Tips for Homemakers

Started reading this book.  She says "If you are in need of immediate help, skip to the appendix" which I am and so I did.  Two tips that have been very helpful:

#1) Force yourself to smile.  It is hard to talk rude or be unpleasant to your children if you are smiling, so force yourself to smile when you talk to them.
#2) Cut up produce.  For kids that are constantly hungry and wanting food, nothing is easier than simply cutting up fruit or vegetables and serving it on a plate.

Job Jar

This Job Jar idea looks brilliant.

I almost had my act together in summer time around the last week of vacation.  Then school started, that was in August, and I don't have a game plan that's working.  I think this might save me.

Here is the list of chores from the original post at Madsens Memories:

Clean out van
Clean out pantry
Pull weeds in back yard for 10 minutes
Pull weeds in front yard for 10 minutes
Rub dad’s feet for 10 minutes and do, ‘this little piggy’ to him.
Clean a sibling’s room
Wipe down kitchen bathroom toilet
Clean a bathroom mirror while singing any song.
Clean out silverware drawer
Wipe down outside of fridge and have a treat afterwards.
You are free but this is a WARNING!
Vacuum garage floor mats
Scrub upstairs bathtub
Give mom and dad a hug and say, “I will never leave my stuff out again.”
Wipe down walls by garage door
Wipe down garage door inside and out
Empty all garbage’s
Write a letter to someone who has done a service for you and tell them thank you.
Dust the plant in the kitchen bathroom
Fold 10 pairs of socks
Rub dad’s head for 10 minutes while telling him how thankful you are for him working so hard.
Rub mom’s head for 10 minutes while telling her how thankful you are she sweeps 200 times a day.
Sweep front porch and ride your bike around the block.
Watch Hailey for 10 minutes
Clean out junk drawer
Dust living room
Clean front glass door
You are free but this is a WARNING!
You are free but this is a WARNING!
Tell all of your siblings 3 things you love about them.
Write 50 times “I will not leave my things out.”
Do 25 jumping jacks while singing, “I am a cleaning machine.”
Run around the house for 1 minute and see how many things you can pick up and put away.
Clean off the dining room table with glass cleaner.
Draw a picture of you picking up things and your mom and dad smiling BIG!
Make up a song about a clean house and perform it in front of your family.
Make your bed blindfolded.
Clean out a heater vent.
Do research on the computer about how to clean with baking soda.
While hopping on one foot, wipe the kitchen counters off.
Choose 2 items of yours to donate to Goodwill.
Vacuum the office.
Scrub an air vent with a toothbrush.
Hand wash 3 dishes
Scrub your toilet while singing, ‘whistle while you work’.
Pick up backyard, do a flip on the trampoline and beg your mother for forgiveness.
Sweep back patio
Design a machine on paper that cleans the whole house and gets you ready for the day.
Water the trees in the front yard.
Tell us the story, ‘The Little Red Hen.”
Organize mom and dad’s shoes.
Vacuum one set of stairs

Boy's Clothes Closet

I spent a couple of hours cleaning the boys closet yesterday (while listening to Rush Limbaugh to ease my somewhat political nerves!)  I was very happy with the new organization and containing method -

I labeled these bins for "Scout Stuff", "Ties" and "Belts".  They used to have just the boys first name initial so they could put whatever they wanted in them, but they haven't been used very effectively, so I repossessed ownership of them.

 So now I just need to vacuum it out and wash Lily's artwork off of the walls.

Inspiration

I am Momma Hear Me Roar make this:

Which inspired me to make this printable:

(that was over a year ago before picnik died, and was my one attempt at making a printable way back in 2011.  Not sure what people are using in 2012?)

...which became a reality that looks like this for Melodie's bedroom.

But now I'm thinking I want that nice big frame for some of the blank walls in the great room next to the kitchen.  Here are some contenders for the next inspirational idea...

Something pretty or colorful?

 Bright?

 Symbolic

 Or here's an abstract genealogical art thing

Decisions decisions.  Waiting for inspiration, I'll sketch out a few ideas in my head...

Decorate & Organize

Found this site through Pinterest today ~ I think I'm in love. (I know I'm in need.)

A Bowl Full of Lemons ~ Building our Forever Home, one project at a time

I want and need to know, do, and become a decorator and organizer and good home manager.

The pin did warn "this is a dangerous site..."  It's not about being motivated to organize, cause I'm always motivated, some people maybe aren't motivated, but in either case, it's not about motivation, it's about HABIT.  Make the habit of doing it.  Know, Do, Become.

Painted Magnet Boards

These magnet boards are from Ikea.  They were originally silver/metal when I bought them years ago, then decided I wanted white so I took them back to exchange them, all still wrapped and with tags that say IKEA mind you, but I had lost my receipt and paid cash so they weren't able to look up the purchase in their computer records and after an hour I was on my way home with them cause Ikea couldn't/wouldn't exchange them.  I was pretty annoyed.  So I still have them and these have been in storage until recently when I decided to paint them.  First primed them once then got out the glossy spray paint.

(Painting Tip FYI - It is recommended that you do not let your 6 year old son hang around with you outside while you spray these, or you are at risk of taking him to the ER for an asthma attack.)

These magnet boards are in the girls' room now, don't have a plan for their room, just wingin' it, but these colors are part of their overall theme so I'm sure we'll be able to make them work as we progress.  :)

Storage Bins

I bought these little bins at Dollar Tree -

And then I  bought these stickers at Dollar Tree -

 Put them together and you have some easy cute labeled toy bins or sock bins

 I thought they were kinda cute.

Growing Kids Clothes Organization

I know I am a mom because I am so stinkin' excited about how I just organized my kids' clothes over the whole bloody weekend ~

I think this setup is pretty sweet.  I have 9 boxes for girls, 6 for boys, 3 for shoes, all into these nice storage boxes from Costco

Simply labeled on front with a Girl/Boy and the size/age of the future wearer of the clothes.  I tried before to just have the boxes of neatly folded stacks of clothes storage in their closet, but some of the kids (Ethan) would get into it without permission when they felt their wardrobe was lacking and then all that happened was an overload of clothes and laundry.  I'm minimized their clothes and it's a breath of fresh air walking into their closet cause it doesn't attack me.  And down in the deep dark spooky basement the clothes are too out of the way for them to bother getting into it without a lot more effort than they ever have.  :)  Ah, I love exercising control over my home and the little people that dwell therein. 

7 Keys to Creativity

by Ann Voskamp - I love these!

1. Quit trying to fit. Why try to squeeze all your extraordinary into ordinary?

2. God made woman to be a maker, to open her empty places and let life be knit from within her.

3. Creativity, it’s good theology; it’s what God did in the beginning.

4. When we stop fearing failure, we start being artists.

5. Don’t let the sun set till you’ve done one thing that sort of scares you. The only trees that ever grow tall keep relentlessly stretching into unknown territory.

6. Art, it’s the second person present indicative of the verb to be. Art is a way of being and when you make your life art — thou art.

7. You have to bury your fear in faith. Otherwise you bury your talents.

I'm Just a Beginner

Hi there.  I'm starting another blog to help me with my home decorating desires and aspirations.  (It helps me if I keep things logged on a blog - I have a blog for my family's history, for exercise, and for spiritual stuff, so now I'm making this one to help me keep focused on homemaking, organization, cleaning, art and DIY creativity, etc.)

My kids playing in our front yard - perfect for their imagination!

I have 8 kids and I don't and never have had a mortgage or bought/owned a home.  I used to have pity parties for myself (like 2 years ago) and I struggled with an ungrateful heart that things weren't going as I had planned.  But, another move and a new rental home, this time in Costa Rica, started to cure me of the ungratitude problem.  Then we moved again and rented in Chile.  We moved back to Utah in May 2011 and are still renting, but this time we really were blessed so over-the-top with a perfect sized home with trees and on a quiet dead end, it's heaven (see pic above).  And maybe we'll rent here for years or buy it, who knows.  I don't know what the future holds, but I've learned to bloom where I'm planted and am going to create a home for my little family, cause life is happening and isn't going to wait for anything. 

Our House before Costa Rica/Chile

Our casa in Villareal, Costa Rica - lived there 3 months

Our apartment building in Las Condes, Santiago, Chile.  14th floor.

So today the baby step I'm taking is: I'm going to go organize and clean the basement!  Agh!  This one's gonna be messy and long, but I should be able to make a dent in in for 2 hours, then I'm off to the Relief Society Broadcast at 6.  Here I go, good luck!