Home Keeping: A Bit Of Tidying

 Well, it's the week between and things are a bit cluttered and untidy in some spots in the house. It'll only take a few minutes to clean these areas up, and head into the New Year with a refreshed house.

The last photo is a notorious spot for clutter in our house.  Business papers, stuff people left here, keys, remotes for lights and battery candles, cookies, muffins, and other treats waiting to be eaten.  Sigh.

I have some clothes of Tim's to hang, a bag of clothes that no longer fit Kyle to go to the thrift store, a dresser we had loaned to Lindsay and Joseph to find a new home for, too. Its standing in the middle of my bedroom right now. Sigh.

At least the poinsettia is looking nice!

I went out for groceries yesterday, and so we are all set to ring in the New Year tomorrow night.

Greetings On A Crisp Monday Morning

I hope you had a good weekend.  We did.  Tim and Kyle worked on splitting firewood and delivering a load to my parents, while I worked on my closet and made Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner.

Here are a few videos of my work in my room/closet.

The white desk had been in my closet where the smaller table and mirror is now.  I didn't touch any of Tim's things (yet) and I didn't sort through the bins, but I have some things to give away, and a bag of things for the trash.  Why do we hold on to things that are stained, don't fit any more, or we just don't wear?

My chicken tortilla soup recipe is basically the one Ree Drummond makes.  I just tweaked it a little.  Also I put sour cream and cheese in mine, so it looks creamy.  I also add some tortilla chips (broken up) to it.  So delicious.

My weekend traveler (Sarah) got back safely.  They had a fun weekend with Rachel.  She said it was cold in the Adirondacks! (grin)  She got in around 10:30 last evening and had to be at work at 7:00 am this morning.  It was dark still when we left to take her to work, but the sun was rising on the way home.

I went out on the deck before the sun was above the horizon but it was light out, to take this photo.

Just past the red playhouse to the left is a rogue black walnut tree growing.  I told Tim it has to go because its ruining my view!

This is the same view last week.  The color is coming on quickly now.  My sister in law will be glad!

Spring: A Time For Cleaning and Planning

I decided to freshen up the blog look today.

No I don't have any hydrangea blooming yet.  It'll be months until that happens.  Still, I thought we'd all like something pretty to look at.

Our snow is melting quickly and the sun is shinng and I see some blue sky!  I'll take it!


Sarah made a snow lion yesterday.  It turned out really cute.

Co-op today. Only this week, then next, and classes are done.  They'll have a concert the following week.  Sarah will follow in the steps of her sisters and graduate a year early - next year.  We spent some time yesterday talking and planning for her last year of high school!  Amazing.  She plans to attend the same Bible School that Emma and Vinnie attend.  She likely will work a year after she graduates to save up some money for school.  She's excited for her future plans which are many!

That will leave Kyle as my only student as he enters high school.  That will be strange but fun, too.  He and I can have a lot of flexibility with just the two of us!  

Have a great day!

I'm Doing My Post Christmas Re-Arranging Early

I love to hold on to Christmas until after New Years, but this year that's not happening.  Well, I should clarify that not all the Christmas is going away, just the tree.  We undressed it and it is now providing a lovely habitat for birds and other creatures in our pasture. We have several things happening that I need to prepare for and that necessitated my taking our Christmas tree down.  I was so sad to see it go.

The things I needed to prepare for are my anniversary trip to Florida and our friends' knee replacement surgery in early January.

Tim and I fly this weekend to spend a week away to celebrate 30 years.  We'll get to see his mom and other family, and we'll be staying with our dear friends in their home.  We have some fun things planned and some days unplanned and we're okay with that.  

We have someone staying here with the kids while we're gone, and they're already planning the fun they'll have New Year's Eve and other days.

A few days after our return, our friend Denny is having his left knee replaced.  He is single and lives in a second floor apartment that is only accessible by a steep staircase.  With winter weather and these stairs there is no way for him to recover at his apartment.  So we offered to let him stay with us. 

We are giving him the master suite, so that he'll have complete privacy when he wants it.  Tim and I will be sleeping downstairs during this time, and it'll be cozy with the comfy bed and woodstove. 

With the surgery happening so close to our trip, I needed to prepare the house this week.  That meant moving the TV (for movie watching) out of our room and into the living room.  That meant we needed to move the furniture around and that meant the Christmas tree needed to go. (sniff)

If you are still with me, you are amazing!  

We got the furniture all rearranged, and when we get back we'll move our clothing downstairs.  I'm liking the way the furniture is arranged. It'll work well, I think, for 6 weeks or so while our friend is recovering.

The lights, garlands and small trees in the house are still up.  I often keep them up through January, since they are not decorate other than with lights.  I love having extra lights for ambiance during the cold, dark winter months.

Once everything is tidy from the rearranging, and I put the vacuum away, I'll take some photos and show you how its all looking.

Oh, I just realized I need to pack, too!  I'm leaving in two days!

Home Keeping: Six Daily Tasks To Keep A House Tidy

At one time we had eight people living here daily, and many, many visitors.  In the early years of home and family I didn't have a good grasp on how to keep every room tidy.  Many Saturdays were spent doing a "big cleaning"  in the kids rooms.  Sigh.

Thankfully I learned some skills to keep up with the house, on a daily basis, so that it stays generally clean.

Here is what I do.

 I make my bed every day. 

I can have a kid folding clothes in my bedroom and watching a movie and yet my room feels clean because my bed is made!

I keep the kitchen tidy throughout the day.

This includes keeping up with the dishes.  I or the kids empty the dishwasher and work on re-loading it all throughout the day.  I also keep the hand washed dishes washed.  

 This is where the handwashed dishes go to dry.  

I like to use Seventh Generation liquid dish soap - in any scent, and I also use their dishwasher detergent gel.

We vacuum regularly.

We only have three rugs in the whole house.  Two are right by the doors we enter our cottage by, and one is an area rug in the living room.  The rest of our flooring in the whole house is wide plank pine.  So we can easily just sweep up a small mess, though the kids often just drag the vacuum out to deal with any mess.

I wipe down sinks, counter tops, and toilets daily.

This is an easy peasy way to keep the bathroom tidy.  We all are in our bathrooms throughout the day, and if I see dust or toothpaste I deal with it right then.  It takes seconds, really, and keeps things clean!

I attempt to tame the clutter monster daily!

This area, on our counter, our big farm table that is right in the middle of our living room/kitchen area, and my desk are the main places for stuff.  You know, mail, cards, eyewear, earbuds, spare computer batteries, hair elastics.

There are things that come into the home, that we need to deal with and somethings I don't always have a good solution for.  This is an ongoing process.

We wash a fold laundry every day.

We no longer deal with Mount Washmore in our home, because we only have five people living here, and it has become routine for us to process a load or two a day.  There are days when there is not that much laundry and everyone's needed items are clean, so we skip a day here and there.

These six things allow our home to be clean for us, and ready for us to welcome unexpected guests.  I don't know about you, but clutter makes me feel agitated and unsettled, and by keeping on top of these areas in our home brings peace.

Are there daily tasks that are a must for you in your home?  Let's chat in the comments!





Today I will be deep cleaning my bedroom.  Next week I fly to California and then will have a week at home, before a friend moves in with us for a month or so while he recovers from knee replacement surgery.

We're going to give him the master bedroom so he'll have his own sitting area and bathroom.  Also we'll be bring his own bed here from his apartment, so we will move our bed downstairs and any other daily use items we will need.

I'm trying to get an idea of what those things will be, so that I can properly prepare now, so that the week I get back from California won't be so crazy!

Home Keeping: Cleaning and Organizing

I've been making good progress in the basement of our sweet cottage, clearing out the old stuff that's been stored for many years without being used.  Not everything went, but a lot did, and that makes me glad.

Yesterday, I tackled another area that needed sorting.  I do the three piles method - Keep, Give Away, Trash.  It works for me.

This is part of my storage closet that Tim build for me years ago.  This half of it holds my decorating items as well as dishes and bakeware that I don't use regularly.  The dishes are mostly seasonal, but I have glass luncheon plates and a punchbowl and cups that I keep to use for teas and other parties.

 Its pretty chaotic here.  Part of the reason is that I'm not always the one putting things away.  I have elves that help me, and I'm happy for their help, but they don't always put things away the way that I would.

I pulled most things off the selves and sorted them into piles.  These are items that I am keeping.

 These are give away stuff (Kay came and took most of the glass plates and bowls) and Kyle is grabbing the trash items.  He came down to help me after I was finished with the shelves.

It may not look much different but I can tell that things are organized and tidy.  Seasonal items are together, items I don't want small children to touch are on higher shelves.  I was up and down my step stool many times, and later that day my back protested!

 I'm really happy with the results.  Next week I hope to tackle the other side of this closet.  Its where my pantry storage is and the upper shelves have some random items.  This side won't take as long to sort, thankfully!


Are you working on any projects this summer?  Let's talk in the comments!  I am going to start responding in the comments as so many ladies are 'no-reply commentors.'  This means that your settings keep me from being able to email you after you comment.

Here is a link to instructions on how you can change your settings if you want to.  

A Bit Of Spring Cleaning In the Kitchen

We've had some spring cleaning going on here at the cottage. 

Saturday, Sarah washed all the baseboards in the main living areas, and Kyle wiped walls and doors.  

Monday, just Kyle and I were home and so I decided to do a bit of cleaning in the kitchen.  

In the kitchen by the stairs, my little red table was becoming a collecting spot for items that needed to go down to the basement.  It was also holding my plate rack and on the shelf in a basket I had  my Ninja blender and food processor bowls, blades, etc. 

By my kitchen door, and next to the stove is my oak cabinet that houses pantry items.  On top of this I had a soft black basket for bread and chips.  It just never looked nice, and it ended up with lots of napkins in there, as they would blow off of the top of the cabinet every time the kitchen door opened.

Also an area of bother for me is my long counter.  It usually has a computer on it, mail, cups, and all of the drink station items, like the Keurig, my electric kettle, tea basket and other containers of tea and hot chocolate!  

So today, I made some changes.  I moved the red table out to clean behind and underneath it.  While Kyle wiped the table down, I moved the Ninja things to my corner cupboard.  Then I took the basket those items were in and put the chips and bread into it.  It is a firm basket and looks much neater up on top of the oak cabinet.  I also moved the napkins to the top drawer of the cabinet.  

So far, so good!

Then, moved the drink station items and put them on the red table.  I was able to put all the random jars of tea into the soft basket on the shelf underneath the table and it all looks tidy and organized.  

I then put the plate rack on the long counter next to the mug holder and the tea pot and pitcher.

I'm happy with the way it turned out and it functions really well this way, too.

Are you working on spring cleaning projects?  Tell us about it in the comments!

Purging My Closet

This has not been done for a while, and though I am no clothes horse, my space is full.

Part of the issue is that my mind can't quite wrap itself around the fact that I can't wear most of these clothes.  They are too big.  It's that whole mind catching up to new reality thing.

But as I got dressed today in a t-shirt that now is quite roomy, I decided it is time.  I know that I'll probably keep a few things, but the majority of it, well, its time to go.

I'm looking forward to a more tidy space, too.

What are you doing today?

Happy Saturday

I survived my shopping trip and in the last few stores I was so warm.  Between the hat and the fur lined boots, I was cooking.  

Came home to find that Tim was feeling better.  I am going to say the Apple Cider Vinegar helped him.  He says I can claim anything I want!  Lol!  He's sleeping in today, and it seems as if he slept much better last night than most nights this week.  Thanks so much for your prayers and for continuing to ask about him.

Today we are expecting snow, so we'll be working on the basement.  Now that Nate and Kay are in their own place, we have the whole basement available to us once again.  We are going to paint eventually, but for now, we will mop the floors and I think we are going to set it up as a library space.  We have a beautiful bookcase in the basement.  We are going to move that into that space and reorganize the books.

We'll probably move a table into that space, too.  We don't have much seating available for downstairs right now, but we'll work on that soon.  Tim will be replacing lights and I eventually want to change out the fixtures.

What are you up to today?

Home Keeping: Cleaning and Organizing

January seems to bring out the desire to organize and rearrange, and clean.  I think it is the idea of fresh beginnings.

Yesterday I used Apple Cider Vinegar to clean mildew off our bedroom window frames, and the bathroom window too.  It builds up quickly in the winter, but ACV kills it, quickly.

Then I decided to sort through my jewelry box.  I have a lot of costume jewelry, since we owned a women's accessories store, and the jewelry box is really too small for what I have.  The drawers look much better, but I need something different for earrings, as I usually have to dump the whole small drawer out, in order to find the ones I want.  I may need to get one of the plastic bins with all the small dividers.  It wouldn't be as pretty, but I could keep it in the closet and if it made it easier to find the earrings I want, it would be worth it!

Then I started on my desk drawer.  Sigh.  I didn't get finished with this project before I had to start dinner.  I'll work on it today too, and then it will be much neater and organized.  Right now my desk looks like this.

The book wasn't in the drawer but I piled drawer stuff on top of the desk as I sorted.  Being real here!

Let me show you what I did to corral all the throw blankets we have around the cottage.

I used this great old crate, and I rolled up the blankets and stuck them in it.  This way they are not on the floor left hanging off a chair looking messy, but they are easily accessible for using!

One last truth photo.  The artwork for our bedroom - still unhung.

Ah, well.  It will get done, hopefully this week!

What are you working on at your home?  Any organizing, sorting, cleaning?

Back to Normal?

I'm saying "Not yet."

I wanted to let the kids sleep in and then get back to our history, science and math work that we set aside for a few weeks.  So far the sleeping in part is working.  Lol.  Sigh.

It's all okay.  We practice a lifestyle of learning and soon they'll be awake and ready to do their work.

After the wedding, and the rearranging all the bedrooms, we ended the week with Emily's birthday on Saturday!  The family went out to eat to celebrate not just her birthday but my niece's birthday which is this week.  Then yesterday, nearly 30 people came for Emily's birthday hike and bonfire!  I did not hike (challenging trail and a bad back), but I made gallons and gallons of Chicken Tortilla soup for the hungry hikers to eat when they got back.  It was a lovely day yesterday, in the 40's partly sunny, a great day to be out in the beauty of God's creation.

Birthday girls blowing out their candles Saturday night and then a self portrait they left for me yesterday on my camera!

I also had time for tea and conversation with my friend Jen.  It was a very nice afternoon and evening.

So now back to normal.  What is normal anyway?  With growing kids things are always changing.  I am wanting to get into a routine that will incorporate morning Bible reading, then exercise, then everything else!  I think with those two foundations in place, I'll be ready for whatever comes my way!

PS- I've been drooling over wedding photos.  I'll share a few more with you tomorrow!

On The Mend

 photo credit - Emily Rabe

I've been marveling at how wiped out I was while sick.  I slept a lot and that is unusual for me.  But Sunday and Monday I could tell I was better....

Yesterday, I did some schoolwork with the kids, and almost put myself to sleep while reading aloud to the kids!  I thought that maybe I had overdone it Sunday and that I was going to need to nap.  But I didn't I laid on the couch for about 10 minutes and then started to vacuum - a move the furniture level vacuuming.

That done I had plans to clean the floors.  This doesn't get done nearly enough.  These are hardworking floors and they take a beating.  The best way to clean them is the old fashioned 'Cinderella' method - on the hands and knees.

Fortunately I've got good help around here and it was done in no time!  I was amazed because I moved the pantry cupboard and cleaned behind it and the side of the stove and microwave that don't see daylight but managed to get greasy!  Ick!  I also cleaned the air vent that is in the floor. 

I told the girls, I would take the kitchen, because I knew I wanted to do some of these 'tougher' areas.  They were done way before me!  But it's all done, and looking good as you can see in Emma's photo above!

I love clean floors!

Then we went outside and chatted away in the cooler weather.  Lindsay gave lessons today, and one of the families has 9 children, but I think only 4 take lessons.  Kyle and Sarah like to play with all the kids - today the boys set up soda cans, and used Kyle's rubber band shooter to knock them down!

Once lessons were over, I decided to mow.  It's a big job, but I enjoy doing it.  

I do plan to take it a bit easier today, but you can never tell what  day will bring!

What are you planning?

www.allposters.com

There is a hint of change on the leaves of some of the maple trees.  As I look out my front window or as I drive down the road, I see the subtle change begin.  It's my favorite time of year, but I can hardly believe it is Autumn in a mere 19 days.  

I have begun the huge task of organizing and decluttering all our storage spaces downstairs.  It is going to be a lot of work, but already I am happy to see things clearing out.  For some reason the older I get the less 'stuff ' I want, or need.

I have items for Goodwill, homeschool books to give away, lots of memorabilia to let go....

I will not be letting go of the clutch of  letters, cards and notes that my husband and I have written to each other over the years - it was sweet to read back over some of them and be reminded of our 'young love' years.  I am thankful for Tim and for the years God has given us together.  I love that man more now than I did then, for now I truly know what it is like to walk together through hard times, to hurt each other and to forgive.  God is good.

 I have no idea how long this project will take but I am hopeful with diligence I can get it finished this next week or two at the most.  I am still home educating three of our children, after all. I am excited to pare down the stuff.  And with the change in season it is a reminder that Winter will be on the heels of Autumn.  More time will be spent indoors and less stuff means less clutter, and less clutter means more room and less stress....it's all good!

I am not going to work on that today however.  Today is a day of fellowship with our beloved church family.  Last week another Mom and I broke out into mushy tears during worship listening to the joyful voices of the children singing.  It was a song they knew well, and love to sing and I cried with delight knowing how the Lord must feel hearing us worshiping Him!  Bonnie too - she said she felt a little silly until she glanced back and saw me crying too!  Happy, joyful tears!  Another blessing of having a Family Integrated Church!

My Office

When our oldest moved out this year, we took over his room! After all when you have a 4 bedroom home and 6 kids, 2 parents, 2 dogs, etc...you need all the space you can get!

The first thing we did was to clean this room from top to bottom and to air it out. This room hadn't see the light of day for years! Think gym socks and body spray - when you recover from that, think black curtains, and grey walls. So step two was to take the curtains down and to paint the room! This color is called "Baklava." It is a warm, lovely color and looks great with the white furniture. The dresser you can see in this picture was one of my recent painting projects. It had been black. There are also two small desk in here. One in front of the window, where I sew and the other on the short wall that my young daughters play "office" at.

It feels good to have this room open now to the whole house. At first it was shocking to have the door open, and to have light coming from it. But we have adjusted just fine. While we miss our guy, we love having the room to use. He is welcome to come visit his old room anytime.

Saturday

Today, we will be tidying the cottage, working in the garden, mostly weeding, boring but necessary.

We will possibly be painting some interior windows, long in need of freshening.

Yesterday, Lindsay and I stopped at a yard sale on our way home from getting groceries. We both found treasures - she a pair of riding boots that fit Rachel and cost $1.00, and a hay net, also for $1.00 that is used in the horse trailer. I found upolstery fabric! Unbelieveable! In colors and patterns that suit my home for $5.00 a roll! Now, they are not full rolls, but their is plenty on each roll to do several projects. One is a stripe fabric that I want to use to recover a small chair that rocks, that we picked up for free along the road last year. This is a great little chair, except it is currently covered in horrible fabric. ( I am not opposed to picking up free items.) The other fabric reminds me of a colonial pattern and I believe I am going to make living room curtains out of it! I am excited!

Have a lovely weekend!

Sick Boy

Well,the cleaning and organizing has come to a halt temporarily as my little guy got sick last night. He is still wiped out by it and you can tell he doesn't feel well, even though the worst of it is over.

Of course all of that lead to other cleaning, if you know what I mean! Yikes!

I am hoping to take advantage of a cold day tomorrow to get some stuff done!

I am praying that it was a lone bug, not willing to be passed from family member to family member!