Learning to Love What Must Be Done: A New Resource for Real People Living Real Lives

Does your life feel out of control sometimes (or even - sigh - all the time)?

Have you bought so many books on organizing, using your time wisely, & managing your home that you could fill a bookcase? (A bookcase that you probably bought at IKEA in the hope that it would bring order?)

Do you declutter one area of your house, just to see some other spot fill with things you don't want?

Have you ever felt like you need to clone yourself just to get half your to-do list done?

Does it just seem like too much?

My friend Mystie knows where you're coming from. And she's designed an amazing resource to help anyone who is seriously ready to stop reading about "Getting Organized", stop pinning all those really cool "organizing tips", and actually, you know, do it.

This is for all of you who are ready to get on with it already:


Here's a little taste of what you'll learn:

• Change the way you think about your responsibilities.
• Improve your mood.
• Learn to use tools like calendars and an inbox to help you get more done and gain peace of mind.
• Become happier and more fulfilled as a homemaker.
• Devise systems that will help you stress less and accomplish more.
• Keep your home reasonably clean while getting to everything on your (shorter) task list.

The course includes video tutorials, audio lessons, customizable templates, planning options whether you prefer paper and pen or digital, clear instructions, frequent live group chats with Mystie, and more.

There are six modules and loads of extras. Don't let it overwhelm you: you can work through at your own pace and there will be lots of encouragement from Mystie and the community she's putting together. Research suggests that people exercise more when they have a friend to work out with them. This is the same idea: we'll all be there to encourage each other, to build each other up, and to offer suggestions of what has really worked for us along the way.

Just writing this post is making me more excited about all the possibilities. Yes, I am an affiliate for this course (which means if you buy after clicking through with my link, I'll get a portion of your fee. It won't add anything to the price you pay), but I'm also signed up to take it right along with you. We're in a new (to us) fixer-upper house, we've started a new homeschool year, and we've added a few new obligations to our to-do list. This is the perfect time for me to renew my love of what must be done, and then do it.

This isn't about Martha Stewart type "all your flower beds should be this size" or "fold and store your Christmas linens in alphabetical order by color" rules. This is about real life, right where we live, with real challenges, and real schedules, and real women (and maybe some men!) who are busy during the day and tired at night and wondering if they've done enough (and seriously, will the laundry be caught up?).

So, what's the cost? $99.

I know. It sounds like a lot. And honestly, it might be too much for some of you. This might not be the right time.

But for those of you who are thinking about all those organizing books that didn't deliver, all those Pinterest pins that haven't fixed the root problems, all that money spent at IKEA that didn't fix everything, and all those good intentions that just didn't quite work out...well, this might just be the right time for you.

And if it is, here's the good news: The course is discounted 30% from now until September 2nd using the discount code: backtoschool when you checkout. So that means $69 (forgive me for stating the obvious if you already did the math in your head) and then you can get started claiming back your life.

I've never promoted anything quite like this. I'm new at this whole "affiliate" thing. And honestly, my frugal self hates asking people to spend money. But I really do believe in this and I think it's a great value. I believe in Mystie, a real-life, married, homeschool mom working from home (including all the work she's done on this). I believe in the course she's designed. And I believe the community she's building of like-minded real-life homemakers could be the best thing of all about it.

And whether you feel like your life is a complete disaster, or you just need some help tweaking your schedule (or your attitude), I think there's something here just for you.

Thanks for considering this fantastic course. Ready? As the Home Depot commercial says, "Let's do this."

Linking up with:

Pitcher Picture, Or: Where I Store My Utensils

A Bowl Full of Lemons is talking about utensil storage today: drawer or container?

I just had to share my little pitcher. Some folks (coughPhilipcough) think this pitcher is ugly, but I love it. Maybe because it's ugly, who knows. I can be contrary like that.

Any way, these are the utensils we keep right by the stove. We also have a drawer for the over-sized and smaller items. These wooden spoons and spatulas are the things we reach for most often.

I guess that makes our answer to the drawer or container question: both. (That happens a lot around here. "Both" or "all of the above" must be our favorite answers to life's little and big conundrums)

I love this pitcher and seeing it every day. I will not being sharing a picture of our drawer. No way, no how. Maybe some day. It's organized and pared down to the essentials (small house dwellers here, remember) but it is not picture worthy. I dream of new cabinets and drawers. Someday.

So, where do you keep your utensils?

Homeschool Boxes

One organizing tip that gets repeated a lot is "store like things together." This would seem to suggest that all pencils, all staplers, all crayons, etc. should be in the same place. (Neatly labeled, of course.)

Well, I am not an organization blogger but I am here to tell you that we pretty much ignore that "rule", in certain cases anyway. What works for us: individual school boxes. Yes, a pencil box just like you might have in any school classroom.

This is Polly's box. (The girl loves pink. Her work folder is pink, her box is pink, her room is pink...I could go on, but I won't.)

What's in Polly's box? I'm so glad you asked:

Pencils, an eraser, colored pencils, note cards, a stop watch and a math kit (ruler, compass, etc. We found this kit on clearance at Target, otherwise I would have bought the items individually and tossed them into the pink box along with the other things.).

This is everything Polly needs on a regular basis (as in: every single day). And if I could trust the littlest girls with scissors, she would have those too, but I can't so scissors are stored all together in our "office" drawer. (We small house dwellers don't have dedicated school rooms or offices, so an office drawer must suffice)

Tigger has a box too. Hers is blue and it has pencils, crayons, a ruler, a practice clock and probably some money since she's learning about coins and their values just now. Once again, no scissors or glue, even though she needs those almost every day. We can blame Sweet Pea for that. The child has cut her own hair more than once. And glued things that ought not to be glued, also more than once. That's just how she rolls.

Also, no markers. Markers are verboten in this house after the two middle girls decided to tattoo themselves awhile back.

Sweet Pea has her own folder and box, just in case. Hers usually has things like crayons, pretty pencils (no boring yellow #2 for Sweet Pea, thank you very much) note cards and whatever else she decides she needs for school. I keep her folder stocked with printed worksheets, alphabet flashcards and such.

Work folders and pencil boxes work for us, at this point and in this house. This post is linked to Helpful Homeschool Hints at Many Little Blessings.

Multi-Pocket Folder Homeschool System

OK, it doesn't have the same ring as "Work Boxes", I admit. I've posted about this before (in August 2010). I came up with this system as an alternative for the workbox system all the cool homeschoolers were talking about. We - currently a family of 6 - live in a small, two bedroom house. We barely have space for all our books (and they are many, I admit) much less an intricate system of boxes for each child in school.

These folders (side note: ours are slightly different from the picture) serve a similar function and have really helped our school year. All of Polly's assignments for each of her subjects are written out and filed in the folder. Worksheet pages, cd's she needs, flash cards, etc. are placed in the appropriate pocket (I labeled each pocket with my trusty label maker). Everything she has to do for the entire week of school is in her folder.

Fourth Grade, to my mind, was time for Polly to begin transitioning to managing her own work. The interesting part is, since I made a folder for Tigger (1st grade) she has been learning to do the same thing.

Nicest perk: it eliminates all questions along the line of "When will school be over? Am I done yet?" My girls like to finish the work in four days so they have Friday (mostly) "off". I can imagine the indignation if I tried to get them to do that much work in four days but since they can see what has to be done, they do it.

Of course most subjects still require Mom or Dad to assist or explain the lesson, especially for Tigger. It's amazing to hear her working on what she can do alone while I get something else done, though. (Nursing the baby or switching the laundry, among other things.)

This post is linked up to Helpful Homeschool Hints at Many Little Blessings.

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In Which I Am Introspective

I went to an estate sale today. Alone. (Just pause to ponder that for a moment - Karen left her house all by her own self!)

The sale was in a little, tiny really, house. With steep stairs up (bedroom and attic) and treacherous stairs down (surprisingly spacious basement). This house is no one's immediate visual of an "estate". It was, quite obviously, a grandparent's house. Someone who survived a Great Depression, at least one World War, and who knows how many personal hard times.

How do I know this? The stuff. Oh, the stuff. It was everywhere. There was barely a path to walk from room to room without stepping on stuff. Ancient boxes of groceries. More aluminum foil than one person could use in a lifetime. Bottles of shampoo. Magazines from thirty years ago. Beautiful china and...not so beautiful things. Things that are now considered collectible right beside things that should be tossed into the nearest dumpster.

I walked into the house and immediately felt sad. Wall to wall people pawed, generally quietly, through dresser drawers, cardboard boxes, and laundry baskets. My fellow estate-sale-goers speculated aloud to themselves about the former owners. We wondered about the family whose burden this had become.

"Oh, Lord, help me not to leave my family this kind of mess," I thought to myself. Stockpile? Yes. Hoarding baking soda? No. Buying new dishes? Yes, sometimes. Saving all the old ones? Nope. Keeping precious keepsakes? Yes, of course. Keeping everything? Not a chance.

And yes, because I know you are wondering, I did buy a few things: 1 pack of vintage Christmas bulbs (they were cute), 25+ old fashioned wooden clothespins (the non-spring kind), 5 LPs, 1 tiny glass bottle, 1 old pan (to carry my clothespins, not because I wanted it) and 1 beautiful china blue and white Wedgwood teacup to replace mine that, ahem, someone broke not too long ago.

A man watched me sort through all the records. "Trouble is, no one has a turntable any more," he said. "I do," I told him. He looked me over again. I could see what he thought. "You could buy one at Target, if you want one," I said (ever helpful). He walked away before I could wax rhapsodic on the wonders of my beloved Crosley.

When I filled my little pan with wooden clothespins a woman said to me, "Do you hang clothes on a line?"

"Yes, in the summer," I told her. She smiled at me. "I didn't think anyone did that any more."

Ah, yes, vintage-loving, frugalite, young-ish person here, guilty as charged. But I hope none of the things I collect, use, and love ever end up owning me rather than the other way around.

After all, it's only stuff.

Time To Get Organized

I didn't know it until tonight, but one of my blog posts has been entered in a "getting organized" blog carnival over at Heart of the Matter Online. If I had known, I would have dressed up for the occasion. Or something like that. I would have at least put on my good blogging clothes.

I know what I'm going to be doing the next few days: checking out all the great ideas. Organizing is one of my favorite things to do. There are lots of great posts over there so go check them out!

And (imagine me saying, "But wait! There's more!" in my best sales pitch voice) you still have time to compose your thoughts, blog and enter - there are new topics every week.

Best Tips for Conquering Clutter

That's the theme over at Heart of the Matter today. I'm something of an organization junkie (not a cleaning person - that's a whole 'nother story!). We, a family of 5, live in a tiny house. Not tiny compared to a mansion - actually tiny. Think less than 1,000 square feet. Think the type of house our great-grandparents probably lived in. (Unless your great-grandparents were super wealthy, in which case: move along.) Here's how we manage:

1. Always keep a bag going for donations. Several organizations (Vietnam Veterans and the Lupus Foundation to name two) will pick up donations. When you come across something in your cabinets or whatever just send it straight to this bag. Don't look at it again. Don't even think about it again.

2. Shelves are our friends. Homeschoolers have BOOKS. Books need shelves, lots of shelves.

3. Plastic notebooks are our friends. Homeschoolers have PAPERS. Papers need notebooks and folders. We have a notebook for each subject. Every worksheet, every project paper gets hole-punched and placed in the correct notebook. At the end of the year I pare down papers and place everything in one large 2" or 3" notebook. This is for our year end assessment, as required by our state law.

4. Kids need to be able to put their own things away. Our girls' drawers are under their bed so they can put away their own laundry. They have baskets for their socks, under-roos, etc. Even the baby (18 months old!) can put away her own laundry with just the tiniest bit of help (pulling out the basket & pushing it back). We have hooks for them to hang up their sweaters, hats, purses, etc.

5. Use your walls. Use them for shelves, bulletin boards, magnet boards, hanging baskets or whatever. Using your walls will help keep you from climbing your walls. Which is a good thing, as Martha would say.