Works For Me ~ Book Orders

Every few weeks my Son gets Scholastic Orders sent home with him from school. This starts in preschool and continues for years and years! I love Scholastic and I love ordering books from time to time.

In my City we have a Library that is part of a Regional Grouping of Libraries that share a data base and books/DVDs/CDs...etc. I can sit in the comfort of my own home on this handy dandy computer and request items that I'd like my Family to have - this great system then gets these items delivered to my local library and sets them aside for me to pick up! How awesome is that?!

Well, last week I sat with all 5 of the different Scholastic Papers that came bundled together for my First Grader and opened up my Library's Browser and started to request books I thought would be a good read this month! Ha! What a great concept!!
These are some of the books (listed in these flyers) I requested late last week and picked up already today!To save a buck this month and next, see if your library has some of the books of interest!
Works for me!


I participated in the Works For Me Wednesdays hosted by We are That Family ... click on this button to go and visit more posts with frugal ideas!

Decluttering ~ The Living Room

This week the Fly lady schedules the Living Room as our room to work on.

I must say this is alot harder than i thought it would be... 15 minutes a day - really how hard can that be? Well being in the midst of renos and trying to keep a house with 7 people clean, and still get everyone to all their activities makes it a bit harder to find those 15 minutes.

I am happy to say 2 bathrooms are done. I did spend a bit of time on the master bedroom last week. I rearranged everything and in the process got rid of a bit, though NOT as much as I'd like.

So now we move on to the living room. This is probably one of the worst rooms in my house as it includes the computer area. That is my most dreaded place to clean.

I challenge you to find a tiny bit of time this week so get rid of at least 30 minutes worth of decluttering. I have a group coming tomorrow that will take away used items. Hopefully I can get another bag ready for them.

Word Filled Wednesday ~ joy, peace and hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13My Dad called yesterday to simply read this verse to me over the phone -

he had heard a speaker on Sunday that suggested the congregation affirm this

verse this week with their Family and Friends.

Blessings,Please visit Forever His who is hosting this weeks WFW.

Works for Me!

I participated in the Works For Me Wednesdays hosted by We are That Family ... click on this button to go and visit more posts with frugal ideas!
So by nature, I'm not an overly tidy person but since marrying my husband 11 years ago - his natures have rubbed off on me to a certain extent (he might not agree!). He's very organized, very "everything has a place and it's in it's place"...etc. Which is (can be) great!
My Husband is always the one to wash our vehicles and vaccum them out... but I thought I'd do it last week - which brought me to this WFMW post. I'd like to share some of his ideas with you!

Our van's mats stay nice and clean looking, see:BECAUSE of these custom cut (by my hubby) carmats that we lay overtop of the ones above! Isn't he so smart?! He used a cheap industrial carpet that you can buy from Walmart for under $10... and cut it up into shapes that fit!these are particularly nice when the weather changes and in/out of my van go 5-7children everyday!


I want to share with you what types of things we have in our van for "just in case" situations:

Soccer Ball; juice boxes & bottled water for the time I forget to grab our water bottles from the house (or if we run out of water); blanket for picnicing; and hand broom for getting sand from the beach off of toes before entering the van...One bag hangs on the back of our headrest for a spare change of clothes for my youngest children; and the other bag holds 'environmentally friendly' bags for grocery shopping
Some extra snacks in the glove compartment (and a pack of vinegar for the time we are in the USA McDonald's - since they don't have vinegar packets for their fries!)...and in the door pockets we have: a wide-mouth empty water bottle for my 2 boys to pee in when a bathroom isn't convenient (we use is LOTS), extra diaper(s), Wipes (I will buy these long after I need them for diapering purposes!) and some hard {organic} candy and Lollipops for "emergencies":
Do you have any great ideas regarding what you keep in your vehicle??? Please do share!
This works for me!

Decluttering Week 2 ~ the Master bedroom

So would you believe I actually got something accomplished last week. It was supposed to be the bathroom AND one other room, but I never did make it to "one other room" unless the fridge counts.

I am pleased to say I did get the bathroom closet cleaned and the shelves under the sink. This didn't get accomplished until Saturday, but it DID get done. I still have 2 drawers to clean, and one more bathroom. So 1 1/2 down, 1 1/2 to go. I think by next month I can cross the bathrooms off my decluttering list. Which encourages me as this is not a one shot deal. ☺

This week we move on to the Master bedroom. Again I am somewhat encouraged as I cleaned the closet and the dresser drawers this summer. I got rid of a ton of clothes, and after winter when I pull out my summer stuff again the same thing will probably happen. So that leaves me with one book case, and two bedside tables (YIKES!).

So here's to another week of decluttering! Hope you are enjoying it and feel as freed as I am feeling. Big Brothers some by tomorrow to take 3 boxes and a bag of mine, and 2 more of my mother in law's junk!

Word Filled Wednesday

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8For more WFW, please visit Critty Joy!

Challenge Number 2

Jen and I started this blog back in April in the hopes that we could encourage each other and our friends 'far away' to pray DAILY for our own children. And each others children if we wanted to or there was a need for prayer in a specific area.

Over the next few weeks we would like to encourage you to pray about joining us on this journey to cover our children in prayer.

This has really hit home with me this past week as I have heard of two adults (whom I know personally) who are the children of close friends of my extended family that are in great need of prayer.

No matter what age our children are it is important to lift them daily to God in Prayer.

Muffin Tin Monday

It's about time I got another MTM meal for my children - my oldest has just begun Grade One and he was/is very enthusiastic about this special meal but my youngest two enjoyed it thoroughly today too! Today's theme was APPLES! I just love this time of year!

I've got an apple tree in my backyard that is beckoning me to come and pick its fruit!

I went into my file of different themes I have from my ECE days and came up with a little "circle" time with these felt board variations:
"Four Red Apples"

"10 Red Apples" fingerplayand "Apple Trouble" by Ragnhild Scamell which we have on CD (love books on CD!)

And here's our muffin tin:apple slices with a caramel to dip in (last week I made a caramel sauce but didn't have time for that today); apple-shaped toast which my children sprinkled on cinnamon/sugar mixture; applesauce with cinnamon sprinkled on top; apple-shaped cheese and farmyard crackers - the apple cookie cutter can easily be used for pumpkin shapes too!

My Daughter is using her "picture" (play camera) to take a picture of the meal like I did!Sprinkling on the cinnamon and sugar - tasty!dipping into the Dulce de lecheDelicious!

For more creative MTM's you have to take a moment to visit Her Cup Overfloweth for other participants!

Have a blessed week!

Day One of Decluttering ~ the Bathroom

I hope you are all ready to embark on a journey with me to Declutter your home and KEEP it clean!!

On my list for today is: wash the kitchen sink, start to declutter the bathroom, wash all 3 bathrooms and get my curtains 'sown' and rehung.

If you don't know How to declutter ~ and I thought I did, but this gives a few extra hints to make it go smoother read this: How to Declutter

Before You start on your bathroom I suggest you read this: Flying Lessons You don't need to read all the links, the one I liked best was 'Shine Your Kitchen Sink'

Now if you are anything like me ~ I am a HUGE procrastinator and get distracted VERY easily. I suggest you read this: Tips for Not Getting Sidetracked  This one can wait until the decluttering has been started.

Now are you ready to have some FUN!!

I challenge you to join me!

So my middle one is at his first music class of the year and the toddler is sleeping and that means I have some wonderful quiet time!!   

There is a mountain of sewing to be done, projects for fun and repairs too.
There's the never ending laundry and dishes

But for now I will ignore the phone (which just rang) and enjoy the quiet tapping of the keys

I have a few challenges for you my friends and anyone else reading this.

CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE ~ This month (or as long as it takes) I am challenging myself and the rest of you to get my AND your house CLEAN and DECLUTTERED.

I was inspired by Sarah Mae with her 31 Days to Clean. But I think I want to take it a step further so I am starting off with the Fly Lady's Plan to Declutter.

I plan to start off next week. September the 14th. It's zone 3 next week which is the bathroom and one extra room. It looks like it will take a few months to be at the point where I will be maintaining a clean house. It also looks like every month you rotate through the Zones.

Here's a little blurb from the Fly Lady site :

Once you have decluttered the zone (this may take a few months to actually complete - there is no rush here!), then you are ready for FlyLady's detailed cleaning list. You will be amazed at how easy it is to do detailed cleaning when the clutter is gone! What is more amazing is how easy it is to keep it clean when your routines are in place! FlyLady says, "The house practically cleans itself!"

Here's the link to a printable Detailed Cleaning List but be warned and read this first:

Do not try to do this until you have decluttered your "Zone". Spend 15 minutes a day decluttering and then you can start doing some of your detailed cleaning. Do not worry about this. You have not done it in years and one more month isn't going to hurt anything. Toss out the clutter first. It will be easier to clean. - FlyLady

So here's my challenge to you:

I'm inviting you to join me in DECLUTTERING your home! But in the meantime don't forget to maintain a somewhat clean house for the sanity of everyone living with you.

Jen made up this cleaning schedule for herself and has shared it with us.

**** It was mentioned that laundry is not on the list. I know some people like to do laundry once a week and others more often, so feel free to add it to your weekly list on the day(s) that suits you most!!****

Daily

• dishes/dishwasher
• Change dish cloth and hand towels
• Make beds
  

Weekly

Monday – baking, bathrooms, kitchen sink (clean it like you would your toilet!) garbage, microwave

Tuesday – floors (whatever that means to each of us… vacuum, swiffer, mop) and water plants

Wednesday – dusting, mirrors/glass that need to be attended to (kids fingerprints) like on a TV stand or china cabinet, glass sliding doors…

Thursday – bathrooms

Friday – floors, water plants

Monthly

Week One

• wash bedding
• Wipe down, vacuum out (whatever you need to do) yourCoat/shoe area (mud room/entrance/closet
• Organize/sort/rotate toys

Week Two

• wash fridge in, out and tidy/wipe on top
• Dishwasher
• Stove
• Tidy up laundry room/area
• Wash (soak) toothbrushes

Week Three

• Wash bedding
• Wipe down, vacuum out your coat/shoe area
• Organize kitchen cupboards (like plastics cupboard)
• Wipe out cutlery drawer

Week Four

• Wipe down table/chairs
• Make a meal schedule or list of ideas for the next month
• Take inventory from your freezer & cupboards to
• make a list of groceries needed to replenish & menu ingredients needed
• Look at calendar for next month’s birthdays / Anniversaries… add to shopping list if there is a gift that needs to be purchased, get a card (make one) and get it ready to be mailed

Addendum ~ Now that we are back to routine, I have created a chore chart for the kids. We did it a little different this year as the oldest wanted each child to have their own. So I will change the magnets every night so the kids can look in the morning for their chores that day. I found these great magents at Michaels last summer. I adapted them slightly as they aren't quite old enough to mow the lawn LOL