Buried Under a Pile of Housework

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just can’t keep up with everything?  This week is mine!  It all started when I got sick.  Horrible sore throat where it hurt to swallow, runny nose, aches, headache and the list goes on and on.  When your body is fighting against sickness, you don’t feel like doing much of anything else.  So my nights have consisted of rest and not much else.  

The house is in bad shape!  Dishes need to be done, clothes need to be picked up, laundry needs to be done, the whole house needs to be cleaned and now disinfected! 

It’s so easy when the house gets to this point just to leave it that way.  Do these things ever cross your mind? There’s no way I’m ever going to catch up. Who cares what it looks like anyway.. I’ll wait to clean it until I know someone’s coming over.

It’s so easy to become lazy again.  But even the Bible tells us that laziness is a harder way to live.  

Proverbs 15:19 (ESV) "The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway."

The longer I leave it, the more it will pile up and the harder it will be to complete.  Maybe it would be easier to complete it I had a different attitude about the work.

A friend of mine sent me a link this past week to an article online.  The man being interviewed in the article works for a cleaning service.  I like what he said to the question of how does your work reflect some aspect of God’s work:

As an image-bearer of God, how does your work reflect some aspect of God’s work? I haven’t always intuitively classified my work as image-bearing, but as I’ve thought about it, I’ve seen that bringing order out of chaos reflects the image of God.  When I get to a job, it can be filthy everywhere. By the time I leave it, though, it’s clean. I make clean what is filthy.  We see God doing that all over the place in Scripture.  In creation, he creates order out of chaos by speaking creation into existence. As sinners, he takes the chaos of our lives and makes order through Christ.  At the end of a job, there’s a great deal of satisfaction knowing that God has used the work of my hands to make clean and new what was once dirty.

(taken from http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/bringing-order-out-of-chaos-one-dirty-job-at-a-time)

Maybe if I thought about my own housework as being image-bearing work, I wouldn't be so reluctant to complete it!

Now that I finally have some energy back, I think tonight I'll try to catch up on my housework after the girls are in bed and keep in mind that in my own little way I am reflecting the image of God!

Thankful for Friendships

This past weekend I was able to spend time with some of my favorite people.

Saturday night I got together with three close girlfriends. We don't get to see each other often but I always look forward to our time together.  We catch up on our lives, we share our joys, our struggles and some unbelievably funny things that happen in our lives, right girls?!  The best part...we love and pray for each other.  

Then on Sunday afternoon we had small group at our house.  Over the years the 11 of us have shared our lives with each other.  We have grown by being open and honest with each other.  We share our faith, our parenting struggles and joys, our relationship trials and triumphs and so much more.  Sometimes we are dealing with some hard situations and what a blessing to know we can discuss those things with friends that love and support us.

Everyone needs strong, solid relationships, accountability in their lives, and encouragement in their walk with God. How fortunate am I that I have found all of these things in my group of friends!

I love all of these people and feel so blessed that each and every one of them is in my life. God has provided me with a great group of friends that I know not only love me but love God.

My Grocery List

Last month in my meal planning post (if you missed it click here), I mentioned that I carry around a folder that has my meal planning calendar, my grocery list, my to-do list and my calendar. I’m a little bit of a list freak!  I’ve already shared my meal planning calendar so today I thought I’d share my grocery list with everyone.

I know what you’re thinking… why share a grocery list?  Why do we need to see that?  Well, my grocery list is a little different than most.  I don’t just grab a blank piece of paper and write down the things I need.  I have more of a grocery list template.

As you can see from the picture, I have a list that’s pre-populated with items that I typically buy.  When I am doing my meal planning I just take my highlighter and highlight the items that I will need.  I take the list with me to the store and then check off the items as I go.  It saves me a little time to not have to write it out. It also helps to see all the things listed out because after looking at the grocery list I may remember something that I needed but didn’t think about it until I saw it on the list.

I used to do a lot of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart over my lunch break.  I needed to get in and out of there quickly, so I set up the list in the order of the store.  I usually would head to the back of the store and work my way back up to the register and my grocery list followed that. 

I am now doing most of my grocery shopping at Aldi’s so I do need to update my grocery list to follow that stores layout.  Something I need to do soon as it’s a little frustrating going through the store with a grocery list that is out of order.

Out of curiosity, how do you handle your grocery list?  Do you write it out? Do you use an app?  Do you have a grocery list like mine?  What works for you?

Filling My Bucket

In the first chapter of the book I'm reading there was an action step to find things that fill your bucket.  I've been taking time to try to figure out what those things really are.  One thing I've stumbled upon is walking.  In the evenings, I've started walking after supper to get some extra exercise.  I start at our driveway, walk a little over a mile and then head back.  If you would have asked me before I started the walks if this would be something that filled my bucket, I would have definitely laughed! No way, exercise filling my bucket?! You've got to be crazy!

I don't think it's really the walking that is filling my bucket.  It's a combination of things.  First, the scenery!  I usually go on my walks around 6:00pm. Perfect timing for the sunset! 

Second, alone time.  My walk is a time for me to be by myself. No work, no kids, no husband, no responsibility except to walk.

Third, the music.  I love listening to music and my walks give me a chance to do that without interruption.  I've been using an old iPod that I haven't updated in a long time, so I've been reminiscing lately, listening to music from years past: Caedmons Call, Smalltown Poets, Nouveaux, Newsboys, Sonicflood, and some old Jars of Clay, dc talk, and Third Day. 

Alone time listening to my favorite music, enjoying God's creation....bucket filling for sure!

When you get depleted, it's tempting to start looking around for someone to pull you out. But let me state with crystal clarity: It's your responsibility to fill your bucket--not your boss's, not your board's, not your church's, not your staff's, not your spouse's. It's your own responsibility to keep your own bucket filled, to identify streams of replenishing energy that will take you from a depleted state to where your tank is filled to the brim and overflowing.   - Simplify by Bill Hybels

Have you been filling your tank lately? And if not, maybe it's time you sat down and figured out what replenishes you and make it a priority.

Before & After: Weekend Project 2 - Results

After: Storage Baskets

Again, I am amazed that something you think will take you forever to accomplish really doesn't take that long if you set aside time to specifically work on it. I started clearing our the baskets this morning with two little helpers and in no time we were done.

First, we completely cleaned out all the baskets.  We sorted everything into categories: Wii games/accessories, DVDs, coloring books/notebooks, crayons/markers/pencils, craft supplies, and puzzles.  From there we went through all of that and threw away all of the garbage and items we no longer needed/used.  Unbelievably, we ended up with a garbage bag full of trash!

A couple of weeks ago, when I was at Target, I was shopping in the dollar spot area.  I love to look there every time I go to Target because every once and awhile you can find some great deals.  For example, the black bins pictured below.  At the time I didn't know what exactly I would use them for but they were 2 for $1 and I knew I could use them somewhere around the house.  Today was the day they found their purpose.

Small bins from the dollar spot at Target.

I used a few bins in almost every basket.  The first basket was the Wii games.  The game cases fit in the containers perfectly.  Only problem was that we'd have to take them all out to find the right game.  I fixed that by writing the name of the games on the top edge of the cases.

The basket has a hole in the back so I was also able to store the remote charger right in the basket and still have it plugged in.

I was going to use the bins for our DVDs too but most of the cases are black so it would have been hard to write the name on the case so those were laid on their sides.  Most of the girls movies are kept in a CD holder so I stored that in the same basket.

The next thing I used the black bins for was organizing the crayons, markers, and pencils.  The girls love to color and draw and this basket had become uncontrollable.  We had a paint bucket full of crayons and decided to pair it down quite a bit.  We had enough crayons for about 20 kids.

The girls always seem to be arguing about notebooks and coloring books.  Instead of sharing everything they are always getting mad at each other for using "my notebook" or "my coloring book."  So to eliminate that fight, we divided up the notebooks and coloring books and each girl agreed on which ones they wanted to keep.  Each girl got their own basket.  I also made a folder for each girl.  I noticed that before if they colored something and wanted to keep it, it either ended up on my fridge or they just shoved it back into one of the baskets.  So hopefully they will use the folders now to store their artwork.  I'm sure a few will still end up on the fridge but at least now it won't be completely covered!

One of the baskets was full, and I mean FULL of puzzles.  We determined that we didn't need that many puzzles and got it down to a more manageable number.  To save space we got rid of most of the puzzle boxes a long time ago.  They are stored in ziplock bags along with a picture of what the puzzle is supposed to look like.  After we organized this basket we ended up with a bag of about 20 puzzles that will be making their way to the thrift store.

The last basket that I used a black bin in was the craft basket and after a quick trip to the store we got some new boxes to store the beads the girls use to make necklaces and the rubber bands to make bracelets.

In addition to finding out this project didn't take as long as I thought it would, I also realized that the girls love to help me clean up and organize.  They like to help out in the decision making process.  I think a lot of times I just tend to do things myself, when I should be involving them.  It is good for them and good for me to have the help.  This way they can also feel pride in keeping it clean and organized since they helped get it that way in the first place.

So, did you have a project this weekend?  Cleaning a closet, doing some baking, making freezer meals, or just conquering the laundry?  I'd love to hear from all of you.

Before & After: Weekend Project 2

Before: Storage Baskets

Quite a few years ago I got an Ikea bookcase to use as a tv stand in our living room.  It first started out with just baskets on the bottom shelves with open storage on the top. Soon after I decided that looked too messy and disorganized as we were mainly using it for toy storage and broke down and got baskets for the remaining shelves.

The baskets help keep the living room clean, however the mess has just moved into the baskets.  At one point they were organized but as time has gone on they have gotten so filled with junk that sometimes it's difficult to even close them. I haven't been as disciplined as I should have been with making sure they stayed organized.

My project for this long weekend...the baskets! And my goal is the same as my last weekend project...quit just dealing with the clutter and mess and reorganize it into something that will work for the space and for the family.   

What will you work on this weekend?

Have you ever had a morning like this?

My daughter's birthday party this weekend must have thrown us all off. Because...

1. We forgot to set out clothes for the week last night. Luckily, there were no arguments about clothes but it was a little hectic.
2. We forgot to finish some homework this weekend. So reading was done this morning, which meant...
3. Breakfast was consumed in the car this morning on the way to the bus stop.

What a not-so-great way to start the week!

I'm sure you can figure out what is on our to-do list tonight?!