Organization Skills | Finer Femininity
How Do You Get More Hours in Your Day?
Posted by Leanevdp in by Emilie Barnes, Organization Skills	
More Hours in My Day by Emilie Barnes and Sheri Torelli
I rank items according to priority: one, two, three. The next morning I start working with number one, then go to number two. It’s not long before I’ve made a real impact on that list. As has been mentioned, it’s best to do the worst job first. By completing and deleting that item off your list, you are less stressed and can feel a sense of accomplishment. You’ll be eager to tackle the next item on your list.
(Traditional Catholic Monthly Planner printable here.)
Each of us operates most efficiently at a certain time of day. Schedule taxing chores for the hours when your mind is sharpest. Do these chores when you have the most energy. Find out when your children are most alert and active. Schedule their chores during that time. It will help alleviate whining and complaining.
Have It Picked Up and Delivered
We’re returning back to the good old days. More and more companies are offering pick-up and delivery services. These are valuable time savers, and in many situations they are cost efficient.
Divide Big Jobs into Instant Tasks
Break the whole job into smaller tasks or “instant tasks.” You will have to work at this concept if you are a “practicing perfectionist.”
Turning a big project into small tasks is a great help! A job may be overwhelming, but when it is broken down it’s not so daunting.
For example, cleaning the refrigerator. Clean one shelf on Monday, one shelf on Tuesday, and so on. By the end of the week, the entire refrigerator will be clean, and it only took 10 to 15 minutes a day!
One of the best investments you will make is a digital timer, preferably a triple timer. If you tend to get distracted or you have a hard time getting started, a timer keeps you on task. And knowing you only have to do something for 15 minutes helps you tackle a job.
Set a timer for your children and make a game out of picking up toys, cleaning rooms, and other chores. Reward them for jobs well done.
In my daily planner I (Emilie) have a list for almost everything I do—all the way from planning a tea for a group of friends to getting ready for a Christmas party. I save these notes so next time I can go back and review my comments. It’s a great way to start planning since you already have a good beginning.
You may want to get a journal or blank book for your project list making. Date them and then you have a point of reference for your next event or project.
Do your errands at one time. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish! Create your list and then organize by the order of your stops.
Arrange your errands in a big circle, moving from one place to the next, starting with the closest. Within a short time you’ll be back. With gas prices out of sight, this will save you money too.
Your to-do list will help you get started. Rev your engine and get in gear. Even if “traffic” isn’t flowing well, get moving. A car has to be moving in order for it to go somewhere. Start now!
This goes hand-in-hand with procrastination—not wanting to do something if it’s not perfect. It’s nice to want things done right, but not if you’re crippled into inactivity. Besides, even if you know the difference, your friends and guests might not know or care. Some jobs don’t need perfection. No one is going to show up with white gloves.
Become a person who takes control of your time. With a little study you can turn “time-interrupters” into positive “time-savers.”
“This art of housekeeping is not learned in a day; those of us who have been engaged in it for years are constantly finding out how little we know, and how far we are, after all, from perfection. It requires a clever woman to keep house; and as I said before there is ample scope, even within the four walls of a house (a sphere which some affect to despise), for the exercise of originality, organizing power, administrative ability. And to the majority of women I would fain believe it is the most interesting and satisfactory of all feminine occupations.” -Annie S. Swan Courtship and Marriage And the Gentle Art of Home-Making
A housekeeping schedule to give you some ideas and to tweak to suit your needs….(not to stress you out!)
Make a statement with these lovely and graceful Autumn handcrafted aprons….fully lined….made with care. Aprons tell a beautiful story…..a story of love and sacrifice….of baking bread and mopping floors, of planting seeds and household chores. Sadly, many women have tossed the aprons aside and donned their business attire. Wear your apron with joy….it is a symbol of Femininity….”Finer” Femininity! 🌺 💗 Available here.
The School Bell is Ringing….Are You Ready?
Posted by Leanevdp in by Leane Vdp, Organization Skills	
organizing, overwhelmed
My “Getting Ready for School” repost….
I love school days. The schedule can be a beautiful thing….it’s all in the attitude. So….Let’s Get Ready!
With school just around the corner and so many responsibilities and things to accomplish, we may get a little nervous on how we are going to pull it all off.
I know, for me, summer time is so full, my days are bursting, that I truly wonder how I am going to “fit” school back in with all its demands.
I find my life goes in spurts. I am organized for a time, then it slips through my fingers for awhile. I have learned not to get discouraged, trusting that, with grace, I will get it together again. So I know what works for me and I know what doesn’t. Floundering does not work. 🙂 It is always good to have a plan.
The following are a few things that help me along the way not to get too stressed. Maybe a point or two might work for you, too.
1. Make your list. If you are feeling overwhelmed you may think that writing it all down will make you feel more burdened. That’s not how it works. When you can get it down on paper, you can sort and prioritize. Those lowest on the “essential” list can be put on the next day so you can slowly work at getting them all done. If you don’t get it done the next day, continue to add it to the next one. Checking each thing off gives you a sense of accomplishment and energizes you!
2. Keep the house picked up. My corners aren’t always great but if you were to walk into my house at a given time, it would be generally clean….unless we decided to go play volleyball instead of doing the dishes right away (priorities, you know. 🙂 )
3. Go to Bed. 🙂 If I can go to bed and get up at consistent hours, it helps a lot. It’s important for the kids to do the same. Summertime is a season of later bedtimes. We loosen up the night time schedule and relax for a spell. It is quite refreshing….for a time. I notice how much it affects the next day, these inconsistent and later schedules. That’s okay for a while during the summer but you wouldn’t want to do that during school days. So regularity on getting to bed is important.
4. Wake up at a consistent time, earlier than the family, if you can. With the demands of young children, and the lack of sleep that goes with that, this isn’t always possible. At times like those, we need to just offer it up. That being said, nothing helps me more than getting up before everyone else, getting my prayers said, and doing other duties before the family gets up. It gets me started on the right foot.
5. Plan Your Meals! Okay this one I am not very good at but, Wow! does it take the stress-load off!! I have periods in my life when my girls are taking over the meals so it is hard for me to get back in the swing of things when they are occupied with other life things. But it makes such a huge difference! So if you can get it together once a week to plan those meals, DO SO! It will make a positive impact on your week!
6. Get yourself fully dressed first thing, right down to your shoes. This will help you to get motivated to accomplish things right off in the morning. I also wash my face with cold water first thing in the morning. I started that 2 years ago when we had the drought. It was a waste of water to leave the tap running until it got warm, so the cold water did the job and now I like the “pick me up” it gives me. Try it! 🙂
So…what kind of things make me feel more organized and on top of things:
!. Number one for me is sticking to my “Spiritual List”, starting with morning prayers and then the other simple spiritual things on that list throughout the day. If I can check each of those off then I feel like I have accomplished the most important duty and can have the focus and grace to accomplish the other ones that fill up my day.
2. If I haven’t already got an ongoing chore list for the kids (better if it is made the night before) so they know what they should be doing, I make a quick one in the morning for each child. Then everyone knows what they should be doing and you don’t have to have your mind going in all different directions trying to figure out what needs to be done and who needs to do it! The kids are able to tackle their jobs and have the satisfaction of checking it off each time it is accomplished! (Mom….don’t forget to inspect those chores!)
3. Keep the house picked up. (I know, I talked about this already.) Don’t get obsessive about it, especially if you have young children, but periodically through the day get everyone to help with a “pick-me-up”. When you can look at a clean table and a generally clean house, it invigorates and at the same time relaxes you. It’s easier to focus on the next thing to be done.
4. Delegate. Remember, you are the supervisor. Of course, supervisors get their hands dirty, too, but if there is something that you can delegate, do. It helps the children to grow into responsible adults.
5. Don’t listen to negative self-talk. Don’t analyze it, just don’t listen to it. Period. It will bring you down and make you sluggish in accomplishing what you need to get done. Instead, look at your list and do the next thing, say a prayer, grab a book and read it, spend some time with the kids. It’s not worth listening to the rubbish that goes on inside your head.
6. DON’T feel sorry for yourself!! If you have lots to do, thank God for it. He will help you accomplish it….one step at a time. There are many lonely people in this world, many trapped in their addictions, many sad and discouraged because of broken relationships. Learn to thank God for what you DO HAVE and all the wonderful things you GET TO DO each day. Sometimes it just takes an attitude change. He never gives us more than we can bear. Believe it!
7. One last tip….a little self-care goes a long way. Take a little time for yourself each day. It doesn’t have to be long, but something that will rejuvenate you…Reading a good book with a cup of tea, spending a half hour on your craft, taking a walk outside, hiding in your bedroom and eating the chocolate you have hidden for yourself…I like this one! You get the picture. Everyone’s situation is different and you can figure something out to give you a fresh kickstart during the day. Everything looks a little brighter after some revitalizing!
“Hospitality is so much more than entertaining-so much more than menus and decorating and putting on a show. To me, it means organizing my life in such a way that there’s always room for one more, always an extra place at the table or an extra pillow and blanket, always a welcome for those who need a listening ear. It means setting aside time for planned camaraderie and setting aside lesser priorities for impromptu gatherings.” -Emilie Barnes. Simple Secrets to a Beautiful Home
The Mother’s Maglet, Wife’s Maglet, Young Lady’s, Sunshiny Disposition, True Womanhood and The Heart of the Home During Advent and Christmas…..Available here.
Organizational Tidbits, Emilie Barnes ~ Child’s Room, Evening Clean-up, Toys, Etc.
Posted by Leanevdp in Organization Skills	
I get a lot out of Emilie Barnes’ ideas for taking care of clutter and organizing your life and your home. Here are a few tidbits for you to take to heart and incorporate into your hectic schedule….to make it less hectic! 🙂
101 Way to Clean Out the Clutter – Emilie Barnes
Evening…a Time to Clean Up
Get your children into the habit of cleaning up after themselves, especially before bedtime.
Schedule a family meeting to explain the new routine and get everybody on board. Initially they might not be too excited about the idea of an evening clean up session, but you can make developing this new habit fun.
Stress the importance of waking up to an orderly home and ask everyone for ideas so each member is included in the pursuit of this new goal.
It takes 21 days to form a new habit so don’t be discouraged on day 12 if they haven’t caught the vision! Press on.
Keep the cleaning simple. You can either set a certain amount of time each person needs to spend cleaning or designate an area for them to maintain. Even little kids can clean their rooms in just a few minutes.
Adjust the cleaning plan as you go so that it works best for your family.
In most cases we don’t need more than one of anything. As you survey all your stuff, you will soon discover that you have multiple screwdrivers, spoons, glasses, tape measures, flashlights, pliers, boxes of cereal, and cans of pasta mix.
Why do you hang on to all these multiples? Perhaps you think that if you have more than one, you have a better chance of finding it when you want it.
Multiple things take up a lot of space in an already cluttered area. Here are two suggestions that might help you find that one of a kind object (whatever it might be):
Decide on an exact place to put it.
Always return it to that spot the minute you are through using it. Is this rule sinking in yet?
Clear the Clutter in Child’s Room
Children’s rooms also need the proper tools and equipment in order to keep from accumulating a lot of clutter. Consider these suggestions:
Keep a small vacuum handy to quickly clean up messes.
Put up a blackboard to write on or a pegboard to hang things on to keep things off the floor.
Use extra large wastebaskets with plastic garbage can liners.
Organize toys in plastic boxes, milk crates, or decorated cartons.
Install closet rods (appropriate to the height of the children) so they can hang up their own clothes.
Limit snacking in bedrooms.
The Closet of Mystery
All of us have “ghostly closets.” They are a mystery even to us. We open the doors just to see what we have stuffed into them.
As a child I can remember listening to one of my all-time favorite radio programs, Fibber McGee and Molly. During one of those episodes, Molly opened up her closet and everything tumbled out of it—many things that didn’t even belong there. But because it was behind closet doors, no one except Molly could see into the closet.
If you have one of those mystery closets, begin today to get a grip on it. Take everything out, lay the items on the floor or bed, and examine each item to see if it still fits or if you’ve worn it in the last year. It must pass your inspection before you put it back into the closet.
If the item doesn’t pass the test, you must give it away or put it into the garage sale bag.
The Messy Medicine Cabinet
When you open your medicine cabinet, do you feel as though you’ve just walked into the Rite Aid Pharmacy? Do you have one of every pill prescribed by mankind? Have some of the items expired three years ago?
Do you find old toothbrushes and half-filled tubes of toothpaste? Do you have old ointments, tweezers, eye makeup, and nail polishes of various shades of red and purple?
If so then you need a “medicine chest makeover.” Attack with vigor—get rid of all that old stuff you no longer use. Make sure you don’t throw out old medicines in a way that children could mistakenly find them.
Don’t use your easy-to-reach medicine cabinet to store all of your feminine items. Be selective about what you keep in this handy storage spot.
Cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them. -Benjamin Disraeli
Order is not pressure which is imposed on society from without, but an equilibrium which is set up from within. -Jose Ortega Y Gasset
Broken and Outgrown Toys
Do you suffer from kiddie clutter in your home? As I visit homes where children live, I’m amazed at how many toys, games, gadgets, puzzles, and books there are in the home. You know who is responsible for much of this clutter? Parents and grandparents—not the kids!
In many cases these toys are missing parts and the games are no longer played with (because they are for three- to five-year-olds and the child is now nine).
Take an inventory of all this clutter. Set aside those items that should be given away, tossed out, or added to the garage sale bag. As long as you keep all of this kid stuff clutter, you are having to store it, dust it, move it, and spend your energy vacuuming around it.
This is a declutter paradise. Check to make sure that your children have shelves, closets, baskets, and trunks to store their belongings. If they don’t have proper places to store their toys, everything will end up strewn across the floor, or in piles at the bottom of their closets.
One of the basic principles I share in my organizational seminars is “do the worst first.”
Once you complete the worst part of the project, everything else is easy. This is also a great rule to follow if you have trouble with procrastinating.
We all dread the worst—that’s why it is best to get it out of the way in the beginning of the project.
When you enter a room with plans to clean it, determine which of the projects you dread most.
Take a minute to break down the whole job into smaller tasks. Now choose the worst of the small tasks and do that one first.
You will learn two things about this “do the worst first” rule:
It didn’t take you as long as you thought.
It wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be.
Happy Feast Day! I love my patron saint! ❤
St. Anne, Gentle and Saintly Grandmother, Pray for us and all our needs!
“Christian cheerfulness is that modest, hopeful, and peaceful joy which springs from charity and is protected by patience. It is the well regulated vigor of spiritual life that throws off all morbid humors and depressing influences, refusing them a lodgement in the soul devoted to God.” Archbishop Ullathorne (19th c.)
Beautiful Blessed Mother Wire Wrapped Rosaries! Lovely, Durable… Each link is handmade and wrapped around itself to ensure quality. Available here.
Practical Expectations – Cleaning the Clutter
Do you ever feel like you’re running in circles? Do you put off new pursuits because you are spending your precious time juggling projects that are never completed?
Make a list of five projects you would love to finish. Tackle these one at a time. You’ll find that as you clear away the unfinished business, you’ll be free to reach for new pursuits.
Don’t delay your goals and aspirations. Which terminal projects are eating up the most time? Give yourself an absolute deadline to complete each one or consider letting go of the project altogether.
Which projects are the most overwhelming and which have the highest priority? If you take care of a couple that are time sensitive, you’ll give yourself breathing room and a sense of accomplishment.
Consider the ones that absolutely must get done because others are counting on them or because they have a deadline. There’s your starting place!
It’s nice to want things done right, but not if you’re crippled by the pressure. High expectations can lead to inactivity when you’re overwhelmed. By all means do the best job you can do in a reasonable amount of time. However, don’t get bogged down by perfectionism.
You may know the difference in the finished product, but your friends and guests probably won’t know or care if it’s not perfectly done.
If you’re preparing for guests, determine the cleaning that must be done versus the cleaning you want to get done. You’ll find that if you clean the areas your guests will be visiting and just tidy other areas, you’ll have a very welcoming environment.
Always keep in mind that you want your home to be inviting, not sterile and immaculate. Aim for inviting rather than ideal, and you’ll enjoy the time before and during your guests’ visits. You’ll be a much more sane hostess.
To accomplish a big task, break it into a few smaller parts—these become “instant tasks” that you can easily handle. It’s the big items that throw us and leave us in a panic.
Think of one project that you have put off because it seemed too big to take on after a busy day or in the middle of a hectic one.
For example, let’s choose cleaning out the refrigerator as your dreaded project. Can you give it 15 minutes? Even the craziest of days usually have a few breaks in them that could be put to good use.
Set a timer and work like mad for those 15 minutes evaluating leftovers, checking expiration dates, and wiping off shelves.
Tomorrow, set the timer and toss out old vegetables, refresh the ice trays, and rinse the meat and produce bins. In a day or two you’ll have invested two or three 15-minute sessions and completed the larger task of cleaning your refrigerator.
Each of us operates efficiently at different times of the day. Pay attention to when you feel the most energetic and alert. Take a few days to observe which time periods and what parts of each day are best for you when it comes to cleaning, working, juggling multiple tasks, focusing on one, and being creative.
It might help to write out what you observe—it could be surprising. Maybe you always linger over breakfast and dishes to draw out the morning when it’s actually your most energetic time and should tackle a couple work projects.
Don’t use this awareness as an excuse to not perform well during your off period of the day. Instead, use it to be good to yourself and to enhance your life, productivity, sense of balance, and enjoyment.
Schedule taxing chores for the hours when your mind is sharpest. Do the physical chores when you have the most energy. File papers or sweep the floor when you need a task that doesn’t require too much thought and evaluation. This principle is good for work as well as at home.
Make a statement with this lovely and graceful handcrafted “Blessed Mother and Son” apron….fully lined, lace overlay….made with care. Aprons tell a beautiful story…..a story of love and sacrifice….of baking bread and mopping floors, of planting seeds and household chores. Sadly, many women have tossed the aprons aside and donned their business attire. Wear your apron with joy….it is a symbol of Femininity….”Finer” Femininity! 🌺 💗
Home management expert and bestselling author Emilie Barnes comes to the aid of every clutter keeper with 101 simple ideas to rid rooms of piles, stacks, and disarray…
The good news is that a beautiful home doesn’t require too much money, too much energy, or too much time. Bestselling author and home-management expert Emilie Barnes shows readers how they can easily weave beauty and happiness into the fabric of their daily lives…
The Five-Minute Miracle – Tidbits from Emilie Barnes
Organize your day with tips from Emilie Barnes!
If you’re going to have time for the important things, then you need to have the five-minute principle well in place in your thinking. It means not letting those five-minute segments slip away just because you think they aren’t long enough to get anything important done.
Remember that most small chores can be accomplished in bits and pieces of time. In just five minutes, you can make an appointment, file your nails, water houseplants, make out a party guest list, order tickets for a ball game, or sew a button on.
If you have ten minutes, you can write a short letter or note, pick out a birthday card, repot a plant, straighten your desktop, or exercise.
You get the idea-do small chores that occupy little time.
But don’t overdo it. Leave some slack in your day for God’s little surprises. Who knows, maybe today the Lord will give you the opportunity to have a small talk with a neighbor, to enjoy a few minutes with a child over cookies and milk, or to make a quick visit to drop off a bouquet of flowers.
Let your life be full of five-minute miracles.
Try putting a bunch of flowers in your refrigerator. Beautiful!
Purchase several birthday cards all at once so that you will be ready throughout the year!
As a child bride of 17, I began my decorating journey with almost nothing. In those days I was trying to create a beautiful home on no budget at all!
My husband, Bob, and I spray painted an old wrought-iron garden table for our kitchen. We rooted around behind charity shops for interesting discards, and we even moved our little plants from room to room, just for some variety.
Without knowing it, we were learning a lot about what we love, and how we can share ourselves by sharing our home.
We also fell more in love with each other as we spent time creating our home.
It wasn’t always easy, though. Sometimes we had to work a bit to marry Bob’s tastes with mine, but we kept working at it, and it’s been well worth it!
Even today, our home is an ongoing creation-an expression of our love.
You don’t know what the future may hold, so practice the art of contentment. What we have right now is this one day.
May God give us a peace of mind that lets us rest-right where He’s placed us!
Embark on a spontaneous midnight walk and do some stargazing.
Take advantage of sales to add to your candle supply
Wake your spouse early and enjoy a moment of prayer together.
Talking about Storage
Today, let’s talk about storage! It’s an important word in organizing.
Storing things around the house is a real headache, so let’s get started.
A garage-sale wine rack or a wire bike basket attached to the wall are perfect for towels! You know the baskets you’ve been saving? Hang them on a wall for your napkins or table linens. An old set of drawers is great for holding videotapes or CDs.
Pick up an unfinished toy box and paint it in adult colors. It doubles as a lamp table and lots of storage!
I love to use cardboard boxes for everything and anything! Use spray adhesive to cover a cardboard box with fabric; add some trim and use it in any room of your house.
And while you’re busy around the house, tack up a few notecards with verses on them and do a little storing of God’s Word!
Clip articles from magazines and create a reading file.
A pretty apron can make your evening chores a little more inviting.
Why bother with any of those around-the-house tips?
Here’s why: Organization and efficiency can give us more time to pursue the things that really matter.
Try some of these ideas over the next few days. They really work!
Do you seem to never have enough lemon juice when you need it? Squeeze the juice of fresh lemons into ice cube trays. Then just defrost them and use them when you’re ready. It’s wonderful having fresh lemon juice at your fingertips!
Do you spend precious minutes scrubbing pots and pans with burned-on food? Drop one or two fabric-softener sheets into the water. Let it stand for an hour or so and the food will lift right off.
Keep your kitchen smelling fresh and sweet by washing your sink with a strong salt solution or even with laundry bleach.
Creating a home filled with order and cleanliness communicates a heart that is ordered and pure.
Take a moment today to make your home more simply organized and see how the sweet savor blesses those around you.
Puttering is acceptable. Enjoy your home, and don’t always be on task.
A cup of hot broth is a comforting beverage this time of year.
Frame a card from a loved one-let it be a “grace note” in your home.
Men! Fathers! Listen up! Excellent Sermon!
“Being humble means recognizing everything good and beautiful in my life (my qualities, the good I can do, and so on), as a gift from God. There is more to life than negative things; sometimes we are happy with ourselves, with what we experience and have been able to achieve, and this is justifiable, provided we recognize God as the ultimate source of all those good things.” – Fr. Jacques Philippe, The Way of Trust and Love, Beautiful Book: http://amzn.to/2minNMv Painting by John William Waterhouse 1908 (afflink)
Beautiful Kanzashi Ribbon Flowers! Intricate and Classy Hand-Crafted Kanzashi Accessory Flower.. Hair, Scarf, Shirt etc…. These fetching ribbon flowers are a perfect accent to any special outfit and provides a sweet final touch! I like to wear these flowers in my hair, but they can be worn many ways! Available here.
Don’t Delay Small Tasks
Do small chores as needed so they occupy the least amount of time possible. Put a shirt back on the hanger, repair the sag on the gate, replace that burned-out lightbulb, and put new batteries in your smoke alarm.
If you start taking care of the immediate tasks rather than save them for later, you’ll notice an amazing difference in your clutter problem.
The small stuff adds up to big projects later – don’t let them snowball.
As you go about your day today, pay attention to which tasks can be done immediately. The dishwasher can be loaded, the cereal box can be put in the cupboard, the dining table can be cleared so that it’s clean for dinner, and your paid bills can be filed. Things are looking better already!
Be a guest in your own home for a day. If you walk into your living room, what stands out? What looks messy? Inviting? Fun? This fresh inventory of your living room and each room in your house will awaken you to ways to clean out and cheer up your home.
I’d encourage you to have fun with this.
Do one room at a time and take a few notes about this “first impression” makeover. Then get ready to make a difference in that room.
What’s working? What’s pleasing? What draws your eye? Look for items that just don’t fit.
Most importantly decide the focal point for your room. What do you want people to see when they enter the room?
The focal point is the anchor – the center of gravity. Find that and you’re well on your way! Not a bad idea for every area of your life!
Little Tasks Take Little Time
Few of us have several hours to clean out our closets. The key is to use the 10 minute segments you do have to accomplish a small task or make a dent in a larger one.
Clean one shelf in your closet
Put in a load of wash
Answer a few emails.
You’ll declutter if you learn to do small tasks in small blocks of time.
Is your accumulation of stuff burdensome? I can relate. Most women can. What many people don’t realize is how incredibly freeing it is to get rid of clutter. They hesitate because they just see the work involved, the logistics, the possible changes, and the future commitment to keeping a home clean.
They can’t envision the openness, the beauty, and the peace this change will offer them and their families.
Keep your eye on the prize – the sanctuary you will create when you remove the obstacles of clutter! If you’re new to this or hesitant to begin, don’t look at your house as a whole. Start with one room.
If you incorporate just a few of the suggestions in this book or ones you’ve gathered from magazines, you will see transformation. The results of your one room makeover will give you the energy and the desire to keep life simple and lovely.
Happy Ninth Day of Christmas! “There is nothing insignificant in the life which we live within our own doors. There is nothing which is without influence in the building up of character. Let no one think that the history of any day in the life of a home, is not recorded imperishably on the sensitive lives of the children.” -J.R. MIller
Blank Journals for the New Year!