Homemaking – Page 4

Happy Birthday, Dorothy. Life is Hard.

January 20, 2017 by Quin Leave a Comment

My mother-in-law has been with Jesus for almost 9 years. Cancer took her all too soon. In August of 2007 we welcomed our first son into this world, within a week she and my father-in-law told us that the doctors had discovered she had cancer. It was in her colon and pancreas.

What? I thought we were celebrating new life? How could it be that her life was being threatened at such a joyous time in ours? I couldn’t process it and slipped into a phase of depression. On the outside most people probably thought I was fine, but I most certainly wasn’t and it took me a little too long to realize it.

Never once did anyone say she wasn’t going to pull through it. We thought it was caught early enough, we thought a little chemo would do the trick. We were wrong. Lots of treatments and a surgery later, she was laying in ICU for 3 weeks, taking her last breaths.

Today would’ve been her 76th birthday. I don’t know how we would’ve celebrated, but I do know we would’ve done it together. All the siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, kids, grand kids, everyone. We would’ve been together, and that’s all that would’ve mattered.

Each year when January 20th rolls around we still choose to celebrate her birthday. We don’t have to, we could sit in puddles instead, still pissed that life isn’t fair, but we just can’t do that to each other, or to ourselves.

We miss her like crazy. We miss reading the sales flyers with her while swiveling in the chairs on the porch, we miss her frying bacon for BLTs, we miss her voice, her laugh, her mannerisms.

Sometimes I even miss the dumb arguments we’d get in over things that didn’t matter at all. She could get so fired up over the little details, and so could I.

This afternoon one of my big brothers dropped off a package of double stuffed chocolate chip sandwich cookies, from the local bakery. We celebrate big, so we added them on the side of our already enormous banana splits.

We sang, we shared memories, and that was that. We can’t stay in the sad places. We can visit them briefly, and I believe we should, but we cannot stay there.
Friends, I know life is hard at times. I haven’t even ever shared my greatest struggles here, because they’re still just too hard to relive. But believe me when I say I GET IT.

You guys, sometimes it’s so hard that all you want to do is cry and honestly give up. But don’t! Oh please, don’t. Because somewhere, sometimes years down the road, sometimes only a day away, you can make the choice to celebrate.

I am celebrating that I believe my beloved mother-in-law is resting safely, completely healed, in the arms of Jesus. I cannot even begin to imagine what a feeling it is to be safe with Him.
Life is hard sometimes, but there are moments when it’s out-of-this-world beautiful too. Like when you’re sitting around the table with your great big family scarfing down deluxe banana splits and feeling so blessed that your heart could just burst right open.
Whatever tough season you’re in, hang in there. It will get easier. I don’t know when, there’s no magic time frame, but I know that it will.
Might I suggest that you find something to celebrate? Honestly, my greatest secret to happiness is always keeping something on the calendar that I have to look forward to.

xoxoxox,

Quincey B.

Go For Broke Day, I’m All In

April 6, 2016 by Quin Leave a Comment

I’m a huge fan of bizarre holidays. I look for a way to celebrate or put a theme to whatever I can. I have so many dates to celebrate marked on my calendar it’s ridiculous… and awesome.

Did you know that today is “Go For Broke Day”? It’s a day where you put it all out there, and take a risk. I’m sure this occasion is a fun one to celebrate amongst the gambling crowd, “ALL IN!”, but why not relate it to other areas too?

What might that look like?

So if I’m going to “Go For Broke” with my children, it might mean:

I listen to every second of every far-fetched story that my son tells me.
I might give in to the request of reading the Elmo book for the 5^th time today.
I may declare it a dessert night and whip up some banana splits after supper.
Singing an extra verse or two of Amazing Grace at bedtime.
Being extra patient.
Playing on the floor and giggling along with the kiddos as we make silly animal sounds and crawl around like chickens.
Writing each child a note or coloring a picture, then tucking it next to their bed for them to find in the morning.

What if I “Go For Broke” in my marriage?

Listen closely. Not just listen and respond, but really try to HEAR what my husband is saying, and what he isn’t saying. Taking extra time to understanding his side of things and appreciate his perspective.

Fix a nice dinner that I know my husband will love, rather than frantically just landing something that was once frozen onto the center of the table at 6pm and calling it good- all while I yell at the top of my lungs to get everyone in the room and sitting down at the same time to quietly say grace together. Don’t judge, these homeschooling days are long. Even though I’m home all day, I am often more exhausted by 5 pm than when I worked outside the home (It’s not even the kids necessarily, I’m just more charged up by big crowds).

Tidy up all the miscellaneous things that have been put into our bedroom but don’t belong there (I’m notorious for this scenario, and maybe you are too? Company is coming so I fill a laundry basket with random stuff from around the house. Shove it in the bedroom and shut the door. Company leaves, I do nothing about the basket. Oops, laundry is done and I need a basket, dump that basket of stuff on the dresser and never put it away). So this day I think I’ll create a romantic oasis- or I mean at least a clutter free bedroom zone. Who am I kidding? I’m probably just going to throw half that stuff away because it’s easier and probably mostly outdated at this point, but hey it will actually look a little better.
Be excited about what he’s excited about. I really have no idea what that is right now, maybe something to do with a basketball game, and a property project at church? I’ll ask him.
Pray fervently about my husband’s health and what concerns him.
Love fiercely.

Going “All In” as a friend:

Taking a little time to text friends and check in with them, maybe set up coffee dates for next week.
Offering to bring a meal to a friend, or babysit for a couple hours.

I know these all sound like baby steps, but you all know it’s been a demanding season here lately and this is just where I am and what I can do today to be “all in”. I’m totally okay with this, and I hope that wherever you are right now, that you’re okay in that season too.

Tea & Crumpets, or Whatever

March 18, 2016 by Quin Leave a Comment

It’s a Tea & crumpets kind of day. Well okay, here it’s more like water and donuts.

I just wanted to give you another visual of my favorite soapbox, which is: “Do what works for you”.

God created us each unique with our own gifts, talents, and interests.

You do you, I’ll do me. Together we’ll praise Jesus.

In short, this little saying means to me that although we are different, that doesn’t need to separate us. We can all praise Jesus for His perfect design within our lives and the gift of friendship despite diversities.

I have a wide community of homeschooling mom friends both in real life, and online. I love each of them for their uniqueness and can learn something from every one of them.

Many of my HS momma friends do a tea time with their children and I really truly admire it. It makes me smile to see the pictures they post of the read aloud they’re doing, and the fancy tea cups they’re sipping from.

I don’t beat myself up feeling envious or like I need to do better because I’m serving store bought donuts on the dishes I bought for myself at Target. I’m okay with serving water when I’m not in the mood to fix tea (yes, I do know how easy it is to make).

I have a teenager now (along with an 8yr old and a toddler), and I understand that this sort of contentment I feel has come with age and experience, and above all, from Jesus.

I’ve had to pray for God to help my heart and mind find places where I can feel satisfied and content.

It’s my prayer that each of you may also feel satisfied wherever you are, and that you’d only feel the nudge to self-reflect and change if it comes from God alone. Not from your Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest feeds, but only from Christ.

Be blessed my friends, and have a beautiful weekend!

Quick Tip Tuesday: Set that Timer

February 9, 2016 by Quin Leave a Comment

You know that when you’re making cookies you want to SET THE TIMER. Of course that’s because you don’t want to burn your cookies making them only edible when they’re crumbled over a massive bowl of ice cream and then covered in Hershey’s chocolate, not that I’ve ever done that or anything.

When baking I view each of those 7-10 minute blocks of time as little mini challenges.

It’s like how much can I get done while the clock is running? GAME ON!

When I set the timer for cookies I roll the rest of the dough into balls and pop them in the fridge until it’s time to pop them in the oven.

Most of our daily or weekly tasks that we need to do around the house can be done fairly quickly.

I’m not even kidding when I tell you this next part…

I’ve spent hours looking at clean houses on Pinterest and Google searching ways to tidy the house quickly. HOURS! And then I’ve put my phone away and gone back to doing something that is equally as unproductive as looking at clean houses online.

When I do this simple little thing it changes the way I clean. The results are excellent, both for the physical outcome of the house, and for my energy level. It’s quirky, but I LOVE racing the clock. It gives me so much energy and makes me happy!

I grab my timer and then go around doing random things like this:

Fold or switch out laundry
Wipe down the sinks
Wash the mirrors
Vacuum the living room
Wash the Vacuum filter- I love my Dyson and treat it well.
Organize a drawer
Separate the dirty socks from the toys in the toy bin (this is a real issue that only parents of toddlers understand).
Wash my makeup brushes
Take the recycling to the garage
Empty the garbage cans in each room
Check the furnace filter, change if needed
Organize the fridge and wipe down the shelves
Pull all of the “too small” clothes out of a kid’s closet.
Strip down the beds and wash everything
Wipe down the TV screen
Dust the furniture
Straighten up the shoes and coats in the mudroom
Unload or reload the dishwasher- My kids mostly do this task, bless!

Okay, you get the point. So many of these really simple things could be done in 10 minute blocks. Several of them you could group together and within 30-40 minutes all the little annoying things are done and you can just admire your work OR set the timer and keep going on something else!

Quick Tip Tuesday: Prioritizing The Day {On The Cheap}

February 2, 2016 by Quin Leave a Comment

Each Tuesday in February I will be sharing a quick tip here on my blog. Sometimes these will also shared on my Periscope (@abetterwife), Facebook, Instagram or YouTube channels as well, but no matter what they’ll always be linked up right back here.

Here’s a quick little video to showcase one way that I prioritize my day. All it takes is a glass surface -think window or mirror- and a dry erase marker.

I’ve tried other little picture frames, white boards, etc. When it comes down to it though, I’m a simple gal, and this is exactly what I need to keep myself focused and pressing forward towards my short term goals.

Will you join me in setting daily goals this month?

3 Mudroom Hacks You Can ACTUALLY Do!

January 16, 2016 by Quin Leave a Comment

This past fall we were on one of our regular IKEA trips when I found myself wandering areas of the store that I didn’t even belong in. My husband caught me in a trance staring at dish drainers. He walks up and says “Why would we want one of those?” He had a point. We’ve lived in this house 10+ years and haven’t needed one yet, but I still couldn’t stop gawking at them.

They were so simple, but so sophisticated. The construction was solid, and the powder coated metal frame felt good in my hands. I tried thinking as fast as I could about how I could justify purchasing one, knowing I wasn’t going to use it in the kitchen, and there was a chance I wouldn’t use it at all.

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Insert a random “Quincey Idea”, as my husband would call it.
I begged him to just listen to me for a minute, and reminded him that he’d be rewarded with a frozen yogurt cone at the end of our trip if he had good behavior and displayed patience. 😉

I pieced together and blurted out the idea that they could be used under the window in our mudroom. They’d be placed over the vent and the kids could put their hats and gloves on it to dry after they’d been out playing in the snow.

He hesitated a little, but he could tell I wasn’t going to budge, so he agreed to let me put it in the cart. Then I did the unthinkable…. I asked for a second one! “Sure” he says, as he trailed away looking for that promised cone.
I picked up two of the drainers and one rail. Because the rack can hang over edges of the rail it didn’t matter that the width dimensions would be a couple inches different.

I ditched the bottom plastic tray that came with the rack, because I wanted the air to be able to flow better.

We’ve been using this setup for a two months and it’s working extremely well! Thank goodness for that, because I don’t know how many more of my quirky ideas this guy will agree to before he puts me on house arrest and cuts up my credit card!

Here’s all you need:

2 Bygel Dish Drainers & 1 Bygel Rail

Safety Warning: Whenever you’re drilling into your walls, be sure you know where the studs and electrical lines are. A Stud Finder is a must for a DIY’er that likes to take on Home Improvement projects! Thankfully I have my own personal stud to run our Stud Finder! Bahaha, I’m so cheeeeesy!

Hack # 2:

Install a couple of simple Command Hooks (and yes, it’s driving me crazy that they don’t match, but it’s what I had on hand).

The white one obviously is holding a basket, and that’s so the toddler can reach her own gloves and hat. The Brushed Nickel is for her coat. I can’t believe how well it holds even with her tugging her big winter coat off of it each day.

Hack #3:

For hack numeral three I used more command hooks! This was a flighty idea, but it has proved to work well! I put two hooks on the back of the door for my big kids to hang their soaking wet snow pants when they come in from outside. This way they drip onto the entry rug, and not our beautiful built-in oak hall tree.

Bonus Real Life Snippet:

This is what I WANT this area to look like:

Here is what it actually looks like on a typical day:

The kids have baskets on the hall tree to put their winter gear into once it’s dry, so it isn’t supposed to linger on the rack, but it does. And really people, just set your boots up straight! haha, oh well, I’m just happy we know where everyone’s hats and gloves are now!

My Top 3 Thoughts on Christmas Morning 2015

December 25, 2015 by Quin Leave a Comment

As we gathered around the tree to open presents, I was left with 3 strong thoughts in my head. This is the first year we have commercialized Christmas in our home in many years. If you’ve been around a while or follow me on Social Media, you know I love Jesus and celebrating Christmas for two big reasons- First, for the miraculous birth of Jesus and the humbleness that it brings my heart, and Second for the beautiful twinkling lights all over the place. I love me some glitz.

Each year we explain to our kids how it isn’t about the gifts, and we focus fully on celebrating God and talking scripture. They’ve never begged for a gift or whined about it even once, they’ve just known that’s how we do it.

Personally, I’ve truly hated the way the stores commercialize and capitalize on this holiday.

Then I prayed for a change of heart, because every shopping trip since Halloween has left me bitter. I wanted to enjoy this Christmas the way everyone else seemed to.

So we still talked scripture, we still explained what this day was about, but to be honest, I kind of felt like I was screwing my kids out of the kind of Christmas morning I remember as a kid. I remember waiting for Santa, being fully surprised by my gifts, and playing with whatever I got all year long. There’s just something extra special about the gifts that were opened on Christmas morning versus gifts opened any other time of year.

My top 3 thoughts after opening gifts.

1. Everyone needs a 3 year old in their house on Christmas morning. There were SO many great big bear hugs, so many THANK YOUs shouted, and so much excitement. The gratitude was genuine, folks.

2. 8 year old boys LOVE toys from the dollar store. Although I cringed as a mama because I was buying cheap toys knowing they wouldn’t last long, the excitement as he opened the gifts and the hours of play afterwards made it so worth it. Cheap dress up armor has been his favorite thing for years. He is the son of a warrior after all.

3. Once you have a teen in your house it is totally acceptable to hang prepaid phone cards from the tree as an ornament. It makes for the most practical gift and you can visibly see the burden lifted off their shoulders as they realize it’s another 3 months of cell phone charges they won’t have to pay for themselves. My teen’s second favorite gift may have been cotton candy. Don’t worry, she got many other amazing gifts, she’s just a simple girl like her mama and loves the ‘little things’.

You wouldn’t believe the things I bought in the name of Christmas this year. From homeschooling manipulatives to toys, to electronics, to skateboards, and more, I did alright. This year I didn’t feel like I ripped my kids off, OR Jesus. This year, I feel like I finally found some Christmas-season balance as a Christian wife and mom.

This year, I am grateful for the simple things like always, but now I am even able to be grateful for the big things too. All because I asked God to change my heart, and He did.

Giving materialistic things on Christmas can feel good, even as a Christian. In fact I think especially as a Christian. We are blessed so that we may be a blessing.

I’m beginning to understand a tad of the commercialism (only just a tad though).

I’m praying that you too are finding a balance this Christmas season.

Ps. We didn’t make our traditional sugar cookies for the first time in over 10 years, and I don’t even feel guilty about wiping that off my slate. We all survived just fine! My SIL brought some to Christmas at my father-in-law’s house, so that did help fill the void a little bit.

Too Many Words Wednesday: Christmas 2015

December 16, 2015 by Quin Leave a Comment

I know the holidays are beautiful and fun and meaningful, as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Christmas. I’m seeing “It” everywhere; the modern day Christmas cheer. My social media feeds show me perfectly decorated homes, happy moms baking with their kids, husbands buying their wives jewelry, big families gathered around the immaculately adorned tables, friends buying expensive and thoughtful gifts for each other, and the list goes on.

I’m not denying that this cheer is real. I’m just saying we may play it up to be a little bit more ‘perfect’ than it really is.

When I think of the mom snapping a picture of her magazine worthy Christmas tree with matching ornaments and garland (not a sentimental childhood ornament to be found), I have to wonder how many times she hollered at her little children to not touch her masterpiece. I’m not sure, the posts never say, and I don’t dare ask!

Full disclaimer: If I “nail it” with something this Christmas, whether it be perfect cookies, well dressed kids, whatever, I am going to post it. I’m sorry. Please don’t think that whatever I post is the whole story.

Example: Last weekend as we were getting ready for the Christmas program, my youngest insisted she was going to wear a puffy white tutu and her black yoga pants. I insisted she wasn’t. After some tears we compromised and she was able to wear it under her dress that I picked out. You can’t tell it in the pictures we snapped, but I promise you it’s there.

The internet doesn’t always tell you the whole story. I know you moms already know this, I just think it’s worth being reminded of.

That doesn’t mean everyone is a fraud, it just means they aren’t as prefect as you’re imagining them to be, so don’t be so down on yourself!

I decided not to put up my BIG Christmas tree this year. I told my husband it was just too much for me right now. We have a pre-lit 5 foot tree that is taking its place, and although it isn’t as big and beautiful as our original tree, it’s doing the trick. I feel joy when I look at it, and that’s what I’m searching for this Christmas; for JOY.

It’s just that other tree is SO BIG. There’s no denying that it’s beautiful, but I feel like it’s all for show. It takes SO much work to set it up, it takes up so much space, and when two different people asked if I was going to put it in my window again, I knew I just couldn’t do it. That’s not what this season is about to me. It’s about Jesus, and I get the way other people are honoring Him with their amazing trees and perfect homes, but that’s not how I’m doing it.

That doesn’t mean I’m right, or they’re right. It’s just how it is.

I know it’s easy to feel sad and depressed this time of year over absolutely anything and the reasons aren’t silly or unjustified; the loss of a loved one, family quarrels, money, too many people to buy for, no one to buy for, etc.

That first Christmas after my MIL passed away was R.O.U.G.H. It’s gotten easier, but my heart still breaks a little each time I see my husband missing his mom and her traditions.

Each gathering as we peel potatoes we laugh about his mom shoving 20 lbs of potato peels down the garbage disposal and needing to send a couple guys to go buy a clean plunger to unplug the sink. The house was full of about 20 people waiting to eat. Oh we laugh and laugh about it, and then we go silent and tear up.

To each of you who are hurting at Christmas, I want you to know that I’m praying you find a way to experience a cheerful heart. I am praying that God shows you JOY. I’m praying for a renewed spirit around what this season is all about. I’m praying you don’t feel alone, especially when you’re surrounded by people.

Please don’t feel like you have to out do anyone, or even yourself. If you need to take a time out, do it. If you need to buy your cookies rather than bake them, do it. If you don’t love doing crafts with your kids, don’t do it.

Do what works for you, and know that may not work for everyone.

Love,

Quincey B.

KonMari: All Things Books

December 9, 2015 by Quin Leave a Comment

As I told you at the end of November, I’m going to be going through the book titled “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”. You can find a link to the book at the bottom of this post.
When you’re going through this one of the first things you’re supposed to do is define your “WHY?”

Why are you wanting to tidy?

My short answer: Plain and simple; I want fewer choices so I can open more time in my day.

The slightly more detailed answer: We have so many choices here; one trip to a Super Target or a Dollar Tree and you can clearly see we aren’t hurting for options. It gives me so much mind clutter. I want to be able to think quicker, and more effectively, so I can move on to the next thing. I want my children to be able to make choices quicker. I want to clear out the physical and the mental clutter so we can enjoy more time together. I’m looking forward to spending less time cleaning up things that don’t spark joy for us, but that we merely own. When I look around, I want to see only things we genuinely LOVE and not just things that are kind of pretty or useful.

I love how the author highlights not just the why, but also the how. You can read more about that in the book.

She suggests that there are 3 things you need to remember to use her method effectively:

1. Touch everything, don’t just look at what you’re sorting, actually touch it.
2. Sort by what you want to keep, not what you want to throw. This is opposite from how I usually sort/tidy/declutter/clean
3. MOVE QUICKLY; don’t spend too much time over analyzing.
Today we are tackling the BOOKS! We’re homeschoolers, and we LOVE books. Without a doubt I know we have way too many though, and that many of them don’t spark joy. Some of them I paid way too much for and they actually spark regret, and guilt.
It isn’t about getting down to a certain number of books, but about only keeping the ones we genuinely LOVE.

My challenges:

1. I buy too many books because they’re cheap at second-hand stores.
2. I write everything off in the name of homeschooling.
3. I run an unofficial neighborhood Little Library, so I keep extra books on hand for swapping out to both boys and girls of all ages from toddlers to teens.
4. I have children of both genders, and with a fair age gap between them, so I feel like I should hang on to books from my oldest to pass onto my youngest. That may mean I’m storing so-so books for 10 years just waiting for them to be read!
5. We have books stored all around the house, so the biggest challenge right now is getting them all into one place. Bless my sweet little kiddos for being excited about doing this and hauling baskets of books to the living room for sorting!

I’ll post a very raw honest looking before and after once we’ve completed this task!

Something you should know: We just “sorted” our books this summer and I gave away easily a hundred children’s books. I didn’t use this method though, so I am curious to see if I feel differently by tackling our shelves this way.

If you’re interested in grabbing a book and joining me you can find this title on Amazon.

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4 Ways to Improve Your Efficiency at Home

December 2, 2015 by Quin Leave a Comment

Previously I shared about how to improve your efficiency in the work place. I know many of my readers work from home, whether through a company, direct sales, home businesses, or by being the CEO of their own household (hats off to you, mama).

I mentioned that I’d share this post, because improving your efficiency at home is so similar to improving your efficiency in the work place.

Just like last time, these aren’t in any particular order at all, but here are my top 4 tips in this area.

Cut the Clutter

First of all, for the love of all things, please CLEAN OFF YOUR SURFACES. Okay, I don’t know about your house, but imagine you’re going through the same thing I am so I thought this needed mentioning. In our house if there’s a flat surface somewhere, it’s bound to get covered. Clearing our spaces help us clear our minds.

It’s hard to get anything done when you walk into a room for something and we’re distracted by something else that needs tending to, like a pile of mail, a stack of clothing, a book out of place, an armload of toys, etc.

Only surround yourself with the things you LOVE, and make you happy to see. For us, this meant storing away some heirloom pieces rather than displaying them, because honestly, they didn’t bring us joy.

Very specifically clear off your kitchen counters. We all need to eat, usually even more than once a day, so why not keep the kitchen environment one that you can work in easily?

We did away with our microwave a few years back, and I am SO happy about the counter space it cleared up. I can say 100% that I do NOT miss it a bit. I know there are the over the stove ones now, but that’s just not for me. I also put most of the appliances away in a cupboard, just so I can enjoy the simplicity of cleared off counter tops.

Limit Distractions

I’m not a master here, but I have a couple tricks that really do work for us, and have worked for the people I’ve suggested them to.

Don’t turn on the TV unless you’re going to sit and watch it. Don’t just have it on for background noise, it’s too easy to get sucked in, 3-5 minutes at a time. It doesn’t seem like much, but I encourage you to set a 5 minute timer and see how much you can get cleaned instead, or how far you can read in a book. I bet you’ll surprise yourself!

Turn off the notifications on your phone. If you can, only turn on the Wi-Fi when you’re going to use it. I’ve been turning my phone on silent at night, and not turning the ringer on until we have a break in our school day. Most days this works fine, some days I miss oodles of texts and phone calls. So I need to readjust my system to ringer on/Wi-Fi off.

As a mom, I’ve limited the amount of toys in our living room. Even the kids can’t play well when they’re overwhelmed and distracted with too many options. We have lots of toys in totes in the basement that we switch out every so often.

Use your break times wisely

If you’re taking a break in your day to check social media, SET A TIMER. Now for a blogger & homeschool mom like me, this is tough, because I want to just.keep.reading. Really. I want to read all the things. Every bit. I don’t want to miss a thing; and somehow even though I know the internet is bigger than I could imagine, I think I can still tackle it all in a day.

I’ve finally decided it’s okay if I don’t know every new trick for teaching, or score every free printable that we *might* use in our homeschool. It’s okay if I read a friend’s blog a few days after she actually published it. It’s okay.

Cleaning Breaks: I set timers for all sorts of thing, especially for cleaning. My kids are so used to this they don’t even complain anymore. It goes like this “Okay guys, we’re doing a 10 minute cleaning break!” I set the stove timer for 10 minutes, we all clean our tails off, and it’s done. Things look amazing, in 10 minutes! It very rarely takes longer than that to clean our main living area. Often times we’re done before the timer. The kids’ bedrooms usually take 30 minutes, but that’s because of all the teeny-tiny Lego pieces. Specifically those blasted clear ones! Who thought of those? And why do I keep letting the kids buy them at the pick your own section of the Lego store?

Have a clear goal in mind

This is an exact copy and paste from my last post about efficiency. No need to reinvent the wheel here.

It’s hard to work towards something when you don’t know exactly what it is you’re working for. It’s too easy to get distracted and start doing something else. Make a quick list of your top 3 priorities for the day and keep plugging away until they’re done.

Give these quick tips a try and let me know if they helped!

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