become more conscious about cleaning up after themselves, which makes a WORLD of difference around here! 

Drum roll . . .

tap your fingers . . .

here come the spreadsheets . . .

are you tired of waiting yet?

Ok darn it, after several tries I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the image of the spreadsheet on here - I guess I have a lot more to learn about this computer stuff - ha!

So I am just going to do the best I can, bare with me (or is it bear, cause you want to growl in frustration?)  ugh!

I'm going to start off with one spreadsheet and we'll continue this in a later post, um-kay?

In the bathroom, we have:

                 Monday   Tuesday     Wednesday   Thursday     Friday

Wipe counters            Grant       Grace          Reece         Grant        Grace
and sink

Wipe mirror and         Grace       Reece         Grant           Grace       Reece
around toilet

Swiffer the floor          Reece      Grant          Grace           Reece      Grant


Do you get the idea?  I have the spreadsheet actually printed and posted inside the linen cabinet in the kids' bathroom.  They  know exactly what they are supposed to do every morning.  No need for arguing, no need to tell me who did or didn't do what yesterday, no haggling with them.  It's wonderful!

As promised, I will share more of my housework spreadsheets in a later post.  I will also be filling you in on the progress we've made on the Love Yourself, Lose Your Junk Mission in Grace's room.

If you have any ideas on how to run a smoother household, I would LOVE to hear them!

Blessings to you,
Dafne

Mission: Love Your Family

Today was family day, as I believe all Sundays should be.  Hubby was home, which is sometimes a rare commodity due to the nature of his work, but lately has been happening more often.  (YEAH!!!)

He spent time helping Reece finish his car for the Boy Scout Derby Race this afternoon.  They began the project earlier in the week, and were super ambitious about the look they were trying to achieve.  Last night, however, neither of them were happy with the way the car looked.  So, they spent much of the early afternoon trying to modify the paint to their satisfaction.  I was pretty impressed with their final product, even if they weren't!

Would you just look at that cutie pie grin?  My heart is just melting!  <sigh>  He was all pumped and ready to race!  He and his friends were feeling a little silly, as most boys usually are when they get together for anything.  It was difficult to get them to stay seated and actually watch their cars race!  When they finally got settled, their little eyes were glued to the score board to see whose car rolled the fastest and who got first place.  They were all very good sports!

This was Reece's 1st Derby Race and he really enjoyed seeing all the other boys' cars and watching the races, even if he didn't make it to the Grand Finals.

So what does all this have to do with loving my family?  Well, I firmly believe that we must support each other in our endeavors.  Having your family stand by and watch while you do something you're proud of, in my opinion, can only encourage you to continue to try new things.  I believe it will give each of my children the confidence they will need later in life when they apply for college, a job, a promotion, or whatever else God leads them to do.  I want them to have the courage necessary to fulfill the purpose He has for them and its my job to help them find that courage.    Something as simple as a Boy Scout Derby Race is a good opportunity to do that.  Sometimes I just can't believe what a fun job God gave me!  Who could ask for anything better?

Blessings to you,
Dafne

Today, as part of my February mission, I'm going to Love My Friends.  So many of you have asked me to show you how I save so much money at the grocery store and today I'm going to tell you how I do it.  (BTW - this is also how I Love My Family - saving money at the grocery store means more money for spending on fun stuff!)

Now listen friends, this is not a task to be taken lightly.  It does take some time and effort, more so in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it - it's a piece of cake!

First off, you MUST purchase your weekly Sunday newspaper.  If you have a family of more than 3 people, buy 2 so you will have double the coupons.  Set aside the grocery store ads and coupons, then choose a day that is the least hectic (notice I didn't say calm, not hectic or outright boring - mostly because we don't have those days around here!)  So pick the LEAST hectic day to sit down and cut them out.  Or better yet, hand them over to your kids and let them get to work with those scissors!  When it's all been done, you should have a pile like this:



The next, and probably most important thing, is to have some sort of organization system.  Some people like to organize by expiration date, but I prefer to organize by the way my store is set up.  I use a small 4x6 photo album with clear sleeves to hold the coupons.  I label the front of each clear sleeve with the name of each department, beginning with what I see first when I walk in the store: Bakery (Bread, Tortillas, etc.), next would be produce (not a lot of coupons here, mainly for bagged salads, dressings, etc.)  If you have a good visual image in your head of what your store looks like, it's not hard to do.  Just try to be as detailed as possible.  If you only have one sleeve that says Dairy, you're going to overload that sleeve, so I break my Dairy department into Milk, Juice, Coffee Creamer; Eggs, Cheese, Butter; Cookies, Brownies, Pillsbury Products; Sour Cream, Yogurt . . . well, you get the picture, right?

After you have your coupons all cut out, you're ready to sit down and make out your list for the week.  If you're a busy mom like most, you probably have a few crock pot or take-out nights planned.  (BTW - if you have them planned, you can save a lot more money than if you just pull into the nearest McDonald's without even thinking about it!)  Lots of restaurants place coupons in the paper, and many also have Kids Eat Free Nights - so if you know baseball and dance are falling on the same night this week - have that in your plan and you won't be breaking the bank!  You can find local Kids Eat Free Restaurant deals here.  My favorite is the TX Roadhouse - yum yum!  Sorry, I digress, back to the meal planning.  So you sit down with your handy grocery store ads

and your calendar and you start planning.  Now listen my friends, we all know that when we go into the grocery store we tell ourselves I am ONLY going to get what I absolutely NEED!  Right?  Do you say it to yourself?  I know I did for YEARS.  Well, you have to get over this mindset or you will never save the kind of money I do.  I wish I had a copy of one of my best trips - the cashier rang me up and the total for my overflowing basket of groceries was $230.  After I gave her my Kroger card and the stack of coupons that made the woman behind me roll her eyes, it came down to $107.  Believe me, by the time it was over, she wanted to know the secret! 

You have to learn to buy the things that you may not need today, but will definitely use tomorrow, when you have the best coupons and the best sale is happening.  Here's the best example I've used that I can think of:

Say I have a bathroom drawer full of razors.  You wouldn't think I would put that on my list, right?  Wrong!  Kroger has my brand on sale Buy 1, Get 1 Free.  But I don't even want to pay for 1 package - so I get out my trusty coupon album, find my Buy 1, Get 1 Free coupon, and I come home with $14 worth of razors that I paid $0 for.  Now isn't that nice?  Gee, I sure think so!  At our local theater, my 3 kids and I can get into a daytime showing for that price.  Woo hoo!   You just have to apply that mentality to everything you're shopping for.  You may not be able to use it for bread or milk, but you rarely find coupons for those items anyway.

Ok, so we're back at our table, with our ad and coupons.  You're going to look to see what meat is on sale that week.  (I am no longer a meat eater, which is another story, but when I was, it's how I started my planning).  There are no coupons here either, but if the roasts are on sale for $4 vs $13, you're going to buy 3 even if you don't plan on cooking them this week.  It's like seeing a sale sign that says 3 for the price of 1!  Plan your meals around the meat specials, but use your coupons and sale ads to help you.  If the chicken is on sale, as are the frozen veggies, campbell's soups, and rice - grab your coupons for those items, stock up, and you'll have a pantry ready to throw a quick casserole into the crockpot. 

It's going to take some practice, but you can do it if you decide you're tired of letting Kroger, Wal-mart or H-E-B have all your hard-earned money!  My family took our very first "out of Texas" vacation this year, complete with airplane rides, hotel accomodations and the best time we've ever had as a family.  My husband didn't get a raise and we didn't stop spending money on things we wanted.  I am certain we were able to do it because of my ambition in this area which most people don't realize they can actually have some control over.  Our food budget (which includes groceries and eating out) has decreased from between $800 - $1,200 a month (which is just sickening to me friends!), to around $600 for a family of 5.  Don't think for one second it's because I am no longer eating meat that I am saving - my family still eats it up like there won't be any around tomorrow!

Well friends, I hope you'll try to keep a little more of this:

 

so maybe you can go to more places like this:

 

or do whatever else your family loves. 

You can visit these sites for more information or to get more help,

http://www.couponmom.com/

http://www.afullcup.com/

http://www.mommysavers.com/category/blog/

http://www.retailmenot.com/

and as always, you can leave me a comment as well.  I will be more than happy to answer any questions or to help you get started. 

Blessings to you,

Dafne

Mission:    Love Your Neighbors

We spent some time yesterday with friends from our homeschool group at the Annual Valentine Skate Party.  We exchanged valentines, had a few snacks and participated in the Most Creative Valentine Box contest.  The kids had a blast!

While we were there, I learned a "knifty" new craft which Grace and I will do together in order to accomplish Mission: Love Your Neighbor.  Several of the other moms have committed to making hats for the homeless and I wanted to learn so we could participate as well.  Using some very inexpensive tools (which can be purchased at Hobby Lobby or Michael's) I learned how to create a precious knitted hat. Here is what the Knitting Looms look like:

These were very inexpensive - about $15 for 4.  There is an extra small ring for babies, a medium sized ring for toddlers or small children, and a large and extra large ring for adults.

I bought some chunky yarn in a pretty pink color (also at Hobby Lobby) and set to work: 

It took a few sittings, but I estimate that it took a total of about 2 1/2 hours to do this: 

I'm sorry, but this hat is too stinkin' cute if I do say so myself!!!  I still have more to add in order to make the little ball on top, but it's almost there!!  It feels so good to do something so simple for a child who might not otherwise have anything warm to cover their head.

I taught Grace how to work the looms, and she has already begun her first hat.  I'm excited that this is something she and I will be able to do together.  It is also my hope that she will feel the joy that comes from giving to those less fortunate than ourselves.

Tomorrow, we'll pick up on the Love Yourself Mission in her room.  For today, we put the focus outside of ourselves, and learned a new way to show love to our neighbors.

Blessings to you,
Dafne

Day 2 of the Love Yourself, Lose Your Junk Mission in Grace's Room

Today went really well!  We completed Step 3 in it's entirety.  I thought for sure this was going to take at least a few days.  We went through 3 large black trash bags, 2 huge boxes, and the miscellaneous stuff that had just been scattered on the floor.  Grace did a really great job letting go of what she KNOWS she has not used in years.  We had a good discussion about charity and sharing our blessings with those who are less fortunate.  She let go of toys, clothes AND dolls.  Wow - I was one proud mama!!  We have 1 large bag of DONATE items ready to go to the church tomorrow, 1 bag of trash, and 2 cardboard boxes to recycle.  We figured out why, even when all the laundry is done, she couldn't find any of her clothes - she had them "hidden" among all that junk in her room!  We have two loads to wash tomorrow and then she'll have a full closet again.  Can you say relief?  *SIGH*

I think she learned an important lesson about why it's so important to keep things neat (a lesson she learns each year around this time when I do my crazy purging thing.)  She was so excited when she "found" one of her favorite stuffed animals, a shirt she's been looking for, and the new tennis shoes we just bought her last week.  

I wanted to take a picture of her smiling face as she sat on her pretty flower rug playing with her Barbies, but sadly, my camera batteries were dead.  Talk about uh-noy-ing!  Ugh!  They're on the charger now peeps - so hopefully there will be more pics tomorrow.

I can tell you from experience that losing your junk really does feel like loving yourself - and once I upload the pic of my daughter's smiling face, you just might believe it too!

Blessings to you,

Dafne

Mission: Love Yourself, Lose Your Junk!

February is the month for love.  Love your family, love your friends, love your neighbors, love yourself!!!  I, personally, feel loved when everything is clean and organized!  I am trying to teach my sweet children that when we keep our home neat and orderly, it makes our guests feel loved and welcome.  Not only that, but we have a much more peaceful home to relax in when everything is in its place and we are not holding on to things we no longer need.

Every year around this time, I begin to get really crazy purge our home of the junk stuff we have somehow accumulated over the last year.  It is unreal to me how much we bring in.  My daughter (bless her adorable soul) is the worst when it comes to getting rid of things.  She will hold on to a piece of napkin she drew a picture on at a restaurant three years ago - sheesh!!

I can't say she is alone, I also have a hard time getting rid of things that I am determined I will use "someday".  We both share a passion for anything creative - she loves to draw, paint or work with clay.  I am a scrapbook junkie, love to sew and have a passion for turning garage sale finds into pieces that make our house a home.  Our combined creative personalities make for a lot of trash treasure around our house!

Well friends, enough is enough!  This year, I am determined to get organized and STAY organized.  I WILL NOT allow my perfectionism to keep me from getting it done.  I WILL NOT procrastinate.  I WILL NOT wait until we buy and install closet organizers (which I have wanted to do for YEARS!)Clutter keeps me from writing, sewing, scrapbooking, baking, or doing anything else I find enjoyable.  It makes my daughter's room look like a war zone and prevents me from even wanting to go in there!  It keeps her from having friends over, working on her crafts, or enjoying a good book in the peace and quiet of what should be her personal space, not her storage room!  I have a plan for getting things back in shape.  Grace (my daughter) and I put that plan into action today!

Step 1:  Get EVERYTHING that does not have a designated space out of the room.  (Do NOT obsess over where we are going to put it, just GET IT OUT!!!)

Step 2: Get the room clean and neat (Vacuum, dust, make bed, etc.)

Step 3:  Go through the removed items (at a reasonable pace - say 1 box/bag per day)  Separate into Keep/Donate/Throw Out categories

Step 4: Take the Donate items to the Church, take the Throw Out items to the trash!

Step 5: Make a list of needed items to get all the Keep items in order (do we need any additional storage baskets for the closet, does she need magazine holders, hooks for her closet to hold purses, etc.)

Step 6: Purchase the items and put them in place

Step 7: Enjoy the newly organized room and reward Grace with a sleepover or craft party!

I'm estimating that it will take us at least a week to complete the remainder of the LOVE YOURSELF, LOSE YOUR JUNK mission in Grace's room.  We got through steps 1 and 2 today.  Here is a pic of what came out of her room, can you believe it?

Wow - that is a LOT of stuff!  Some child is going to be truly blessed with all the clothes, shoes, blankets and whatever else we decide to place in the donate pile.  There is NO way all of this is going back in her space!

I do still want to purchase a closet organizer like this one:



but I am not going to let the waiting keep us from enjoying our home!

I hope you'll stay with me as we complete our Love mission this week.  I also hope you'll share stories of your own Love missions as well!

Blessings to you,
Dafne