Take a Hint Mint!

A Myntz mint, that is.

I have a new favorite mint.

See the cool tin?

They're better than Altoids tins because the lid is flat.

No embossing that's nice to look at, but hard to cover up.

Delicious mints and useable tins,

what more could a frugal momma want?

A set of die cuts for my Cuttlebug fits perfectly in one tin.

It's not that I'm green and wanting to keep the landfills empty,

 remember, I'm frugal.

Also remember, I come from a long line of frugal women?

Ya' get whatcha' pay for.

The cheap $1 spray paint I used to use will never hold up

to this discovery. 

One coat of Rust'Oleum 2X is my new favorite spray paint.

  As long as I don't miss a spot.

Love this stuff.

The beautiful tin on my Gramma's red and chrome kitchen table.

I love crafting on the table where I know she spent hours

sitting, drinking coffee, visiting and rolling out sugar cookies.

This is the Cuttlebug.  It cuts and embosses.

She's da' boss!

So, ya' know those die cuts I needed to store?

What a better way to store them, but in a box

decorated with papers cut from the die cuts within.

Didja' understand that?

Papers were cut and Mod Podge applied.

Four sets of die cuts in four adorable boxes.

I was so pleased with them I wanted to  display the boxes

instead of putting them away in the Cuttlebug container.

The flowers would also look cute on stationary.

Maybe I should make another one to keep my mints in?

Wouldn't this be a cute little box for some

stationary and tiny pencils?

I originally bought the button die cut to make pre-school

manipulatives for my granddaughter, Brookelyn,

who is crazy about her Lalaloopsy doll with button eyes.

But, these would be wonderful sewing kits,

doncha' think?

A thin magnet glued on the inside would keep

needles and pins in place.

Magnets on the back would make these tins

stick to a fridge or a locker.

The look of the vintagey black tins

 fill me with such anticipation and promise.

I'm dreaming about other uses for them.

Take a hint.  You need a Myntz mint.

Then tell me how you'd use that adorable tin.

I JUST NEED 24 HOURS...

I found myself wishing,

as I shut my eyes for two minutes inbetween

 finishing school with one child and picking up another child from college,

 I could have an extra

24 hours

in a day.

Just one extra day, I don't ask for much.

Only I would get that extra time,

nobody else in the world, especially my children.

They'd be in a time warp where they couldn't

make any more messes,

eat any more groceries,

dirty any more clothes,

take any more scissors or tape,

or ask me any other questions.

Speaking of questions, while I was pondering this miracle in my mind,

 another child, who was finishing homework asked,

"M-ah-ah-ahm,what's for dinner?"

The longer it takes him to say my name, the hungrier he is.

In my mind I was thinking, "Dude, the same as every night, I don't know!"

Instead I politely mumbled, "I don't know."

I went back to dreaming about that extra

24 hours

 all to myself.

What would I do? 

Sleep? 

No, that would be a waste of time.

Eat?

No,  I'm the one who wants the Wonka pill.

I wouldn't waste time eating, except for chocolate,

and I can eat chocolate along with

 whatever I do in my extra

24 hours.

What do I really want?

My house to be in order.

I want all my stuff to have a place

and all my stuff to be in its place.

I want my life to function  as smoothly

 as in the magazines.

When the kids were little, I was in total control.

 The house was clean, three meals were done, one or two loads of laudry done each day.

All that sleeping little kids do made this easy.

As the kids aged, their interests had to be added to my calendar.

Instead of cleaning my bathroom every day (yes I did that during cloth diaper days),

I've been wondering when was the last time I really cleaned it.  

 I don't mean the Lysol wipe clean, but the real clean.

I just want my house in order.

That extra 24 hours, I know it won't happen.  It's not logical.

But, I  always have 15 minutes. 

I learned that lesson years ago. I can always find 15 minutes each day.

I'm gunna' make a list of things that need to be done

and carve out a mere 15 minutes a day.

I like lists. 

This could work.

365 x 15 =5475 minutes saved in a year

1440 minutes each day

3.8 extra days each year.

What?

Not even four days a year gained?

That's not enough.

 Too much effort, for too little outcome.

I think I'm gunna' go back to just

dreaming

about that

 extra 24 hours a day.

Clean and organized houses are overrated anyway,

right?

Right?

Right!

Instead, I'll throw away those magazines

and finish my nap.

I plan on sleeping longer than 15 minutes......

maybe

24 hours.

I'm Still an Ol' Bag

When a new school year starts,

we're all thinking the same thing -

if only

I were more organized and efficient,

I would remember more and accomplish more.

We long for that

perfect container,

perfect shelving system,

perfect organizational feature,

that will magically transform our chaos into control.

In 2010, I blogged through an organizational kick

with some new ideas and some tried-and-true practices of mine.

My favorite system really did impact my life

in a powerful, helpful way.

Not everything I try works, so I felt it worth revisiting this tip.

OK...all this build-up......

....it involves this....

....and this.

As I began this new year not emotionally ready,

I realized my systems were in place and I was physically ready

using this simple sytem using my favorite tote bags.

Follow me back in time when I first admitted

I'm an Ol' Bag Lady.

It will turn chaos into control,

I promise...

Fading and Failing Flowers

We have high ambitions of teaching our six children to answer the phone correctly

"Hello, this is the ______residence, _______ speaking."

We also have high ambitions for our children to take detailed

messages and deliver them in person with a smile.

We grill drill them on phone etiquette over and over,

cautioning about things like mouth full of marbles,

and mumbling like a teenager.

To help make message taking easier,

I found a vintage tin for paper and my daughters made cute flower pens.

Nobody should have had an excuse not to take a good message.

The problem is,

the pens ran out of ink at least two, maybe three, years ago,

and I kept running out of paper.

It became a simple project I kept putting off.

The phone messages ended up being scratched onto

random pieces of mail, napkins, receipts or any stray

piece of paper within grabbing distance of the phone.

Of course, I mean scratched,

cuz when all the pens were out of ink,

you really were scratching.

It made the ol' Abe Lincoln scratching out his math homework

on the shovel with a piece of coal,

look pretty high tech.

I just had to remember to buy a new pack of pens,

and unwrap the old pens,

saving the flowers and the leaves.

You cut off the flower stem,

leaving an inch of wire.

Using about 4-5 inches of floral tape,

you wind enough just to secure the flower to the pen.

The leaves are added a little further down from the top

then you continue winding all the way to the end.

Jon jumped in and helped finish the project in minutes.

They were finished so quickly,

I couldn't figure out why I put it off for years.

Wouldn't you know, the phone rang,

just in time for Jon to test his creations?

I saved all the bad copies from the copying machine

and cut them to fit into the old caramel can.

Handy, useful, but still vintagy and cute.

And flowers are always a great spiritual reminder -

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades:

but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.

The Word of God also lasts longer than homemade flower pens.

Lists, Lists and More Lists

Another Monday.

Another week stretching out with too many things demanding my attention.  It always makes me wonder how I accomplish anything during the school year with homeschooling daily breathing down my neck.

My first order of business will be to find and compile all my To Do Lists from the past week in my Summer Binder and on my computer. I am getting a lot done, but I am not always efficient - YET.

I jotted one list  down on on a small pad of paper in my Bible,  

three lists on sheets of lined paper

 on a clipboard next to my bed,

five pages on my desk

 that I scribbled on when  at my computer,

and another list for those urgent things

that popped into my head first thing this  morning.

Oh yea, then there is the task box in my Outlook.

See all the little red squares on the bottom right of the screen?

Yea, those things are DONE, baby.

My plan for organizing the lists:

Long-term lists -  These items are high-faluting goals, like painting rooms, sewing curtains, fixing things, ordering books, things that need or should be done in the next six months, but there isn't any urgency.

They can be written out according to rooms and subjects, just beautiful inspirational lists of aspirations.

If I need to yearly track the list and accomplishments, like when planning Daily Vacation Bible School, I love to use OneNote, my favorite Microsoft product of all time.

If I just want to cross off the things and throw the lists away, I write them on paper.  My summer binder  will also include lists  for planning  our family vacation and our trip to Bible Camp.   In turn, these are divided into To Do, To Pack and To Buy segments. 

Weekly lists -  Overall view of weekly obligations.   I use my Outlook Calendar (see pic above) program faithfully, listing all baseball in blue, appointments in orange, company in teal and traveling in lavender, etc.  The calendars can also be printed and posted on fridge or in binder if I need to make it available to everyone.

Daily lists- Just so I remember to do little things and keep priorities straight.  Monday is laundry day, that goes without saying, so I don't even write it down, unless I have that undeniable urge to write it down just to cross it off. As I read my Bible in the morning and have those two cups of coffee, I am always prompted about little needs, like

-Does Jon need another teeth cleaning?

-Oh, I need to sent a card to my niece.

Sometimes I put so many things on a daily list, it automatically becomes a weekly list. That's OK!

Don't Do List - I am giving myself permission to NOT tackle anything for homeschool this week. 


Our summer schedule is simple -
Morning - work
Afternoon - play

I usually get up much earlier than the kids because I cherish those golden silent moments and the ability to sometimes work on a project alone.  After they obey the Morning Rule - "get up, get dressed, make your bed" -they eat and we decide what needs to be conquered.  They usually aren't allowed to clean their rooms during this time, that is expected to be done.  Mornings are Mommy Projects, extra things I need help with and skills that I am teaching them.

Lists should be a tool, not a torture.  We are not a slave to them. There are days I give myself permission to not even look at my lists, or have to cross anything off.  Somedays, I do a bunch of stuff that isn't even on the list, and wasn't ever going to be on the list.

I still want to be led by the Lord in how I spend my time and energy.  According to Proverbs 16, we plan,  but the Lord guides. I am embarrassed to say that sometimes I forget to pray over my lists. 

The lists are NOT to hang a noose around my neck, they are just to keep me from forgetting things that need to be done and keep me from wasting time. 

Plus, when they are on the counter, the kids might even go see what "needs to be crossed off" before we can go play.


I am hearing the sounds of summer, laugher and lawnmowing, and the sun is peeking through my curtains.

I'm gunna throw in a load of laundry, stack my lists on the Summer binder in the kitchen and grab another cup of coffee.

'Cuz, I have another Monday to face.

*****

Follow me over to Nan's Blog where she hosts

Making Your Home Sing Monday

for more encouragement to start your new week.

Flying Frantic - The Car

Lives can run out of control with busy schedules and obligations, but there are ways to keep the frantic pace organized. After organizing purse projects into time slots, our obligations into tote bags, and finding a way to take the scare out the bottom of our purses, we're ready for the big project.


The vehicle.

My goal is to keep the car ready to go for each new new frantic day.

I heard one of my friends jest that she doesn't homeschool...

...she vanschools. 

Moms spend a lot of time in their vehicles trying to get kids to/from music lessons, field trips, educational opportunities and sports activities. Add to that all the trips to the grocery store, mall, pet store, library,  doctor, dentist, bank, discount stores, thrifts stores, book store and you have a lot of time behind the wheel.

Too much time.  We spend too much time filling the gas tank and emptying the vehicle of accumulated garbage.

Even stay at home mommies can find it hard to actually be at home.
I have resorted to keeping personal care items in each vehicle.  Even though my purse and camera bag are stocked, I  do forget things at times.  I have deep, plastic pockets  on the side of each door.  In addition to maps, I have added lotion, chapstick, comb, hand sanitizer, small packages of tissue and in the summer, sunscreen.

We always need  wipes, past since I am past the diaper bag stage, I keep them in each car. Sometimes when driving, hand each person a wipe and ask them to wipe the area around them, the plastic door, dashboard, and those nasty cubby spots for drinks that are always a conglomeration of crumbs, goo and wrappers.


In the storage between the front seats, I try to keep change, a pad of paper and a few pens and sunglasses.

I tuck keep a few plastic bags tucked into the seat pockets, for garbage or the rare fluke puke - yes, that is a reality.

Each vehicle has a small broom and dustpan from a dollar store.  They work great for sweeping out the vehicle after kids have been in it.  Sometimes, while I am waiting for the kids, I will just quickly pick up the pieces of paper, but sweep the cereal, cedar pieces and cracker chunks out onto the ground.

After leaving the midwest, I replaced the ice scrapers in each vehicle for squeegees.  They're more suitable for the moist Pacific Northwest climate.
I used to keep healthy snacks in the car in a sealed container,  but the kids ate them just because they were in the car, not because we were in the car going somewhere early in the morning and hadn't eaten breakfast.  Then I hid them so well I couldn't find them in a rush on the way out the door.  My latest snack hiding spot is in the garage, but now there is so much stuff piled in front of the shelf, we can't get to them.

When they were little, each kid had their own plastic boxes white dry erase boards on the lids. They loved them! They slid under their assigned seats in the full-sized van easily.  If their toys and activities  didn't fit in their box, they couldn’t take it in the car.

I also tried the pocket organizers that fit the back of seat. I never found one I liked, although I saw others use them with great success.

When they got older, I switched to one container with travel games and hand-held electronic games.  After going crazy trying to pick up all the pieces to Battleship and Checkers and listening to the electonic beeps, I nixed those ideas.

 Now, we just are using the car bingo cards and a book of word finds, they're quiet and easy to put away.

Of course, the more things you have in the car to make your life easier, the more things you have for the kids to get into and make your life more frustrating. Keep a balance of what works for you and your kids.

Through the years, we have learned that our car time is the best talking time.  We are together in a confined space, with no outside distractions.  My husband loves to ask the kids a question,  either a  thought provoking Biblical  question or a question like their favorite memory, then enjoy the conversation flowing around us. Because of this, we opt to not watch movies unless we are on a cross country trip.

When we arrive home rule is to clean out the van/car.  Do not leave it to tomorrow, tomorrow has enough worries and duties of its own. If the kids don't, sometimes I put their stuff outside on the ground in a pile or on the ledge by the steps. The kids are learning to appreciate having a clean car and finding their stuff where it should be on the way out the door the next time.

It is so nice to frantically jump into the car and have it READY to go.

Now, if I can just remember to put gas in the car.

Flying Frantic - The Purse

As I fly frantically through another busy day, I'm blogging on my third area of organization to help the flight be on time with a lot less turbulence.  Day one I talked about the Purse Project.  Yesterday, I explained why my husband calls me The Bag Lady.

A mom's purse is a wonderful, horrible experience in hoarding, trauma preparation and "I told you someone would need it sometime".

My family loves to tease me about my "luggage" because my purses get bigger and heavier each year. But, they always know who to turn to when they need a chapstick, a fingernail clipper, a piece of floss, a nail file, a piece of paper, a pen, or money. I am even usually good for safety pins, a mini sewing kit, water and a healthy snack.

I won a prize at a baby shower for having the heaviest purse.

But, the scariest part of having a purse like mine, is actually having to stick your hand into it to find something.

I have always said, "The scariest place on earth is the bottom of a woman's purse." Part of it is true, part of it is scare tactics to keep my kids out of my purse.

This past year, to lessen the danger and fear in sticking my hand all the way to the bottom of my purse, while groping for that elusive nail file, I purchased clear zipper pouches. I can now find items instantly.  They also work great for going through airport security.

I use one for personal items,

and one for medicine type things.

The upside is, my purse is a mini-medicine cabinet. I am ready for anything.


The downside is the kids learn to rely on the purse for ALL their needs.

Because they know I have a small medicine cabinet, of course they will use the lone two bandages in my case instead of taking one from the box of 100 in their medicine cabinet. They will take the last two ibuprofen because it is closer to walk to the front hall closet for my purse than down the hallway to the medicine cabinet with the bottle of 500 ibuprofen.

Not only do they go into my clear case for my chapstick, they might leave it unzipped, along with the purse zipper, so that next time I heave my luggage onto my shoulder and run out the door, I WILL spill everything. Then, they will think I am such a NAG because they left two zippers open. Sheesh lousise.

Another obstacles in organization was eliminated when I bought a wallet with a lot of compartments. I have a place for coupons,  punch cards and receipts. 

I bought a separate organizer for business cards, a small hard snap case that keeps them crisp and unwrinkled.

All food items, gum, mints and snacks, are kept in the outside zippered pocket for easy access. 

The two end pockets are also used for things that need immediate access, one for my water bottle, one for my cell phone.

A few years ago, I started carrying a journal.  I love to write, and was done being frustrated by not having anything to write on.

The uncleanliness of public places led me to start carrying individually wrapped antibiotic wipes and a small sanitizer in my purse.

Once you figure out what your problems points in your purse are, find a solution that works for you. Some women, like me, want to be prepared for anything.  Some women find it less stressful to NOT have anything in their purse.

A purse shouldn't cause stress, it should relieve stress.

With a purse big enough to have spare room, I can throw in a book, a PURSE PROJECT, my mini computer and my camera.

Of course, the only stress my purse causes is from the weight. When I need to lighten the load, I can easily remove objects because they are in organized containers and I know exactly what I am leaving behind.

When I carried a diaper bag, it was stocked in clear pouches, as well, but my purse was teeny tiny and I just tucked it in the diaper bag. You want to be well prepared, but not overstocked.

When I was single and a new believer, I was thrilled to find Proverbs 31. A whole chapter dedicated to women!  One verse confused me.

Verse 17, "She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong."

I understood about diligence, perseverence, looking out for her family, but I just couldn't understand the strong arms.

Until I got married.  And had a family.  And had to start carrying everything...


...in my purse.

Flying Frantic - Tote Bags

This is the second in a series,

hoping to inspire some organizational processes into frantically busy lives.

My husband lovingly calls me
The Bag Lady.

Partly in jest of being an Ol' Bag,

but partly because I use a lot of  tote bags.

I am a mom,

I homeschool,

I teach Sunday School

and am involved in a homeschool co-op.

 I have discovered that instead of having one tote bag

that I would always forget to unpack or repack,  

it's easier to have one bag for each activity.

My co-op bag has

the binder I need with all the information in clear sheet protectors,

 and a zippered pouch filled with school supplies.

They are never leave this bag, except during coop. 

I can also throw in a book, a game to play or a purse project.  

Anything I need to bring, I slip it in during the week.

I have a church bag. 

Throughout the week, I fill it with things I need to bring to the church.

 A book to return to someone, sanitizers, tracts I ordered,

Sunday school treats, prizes or craft items.

On Sunday morning it eliminates the frantic rush,

helping us to get to church on time

AND

in the Spirit.

My camera bag is also stocked.

The right pocket has personal items,

the front pocket paper items,

and left pocket camera supplies.

 I can leave the purse, throw my wallet in my camera bag,

 and I am ready to hike, sightsee or just stalk my children.

Even though it isn't a bag, this errand basket organizes my life.

When Woolworths went out of business,

I bought a stack of these beauties for $1 each.

They are some of my prize possessions.

I keep it by the door and add:

-returns that need to be made

-lone overdue library book found under the couch

-packages that need to be mailed

I even have a special Zune bag from Hawaii.

The bag orignally came with coffee,

but is perfect for my Zune and accesories.

Yes, I made the container for my ear phones

from a dental floss box.

Remove label, add a monkey sticker,

and it is a cute little thing ready to hold treasures.

During their younger years, each of our kids had a library bag. My husand mounted a peg shelf at their level, so they could always return their bag, with books in it, to the peg shelf. It kept books from being lost and  made it easier to return the books. A clear pocket on the outside would have been a great idea for the checkout slip.

When I am beginning to organize things to bring or send to someone, I begin a brown paper bag in the closet with their name printed in black, bold letters. As things are purchased, found or finished, they are put into the bag. If it is to be mailed, I might even pick out the box ahead of time and put that in the closet labeled. When it is full, it is mailed.


My youngest keeps a toy bag packed in the van. She is encouraged to keep a few toys, books, personal items, water bottle and maybe a snack. Living in a busy area, one accident on the highway and your commute home just got 29 minutes longer. Baseball season is here, and games can get long for the little ones.

Now that it is baseball season I have a baseball bag. Because it can be chilly, I keep a fleece blanket, extra hats and gloves, snacks and kleenex packed in an extra large tote bag.

Just for fun, I looked up bag in the Bible.

Didja' know David organized his five smooth stones  in a shepherd’s bag? 1 Samuel 17:40

The best use I found for a bag yet was in the book of Job.

Job 14:17

My transgression is sealed up in a bag,

And You cover my iniquity.

Another good reason for my hubby to call me

The Bag Lady.

Everything Has A Place....

....And Everything In Its Place.

I am determined that Everything Will Have a Place. I love order, I crave order, I need order to function.

I am also determined to clean as I go.  I didn't do spring or fall cleaning and am paying for it. I just need the house to be clean and orderly to enable our family to function at our fast pace a little more efficiently.

We have lived in our "new" house five years and I feel like I really haven't moved in.  I still haven't found everything, and I don't feel like there is logical order in the house.  I dream that I will create such order, that my hubby and kids will "find" things on their own and put them away where they found them.  Remember that lofty high school graduation theme, "If You Can Dream It,  You Can Achieve It?"  I'm still dreaming, but the achieving part is a little elusive.

Starting in the kitchen on Saturday, I thought it would take just a morning.  Two days later, I am still working.

I am rearranging cupboards for efficiency.  I am throwing out things.  I am donating things to the thrift store.  I am putting things away in other parts of the house. I am cleaning cupboards inside and out.

Moving in when you have already moved in is challenging, but I am determined to win.

I don't want just a place for the useful things, but also for the decorative things.  Some things haven't been unpacked for several moves.  They need to be used, put back into storage carefully labeled, or properly disposed of.

I finally cleaned the top of my fridge.  Early in my marriage, it didn't even occur to me that the top of the fridge had to be cleaned.  After all, I never saw it.  I am only 5 feet 2 inches tall.

Then, we had company.  A six foot tall man named Al.  He saw the top of my fridge and got the giggles.  He looked way down on me and realized why the top of my fridge was furry. Then, he felt bad because he laughed at me.  For the past 20 years, when I have cleaned the top of my fridge, I have thought of Al.  I was SO thankful he said something!

Sunday was Think of Al Day. I cleaned the top of my fridge. Al is married to the wise woman, Connie, who has been a godly Titus 2 woman in my life. 

I removed some vintage coffee tins and added the two vintage picnic baskets.  One holds baby/toddler paraphenalia  (cups, dishes, bibs, silverware) that  grandchildren and young visitors will need.  It isn't a daily need, so they had to be away but accessible.  The other basket  is waiting for inspiration.

The "baby drawer" in the kitchen became the holding place for the toaster, the electric knife and the blender, which were all cleverly hidden in separate places throughout the house.

                                        

I dug out some of my favorite graniteware and cast iron  items for a display on my buffet.

                             

My cherished vintage tins were pulled from the garage and given a place in the dining room.

 

My antique lanterns were placed on top of the hutch with my quirky birds from my dear Indian friend, Krupa.

Monday begins another school day, but a continuation of my passion to clean and organize.  I will tackle Rebekah's school area while she is doing school.  I will sort through magazines while she is quietly waiting. I will continue this week and next until I am happy that we are running efficiently.

I crave order because it is my nature.

I also crave order because it is my Father's nature.

1 Corinthians 14:40, "Let all things be done decently and in order."

As I try to make my home subject to me, it is a reminder of the same battle we have with our flesh, trying to make it subject to our spirit.

We need to be orderly in our marriage.  We need to be orderly in the church.  We need to be orderly in our homes.  That means, we follow the Lord's order that He has established in the Bible.

Just as we bring order to our homes by creating a space for everything, we bring order to our spiritual lives by creating a space for everything.

We need a space in our day to read our Bibles.  We need a space in our day to pray.  We need a space in our day to encourage our family members.  Make your own list for your own life.  What do you need to create space for?

We see our physical needs easily and can clean, craft and organize our way into peaceful, functioning order.  As we're working on physical order in our lives, let's ask the Lord to give us eyes to see what needs order in our spiritual lives as well.

This blog will be linked  to Nan's blog, momstheword , for her Making Your Home Sing Monday! Join me there to find out what other bloggers are doing to sing their Monday blues away!