More Thoughts On Saving Money

This will be more of an exhortation and encouragement than it will be practical advice...but we must challenge the way we think and the way we normally do things every now and again to be sure we have not slipped off the course we need to be taking.

The biggest hindrance I have found to saving money is peoples attitudes. Lets be real here...you could save more money if you really wanted to. I don't need to hear your excuses...trust me I have enough of my own ;o) But it is what it is...the truth.

I have known women who complained about how little money they had for this and that...but stocked up on soda and juice bags for their kids. I have known people who complain that they can't afford groceries and go and apply for food stamps...but smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and drink a case of beer a week. Seriously? They're not broke, they just have their priorities wrong.

And let me just say up front...I really don't care if you smoke, or drink, or buy soda and juice bags. I would encourage you not to smoke...it will kill you...but I smoked for a decade, I understand too. What I won't do is listen to you complain about how you have no money.

People feel entitled. I don't know why...someone lied to them I guess. And if someone else hasn't lied to them they seem to have lied to themselves. They have decided that what the "feel" about something and what they "like" somehow equals a justifiable need in their life. That's just not true!!

I cringe inwardly when I hear people say "Oh I NEED my ." No they don't...almost never do they "NEED" it. They desire it, they want it, they like it, they wish they could have it...but they don't NEED it. I can hear you already too.."but I need my coffee in the morning"...no you don't. No more than I do. I drink a pot of coffee a day...but if tomorrow all coffee disappeared I wouldn't die (I can't promise anything for those around me for awhile, but that's a different story ;) ) . Coffee is not a NEED, it's just a really strong want. But the reason I cringe is because the people who really believe that...are believing a lie. A lie that says that their wants are needs. Those false needs become little false idols.

False idols and grocery shopping...when was the last time you thought of that? When was the last time you've gone thru the grocery store and thought "have I lost perspective on this item?" I can hear the voices again...I hear someone saying "but Campbell's soups are better." Yup, they may be...but is anyone going to die if you have generic soup instead of Campbell's?? No, I don't think so. But are you willing to remove that Campbell's idol and "reduce yourself" to a generic? ;o) "But I like Campbell's better!"..and my response is "SO!" If you have no money worries and you want to buy Campbell's by all means Knock Your Socks Off!! But if you need to save money you're just going to have to suck it up.

You have to be willing to do without the things the "world" tells you you need...or your kids need.

Do you know what my kids drink? Water! Imagine that...water. They get ONE very SMALL juice cup (not the supersized ones now a days) of Sunny D each morning with breakfast. This is brand new for us..I don't buy juice...it's sugar water. Sunny D was on sale for 59 cents a bottle and a single serving has 100% of their Vitamin C needs. I bought 8 bottles. That Sunny D will last a Long time by only allowing the one small serving a day. Because I have saved in so many other areas I can now do things like this and not have to worry about it.

Later that first day after the Sunny D one of the Princesses asked me if they could have more. I told her...are you ready? Brace yourself....I told her "NO". (I know, gasp!) That same Princess said "But Mama, I want Sunny D" to which I replied "too bad, you may have water." Guess what she drank...yup, water.

My girls don't have fancy snack foods. There's no chips, pretzels, candy, gummies. If they want a snack we can cut up an apple for them to share. I get two $5 bags of fruit a week. They have 5 pounds of apples and oranges in them. So $1 per pound for the fruit. If they don't want an apple or an orange...well, too bad, they can wait till the next meal. No one is starving around here.

Do you see where I'm going with this? I could go on and on, and perhaps I already have. But it amazes me to see mothers in the grocery aisles piling their carts high with junk they don't need and then cringing as they get their bill. I imagine the burden of credit they're probably under, the stress they seem to ooze. And I feel sorry for them. I wish they could see how crazy it is.

We need to change the way we think. We need to do our best to feed our families healthy food in reasonable serving sizes. But we need to keep some perspective too. Food is fuel...it is something to keep us alive. It's not much more than that. It's not just about what it tastes like and what it feels like. It's not even about what we like...everything you eat doesn't have to be something you love. To put things in perspective lets remember that thousands of people starved to death in this world...TODAY. Do you think they would eat a generic? Do you think they would care if it was something they didn't really like? If it wasn't their favorite?

Our food supply is not nearly as secure as people would like to think it is. Our world isn't as secure as we'd like to think it is. We need to realize that things may not always be the way they are now. We may not be able to run to Kroger and get whatever we want whenever we want it. We may not be able to get all the exotic and out of season goodies we've all come to just assume will be there. We may not be able to afford all the things we think we "need."

I want you to think about something...according to the USDA reports we spent just under 10% of our disposable income on food in 2007. In the 1940's and 50's it was over 20%. People in other countries spend up to 55% of their income on food. Imagine next time you go shopping if you could only had HALF of the money you do to feed your family. What would you be buying then? Can you save money now? If you had to? Can you save the money and then use it to stock a pantry...yes you can...and I hope you really consider doing that. Think as you go thru the store. Challenge your ingrained thoughts.

You can save money...but you have to be willing to think differently than you have before and differently than your friends and family. You might have people snicker at you. You WILL get crazy looks in the store when you have 60 bags of veggies, 50 boxes of noodles and 50 jars of spaghetti sauce ;o) But you WILL save money, and you WILL have a stocked pantry. But it all must start with a change in attitude and by putting things back into their proper perspective.

Dia Duit my friends. Not a light and fluffy post, but sometimes we need to be more than light and fluffy.

Saving Money With Dehydrating

Dia Duit my friends! I'm on a roll today ;o)

First let me repeat my previous post...DO NOT waste your money on a cheap dehydrator. The money you spend on Excalibur will be well worth it!

How do I save money with Excalibur?

Well...in several ways. The biggest way is by buying things on sale and then dehydrating them for long term storage. We have a chest freezer...but there's only so much that can be fit in there. I'm also always worried about losing electricity and losing all of my food to spoilage. Another consideration is the cost of electricity and the possibility that we may not always have the current supply that we do now. Already places in the US have rolling blackouts and brownouts. As the worlds population increases along with our love of all things that suck up power it only stands to reason that rates will go up as demand goes up. Personally we have seen our budgeted monthly bill more than double in the 4 years we have lived here. Our usage has only gone up a very little bit...it's just been rate increase after rate increase, after rate increase...up to three of them in ONE year!

So how does this practically look for me?

First of all frozen veggies are cheaper than canned veggies when you work out how much actual vegetable you get. Cans are full of liquid. Even if a can of peas was 88 cent...the same bag of frozen peas for 88 cent would give me almost twice as much. So just knowing what to buy helps me save money. I love canned veggies, I'm the queen of last minute planning...but I pay for the ease of being able to pop it open and have it ready.

So Krogers frozen veggies are usually $1.39-$1.69 depending on what it is. That is for a 12 oz bag. I won't go into my tirade of them putting 12 oz in instead of the 16oz it used to be ;o) No sense fussing what I can not change. Several times a year Kroger puts their frozen veggies on sale for 88 cent a bag. That is an automatic savings of up to 81 cent a bag.

If I were a "normal" person I may buy at the most 5 bags...saving just over $4 and that's it. But I'm not normal ;o) The last time they were on sale I bought 60 bags of veggies! For a savings of...drum roll please...$48.60!!! Now we're talking!! But what on earth am I going to do with all those bags of veggies? I'm going to dehydrate them!!

The Excalibur has 9 shelves in it. I can usually get at least TEN bags of veggies in there at a time. So I only need to temporarily store 50 bags, and I do that in the chest freezer. I immediately start dehydrating things. There is nothing special you have to do...just slice the bag open, poor on the screen, spread them out in an even layer, and call it done! The only vegetable that I have found to be a bit of a pain is french style cut greenbeans...they just get so thin that they'll slide thru the screens and I lose alot of its and bits. Regular and Italian cut greenbeans work great though.

Some things that are very small to begin with get much smaller with dehydrating. I buy alot of the frozen diced onions and green peppers because they make my life easier...I would put down a gallon ziploc bag...tape down the edges with duct tape...and then dry those on the bag so that I don't lose them all when they shrink.

When the veggies are done drying I store them in recycled spaghetti sauce jars, pickle jars, apple sauce jars...if it's a glass jar with a lid I reuse it :o) Later when I have a bigger stash I'll vacuum seal more...but that will be another post.

Another way to save with Dehydrating is on fresh produce.

This week organic celery was $1 a bunch. I wish I had had more extra in my budget...I would have bought them out, but as it was I bought 6 bunches. If you were to buy that much celery and store it in your fridge it would go bad before you ate it....Not so with Dehydrating! :-D I come home and get the meat slicer down, slice up the celery in a matter of minutes...put it in Excalibur...and now I have dehydrated celery for all my cooking...already sliced and ready to go :-D How easy is that??? Oh, by the way...I saved $16.14 with just that.

Buy things when they are in season and dehydrate them so you have them once the season is over and the prices have doubled again.

Another great savings is by not wasting leftovers.

I made cabbage rolls not long ago...but I only needed the nice big outside leaves. Normally the rest of that cabbage would have gone to waste. Not anymore :-D I sliced it up on that wonderful meat slicer...blanched it for one minute...and dehydrated the rest. It is now waiting in my pantry in a ziploc bag for a soup or stew this fall when I will be able to throw it in for added goodness.

By dehydrating I can grab exactly what I need...and not more. Sometimes I don't need a whole bag of corn...now I can just grab a half cup of dehydrated corn and there's no worries and no waste.

There are many other ways to save with Dehydrating...I couldn't possibly exhaust them all here. But this gives you a start and are my biggest savers right now. I'll be back with more another day :-D

Dia Duit my friends!

You Need to Spend Money to Save Money

This goes against my grain too, but I am seeing the truth of it all the time.

There are several things that will make saving money on groceries and stocking a pantry MUCH easier. I have learned about all of these within the last year...and they have changed my life!! I am so thankful for those who first shared about them!!

The first is DEHYDRATING. Dehydrating to me was something that was done to beef jerky, and that was it. Boy was I wrong!! The best information I have found on dehydrating is at http://www.dehydrate2store.com . She has all sorts of videos, recipes etc. She made something that was unknown to me before not only understandable...but gave me the courage to try it. I've written before about my dehydrating and how to get the cheaper Excalibur Dehydrator...check my other post. But that $200 is going to save you TONS of money!! And it has a ten year warranty, how can you go wrong???

The second is a Professional Meat Slicer. When you watch the videos at Dehydrat2Store you will see her using the meat slicer. It takes the tedious job and makes it SOOOO much easier. There are things that I could never slice thin enough by hand. And there is NO way I could process as much food as I do without it. I consider it an absolute necessity along with the Excalibur...to the point that when each of our Princesses become a Queen these two things are the gifts we will be getting them. The best price I found was on HSN.com. It was $99 and came with an extra blade.

The third is a Sunday Subscription to your Newspaper for Coupons. The Sunday paper here costs $1.75 a week and it doesn't cost any extra to have it delivered...this way you can't forget to pick them up ;o)

Those three are musts...this next one is not, but if your time is limited it is WELL worth the money.

The fourth is to join http://thegrocerygame.com . I only do one store, Kroger, and it is $8 every 6 weeks. The grocery game does not have stores in all areas, so be sure to check your area. They also have a 4 week free trial. Do yourself a favor and wait until you have a months worth of coupons first. I signed right up and then watched for the first month at all the good deals I could have gotten...if I had had the coupons, which I didn't...it was frustrating. After you have a start on your coupons though The Grocery Game does the all the leg work and figuring for you. It has the sales for my area that week and matches that to the coupons that were in the paper. It also tracks the price trends at the store so I know when to use my coupon for the greatest savings. Honestly there is NO WAY I could have all that info, even if I had the ability I don't have anywhere near that much time....and hence the reason it is well worth the money.

Let me give you a quick example. I didn't need deodorant...it wasn't on my list, so I never would have thought to look for the sales and coupons to match it up. But then I go to my Grocery Game list and see that not only is deodorant is on sale for .88 (a great deal as it is) but that I have a 50 cent coupon from three weeks ago. Kroger doubles coupons up to and including 50 cent. So how much did I pay for that deodorant? NOTHING!! It was completely FREE! I do love free!! :-D I have at least six things of free deodorant stored right now.

There may be a few other things that would make it easier to save money...but these are the basics that I have invested in and have found them to be incredibly helpful and well worth the money. If you don't have the $300 for Excalibur and the meat slicer right away then start with the coupons and the grocery game. Take the money you save and set it aside for those things...I bet you have it in no time!! :-D

Dia Duit, my friends!

Saving Money Makes Me Happy

I promised a post on saving money...so lets see if I can share something that may help others. :o)

First let me say I have always been cheap, frugal if you'd like. It's built into the DNA of my family...I got it from my father, who got it from his...and I suspect it goes all the way back over to Ireland lol. It has gone past the point of necessity to a point of principle. It just feels wrong to pay more for something than I need to. But it's not only something that makes me feel better...I feel it is my responsibility, to God, and to my Darling who works so hard for the dollars we have.

Many of our bills are fixed...I pay the same thing for our cell phone bill each month. Now a truly frugal person could argue that cell phones aren't a necessity...and I agree...but pain meds for surgery aren't a necessity either, they used to do it with a shot of whiskey...there are some things that there is just no need to go back to ;o) We have evolved past that point.

I can't do much about those bills, so one of the only places I can cut back is my grocery budget. For alot of years I just found ways to cut back the actual total. I don't buy junk. There are no chips in my house other than some tortia chips for Mexican soup later this week. There is no soda, cookies, crackers (other than plain saltines), gummies, candy, boxes of cereal, fruit cups, etc...it's just not an option. I have four Princesses...they know to not even ask...I don't get pestered going thru the store. I planned my meals for the week, then bought what I needed to make them. I don't make fancy meals...we don't eat steaks and shrimp. I bought from the sales if it worked with my menu.

But over the last few years prices have just gone up and up and UP. As much as I cut back on the groceries it just never seemed to get me quite as much as it had before. Ontop of that many people have had their salaries reduced. Thanks be to God that we have not had to deal with that. What we did have though is our fourth Princess. :o) So an adjustment was needed once again. It was easy the first year when she was nursing, that doesn't cost anything. She's now almost two and eats as much as her older sisters! lol I hear stories of kids who have half a sannie for lunch...NOT HERE!! lol So I started pouring over the internet searching for ways to save money.

During this same time God started speaking to me about stocking a pantry and having a large food supply on hand. As tough as things have become, I believe that our country is in for a much rougher road ahead. I don't think we're all going to be holed up in shelters etc...but I do think inflation is coming...in a BIG way. Having a stocked pantry and a large supply of stocked food is an excellent way to help hedge against Hyper Inflation. What has amazed me is that as I talk to women from all different walks of life and all over the country they are telling me the same thing!! God has been speaking to them about this same exact thing...but none of us has/had any idea how or where to start.

WWW to the rescue!! :o) As I said, I've been pouring thru the WWW in search of info. And I've found tons of it!! Not all sites are helpful, some talk about it, but never give you any actual practical advice. Others offer tips that just aren't feasible. What I hope to do is write a series of posts and split them up so that it isn't one long book, and so that we can come back to any specific areas more easily. PLEASE leave comments and share any tips you have as well!!

Dia Duit!

Menu for Week of 8-23-10

Dia Duit, my friends :o)

It's amazing what a week or so can do...and a little internet searching ;)

I found a website, and I wish I could remember the name...but I paid $20 (yes I know that's very unlike me!) and got 16 weeks worth of menus...not only menus, but the shopping lists that go with them! I also got a half dozen Ebooks. A couple of them are just short commentaries stating the obvious and not overly helpful. For instance one is about routines...well it tells you how important routines are for 20+ pages, but never helps you make your own :? Oh well. But there was one jewel in there that has just made me happy this week...BREAKFASTS!! I hate breakfast! I mean I like to eat it...but I can't stand having to get up first thing and try to figure out what to feed everyone, the mess it makes first thing in my shiney kitchen...I'd just rather skip it. But I can't, so this Ebook has come to my rescue. It has all sorts of ideas and recipes for making breakfasty things and then freezing them. I'm not much for using the microwave, but to not have to deal with things in the AM...I'll suck it up ;o) I plan on sharing recipes and such as I try them out...look for future posts!!

So I now have an entire weeks menu including Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner! I will list these by day, but in truth I may mix things up thru out the week depending on my mood etc.

Monday:
B- Quiche Cups & Biscuts
L- Sannies
D- Chicken Noodle Soup (Princess 2's request)

Tuesday:
B- Pancakes
L- Hot Crab Dip n Crackers
D- Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday:
B- Sausage n Cheese Biscuts
L- Taco Soup
D- * Pasta Fagioli

Thursday:
B- Peanut Butter Banana Pancake Rollups
L- eat out..shop shop
D- * Lasagna

Friday:
B- Breakfast Burritoes
L- Hot Dogs and Beanies
D- Chili and Cornbread

Saturday:
B-Bagel Sannies
L- Mexican Beans and Rice
D- Left overs for girls...Date night for my Darling and I :-D

Sunday:
B- Banana Splits
L- Rest of left overs (I will cook enough this week to be sure we'll have plenty)
D- Pizza

Weekly Menu

One of the things FlyLady asks us to do is to make our menu and grocery list the day before we shop shop. I've worked with a menu for years...when you don't have alot of money you don't just wing it ;o) I'm trying to expand my menus now though, and trying to incorporate a lot more crock pot meals into them. With our schooling starting soon and with life as busy as it is...not to mention cooking isn't my grandest idea of fun...I've found I'm able to serve my family better tasting and healthier meals when I use the crock pot. The fact that my Darling seems to really appreciate that helps motivate me as well.

My goal then is to post my weekly menu. For now it will be just dinners. I don't normally plan breakfast, it's usually something simple. Lunch is usually left overs, pb&j or something simular. I will put an >*< before any crock pot meals.

* Pesto Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

* Pasta Fagioli

* Chili/Cowboy Beans (whichever sounds better at that moment) and Cornbread

Hot dogs, Baked Beans, M&C

Lasagna

* Pineapple Chicken and Rice

* Lemon Dill Salmon, steamed veggies

FlyLady Adventures Update

I've been a little slack in keeping this updated daily, I apologize. I've been reminded why it is that things get so out of control. Life happens...and it seems alot of it always happens all at once. BUT, I have also been reminded at how well FlyLady can and will work!! Even with taking a trip to my sisters, running all sorts of errands, taking a day to visit a dear friend etc...the house did not lose any of the work I had done! I can't even tell you what a miracle that is!!

My sink is STILL shining, along with the rest of the kitchen :-D

I'm not tripping over shoes as I walk in the back door :-D

The living room is looking great :-D

I have gotten rid of SOOO much clutter in the main bath :-D

I've done really well at sticking to my 10pm bedtime :-D

I've done even better at getting up at 5am each morning :-D

This week I'm going to be finishing the main bath (hopefully today!), and working on the dining room. The dining room is right between our kitchen and our living room. So I have a shiney kitchen and a shiney living room...and this disaster zone in the middle...it's really making it stick out like a sore thumb.

I've been working on my routines and will be posting them soon. :-D

A Moment In Time

Dia Duit, my friends :o)

I'm coming to the close of the second week of my FlyLady adventures. I'm pretty happy with where I am :o) I took one day this week and went out with a friend. We hit the Goodwill and I picked up a few items for my Ebay work. Then we browsed the cute little country craft shop that I could never stop in with the girls. It was great, but definitely NOT child friendly. Then yesterday was shop shop day...always such long days. So even with two days of non-stop running...my house still looks good! YAY! The sink is still shining, along with the counters and stove. My living room is still shining, all nice and cozy and welcoming. My back entryway is still shining, that's been a bit harder with all our shoes, but we're getting it done. My pantry and laundry room are still not quite where I'd like them to be, but they look SO much better! My main bath is shimmering, it's about 90% done...just a few more touches I want to add, but lookin real good :o) There are still a few areas down here that really need some work, but I'm so much more confident now that I will be able to get it all done AND maintain it!!

I have been working on switching my internal clock back. Years ago I had to start staying up late and that started a vicious cycle. I really am so much more of a morning person. I can get three times the amount of work done if I can just get up early and get started before my body even realizes it's awake. My aunt, NeeNee, used to get up very early. We used to think she was a bit crazy...but now I totally understand! I've done real well with making myself go to bed at 10pm and waking up at 5am. It's a hard thing for the body to do...but I am determined...I believe I will be better able to serve my family by being up early in the morning.

I found a new gizmo while at the craft store this week. It's a terra cotta ring that sits ontop of a regular lightbulb. You put scented oil in the ring and then when you turn on the light it is warmed and makes the room smell good. It's genius and really works very well. Only a couple drops of oil is needed. I love smelly things and am always looking for ways to do it without flames so that the girls can't get hurt or a fire can't be started. It was only a couple dollars...well worth it.

Yesterday while out doing my shop shop I dropped off my new sewing machine. New being a relative term...it's new to me. Actually it's a BEAUTIFUL 1965 Kenmore Sears Sewing Machine :o) It's cast iron covered in an enamel coating. It weighs a ton!! But it's just gorgeous!! My neighbor was so sweet and kind to give it to me...I can't think of the last thing that excited me so. She still had all the original paperwork, accessories, even the boxes. The motor would try to work...but the needle wasn't moving. I think maybe after all these years it was just a bit gummed up. So I took it to a local lady who does sewing machine repairs with her son. I'm hoping to have it back by next week so I can finally start sewing some! I have plans for aprons, dish towels, and all sorts of goodies :o) While at Goodwill the other day I found a fabric over in the domestics department. It's a quilted Christmas Tree Skirt with the Nativity on it :o) I absolutely loved it...and even more so when I found out it was only $2! I've been wanting to redo our Christmas decorations for two years now but never found that one piece to inspire me...I think I have now. It makes me happy and makes me smile...that's what I was waiting for :o)

As I wrap this up I'm listening to John Denver sing Leaving On A Jet Plane...it was one of my mothers favorites :o) And today we are leaving...well the girls and I are. We're headed to my sisters for an overnight visit...she lives about 3 1/2 hours from here. If I want to leave here in 4 hours I should probably pack something ;o) Till I get home..

Dia Duit!

What 9 Days of Flying have done!

I realize there are some very brave brave individuals who will post before and after pictures of their work. I am not that brave!! lol But I truely do appreciate that they do so that I can be inspired. I hope my after pictures can inspire you enough without seeing what it was before.


My Darling Husband hung this shelf for me today. It has been waiting for a home...for almost four years now. I just never could find the perfect place to put it :? My Grandfather made this for me. He has passed on, but I think of him whenever I see it and smile.

This was the number one Hot Spot in our house. This is right near our backdoor...so everyone would bring things in and throw it there. Or if we were needing to do something on the other counters then we'd move what was there to here. I had a couple bread machines and all sorts of things there. Now it is a place that makes me smile!!

This is the back door area, where we come in and out of the house. Part of Zone 1 work is the Entrance to your home. This is a $2 wreath I picked up at Goodwill on my date night with my Darling this past Saturday. The colors are so bright and cheerful it just welcomes and smiles at you as you come in the door. Making a house a home does NOT have to be expensive.

My "new" stove...at least it feels like it! All cleaned and ready to go. The fan I picked up at a yardsale for $4. I love the "old" things. The outside of it is actually metal! lol

This is beneath the wreath. There are lots of mismatched shoes...but I'm sure we'll find the others eventually LOL

And this is what I woke up to this morning. After a rough night my sink was shining, my coffee had perked, and I already felt like I was ahead of the game. The canister set in the corner is one of my most favorite things. My Grammie had the same set for all the years I can remember growing up...such happy memories. I found it at a yardsale as well. I paid $20 for it...and it was worth every penny!!

I hope the pictuers inspire you to go and check out FlyLady. I have not come up with any of this myself...I'm just following her program and taking my Baby Steps. God has blessed her indeed...and she has shared that blessing with us...and for that I am VERY thankful!!

FlyLady Adventures Day 10

Dia Duit, my friends :o)

Today is a test!! We all have those moments in our life where we have to take a test...will I do what I said I was going to do? Was I serious about making better choices? Do I really believe what I say I believe, when it isn't the easy thing to do??

My first test came at 7:30 this morning. My neighbor has asked if one of my girls can be in the theater production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, I had said yes...I made a commitment. Tonight is my craft night, and a meeting at my church for the yard/craft sale that I am involved in. I assure you I would MUCH rather go to my craft night and sit and yap with wonderful women....but this is a test. Will my "yes be yes"...yes it will.

My second test was FlyLady...was I serious about wanting to change and do I really believe this will work? Yes and Yes again! I didn't get to bed till after 1am. My very dearest friend had to take one of her sons to the hospital last night. Praise God he is ok, although we are still praying for healing, it's not urgent now. But I could not sleep for the burden I had to pray for him...love him dearly :o) I don't mean to whine about not sleeping...It was my honor and greatest desire to be praying for him at that time. I couldn't have slept if I wanted to...it's like one of my own being there.

But the fact is that I didn't sleep alot. I had set my alarm back to 6:30 as it was to give myself the extra hour...but I was still pretty whipped when I woke up then. Today is exactly the day that I would crash and burn with every other self motivated routines or cleaning systems I had tried. Today I just wouldn't feel like it, so I wouldn't...and boy is it easier to undo what you've done, than it is to do it in the first place! Just one off day could send two weeks of work right down the drain.

Today that isn't happening though :o) I woke up tired. I'm not all dressed and lovely looking today. But I woke up and my sink was shining! My coffee was waiting for me because getting it ready and programming it is part of my Before Bedtime Routine. I was able to throw a load of laundry right in the machines. My dinner had already been planned last night and was waiting in the fridge...so it took no thought when I had to pull it out and make the cabbage rolls this morning. We even had breakfast planned...it was left over pizza...but it was PLANNED left over pizza! ;o)

Nothing has fallen apart :o) I had my list of things that I needed to get done today...and they'll actually GET done! And who knows...maybe I'll even be able to sneak a quick nap in before the afternoon is over :o)

Today I will be doing my 2 minute Hot Spot work, a 5 minute room rescue in the laundry room, and at least two 15 minute declutterings in the dining room.

Today I will FLY!!

FlyLady Adventures Week Two

Dia Duit my friends :o)

Today is Day 9 of my Baby Steps! Things are still going very well!!

I thought perhaps I should copy down the actual steps I am now doing. Yesterdays step was to start the Control Journal. I of course was all about the Control thing ;o) Today step is to add a 5 minute room rescue to my morning routine.

FlyLady splits everything into routines, which has been helpful because not only do I know what I'm supposed to do...but it's forcing me to do it when it needs to be done. When I had all the chores just listed out I would save the ones I didn't want to do till last...then of course something would come up and I wouldn't get them done.

Morning Routine so far is:
Up and Dressed to shoes. Fix hair and face.
Looking at reminders
Throw a load of laundry in
Going to Big Tent and reading the messages. I've also been checking the Facebook...it's great, very interactive and encouraging :)
Recognize the negative voices and get rid of them
Put out Hot Spots for 2 minutes

During the Day:
Decluttering is being added today. She doesn't state a room to start with...so I'm going to go with this weeks Zone, which is Zone 1, the front porch, entrance to your house, and diningroom. All of those areas are in great need of decluttering. I am planning to do at least one hour of decluttering a day. I'd like to get two hours in if possible before we start school up in a couple weeks.

Before Bed Routine:
Keep Sink Shining
Lay out clothes for tomorrow
Put out a Hot Spot for 2 minutes

I was reading this morning that we shouldn't be doing the Zone cleaning till we're done decluttering...but I just don't see how that can be. It could take months to fully declutter 15 minutes at a time...surely we should do some cleaning in that time ;o) So I will do the Zone work...but I won't start detailed cleaning until it's all decluttered.

I also realized I tend to think of my house as a whole, and not in the Zones. That has been very eye opening. Just because the dining room isn't ready for detail work does NOT mean that I can't do it in the Living room if it IS ready. It's funny how "all or nothing" I am without even realizing it.

Well...off to Flutter this morning :o) I still need to put out my morning hot spot and then work on my daily work :o)

Dia Duit!!