Get Motivated Monday

I haven't posted one of these in awhile, but I am starting something new so that we have things under control here for when school starts (in 3 weeks). I started subscribing to FlyLady. My goals for each day are slightly modified though:

- I usually accept her 15 minute challenge (today it was wiping down entry way doors, sweeping porches, and shaking mats)
- I do get dressed everyday, although not always down to my shoes.
- I have a clean sink every night.
- I run a load of laundry every day (except the weekends).
- I "swish and swipe" app. 3 times per week (instead of daily.)

In addition to her daily reminder, I have also put up some chore charts for the kids to earn allowance and a weekly list for me. Here's what mine looks like:

Meals and Money Monday(Includes Grocery Lists, Budget Updating, Coupon Clipping, Etc)
Tubs and Toilets Tuesday (Clean all 3 Bathrooms Except Floors)
Whatever Wednesday (Deep Clean Kitchen, Grocery Shop, Sweep Basement, etc)
Trinket Trap Thursday (Dust)
Find the Floors Friday (Mop and Vacuum)
Savor Saturdays (Family Day)
Spirit Sundays (Spiritual Renewal)

So, right now, here is what it all looks like for me. I am trying to get this chaos under control. I REALLY need school to run smoothly this year and only have about 1 1/2 hours a day to spend on focused cleaning. So, I need to have a plan. Then, if i miss something or run out of time, its no big deal...I'll catch up soon enough. Anyway, hope this helps someone out there! Happy cleaning!

GET MOTIVATED MONDAY

My goal this week is to just plain old get motvated!

Still have vacation laundry to catch up on...

Want to start sorting for a garage sale...

Need to clean some paperwork and other junk off of my kitchen cabinets...

My challenge for you, find something to do, and just DO IT! (We are supposed to have a few nice rainy days this week to get some stuff accomplished.)

Get Motivated Monday

This week's goal is: prepare for and organize your Easter dinner. For me this includes: cleaning, shopping, cooking, and preparing table décor. The kids and I will be making out centerpiece this year! Happy Easter!

Get Motivated Monday

This week I am baking in preparation for a couple of busy weeks...I will be making my homemade bread, cinnamon rolls, some cookie dough to freeze, breakfast breads and the like.

It should be an interesting week with a hot oven!

Also, I will be going through my sons summer clothes (as well as my own). We are headed to Disney in a few weeks, after all! :) (Thankfully my daughter is all set!)

This will probably prompt a run to drop off stuff at Goodwill...

Do you have any projects for this week?

Get Motivated Monday

One thing for us this week:

Prepare and décorate for Easter! This involves 2 Rubbermaid totes of stuff as Easter has always been my favorite holiday. I do plan on sorting through my décor though and ananything that I haven't used for a while offering it up for a young family to use. I think that it's just as important to décorate for Easter as Christmas!

Does anyone else décorate for this holiday or am I just weird?

Get Motivated Monday

Do you plan to garden this summer? If you do, here is this week's challenge...

Go to the library and get a couple of gardening books to plot out your plan for this summer. I particularly love the concepts of square foot and container gardening.

Purchase some seeds at a garden center or online through a seed company.

Save 1/2 gallon milk/oj jugs and 2 liter pop bottles to make mini greenhouses to start your seeds in. (Tomato seeds should be started in the next week or so indoors.) Also, make plantable pots out of newspaper to start your seeds in.

Start saving kitchen scraps for a small compost...use a small lidded garbage can or rubbermaid with holes in it outside to keep your mini compost in. Research this online for help.

Get planting this weekend. We started cheery tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, and yellow squash already in our basement. I still have carrots to start, spinach, lettuce, peppers, chives, etc to plant in the soil after the last frost.

Happy gardening!

Get Motivated Monday

Hello, friends! It's the start of a new month!!! That means that this week's challenge is simple:

Clean out your expired coupons. Send them to a miliary friend or relative because they can use expired coupons for a period of time.

Since this week was light on coupons (one insert), you should be able to get organzed fairly quickly and be ready for March's bargains.

Happy Clipping!!!

Get Motivated Monday

Took a trunk-full of stuff today with me to sell at a resale shop while I was at the zoo. The snow was coming down so badly that we completely skipped our stop and came home with everything in the trunk! Boo!

This week, I am ready to get my pictures organized. Whether that be scrapbooking, filing/deleting on the PC, or storting printed pics in boxes; that's my goal!

Are you like me and have photos all over the place? Why not get them in order during this snowy week?

Maybe I'll even post a few cuties for you... :)

Get Motivated Monday

Around here the only thing that we need to be motivated about is snow removal! We just got the driveway plowed out, but are expecting more snow this week...

Nevertheless, while hubby is shoveling, I need to get a motivating project going. You know me - just gotta do something! Well, we have a kids consignment sale coming up and I want to get started. So this week, I will be cleaning out toys, puzzles, and games...checking for completeness and organizing what I want to sell.

Why not take this week to see what you can get rid of to make a little extra winter moo-lah? Take it to a kids resale shop, ebay it, craigslist it, or whatever. Before you know it, all they will want to do is play outside anyway :)

Get Motivated Monday

We are traveling this week, so my challenge is to clean out and organize the family car.

All of those little pockets and compartments need cleaned out, every part needs a good wipe down, and I need to check the truck for emergency stuff. (A friend needed jumper cables last week and I didn't have them.)

Clean out your car this week. Enlist your kids help (they can get in all of the little places!) You never know what you will find...

Our Desk is Clean!

Our desk is finally clean!!! Need I say more? 6 Kroger bags of trash later and a bunch of recycling and it's done - I know, shameful. But it's clean!!! I did it!!!! I got motivated!

PS It's amazing what kids will do for pennies and a potential "bonus" on their allowance...hehehe. :)

Get Motivated Monday

I WAS motivated this week - I truly was. Seriously. I promise.

I just wasn't motivated to clean off that desk or do filing...

I DID get our tax stuff together.

But, what I really had fun with was painting out dining room - the entire thing - with a 2" brush from Dollar Tree and 2 FREE quarts of paint from a previous promotion in the late summer. It looks great. I will have to show you before and after pictures... Now to make the new curtain and table runner that I am dreaming about...

OK - so this week's necessity (for me) is to tackle this desk. Pick something that you despise doing and make that your challenge this week, ok?

Just do me a favor, do as I say and not as I do! :)

Get Motivated Monday

OK, last week stunk for me. I had two sick kids, an ER trip, and overall LACK OF SLEEP (and lack of posts, as I'm sure you noticed...) So, needless to say, my computer desk still looks like a bomb went off!

This week, in addition to attempting to start and finish last weeks challenge, I will attempt to:

Get caught up on filing and paperwork in general. Tax season is right around the corner and quite frankly stuff around here is a mess.

Hope that you can get your paperwork organized too! If you have any great filing systems, please, please, please, share them with us (me)!!!

Have a great week! (I'm off to conduct a breathing treatment...)

Get Motivated Monday

Did you clean out your shelves last week? I did and we were able to take a bag of personal hygiene products to the Food Pantry this week!

(I also cleaned out the kids dressers and took some clothes and shoes to a few friends!)

This week's challenge: Clean off your computer desk. Pitch old papers. File when needed. See what you have and store it attractively. Then dust it! I want to see a clean and shinging desk by the end of the week! That's my goal (and it's long overdue)...

What big project will you tackle this week?

Get Motivated Monday

Hello, Friends!

Two things this week...one for you and one for others.

1. Start a journal:
It can be funny things your kids say, prayers, quotes, sermon notes, random thoughts...whatever.
Take time once a week to document your life in some tangible way.

2. Clean out your medicine cabinet and stash of toiletries:
Pitch anything expired.
Give away anything unopened that you will not use before its expiration (think food pantry, pregnancy center, battered women's shelter, etc.)
Neatly store your like items (ie. toothpaste together) and make room for new deals in 2010!

Get Motivated Monday

Don't know about you all, but my challenge this week is TOY ORGANIZATION! We need some more containers to hold all of this new little stuff. I saw that Target had a sale this week on organizational stuff, but I'll probably hit Dollar Tree first AFTER I know what I need.

We have one more Christmas this week, so my tree will stay up for a few more days... I may start to take down some of the "little pretties" though.

Get Motivated Monday

In honor of Thanksgiving, there will be no "official" challenge this week. I would; however, advise you to compile a list of the Top Ten things that you are thankful for and share it with your fellow readers.

Oh, and how are you doing with the 30 day giving challenge?

"How can I thank You? There is just no way. How can I thank You? Lord, how can I repay? For Your kindness, for Your tenderness, for Your constant presence here with me..."
-----------------------------------------from "You Have Been So Good To Me" by Sara Groves

Get Motivated Monday

OK, I have a confession. I am not motivated to do anything this week! There, it's out...

However, regardless of what I feel like doing, I will get motivated because THANKSGIVING IS NEXT WEEK!!!!! UGH!!!!

Here is my list: get laundry caught up for travels, get house cleaned for company, get menu organized, and start Black Friday list...

How will you get ready for Thanksgiving this week?

Get Motivated Monday

This week your challenge is two-fold:

1. Clean out your expired coupons to get ready for a new month. (Did you know that the troops can use expired coupons at their commisaries?)

2. Make a meal plan for the upcoming month. Check back later this week to see our family's November meal plan!

Have a fun week!!!

Get Motivated Monday

So, did you catalog all of your Christmas gifts last week? I did and Santa has an issue over here. 11 gifts for the son and 4 for the princess. What to do? Shop, of course! :)

This week's challenge is your LINEN closet... Go through it. Organize it. Pitch yucky towels. Make it look pretty. Get your linens ready for the holidays - find your Grandma's tablecover and your extra guest sheets.

This seems like a simple challenge. Maybe it is for you. But for us hoarders it is a good time to clean out and re-evaluate.

An extra note - if you find blankets to get rid of, consider a homeless shelter. As the cold seeps in, there are many folks who would love that old orange afghan that Aunt Sally made. Pass along the blessing and teach your children to give!

Let me know how it goes, ok?