Using a White Board

Hi gals,

I’ve used white boards for chores, business orders, my online tutoring job, and a host of other things.

I frequent different blogs and one I like is the one that I’m focusing on today. This young momma had a great idea and system that works for her family. She uses her notebook system and a whiteboard daily.

Click here to see how she does it.

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in seeing how other gals organize, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

January 28th, 2012  in Home organization No Comments »

Burn-out and Changes Part 2

Hi ladies,

It is easy for me to wander around my home having a “woe is me attitude”. Nobody needs me any more, my life is not as important. What am I going to do with myself, I’m so “fried on cooking and cleaning, I think I won’t do those things anymore. After all nobody is home or wants to eat what I make, so why bother.

The homemaking burnout was tremendous. Funny thing-as much as I missed the fully-time mommy thing, I was also burned out on that as well. I loved the homeschooling, but I was so done.

 Then there was the full-time sewing business. By May, 2011 I was so burned out on sewing that if I never stitched again, that would be fine. I was the ultimate gamut of emotions.

The Lord made it possible for me to have the summer of 2011 off with the bills paid and no work to be had. Nothing. I couldn’t find a job and my sewing burn-out was so great that I couldn’t take on any new clients. Imagine a summer off–an unheard of blessing for a single mom. The Lord knew that it was exactly what I needed. I spent the summer relaxing, resting, and rejuvenating.

To be continued……………..

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in burn-out and changes, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

January 26th, 2012  in Home business, Hurting Women No Comments »

Interesting Facebook Article

I thought this article was interesting and true. I’m happier off of Face-book and have talked to my local friends more. I have also gotten more accomplished for my business and home since logging off permanently.

Click here to read the article on Facebook use.

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in decluttering the social networking thing, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

January 20th, 2012  in Decluttering No Comments »

What A Homemaker Is Worth!

Oh ladies,

You are worth a lot! Of course we all know that the homemaker is worth more than all the gold in the world. We bind up owh-ee’s, scare away monsters in the closet, and cook enough meals to lose count. Oh, and don’t get me started on all the loads of laundry done over the course of a life-time. 

So gals, if you are having a discouraging day, you need to hop on over to this site and read what you are worth. If you are home full-time you will know what your value is per the article’s standard. If your homemaking career starts when you get home from your job, you can figure out what your total would be too. I might add from my own perspective, that any woman can add whatever dollar amount she wants to for every two year old and teenager she has survived be it her own young-in’s or someone else’s.

Click here to read the article.

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in knowing your work at home is worth more than all the gold in the world, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

January 18th, 2012  in Cars, Cleaning, Cooking, Domestic Moments No Comments »

A Fun Story

Hi gals,

Don’t you just love it when God is in the details. I thought this story was so sweet.  One lady had extra and another lady had a need. Then there was the helper who thought he could get into the mix.

Click here to read this nice story. Kinda gives you a cozy feeling.

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in seeing God provide in fun ways, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

January 18th, 2012  in Uncategorized 2 Comments »

Burn Out and Changes Part 1

Hi gals,

I thought life would be easier after my kids were grown. In some areas it is, and others not so much. I spent 26 years as a full-time mom. I could organize my family and was the queen of multi-tasking. I had no choice. Then in the blink of an eye, my full-time mommy job was over. I struggled, really struggled for over a year. I became the queen of SPACY AND UNORGANIZED. So not me.

Out of that struggle I learned that it is much harder to keep myself, just myself; in order, organized, and motivated. I had no idea it would be so difficult.

However, I need order and structure as a family of one. I make my weekly schedule and to-do list and work hard to follow it. I must make a concerted effort to stay on task. Minor children forced me to stay on task and structured. Us free-spirit gals need structure with a healthy dose of freedom within that structure. As a momma of grown children, I must put forth more effort to stay on task. I would rather read my life away and go out for coffee with the girls.

Funny thing, the laundry and dishes still pile up. Ugh.

To be continued……..

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in burn out and changes, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

Social Media

Hi ladies,

As a budding writer/semi-retired seamstress/home business owner, all the experts teach to get on Face-book, Linkedin, Twitter, and many other social media sites. The intention is to get one’s name “out there” and to promote one’s business. So I did that. I spent so much time making “friends” on Face-book and visiting this forum and that one.  I was proud of my social media efforts. I was so “twenty-first century”.

After several years on social media sites I have learned a few things.

1. To the best of my knowledge, not one business sale that I had came from any social media site. I spent to much time on social media sites and did not profit financially at all. I had more leads from my simple website here than I ever did on Face-book or forums.

2. I hurt my business by depriving what time I had to spend on it, “marketing” on social media. Silly me. I could have made many wedding veils, inventoried books to put in my online shop, and even created new products. What a waste of time on my part.

3. In the amount of time I spent on Face-book I could have written my own book. My first novel is suffering because I spent more time on social media trying to “get my name out there” than I did writing. I dreamed of becoming a writer when I was ten and in the fifth grade. Now decades later, after raising a family alone, I’m finally in a position to work on that dream. So why am I giving that time and power to social media? Good question. It seems like I have gotten the cart before the horse.

4. When I am on social media a lot, it reminds me of how lonely I get. At my house, most of the time my social networking consists of an old, lazy basset hound and a cat who’s elevator never reaches the top floor. My friends are busy with their families, work,  and I perceive that their lives seem fuller and happier than mine.  Yet when I am not doing the social media thing, I manage to keep busy, fulfilled, and not lonely.

5. My home suffers. Dishes? Cleaning? De-cluttering? Laundry?  Yup, those chores get done eventually and I get frustrated because they are not done in a timely manner. I only have myself to blame.

6. My friendships suffer. A quick phone call or visit in person is much more meaningful than social media. Social media allows for shallow relationships. Yet on the other hand it is nice to connect with friends from college and my early mommy years.

For now though, I’m backing off of the social media. It drains to much of my precious time. Time that I should be spending more wisely on more productive challenges. And ya’ know what gals, if and when, the Lord allows me to be a published author, He could very well do that without all the social media hype. I actually feel a sense of relief knowing that I don’t have to “keep up with the Jones” on networking sites. It feels so freeing.

I think I have a book to write.

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in simplifying and de-cluttering your life, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

The Crud

Hi gals,

I started my new year getting the virus my son had. Bless him. You all know how that goes. One person in the family gets sick and then passes it onto someone else. Now it’s my turn. I’m still not feeling normal but I feel better than I did.

I will start posting again when my nose stops sneezing and I can actually breath normally.

Until then, I’m staying close to the basket of handkerchiefs and trying to get extra sleep.

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in inheriting the crud from your children, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2012

January 11th, 2012  in Uncategorized 2 Comments »

Organizational Site

Oh girls,

You so have to visit this site. It has lots and lots of FREE down-loadable print-ables to get your organized in whatever category you feel the need to address. They even have a goal sheet for running a blog.

So many times we fail at getting things done if we do not have goals and a plan to get there.

Click here to see if there is anything to work for you.

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in finding cool stuff, we’re all in this together.

P.S. Thanks Tomato Soup Cake for the link. 

Garage Project

Hi ladies,

Don’t pass out. The weather is going to be nice for the next five days. I’m leaving the car outside and emptying shelves in the garage. Everything will go on the floor. Then I’ll clean the shelves. I am planning on ripping out the shelves in the east wall. I’m just so tired of clutter. It owns me.  To many times now, I have hit the passenger side mirror on the shelves on the east wall. That in turn, folds the mirror back to the front of the car. Ugh.

The older I get, the more I see that less really is best. Over the last year I successfully got rid of half of the stuff I owned. The more I let go, the happier I became. My house, garage, and yard are easier to clean. I am amazed at the time I have saved not storing, moving, and re-stacking stuff. The less stuff I own, the more I like it.

I’ve also learned that stuff does not define who I am. Most of the stuff I own is someone else’s cast-offs anyway.

I know me, if the stuff is all over the garage floor in the dead of winter, I will want to get it cleaned up so I can put the car in the garage. I do not like wasting my time waiting for a car to warm up so the window will defrost. Nor do I relish the idea of spending time cleaning snow off of my car if I have a way to keep the car dry. It would be one thing if I did not have a garage, then cleaning off the snow would be just fine. However, I have a garage and it is still used as a “catch-all” for stuff. I also do not like squeezing between saws, garden equipment, and a baby gate hanging on the wall, to try and get into my car when I try and pull it out of the garage.

So my last goal for 2011 will be to try and purge the garage one more time and re-organize it to something simplier and easier to use. Ladies, if you do not hear from me via the internet, it’s cause I’m buried in stuff in the garage. Well if you listen carefully, you could probably hear me throw stuff into the trash can or across the garage into various boxes. It will be the sounds of busy work.

Next time I post, it will be with pictures of the garage with less stuff. AND THE RACK THAT HOLDS GARDEN TOOLS AND VARIOUS ASUNDRY STUFF WILL BE ON THE EAST WALL. YIPPEE!

Wanna take the last 2011 challenge of the year? What can you get done before the year ends?

Hey, I’ll race ya’.

Till later then,

L.

Remember, you’re not alone in one last 2011 project, we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2011

December 28th, 2011  in Decluttering, Domestic Moments 6 Comments »