NO Bathroom Cleaning Day on my Schedule.... Thank You!

This image makes me giggle...why? Because I choose NOT to do this, thank you! I do not, on my cleaning list, have a day where I clean my bathrooms. Now, before you jump to the conclusion that my house, specifically my bathrooms, must be disgusting, hear me out. My house is lived in, I have 3 children, 2 of which are boys, so it's never perfect. However, I take pride in my job as a homemaker and strive to do my job to the best of my ability. 

This particular practice became my new normal when I gave birth to my last baby, who is now 6. I was overwhelmed with a baby who never napped, I had a 1st grader who needed homework help, and an 8th grade daughter, in the midst of that awkward teenage stage. She needed reassurance of her place in the world, encouragement, etc. We've since become a homeschooling family, and I couldn't imagine my housekeeping schedule being any different.

Now, on to how I DON'T clean my bathrooms. I use to spend a day cleaning my entire house from top to bottom. Looking back, I don't know why.  A good portion of that time was spent in the bathroom(s). There was the toilet, the sink, the tub....and it took a bit of time. 

As a desperately exhausted mom of a newborn, one night while giving my 1st grader a bath, I decided during his play time, I would wipe down the sink and toilet. Furthermore, I reasoned that while he was getting dressed, I could scrub the tub, since I would already be in the bathroom. So, I did. And my new routine was born. 

To this day, at bathtime, I wipe the toilet and sink of the kid's bathroom. One night a week, I scrub the tub after they've bathed. As for my bathroom, when I get dressed each morning, I wipe over the sinks and toilets. One day a week, when I'm in the shower, I scrub down the shower walls (often using shampoo, not a cleaner, gasp! --- and it works JUST as well) and again, a clean bathroom. And finally, our downstairs bathroom works into my evening pick-up routine. As I pass by, I simply grab the spray and clean the sink and toilet and my downstairs bathroom (and all the others, for that matter) are company ready, at all times!!! 

See, it's daily maintenance for me, no extra time investment really, just habit. BUT, I don't have to worry if someone stops by if my bathroom's clean (except for the joys of little boys who sometimes miss the toilet, though that phenomenon I will NEVER understand) so I can focus on making the living room/kitchen my quick pickup to make our home company ready in a few short minutes. 

I don't do what I do for praise, but I get to spend more time with my family if I make efforts to simplify and minimize my housecleaning chores. I believe one day, my daughters husband, and for that matter, my sons' wives will thank me for teaching their beloveds that a house (or the cleaning of the place) shouldn't rule over the rest, yet it's important to keep a nice home. There is a sense of peace and warmth over the home that is cared for....I can sense that here, most days! I consider my work my ministry to my family, one I take very seriously. I believe, wholeheartedly, that the woman/mom is the beginning of the heart/attitude/presence of the HOME, and strive daily, for Proverbs 31.


I should clarify, the floors still come under my cleaning days. So they do get mopped weekly. But ultimately, I don't have to spend an hour or more cleaning bathrooms, because they are maintained daily! Do you have any tips/tricks/shortcuts you use in keeping your home? I'd love to hear them!

Be Blessed!

Making Your Home a Haven -- Fall Challenge and Giveaway

A beautiful lady I met through blogging, Courtney (Women Living Well), offered this challenge to her readers last year. I participated and felt so renewed at the end of the month, and almost ready to tackle the bustle of the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each day, she offers one practical tip AND one spiritual tip to help us along. I invite you to join in this year, as she reopens the challenge, AND, this year there's also a giveaway associated. It's a great way to get focused on our jobs as homemakers, and help our families feel at home, in the haven we create! To learn more, click the picture above to link directly to the challenge for Week 1. Happy Fall!

Be Blessed!

Household Uses for....

Lemons! 

To me, lemon is the scent of clean. I thought for the next few weeks, I'd share some household uses I have learned, been told, or read over the years. These are things I have tried, OR plan to very soon. I am attempt to be a frugal homemaker, and so I look for uses for regular household items. I wanted to share, and hope to learn from you as well! This week is LEMONS ---- stay tuned for my household uses for next week! :)

1. To remove fish odors - rub cutting surface OR hands with lemon wedge.

2. Place lemons in basket, glass bowl, or large vase for a sunny centerpiece.

3. Rub hand, elbows, knees, and feet with lemon wedges to remove roughness and discoloration.

4. To remove unpleasant fireplace odors, burn a few lemon peels along with your firewood.

5. Remove tarnish on metals with a paste of lemon juice and baking soda. 

6. Add half a lemon to the cavity of roast chicken for additional flavor and tenderness. 

7. Add lemon juice and honey to a cup of hot tea to soothe a sore throat.

8. Wipe the inside of refrigerator, ice chest, and microwave with a cloth dipped in lemon juice to brighten and freshen.

9. Sprinkle lemon juice on cut fruit and guacamole to preserve color. 

10. Grind sliced lemon peels in garbage disposal to freshen and deodorize the drain.

11. Keep rice from sticking by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to the water. 

12. A mixture of lemon juice, vinegar, and water makes a general cleaner for kitchen, bathroom, etc. 

Enjoy trying new uses for lemons! Are there any uses for lemons YOU know of and would like to share?

Be Blessed!

Spring, my Journey...

Spring has sprung!!!! It's not (unlike many people) my favorite season. Oh no, THAT is reserved for my beloved Autumn. However, even in me, Spring brings a certain excitement, a certain newness, and a desire for all things new, clean, and orderly. 

I have found myself pondering over which blooms shall appear in and around our home. I've spent too much time planning, organizing, and creating cleaning plans, routines, and enjoying the newness of it all. Now, will I stick to these routines? I believe so. See, I've learned to hear the voice of the Spirit, instead of wondering around aimlessly trying to figure it out alone. 

Spring. It's the season of new life. I have prayed, throughout my life, that I would be a wife, mother, and homemaker who is respected for her love and devotion to her family and home. Yet, I have failed faltered in all of those areas for many years. I manage to keep one area going well, and fall down on my prayer life, or time devoted to another. I truly struggle balancing my inner Mary and Martha. I have the desire to have the heart of Mary, but the home of Martha. Yikes. 

I am grateful for Spring. Since it's the season of new life, I began to pray about what this really means for me. See, I'm not a big "New Years" resolution kind of girl. I've tried (even this year) to start new stuff during the shift from one year to the next, thinking of it as a fresh start. It's not for me. However, it seems, prayer, plus planning, has helped me to realize, THIS is my season.

He created order AND beauty in the buds that turn to full trees; the sprouts of green, that become tulips, irises, hostas and more. He also, created order AND beauty in me. 

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? - Matthew 6:28-30

Since He lovingly created me...and assures me, in Matthew that I shouldn't worry about what I will wear, I have to venture to think that He ALSO knew, as He "knit me together," He knew what I was to become. He knew the vast job I'd be doing, and He equipped me FULLY for this job. 

To consider myself "failing" at this job, is simply an insult to Him. No one considers a flower a failure when it wilts, at the end of its season, or the tree a failure when it drops its leaves in the Autumn, or the grass as it become brown with the cold of Winter. Why? Because they aren't. They were perfectly created to change with the seasons, as He divinely ordered it. 

What I've come to realize, is I went through a season of change, and have been trying to live as if I were a tree in Winter, attempting to maintain it's leaves. My new season isn't just the same as it was 2, 3, or even 4 years ago. I've added children to my day - ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, and teaching, on top of the regular "homemaker" duties. My husbands work schedule is different, my oldest started college and works, my 12 yr old is mowing with his father on the side this year, and my 5 yr old is trying to assert his independence..not necessarily the right way. My days don't all look the same anymore. It's time to adjust to my new season...to bloom where I am planted. 

So, I am on board with a new season. My Spring has sprung. I'm trusting His guiding, and He has provided me with some pretty awesome guides to get started. I found a calendar, a deep cleaning list, and an amazing book by Sarah Mae, called 31 Days to Clean -- Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  

I don't know what will work and what will need changing, but my heart has changed, along with my season, and the Holy Spirit is my guide. From here, I'm just excited to watch what "blooms." I'm curious if any of you have found yourself in the same kind of ruts, where life has changed, but you haven't. How did you dig out of the trenches and adjust to the newness of it all?