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:

Nonfiction November - Become an Expert

If I was going to say I have expertise in any non-fiction subject, it's World War 2. This is a time period that has fascinated me since my childhood. Not so long ago (in fact, I've talked to my own grandparents about their memories of the time) but still far enough removed to feel quite different from my own life.

I've read many books on the subject, including scholarly books which will never be found on anyone's bestseller list. If you want to take a crash course in WW2, here's my recommended reading list:

1. Winston Churchill's series The Second World War (6 Volume Set). An inside look and many subsequent books are based on this series because Churchill was granted access to documents that other writers couldn't see. These are written in Churchill's imitable style. The first three are probably the best, mostly because Britain had to take an increasingly backseat role once America got well and truly in.

2.Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945 by Max Hastings. One of the best (possibly THE best) single book treatments that covers the entire war. This book successfully shares both the big picture and the smaller, more identifiable stories. I recommend this one every chance I get.

3.The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World Warby Andrew Roberts. Another fantastic one volume treatment. When I first picked up this book I was afraid it would be revisionist history. I think the subtitle is a bit misleading. This is not revisionist history, if anything it is setting the revisionists and modern moralists straight.

Any books by Richard Overy should be on your WW2 reading list but I particularly recommend these two:

4.The Battle of Britain: The Myth and the Reality

5.Why the Allies WonThese are the two I find most helpful but Overy has several others and they are all interesting and well researched.

Books primarily about America's war:

6. The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945. Companion to the excellent documentary by Ken Burns.

7.The Twilight Warriors by Robert Gandt. This reads almost like a novel and that's a good thing. This is about U.S. naval pilots at Okinawa. Hard to put down.

8.Since You Went Away: World War II Letters from American Women on the Home Front by Judy Barnett Litoff. Occasionally heartbreaking and always compelling.

9.The Library of Congress World War II Companion. Useful reference material with lots of charts and maps.

Books About Europe:

10.Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europeby Mark Mazower. How the Nazi's conquered and ruled Europe, although the "why" is a little harder to explain.

11.The Secret Lives of Codebreakers: The Men and Women Who Cracked the Enigma Code at Bletchley Parkby Sinclair McKay. One of my favorite aspects of the war.

12.Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victoryby Ben Macintyre. One of the proofs that "truth is stranger than fiction".

13.Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Powerby Andrew Nagorski. Some Americans in Germany witnessed Hitler's rise to power with nearly front row seats. And those stories make for fascinating reading.

14.Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hourby Lynne Olson. And then there were the Americans in London who had stories to tell.

15.London War Notes, 1939-1945by Mollie Panter-Downes. My favorite firsthand account of London during the war.

Books with Numbers in the Title:

16.Sealing Their Fate: The Twenty-Two Days That Decided World War IIby David Downing. One of the books that tries to explain WW2 by examining the most decisive moments.

17.Five Days That Shocked the World: Eyewitness Accounts from Europe at the End of World War IIby Nicholas Best. Carefully examines five days (April 28 - May 2, 1945) through several different perspectives.

The Aftermath:

18. Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War IIby Keith Lowe. One of the sad facts about the Second World War is that Hitler's death (and Japan's surrender) didn't end the killing and brutality. This book deals with this.

19.Hunting Evil: The Nazi War Criminals Who Escaped and the Quest to Bring Them to Justiceby Guy Walters. This book is controversial because it questions Simon Wisenthal's contributions to this cause. Maybe read Wisenthal and then compare this book to try to get a more complete picture.

20.The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in Historyby Robert Edsel. Fabulous book and story. Read this before you watch the upcoming movie.

There you have it: a crash course in Second World War History.

In what subject would you consider yourself an expert?

This post is linked to Nonfiction November at Sophisticated Dorkiness.
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