The Purging of STUFF

Our house has been undergoing a serious "purging" over the last 2 weeks. We just have so much, STUFF, you know? Just stuff...it's everywhere, I look!  Stuff, Stuff, STUFF.


We live in smaller home (for our family size) and we often talk about how we wished we had more room.  But, the simple truth is, we do have room...it's just that STUFF is taking up all our room!

Finally, after a late night talk, Ryan and I got serious.  The next day, we went into "purge" mode and decided to "half our stuff".

This wasn't just casual "Spring cleaning", this was serious, no emotions, "just let it go" cleaning like we'd never done before.

My first spark of inspiration came from my friend Amy, at Raising Arrows, who has been blogging every Saturday as she "halves her stuff" room by room.  Well, we caught onto her vision about 3 months late, but caught up in two weeks!

~~So what'd we do?

Well, first of all, we decided to "practice what we preach".

You see, one of my boys is always saying, "But I need..." 
To which I always say (and now he quotes...), "No, that's what you want.  What you need is air, shelter, sleep, clothing, food, water and Jesus."

So, we simply stopped riding the fence on certain toys, clothes that we've hung onto that get worn too infrequently, books we'll never read again, etc.  And we even took it a step further...

We took a spin on the Amish saying for clothing:

"One for wash, One for wear,

One for play and One to spare"

We have tubs full of cute outfits and matching accessories.  But being a practical momma, I usually gravitate for clothes that can be mixed and matched.  Simple, solid, practical. 

So, we accumulated 15 trash sacks of clothes as we took each age's "tub" and simplified to 7 play outfits, 5 dress outfits and 4 pajamas for both winter and summer.

Yes, those 15 trash sacks sat on our front porch for a few days...

I'm sure our poor, sweet neighbors were less than thrilled!

And let me tell ya...

It felt SO good to condense all our STUFF we had in storage, down to half of what it was before!

Around the house, we literally went room by room and just started throwing stuff into boxes.  We don't use it?... we don't need it.  Can't remember the last time we touched it?...we don't need it.  Etc.

~~The hard part
We had to resolve to not let our my emotions get too involved.  My love language is gifts, so I remember almost every item, who gave it to us, if it's clothes~when a certain kid wore it...and on and on.

Plus, I kept struggling with the thought that we were being ungrateful for all the blessings we had recieved.  But the Lord kept reminding me that people gave us these things to bless us, and if they are no longer a blessing (but a burden, taking up space we need) then it was time to let them go.

So I had to "put on my brave face" and just think practically...which is not an easy endeavor for me!

~~The fun part
Some people don't think of garage sales as very much fun...but I do!!!  We had a one-day yard sale.  I put an ad in the paper and 2 simple, paper signs up on busier streets and set our stuff out.

I went for SIMPLE pricing.  All clothes, all shoes $.50.  We weren't out to make money, so I priced low in hopes that more would get purchased!  And it WORKED!!!

Almost all the toys/decor were $.50-$1.00. 

Books, VHS tapes, DVD's and CD's were $.25 (I told you I wasn't in it for the money...I wanted to get RID of this stuff!)

We had four "big" items (a TV, an old laptop, a DVD player and a camera) but everything else was small "piddley" stuff.

And guess what?  We made almost $800 dollars in those 6 hours!!!

Pricing low was worth it (pun intended!) and now we are a lighter, happier home with more room to run, play and prepare to GROW even more!!!

Cleaning/Learning System

I have labeled as much as I can in our "toy room", not only to help with a quick clean-up but also to encourage my boys to read what they see.

Each of our toy tubs is labeled with both a picture and the name of the contents.  

So when I tell the boys to "put the balls away", they not only see where it goes, they are seeing the word related with the picture.

I have done this just on the simple sets like "Balls", "Farm" "Cars", "Legos", "Trucks", "Trains" and so on.

It's just a simple idea to encourage learning in a typical day to day activity!

This post is linked to "Real Clean Wednesday" 

and "Works For Me Wednesday" 

and now also "Tuesdays Tips"!

Hi, This is Grace. I'm Not Home Right Now...So Leave A Message...

Well, okay, literally, I am at home (come on, 4 little kids? Rarely am I anywhere else!) but "The Mommy On the Bus" had to SAY something!  :)

What I mean to say is, I'm not "home" at my blog today, because I've been invited to I Dream Of Clean as a guest poster!

So come visit me over there today!  I'm sharing how to set up a chore schedule for littles!

And If you are visiting from "I Dream Of Clean", WELCOME!!!

Glad you stopped in!

I hope you take a few minutes to look around, after all, I really do dream of clean!  Sometimes I even obsess about it (see HERE).

And If you too, "Dream Of Clean", here are a few more posts of mine that you might be interested in...


Cleaning Tip: Let The Lights Lead You

The Benefit of Chores for Little Kids

What Chores For Kids Look Like Around Here

What Chores For Momma Look Like Around Here

My House Managing Binder

And one last, fun post giving you Just a Taste of Little Things I Do To Simplify My Day

Mommy's Daily Chores and Weekly Rotations

Last Wednesday I talked about my children's chores (see HERE), and so this week I wanted to talk about my part of the chores!

I've said here before that I have issues with being OCD about the cleanliness of my house...and I don't say that lightly.  It really is a struggle for me to let go of my control when it comes to messes and tidiness.

So when I developed a cleaning schedule, it wasn't because it would never get done...it was because that was ALL that was getting done and I'd sacrifice playing with my kids for various housekeeping tasks.

I didn't used to clean every day, but I would often find myself panicking that something needed dusted, vacuumed or swept.  And the NEED was really just me over-reacting about a small mess my critical eye would spot!

Then I got a breath of fresh air, when I read a series of posts my MOMYS friend, Amy (check here, here and here!).  She presented the idea that she doesn't think "fly by the seat of your pants" is God's design...even when it comes to cleaning...because He is a God of timing and order... who orchestrated creation in seven specific days (along with seasons, a rising/setting sun, etc).

Before reading her post, I had some daily activities I did, but now I actually have a system!  It now looks like this:
Everyday Chores
-Dinner Prep
-Weekly Cleaning Activity (see below)
-Daily Focus Area (see below)
-Laundry Maintain (daily keeping up with loading, switching and folding laundry)

Weekly Cleaning Schedule:
Monday--Laundry (since I don't do laundry on the weekends, this is my day to catch up and the rest of the week I maintain). 
Tuesday--Dusting (the boys help me with sock on hands!)
Wednesday--Floors: Sweep/Mop
Thursday--Floors: Vacuum
Friday--Bathrooms
Saturday--Ironing/Organizing
Sunday--Rest!
(My husband and I's personal preference is a "clean house" on the weekends, not the beginning of the week...so this schedule helps us to feel like our house is clean come weekend!)

Daily Focus Area:
(Giving attention to each room a day at a time!)
Monday--Bedrooms (wash linens, declutter dressers, check under beds, etc)
Tuesday--Living Room (declutter bookshelves, tables, etc)
Wednesday--Kitchen (clean microwave, oven, fill containers, etc)
Thursday--Dining Room (clean off chairs, reorganize school area, etc)
Friday--Bathrooms (showers, straighten, switch towels, etc)
Saturday--Upstairs (pick up, clean, declutter, etc)
Sunday--Rest!

The way I did my cleaning schedule works SO well for me!  I feel like this saved my life!  I don't get stressed anymore about little "messes" I see, because I can just think to myself, "I'll get to that on...(appointed cleaning day)."  Of course, big, obvious messes (like spills and such) do get cleaned up right away!

When our family was smaller, one cleaning day worked great for me, but these days that just doesn't work very well!  So my house may not be totally clean at one time, but the rotation keeps my house in good, clean, working order!

And since I *LOVE* checklists, I also love when I get all four of my daily chores checked off!

This post is also linked to Real Clean Wednesday (and I'll be guest posting there next week!) and Works For Me Wednesday!

Bringing Some Upstairs, Downstairs

I love organization and simplification!  But storage in this old house (and it seems all old houses around here) is sparse.  

So, needless-to-say, I also love all variety's of "Rubbermaid"-type tubs, boxes, towers and drawers...and oh the drawers!  I have 9 of these all over my house.  I use them in my tall closets (for things not used often like dress-up clothes), in my school room (for supplies, educational games, workbooks), and in the kitchen (for pot holders, towels, recipe books).

I also have one special tower of drawers tucked next to the refridgerator in my kitchen, designated for my boys. 

Their room is "waaaaay" upstairs.  So in order to avoid countless trips up and down the CREEKY stairs (which I try to definetly avoid during the early morning and nap time--for my sleeping babes), I have brought a bit of the upstairs...downstairs! 

This has been wonderful for me because right now I try to leave the door to the upstairs closed because of my curious, crawling, climbing Liberty Joy!  So the less trips upstairs, the better!

 With one boy potty training, another boy encountering too many "accidents" during the day, and all three of them loving mud, gravel and puddles, we usually have a couple of outfit changes during the day.  So to make that a little more simple for me, I gave them each a drawer downstairs. 

It's their responsiblity to keep their drawer "stocked" with extra shorts, shirts and undies.  They also use their drawers to put important "treasures" that they don't want to forget to play with after naps, or the next day! 

It saves me some hassle, helps things running smoothly and keeps things a little more simple around here...which I always need!

This post is also linked to Real Clean Wednesday and Works For Me Wednesday.

And if you hop over HERE to I Dream Of Clean (host of Real Clean Wednesday), she's having a fabulous giveaway for a cleaning tote...my dream come true!!  I could finally say goodbye to my tupperware bowl that holds my random supplies!  :)

Spring Cleaning My Blog

One reason (among many) why I love this time of year is spring cleaning!  There's something wonderful about sitting on the floor, with the windows open, in front of the contents from a messy drawer and sorting!  And I tend to find joy in things like removing any and every object on a given surface in order to spread the love of a Lysol wipe on it!

Cleaning, scrubbing, organizing, filing, sorting, and trashing just makes me giddy!  It puts a smile on my face and pep in my step!

I'm almost done with all my spring cleaning projects inside and so I thought I should spring clean my blog and let it reflect the joy of SPRING.  (And yes, I'm in complete denial that tomorrow we're supposed to get hit with a snow storm that will leave us with a 6-8 inches of cold, mushy snow...)

Because today it is a lovely 64* in South East Kansas! So as I sit on my porch waiting for my sleeping babes to wake, I'm gonna give my blog a facelift...

So hang in there while I experiment!  I'm gonna give myself a new "tag-line" too!

(It's the little things in life that excitement me!)  :)

Managers Of Their Homes

1 Timothy 5:14, "So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander."

The idea of a M.O.T.H. binder comes from Steve and Teri Maxwell's website. I haven't read the book itself, but I have read a lot about the book...if that makes any sense!

My M.O.T.H. binder is pretty simple right now because my kids are still young, so there is not a whole lot of scheduling and planning. I'm sure, though, as the years go on, I'll be adding much to it!

The basic idea of my binder is to keep all my affairs of our home together in the same place.

-If there is an emergency and Ryan or I (or both of us) have to leave the boys under someone's care, our MOTH binder will also provide them guidance on how our home works (including allergies, weekly commitments, chores, etc).

-Instead of having several drawers with different papers, I keep a record of everything important (pertaining to each family member and our basic home maintenance) in the binder.

-It keeps keeps things simple for me-I always know where to find my many lists I love to write!

So far my binder consists of:

-"Day to Day" which is:

• to-do lists
• house rules
• daily reminders
• morning and evening "chores" for each boy
• addresses/numbers we use often
• our school learning objectives
• my cleaning schedule
• our daily and weekly schedules
• etc

-"Meals" which is:

• meals I want to try
• our monthly meal planner
• grocery lists
• meals rotation list
• quick meals to feed a big group that comes by unexpectedly (!)
• cooking tips
• coupons
• etc

-"Home-Made and Money Savings" which is:

• info on my cloth diapers (washing, stripping, etc)
• money saving tips
• comparison charts for shopping
• my home recipes (like laundry soap, dishwasher detergent, diaper creme, baby wipes, hand soap...)
• etc

-"Faith and Encouragement" which is:

• our family mission statement
• family vision
• verses I'm memorizing
• verses the boys are (or will) memorize
• encouraging articles, quotes, e-mails, threads on M.O.M.Y.S.
• etc
  

In the future I hope to add:

-Education: curriculum samples, deals on books, recommended curriculum, etc.

-Wheeler 200 year plan: this is something personal we're working on...so generations to come will know what their great-great grandparents prayed and desired for them. This is family goals, family beliefs, etc.

-Health: doctor info, family medical histories, allergies, etc.

-Sewing projects

For more info, my good friend, Mandy, has an excellent post on her blog about her M.O.T.H. binder here.

Day to day

Ever since summer ended, I've been trying to set a new schedule for us. It took some trial and error and a lot of praying, but I believe I finally have a weekly schedule that works!

It's important to Ryan and I that our boys (even though they are young) know that their entire day can not be spent on play. While play is important, it's also important they understand there is more to life.

Here is what a week day in our house looks like: (the order stays the same, but times vary)

7:30 ~ Wake, Breakfast and Clean-up
8:00 ~ Get dressed and Boys help with Chores
8:30 ~ Play
9:30 ~ Worship and Bible at family alter
***prayer
***memory verse
***Bible story
***put on the armor of God (Eph 6)
9:45 ~ "School" at table
***work on Boo's goals
***work on T-Man's goals
10:15~Play outside
11:30~Prepare, Eat and Clean-up Lunch
12:15~Read-alouds (right now we're going through Little House on the Prairie chapter books)
12:45~Boo and SJ down for naps
***"Teach Your Child to Read" workbook with T-Man or books of interest with T-Man
(right now he's interested in spiders, so we stocked up at the library)
1:30 ~ T-Man rest time
3:30 ~ Daddy home! Family time! Fun time!
5:30 ~ Prepare, Eat, Clean-up dinner
6:15 ~ Usually take a walk
7:30 ~ Family worship
8:00 ~ Bed-time