Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or Do without... a repeat.

My sweet husband lives by this motto! Before I go shopping for home decor items, I rifle through the garage, closets and look at all the things I could "repurpose" into something fabulous. Here are a few inexpensive decorating ideas from www.pointclickhome.com. With a little extra imagination, you could use these ideas to spruce up your holiday decor without spending much... How fun would it be to have a Halloween or Christams lampshade!... Start warming that glue gun ladies!

Grab that dusty lampshade, vacuum it and then decorate it with ribbon. If you're super cheap like me, you can even spray paint the thing first (I paint everything) then attack it with ribbon. If you get sick of the ribbon, pop it off and change it out. 

I have baskets all over my house... most don't have labels. Use that cute craft paper, print labels and frame them. Attach the frames to your baskets- Wal-mart and Goodwill have great finds.


This one is pretty eco- friendly. Paint dry twiggs (Ooo... Red for the holidays!) and arrange and glue gun them over a thrift store mirror. Ta-Da! What else do you have that you could paint and glue to a mirror?

Knowing When to do a Half Way Job

If you're a mother, then you know what it's like to be overwhelmed. You know what it's like be on your feet every waking minute of the day, moving, sweating, exerting precious energy only to take a last glance at he house before locking the doors and turning out lights to see... that nothing really seemed to get done.

There are days when doing a half way job on the house brings a lot of relief. Think! Instead of tackling that whole bathroom, couldn't you just clean the mirror and sink?

The tub may not need to be cleaned as much as your toddler needs to be held. Throw the towel in and leave the tub.

Motherhood has it's seasons. There are seasons for volunteering for PTA, seasons to organize your house and entertain guests, and seasons to slap the friends welcome sign on the door and hold your head high when that friend walks into your pile of laundry on the couch and building blocks on the floor.
I spout on and on about cleaning and routines around here like my house rivals the Queen of Clean. If ya'll feel overwhelmed about not being Henrietta Homemaker then breathe and examine your season.
If you have small children, take a good look in the mirror. Recall when your last full night of sleep was... double check the bags under your eyes. You don't have to do it all. Just shine the mirror and look at your beautiful self and do a half way job until your season changes.
This message brought to you by a mother of 6 in her pre-holiday season, volunteering too much, house is a disaster, laundry is running down the stairs season of overwhelmed. Tomorrow I'm taking a half day off!

You can catch me over at Blissfully domestic today!

Online Chore Charts Made Easy

We all are looking for solutions to help our punk-a-noodles to learn how to work and be responsible. I've written about it HERE, and Here, and Here, and gave my own organizational chore chart over HERE. Well, I've found a great site that may just help you manage your kiddos chore AND any goals you may have!
GoalForIt.com is a great online source for free kids chore charts and goal setting. You can do it privately or invite other friends to join a group for setting goals as well.

They have chore charts that you can customize. You choose the chores (they even come with pictures) They have tons of themes for boys...


And themes for girls.... All you need to do it log in and print them out.

GoalForIt.com

Here's to getting control of your house again as school begins! Cheers! Loud applause! Hoots and Hollars! Whoo Hoo!!

How do you think your kids will respond to their customized chore chart?

A 2 Story House is a Yelling House

Nobody told me when I was house hunting. It took me 7 years of owning a 2 story home to figure it out. Two story houses are yelling houses. And in case ya'll were wondering, that house above is not my house... neither are the other ones... these are my dream homes.
So how in the world with a family of 8 do I make this house a non-yelling house? Well, in all truth I'm still working on it. When there are 6 kids to bring something downstairs for you and you don't have to leave the pot your stirring in the kitchen, the temptation to yell upstairs to one of the kids and stay lazy overwhelms me more often than my sad triathlon training butt cares to admit.

One of the greatest ways I've cut down on my yelling in the home has been to hang a dinner bell in my kitchen. Every meal I ring the bell and my hungry punk-a-noodles come running. They know the bell means business (because if they're not here in time for prayer they have to watch us eat for a good 5-10 minutes before being served).

Gales Gifts has several styles but if you shop around I'm sure you'll find one that suits your home.

Along with our dinner bell I use other sounds to cue my children into action:

Sunday Morning music cues wake up time and breakfast. This sets the tone in our home as we prepare to worship on the Sabbath.

Upbeat work music helps cue kiddos that it's time to do the chores.

The sound of a moving starting in the family room will gather everyone as easily as a bell... but the gang knows that jobs have to be finished to participate.

I have a large key chain that has tipped of my little ones and the dog that I'm getting ready to leave. A little shake of those keys and my kids run to find out where I'm going and if they can come too. (note: this isn't too helpful when you're trying to leave for date night.)

I admit, trying to keep from yelling to my kids saps my self discipline. Its hard! But I also believe that taking that walk upstairs to speak to my children is worth it. I don't want to be remembered as a grumpy yelling mom. Over time yelling just trains our kids to not listen when we yell. I want my kids to know they're worth the extra 12 steps to talk to lovingly... and maybe, just maybe, my tone will be worth listening to.

How do you keep your house from becoming a yelling house?

Someone Exhumed my Exercise Gene

Yes, this is an exercising post. Don't worry, ya'll will feel like a bunch of Jane Fonda's after reading this post cuz I'm gonna give it to you straight... I think someone exhumed my exercise loving gene at birth.   I don't enjoy exercising... and it's starting to show.

I've always been active. I'm a healthy eater except for an occasional french fry fix and well... it's no mystery that I like chocolate... I might even say I need it.... okay, I can't live without it... alright, I MAY have a problem with eating right. But I'm not a big fast food person, unless I have no time to run home and fix food and my kids are bonkers in the car... okay, I like hamburgers and well what's a hamburger without something fizzy to go with it.... did I mention my kids go bonkers in the car more times out of the week than I can count?..... I'm done for.

The truth is I find physical fitness to be my personal challenge.  Anyone else out there nodding their heads? I know how important it is.  I want to be around until I'm 110 cuz that's how long it's gunna take me to learn good grammar, punctuation and sentence structuring not to mention the fact that "gunna" isn't a word.  I struggle to fit fitness into my routine and now that I'm 34 with 6 children and over 65% of my hair is gray, I LOOK like the prime candidate for a diet ad.  So, if you think you're going to get a fabulous how-to on getting fit, well, please direct your attention to Weight Watchers and The Biggest Loser websites. 

In all my experienced years I 'll tell you what I've learned:  There are skinny people and there are those "other" people.  Skinny people can look at a bowl of M&M's in the kitchen and walk by that bowl for 3 days and never take a bite.  They know the ice cream is in the fridge and they could cave any minute but, they're "not in the mood," or "not hungry."  Skinny people can eat a dessert at a restaurant and get half way finished and say, "I've had enough" then leave the plate for the waitress to take.  Skinny people have some fantastic magical power of self control that I believe could only be bestowed on me by way of a magic wand.... cuz I'm a fat person.  I prefer to say phat person... I wake up and think, "when I go downstairs I'm not going to eat an M&M before breakfast"  I head into the kitchen an start fixing my kids food.  The minute I get distracted my hand is in the M&M bowl and I've eaten a hand full of candy.  I could never leave my well prepared dessert that I enjoy at the restaurant for the waitress to take....
 you see... I think food, socialize food, happy myself with food... I enjoy it.  Did I mention that last summer I did a chocolate tour of NYC?  Wish I could squeeze you all in my 12 passenger van for a repeat tour!... Maybe we'll schedule one when I'm rich and famous... or just rich.  These creations are from Max Brenner... I'll do a chocolate post someday... too much to write.

Skinny and fat or phat has much to do with state of mind and self- control.  As I am grotesquely revealing, I have little.  I did however marry well and married a skinny person to keep me in check!  Dear sweet hubby is a health nut AND abounding with self-control (though he fights that control when he sees a useful piece of wood on the side of the road or a useful power cord at the thrift store).  We are the old nursery rhyme: Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean, and so betwixt them both you see, they licked the platter clean.

So what's my point?  Well, since it's impossible for me to plug into my husbands humming bird metabolism at night and let him burn calories for me, I have to do something I hate.  Exercise.  We all have to do things we don't like.  Goodness, we're pea pushing broccoli loving mothers who make our kids eat because "it's good for you."  Sometimes you gotta (see, I may even need 111 years to get gotta outta my brain) do something you don't like because it's good for you.  I'm starting my summer exercise routine for the 1098 time and I'm trying to find a way to LOVE it.  

I'm worth every grueling mile jogged.  My kids are worth every cardio-crazed aerobic session.  I have a lifetime left of keeping up with children and grandchildren and a skinny husband and I want to live it!

Okay! Enough of exercise talk.  Guess what!?!?!  I have knobs on all of my cabinets AND before pictures of my thrift store find for tomorrow!  First I need to get those 24 silicone muffin liners off my counter tops and tidy up!  

How do you make exercising fun? 'Cuz I'm gonna need the help!

Time Management: One of the 12 Homemaking Skills

Rise and shine Pretty Palace Organizers out-there! This week's dedicated to one of my least favorite words.... shhhh... I still don't like saying it out loud, it makes me feel tied down.... ready?Schedules. I've been trying to maintain my Beautiful Life (thanks Melissa!) lately and time management needs readressing.

Ahh... I know. Well, in truth there are a good measure of you ladies out there who were born with a Franklin Planner for a brain.... I totally missed out on the line where those were being handed out, probably because I had to rise early and get there on time. So, confessional moment number 1089.... I'm allergic to schedules. Trying to get me to sit down and draft a schedule is like giving your cat a bath... this "cat" can however be lured by chocolate. That's how hubby reformed me... well almost ... I still fall off the wagon now and then.
If you wanna get it all done, you gotta have an execution plan... and no, my plan hasn't killed anyone yet. This week is going to be a great week to begin your homemaking resolutions again! Get your supplies ready: Chocolate (enough to get you through planning your day), Calendar, Notebook, and some of those sticky tabby divider colored thingy's see this post.
If you want a guide book to how I run my life... well mostly. I don't think this author has 6 kids and ever had to attend 4 school Christmas parties on the same day within the same 2 hours, but she's a guru in her own right and she guruized herself in ink with this book. BUY IT... BORROW IT... don't steal but BEG someone for it if you can. It changed my life... not quite as much as having those 6 kids did though... what a doozy.

Buy my favorite book HERE!

How much time each day do you devote to cleaning? How much time do you devote to all of the other important things going on in your life? When I was 25"ish" I figured out that whatever it was I was doing, wasn't cutting the mustard. I needed to make a few life changing adjustments.

So I took stock of what time I had in a day, blocked out how much was devoted to eating, meal prep, and caring for kids, dressing, etc... you get the idea. There are only SOOO many hours in the day to get things done and to ensure I accomplished what was most important, I made a plan.
Here are a few tips to creating your cleaning schedule:

1. Inventory your time: Use a simple calendar. Write down the hour you wake up and the hour you go to bed. Block out times for meal prep, child care, work, nap times, errands... In short, determine what your daily schedule looks like so you know where you can fit in priorities like cleaning.
2. Estimate how much time you need to keep house: A rough house cleaning estimate is 1-1.5 hours per person in the house each week. For a family of 8 that's 8-12 hours of cleaning!!
3. Priorities what cleaning needs to be done each week. For me, it's bathrooms and if you have boys you KNOW what I'm talking about. Is it a MUST that all windows are cleaned each week? Nah... Just keep your priorities in order and go down the list.
4. Block out set cleaning times in your week long schedule: Do what works for you. Some people devote an entire day to cleaning and do maintenance for the rest of the week. Other people do a little every day. What works best for you? You might do bathrooms one day, vacuuming another, and have a day for deep cleaning.
5. Rotate your deep cleaning schedule: Cleaning behind the fridge doesn't need to be done each week but it ought to be done. Determine which jobs are monthly or quarterly cleaning jobs and set a time in your schedule to do monthly or quarterly deep clean jobs. Maybe the last Saturday of the month could be set aside for monthly deep cleaning, or perhaps you can concentrate on one room to deep clean a month. Again, this is your schedule do what works for you.

Weekly Cleaning Checklist Monthly Cleaning Checklist

Having a plan is essential to getting things done. I think the most helpful thing for me was realizing how much time it takes to care for all of the needs of my family. It was so great to sit down and figure out how much "free" time I had during a day. Sometimes that free time is scheduled for housecleaning and errands, other times it is scheduled to work in my kids classrooms, and sometimes it may be used for a craft or much needed nap time. The key is keeping your Priorities Pretty Organized. You can't know the time you're wasting or where to trim fat on a schedule unless you block it out. Don't forget to reward yourself with your own free time for a job done well! I LOVE Barnes & Noble cafe... chocolate, books, quiet... doesn't get much better than that!

If you're looking for more tips on time management check out these posts!

• Making your lists
  
• Identifying Time Wasters
  
• Hold the Phone... Calls
  
• Touch it Once
  
• I'd Lose my Head if it weren't attatched!

How are you with time management?

What I learned from Joseph: 12 homemaking subjects

Never mind that I only have a half gallon of milk in the fridge right now and unless I go to the sore tomorrow my kids will be eating something made out of ketchup, old lettuce and freezer jam... I know this subject.  I stockpile food.  Normal people would call this an unnatural amount...
I call it being prepared, for ANYTHING.
Beautiful eh? This is not my pantry but an example of a well stocked one.  Do you remember the story about Joseph who was sold into Egypt?  Remember when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream?  Joseph told Pharaoh that he would have 7 years of plenty and then 7 years of drought.  He instructed Pharaoh to store food... and he saved all of Egypt because he stockpiled food in the years of plenty.... crazy?? No, wise.

Hee, hee, couldn't resist this picture... 

So, why store food?  Why pack rat food away?  Why spend your life overbuying cans then trying to invent furniture that will hide them?
Yes, that's me.  Those cans are in every closet, under every bed, in every dead corner where I have a piece of furniture turned on the diagonal.  WHY?  

Well, to illustrate my point I asked my friends Kari and Kijsa to give us a little gimps into their real life experience this winter as they were "iced in" with an ice storm.

Thank so much for thinking of us...especially during those difficult three weeks!! It really did make us think about preparing...needs...essentials...food!

 As it was freezing (literally)...we were able to salvage perishable goods outside, but quickly used up as many freezer items as quickly as possible (we had an apple pie fest one night!!) Fortunately we were together during the most trying time at the beginning, and had combined many nonperishables from our pantries. Kijsa's gas cooktop would start, so we were able to heat up cans of soup, chili, vegetables, even pie fillings combined with our quickly perishing fresh fruit to use on top of pancakes for a treat (one must have a treat when surviving lengthy power, heat and internet outages!!!) 

 It was a very interesting time to reflect on how much we depend on communication and convenience. The eerie silence of no cell phone or land line capabilities...not one working electric light piercing the darkness...nothing open to acquire supplies....and when they finally did open...everyone only took cash...for the lack of electricity crippled all debit and credit machines, as well as gas pumps, electric doors...etc. 

It is at those times when it begins to try your spirits as you watch children shivering all huddled under blankets in the darkness around the one set of working gas logs!

We would definitely build a pantry staple list (Kijsa finds herself adding a couple extra canned good staples every grocery run.) Keep a list of those items you might use frequently, as well as a few quick meals in a can (soup, tuna, spagettios, etc). We would also say make sure you keep batteries and flashlights or lanterns on hand, as well as a supply of cash- this became a difficulty for people even if they were able to get to an open store or gas station.

I hope this helps- This is a great idea- Going through that ice storm was lifechanging- we were fortunate- I saw the long, long lines of cars that would pull up to the national guard each day to get a lunch and some daily rations- Thanks for sharing! ~

blessings, 

kari & kijsa

Really, how far away is this reality for you?  Natural disasters are unexpected.  My family has fled twice for fires in San Diego and had nothing but their photographs, loved ones, and drumroll....... their 72 hour kits full of food, money, and clothing to care for their families.  Crazy?  Na... wise.  

How would it be to be a mother unable to care for her children or family in a time of crisis?  A little extra food and cash on hand is a blessing and for anyone is a wise preparation for the future.

Here's what I store:

• 3 month supply of food.  Basic canned and dried items that I can prepare for my family.   Work off of a week or two worth of menu's and start buying a few ingredients every time you go shopping.
• Water. I live in the desert.  I have (please don't judge me a freak) 6 50 gallon water barrels on the side of my house. They're ugly.  They're blue... but I know my family will have enough water for over a month should they need it... though, I'd gladly share with my neighbors in need.
• Cash.  Kari and Kijsa saw first hand the value of cold hard cash.  Stick small bills and change somewhere you won't be tempted to raid for your chocolate fixes or an emergency run for a Sonic drink.  Only for emergencies.
• Long Term Storage.  After you get 3 months of meals, work on long term items like beans, rice, wheat, and a bit of dried milk and oil.  Life can be sustained for a longer period with these raw ingredients.  Of course space is and funds are limited but do what you can.

Times when I've used my food storage:

• Power outages
• Hubby out of work.  Supplement to grocery shopping.
• Times of lean.

If you're looking for food storage helps consider the following:

• Food Storage For the Clueless (available at my Pretty Organized Store)- I love this book.  It teaches you several methods to use to acquire your supply and it has recipes on everything from homemade cheese to homemade sourdough bread- which I can't seem to perfect.
• The Provident Living Website for the Church of Jesus Christ- this seems to be a comprehensive site on how to live frugally and manage the home.  I clicked on the Family Home Storage link.

Times are rough for everyone.  A little food and money stored away for a rainy day brings a lot of comfort when you're providing for your little ones.  Even if nothing happens, you'll have a great supply on hand should you need to get to the store... unless you prefer ketchup, old lettuce and freezer jam. 

The Power of Music in the Home

By way of introduction, I am a musician… a trained classical vocalist who is now the most over qualified bedtime singer around. Though I'm not performing in concert halls or cutting new albums, my musical training has taught me a few things about running a house.  Here are a some ways I use music in my home:

•    Rise and Shine. Wake children up with cheerful music to help set a happy tone for the day.
  
• Chore Time. Turn music such as Flight of the Bumblebee on when kids are doing their chores… kids tend to clean quicker with fast tempo music. This also exposes them to new types of music.
• Worship. Welcome in the Sabbath with inspiring and uplifting music.
• Celebrating Holidays. Feature music for each holiday.  Crooners love songs for Valentines Day, Marches for Veterans Day, Patriotic for Fourth of July, Olympic Fanfares for athletic events, Irish music for St. Paddy's Day, you get the idea.
• Welcoming Guests. Music sets a welcome tone when guests arrive.  Soft instrumental music with a Latin flare is casual and fun for a get together.
• Fun Time. I never miss a chance to dance with my kids.  Whether one on one, or all together with brooms as microphones, music lets us let loose and have fun.
• Days End. Set the tone for bedtime with calming nature music, lullabies or instrumental preludes.

With careful attention, the music that enters our homes can help us build loving families, set a calming ambiance, and inspire all who enter.

If you're interested in a great way to play music in your home, check out Pandora.  This music playing site is SAFE and the result of years of research.  You can actually choose which music you like and the site remembers you and crafts a station just to your tastes.  In this Palace, Pandora's box is always open:)

Hey, Shabby Nest is having a Frugal Friday Decorating Party today!  Head over and take a look at all those cheap pretty ideas.

Budgeting: A Homemaking Skill

Budgeting:  The mere mention of this word gives me heart palpitations and cold sweats.  Whenever my husband asks me to come to the office to review the budget I start thinking of all my excuses.  "But I needed that!"  "That was a one time purchase that will last us a long time... "  "I didn't have TIME to make lunches, the kids were bonkers in the car and McDonalds drive thru laid tack strips in front of my car and I had to stop somewhere!"  The truth is, when it comes to busting the budget, I'm the main offender.

Here are a few tips on Budgets:

• Warning: I'm a preach'n here: Pay your tithing FIRST.  This one is top on my list.  No matter how destitute you are, 10% is fair enough for me.  10% on no money is fair, just like it is on a million dollars.  I have found if I pay my tithing, the rest falls into place... blessings seem to make up for what money I'm lacking.  I could write a whole weeks worth of posts on the Miracles of tithing.
  
• Stay away from Debt.  If you avoid debt, you'll be able to right the sinking ship you're in.  Avoid it like the plague... or like bad chocolate at Valentines Day... it's not worth the stress  or the empty calories that bring those battleship hips.  Just steer clear.
  
  
• Make a Budget.  Stop giving excuses.  Just sit down and write up all of your fixed expenses and all of the expenses that you can adjust.  Know what you take in and don't spend more than that.  
• Buy a How To Book: If step one left you with heart palpitations and cold sweats, you may want to purchase or check out a book about budgeting and finance.  My 2 recommendations are Dave Ramsey's: Total Money Makeover and Bonnie McCullough's Household Budget Book.  These books are available at my new Pretty Organized Shop along with other books that have kicked my rear in gear and given me super powers.
  
• Build a money reserve.  Once you get a handle on your spending start saving for a rainy day... or an ice-storm (we'll talk about that in next weeks post). 
• Obtain adequate insurance.  This one is important.  Health insurance, Life insurance, and Auto Insurance help keep your financial ship afloat when the waters get tough.  One bad brush with misfortune can lead to years or even a lifetime of financial disaster.

So, do you feel liberated by a budget or bound by one?
 I think it's a matter of attitude.  Although I hate that I have to constantly keep myself in check and often fantasize that somewhere in the world is a homemaker who can go out, buy what she needs, AND wants, AND still has money left over for savings and that trip to Hawaii... and just maybe someday that will be me, I'm satisfied with knowing I've got my priorities in order.  When it comes right down to it, I'd rather pay for my kids college education than have fancy nails, and I'd rather have the means to help a neighbor or a family member in a time of need than make payments on a fancy car.  (Someday I'll do that fancy car post... when I've decided that there are enough of you who will laugh with me and not at me.)

Repeat after me: Budgeting is my friend... budgeting is liberating... budgeting is fun (pushing it aren't I.  Even I gag on that last line).

Hey, since ya'll are master buget'rs why don't you join my friend Wendy at the Shabby Nest for her Frugal Friday party?  Get your frugal decorating posts ready... she's gonna beautify your house on a penny with this party! 

So what are your budgeting tips?  How do you trim the fat on YOUR monthly expenses and steer clear of debt?