Dunlap Love

My friend Kaylyn is super crafty and makes some wonderful and beautiful things.  God has been working on her recently to use her talents in a way to serve those in need around us, specifically orphans.  She recently put together a blogspot for her business, Dunlap Love, and has outlined what she plans to do with her creations and the money she makes.  I'm so amazed by her godly heart and desire to serve, so I wanted to share with all of you.  (You can also find her on Etsy!)

Southern Savers

I figured it was about time to try to add more to my links.  My goal originally was to put all my favorite helpful websites there, but as you can see I've been slacking off.  Well, here's a VERY popular new one.  I don't remember who first got me to go to the Southern Saver website, but it is now a page I visit every day, sometimes more than once :).  It is my one stop shop for all things bargain.  The lady who runs the site, Jenny, posts on pretty much any and every deal that she is alerted to, but her focus is on couponing at grocery stores and drug stores.  She can help you save so much on your grocery bill, it's truly unbelievable.  I've found that it does take some effort to get things straightened to be able to truly save half or more, but when you save that much, it's sooo worth it.  :) I love it!

OYOL Week 8

Here's my daily routine. I use the FlyLady system for this (though I've put it together in a way that fits my life) so I've linked everything that goes along with her website. I have no set times on this because I just do it as I have time, but I do try to get each section done in it's part of the day. Not sure that really makes sense, but it should once you see the schedule.

AM:

Devotional

Shower & Dressed to Shoes

Eat a Good Breakfast

Clean up Kitchen (ideally in under 10 mins. I set a timer to try to get it done fast)

Brush Teeth, Hair, Makeup (if I don't do this together, I never come back to it)

Start a Load of Laundry

After Lunch:

Clean Kitchen

Put Laundry in dryer

One item from the Weekly Home Blessing List

Daily Mission

15 Min. Decluttering

Fold Laundry, Put Away

After Dinner:

Clean Kitchen

Shine Sink, Lay out new towels

Clean up Toys (with Abigail)

Exercise (I've been doing this earlier in the day, though, so I might need to move it. Also, this ideally would be an everyday thing...it's not)

PM:

Lay out clothes for tomorrow

Brush, Floss, Listerine

In bed (relaxing, not necessarily asleep) by 10

Since I'm already past my 10 o'clock time now I'll just post this and be done. I'll try to post my weekly routine (there's not much to it) tomorrow...hopefully :).

Taking the Plunge

My good friend Jackie recently posted about her goal to get more organized this year. As this is my neverending quest I read her post with great interest. The concept is "One Year to a more Organized Life" a weekly challenge/guide directed by Brenda over at her blog Unsolicited Advice. (I realize that's a lot of links in just three sentences, but I wanted to give credit where it's due!) As they are already three weeks in, I'm a little behind, but I'll make it up here.

I hesitated at first to join in with this as I'm already trying to follow FlyLady's system of babysteps and I didn't want to add too much to my plate, but having looked through the ladies who are also doing this, I really felt like this is a group of like minded moms that live in the chaos that I live in. I looked through the links of all the other ladies (lol, stalker much, I know) and if you're looking for someone to understand that you didn't get things done because your kid puked all over the floor (again!) or you baby woke up screaming and kept you up for hours so you're exhausted (for the third-fiftieth night in a row) or you can't find the funky smell because it's coming from your laundry pile (mountain!), then this is the group for you. I've come home :).

With that being said here are the first two week's assignments (I'll do the third next time after I actually do the worksheet):

#1 My Purpose(s):

To get my house running smoothly so that...

~drop in visits won't stress me out

~my children will no longer live in dirt and clutter

~my husband can come home to a tidy house and happy--well, peaceful--wife

~I have time to do things OTHER than barely keeping the house tolerable (including but not limited to: spending more quality time with God, my husband, my kids; reading (wait-what's a book?) or other hobbies; exercising and taking care of myself, etc.)

This a a general list, the main catalyst being, as many of the other ladies mentioned that I have realized that I am just not being a good steward of my time. I spend so much time running around putting out fires and looking for whatever it is we have lost (again!) that I waste precious time that I could be spending with my husband or children or using to minister to those around me. Most days we spend in crisis mode where I run from one HAVE to get done item to the next. I want to be rid of crisis mode. That is my goal. It's hard to be intentional with your day when you're in crisis. This leads us to assignment #2...

#2 The Bare MINIMUM (so hard to just leave it at that!)

Daily Do or Die:

~Fit in some prayer time (so sad to have to include this...I'm good about getting my Bible reading in, but prayer is a different story)

~Laundry! (Wash AND fold AND put away)

~Clean dishes out of sink after each meal (or before bed at the worst)

~Clean up toys before Abigail's bedtime (keeps chaos to a minimum in case of surprise drops ins)

~Not just brush, but floss and Listerine, too (I tend to get cavities otherwise...) oh, and TWICE a day

~Ready for bed (i.e. computer off, teeth/mouth done, clothes ready for tomorrow) by ten (gives me a time limit so I'm then forced to have time to unwind)

~30 mins. of FlyLady cleaning (this is where I'm trying to tie FlyLady in...in case of emergency, this will be the first to be dropped)

Weekly Do or Die:

~Wed: Grocery List

Somewhere on there exercise needs to be fit in. I don't know where yet, but the importance of taking care of my health has been brought home to me the last few years and so it is becoming something that I'm trying to remember is important enough to go on the "do or die" list.

Well, that was a monster post... I apologize for the length, but now that I'm caught up, the next ones should be shorter. If you are searching for a way to get organized I hope you'll join us!

Websites

I want to link the websites that I frequently use and that I find helpful, so that hopefully they will be shared and helpful to others. One of the things that I'm learning is to take things more slowly in my life. It might be the beginning of patience in me!! So, to take my time with this and to do it (hopefully) right, I'm going to do my recommended sites one at a time and then also add new posts as I find more.

The first that I want to bring up is FlyLady.net. My friend Kaylyn introduced me to this website through her blog. It's a housecleaning site that has really helping my in developing my schedules and daily routines. She not only helps you with figuring out what to clean when, but more than that to make it a routine so that it flows smoothly instead of being something to worry about. I've been adapting it to fit my life since I began it, and I will continue to rearrange the basics she gives, but it honestly has been a huge blessing to me as a homemaker. One of my main goals in life is to be a successful housewife and this website has been very instrumental in helping me get as far as have. Hope it's helpful to you, too!