Housekeeping over the years

Housekeeping drove me crazy over the years. I knew homes need to be clean. I've never been the person to love that chore. In College, I learned that Saturday was the best day to clean my room. I did not have a roommate, so I cleaned the place for myself. I also washed my clothes on Saturdays after my break from work. 

When I graduated, I shared a duplex with a roommate. She was there first, so the rules were: no dishes in the sink overnight, and we each clean the entire place (except for the other's room) the other month. 

When I graduated, I lived in a tiny little place. 6 months later I was married to the love of my life and I guess that's when I officially become responsible for the housekeeping of an entire family. 

Before the kids were born, it was tough. My major problem was with paperwork. One weekend, I decided to organize everything, one hour at a time. I even wrote about it. I called "the power of one hour." Here is a before and after photo of my results. 

Organizing that paperwork gave me encouragement to know that I could conquer that major issue with clutter. What I didn't know then was that cleaning and organizing a home takes time and effort. 

Sometimes, you just don't have a lot of time. But things need to be done anyway. I remember starting a new job in my now new hometown. While I was job searching, I spent time cleaning, organizing things, cooking, taking care of the family, and volunteering at church. Once I started working full-time, I had little time for cleaning. I needed to clean anyway. 

I learned to prioritize my projects. I knew from past experience that when everything is chaotic, I need to start with laundry and food. That's how you go from overwhelmed to organized. I did that a lot. When I was chronically busy, I made sure there was food on the table and the laundry was done. These two simple chores helped me to properly care for the family, myself, and make progress with everything else I had going on.

I learned that sometimes, you just do not have time to invest in organizing things. I wrote a blog post with creative ways to organize your home. I used one of the strategies last week. A few weeks ago, I had a few service people at our house often. I had 3 clothes hampers filled with clothes day after day outside of our laundry room. I decided that the service people did not need to see those hampers week after week so, I decided to store them in the linen closet. I  used the strategies of "hide some stuff" and "ignore it until you can do something about it." Hiding made the space look cleaner. Ignoring the issue helped me wait until I had time to take care of the problem.

Well, I had some extra time last week and I was able to completely take care of those 3 clothes hampers. 

A second issue I had was the thought that if I only had help, housekeeping will be easier. I've had seasons when I was doing everything by myself as a stay-at-home mom. I've had occasional help as a SAHM. I also had seasons when I was working full-time and cleaning full-time. I also know what it means to work full time and have the help of a housekeeper. Housekeeping never got easier: I got smarter. 

I found smart solutions, whether I had help or not. I made peace with repeating those strategies over and over again. I also learned to teach those strategies to the kids. Their help has made a world of difference. 

Housekeeping used to drive me crazy. I have learned which strategies I need to succeed. 

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Insta model

I'd be an Insta model but I can't. Ha ha!

Social media has definitely influenced fashion and how we see ourselves. Before all of these trends started, I was already enjoying my fair share of fashion.

I never saw myself as a model (and still do not). I always enjoyed dressing nicely for what I could afford. Motherhood also influenced my fashion sense. Let’s say that for first 8 years, I discovered the wonders of going from exercise clothes to lounge wear most days of the week. We always dressed up on weekends but most of the week, our family enjoys feeling comfortable.

Going to work full-time changed my fashion sense. Dressing up to teach preschool music is different than getting dressed for a church job. When God blessed me with a job in academia, my fashion sense gained a whole new level of freedom.

No matter how many variables I deal with, I find it important to know who I am when it comes to choosing the clothes I wear. Here are a few lessons I've learned along the way:

I need help - one of the best things I did was to ask a friend who is a fashion designer to help me with my clothing choices. She looked at all of my pieces and gave me some great advice I follow until this day. Good advice on style is very helpful and needed. I needed a real person to tell me about the styles that actually would work for me. Her eye to detail helped me realized what I was missing in my closet as well.

I pay attention - I’m not a big trend setter but I do pay attention to trends. If I see something I like, I often get it from a thrift store. I also watch trends for a long time. I learned that everything goes on sale. If I wait long enough, I'll get what I want for a great price. Because I'm not paid to be a model I get to wait a while until I adopt a certain trend.

I know my worth - Confidence is the best accessory I'll ever possess. My worth and value do not come from the clothes I wear. I don't measure my worth by outward things. Knowing my worth makes this entire fashion journey make sense to me. I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker. She is in her 70s and she told me that she feels it is important for children to have a healthy sense of self-worth and confidence. Sure, an adult can pick it up later, but if you learn it as a child, great.

Folks, this is the best fashion post you'll get from me. I could be more specific and write about clothes, trends, prices, etc. I prefer to tell you about the things I treasure the most. My need for help is one of them. The knowledge that confidence is the best accessory is another good lesson. One can fake having confidence during a photoshoot. It is important to live well from the inside out and know that the way God sees you is the most relevant thing you'll ever realize. 

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How to have a Clutter-free Holiday Season in 45 minutes

The holidays are upon us and the goal is not to be surprised by something we experience each and every year. I have found that during the holidays, we have the tendency to gather more things and when you add to the clutter you already have, you get a new year filled with clutter. This year we are going to be smart and we are going to get rid of our clutter before more of it arrives. Here's how my 45-minute solution will help:

• Schedule time - you have to dedicate time to declutter. I find that 45 minutes is a great chunk of time to get any job done. If the job is overwhelming, I just work at it for 45 minutes, then I go back to it some other time. What I do is, I set my cell phone's alarm clock to countdown for 45 minutes and I start to work. I recently organized my closet that way. There were a few bags of trash, the donation bags went straight to my car and the storage bags went to the correct place too. When those 45 minutes were over, I still had 15 minutes to do whatever I wanted to do. During that time I can snack if I'm hungry, look at social media or simply rest. 

• Work faithfully - it's important to stay focused on the task during those 45-minutes. I say that because on my way to my 45-minute job I can find a million other things to do. Being faithful to that one big project is the key to getting rid of clutter for good. My one big project was my closet. You could not walk in the place at all (and yes, some of my friends saw it too). On my way there I had to talk myself out of finding other projects such as going to the store and buying more organization supplies, making sure I clean other rooms... you get the point. Be clear with your goal and work at it faithfully for 45 minutes. 

• Repeat - What? Is this not a magic solution? And the answer is no. Simply because your family lives in your home. That room you proudly cleaned will get messy again but hopefully not to the same degree. It is important to put this 45-minute practice on repeat so that things stay organized. I might not have a big closet mess to dive into, but I have other small cluttered spaces that could use the same 45-minute decluttering strategy. I also did not finish my laundry yesterday, so believe me, I'm setting my clock for 45-minutes today and I am putting clothes away only to repeat this process next laundry day. The key is to find a strategy that works for you and repeat it when needed. 

• Have a list of pre-holiday projects - What are the areas in your life that need attention before the holidays? Is it your Christmas decor spot? Is it kids' toys? Make a list of pre-holiday projects so that your life will be easier when it's time to be officially merry and bright. My closet was the big monster project but kids' toys is next on the list. We don't have an overwhelming amount of things (I've been donating things throughout the year) but the toys can use some organization. I also plan on looking intently in my kitchen to be sure we don't buy things we already have for our holiday dinners. We can all have a list of pre-holiday projects. Being organized will save us time and it will make us more efficient as we move towards the most wonderful time of the year. 

How do you see yourself the day after a big holiday such as Christmas? I see myself as a peaceful wife and mother who will not dread the holidays but will actually enjoy it with my family. Being organized ahead of time will help me accomplish that goal. I challenge you to schedule time to declutter and focus on getting organized (not overwhelmed) as we approach this holiday season. Have a productive day my friends! 

More on the subject:
• My 45-minute solution for Organizing 

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