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

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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.

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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!

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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!

KonMari: All Things Books

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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

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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! 

Embarking on the KonMari Method

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Have you heard of the KonMari Method?  I’m basically obsessed with the idea of it right now.  I’ll preface this with a disclaimer that I am one of “those women” who enjoy the act of cleaning the house.  Specifically, I like organizing.  Actually deep cleaning and scrubbing isn’t my thing, but I can alphabetize my books, sort glasses & plates by size, and rearrange the closets all day long.  I check the mail and recycle the junk within minutes of getting in the door.  I just like things tidy.

I’ve been intrigued by the Instagram hashtags for #Konmari.  After doing several Google searches and coming up with bits of information, I decided I’d just buy the “KonMari” book and see what it was all about.  I’ve spent $10 on things more silly than a book to teach me to organize, rather than actually getting up and organizing!

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If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, KonMari is a Japanese method of tidying.  It was invented by Marie Kondo, who like me, also loved tidying at a young age.

I’ve loved cleaning and organizing since I was a preteen.  I can remember organizing the built-in drawers in my childhood home and rearranging the medicine cabinet above the bathroom sink in our tiny upstairs bathroom, all the time.

No matter how many times I had organized it, I just kept checking in on that cabinet and trying new ways to group items together.  I’d experiment with organizing by size, category, or color.

It was fun.

Only once did it ever become compulsive where I felt like I HAD to do it.  That was after I had moved out and came back home to find my parents had put all of their stuff in the cabinet and I claimed it a disaster!  At that point I stopped doing it all together, I mean it wasn’t my stuff anymore, and I was getting so worked up over it.

I didn’t want to be owned by it.

I am not a perfectionist.  In fact, I am very much fine with half-heartedly doing most of my projects so they’re “good enough”.

So my disclaimer here is if you are someone who gets obsessed easily or feels compulsive when you’re cleaning, get a buddy to do this method with.  Find someone who can keep you accountable.  If you are reading this, you are not a baby, you can do this*.  For the sake of your happiness, and the happiness of anyone else living with you, you can do this.  If nothing else, I think implementing some of this method will help cleaning and picking up before company to go much faster!

*Tidying Takes Tough Love.

I don’t feel like we have a ton of clutter, but there is always room for improvement.  I like a good challenge!  I know that I’m in a better mood when the house is cleaner, and so are the kids.  I think in general most children have far too many toys, and most women have far too many clothing and kitchen items, so I’m excited to be focusing on those areas.  I’d love for Mr. Awesome to sort through his tools (and his baseball hat collection), but we will see if the book covers that.  You know, if the book suggests it, he’s going to have to do it.  It’s practically the law or something. haha!

I’m going to be going through this book and sharing about my successes and failures here.

If you’ve read this or used this method, how did it turn out for you?  Are you still doing it?

I’ve read so many great things about this book that I feel like I’m already in love with it and I’ve only read just a bit of it!

4 Ways to Improve Your Efficiency in the Office

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In no particular order at all, here are my top 4 tips on how you can improve your efficiency in the workplace, specifically the office.  I know it’s been quite a few years since I’ve worked in a cubical, but the 4 simple steps in BOLD can be easily adapted for anywhere.  Next week I’ll tailor this list for where I’m currently at in life, as a SAHM who blogs and homeschools her children.  The concept is oddly similar.

Cut the Clutter.

Clean off your desk space.  If you have a cubical with walls don’t clutter them with anything and everything.  Select a few choice things, such as a family picture, an inspirational quote, and one fun thing, like a ticket stub from one of your favorite events.  You don’t need 30 writing utensils; pick about 5-10 that work well and keep those stored vertically in a pretty cup, store the rest somewhere else. Keep it simple.  A clean work space is not to be underestimated.

Limit Distractions.

I’m serious.  If you find yourself checking your cell phone more than just at break time, turn the darn thing off!  I know that’s a little harsh, but so many of us are so reliant on our phones and I’m noticing the younger generation cannot go an hour without at least glancing at it for the time (every few minutes!)  Turn your cell phone to vibrate, or even airplane mode, and if you really have a problem with it, keep it in a desk drawer.  Out of sight, out of mind.  You aren’t probably being paid to check Facebook.  Think of it this way, if you were the one writing the checks, how would you want your workers to handle their time?

Use your break times wisely.

 I know it’s nice to check social media during your break times, and that’s perfectly okay; especially if you have introverted tendencies and really need that break to be alone.  But how about a couple times a week you just visit with your co-workers during break instead?  Sans the phone would be best.  Chatting at break time, when using kindness and consideration, will increase the good vibes in the work place.  You’ll increase your bonding with your co-workers, and in turn feel like you want to be more efficient and do a good job because there are real people that you know counting on you.  Accountability is important.

*Don’t make a habit of skipping breaks to work through them.  Your brain needs little breaks to stay sharp. 

Have a clear goal in mind.

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! 

Bonus Points if you send me before and after pictures of your desk, because those are my absolute favorite!  Seriously, post them to my FACEBOOK WALL.

Fair Trade: Coffee and Accessories

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Although my husband doesn’t like coffee, and I assure you I did not know this before I married him, he buys it for me anyways.  In marriage there is commitment AND compromise, folks.
Over the last 11 years that I’ve been buying coffee (since I can’t just drink my parents’ for free any more) I’ve bought it from just about everywhere you can imagine.  I’ve also bought it in several different brands, forms, and flavors.  This time around I decided to try out the Fair Trade coffee from our church.
There are so many reasons to LOVE this coffee.
1. I can get it easily.  Which is a plus, because I do NOT like to be out of coffee! I’m not addicted or anything, I just appreciate a hot cup of Joe in the morning, and sometimes even in the evening.  In the afternoon I like it over ice.
2. It’s Fair Trade, which according to Google means “trade in which fair prices are paid to producers in developing countries.”
3. It’s organic.  I have a terrible time with non-organic coffee giving me headaches when I drink it in bulk, which I pretty much always do.
4. It comes in Decaf and Regular.  Occasionally I like to have choices.
5. It’s delicious!  Truly, the flavor of this coffee is THE BOMB!
I’ve bought so many Fair Trade items from food, to apparel, to Christmas decorations, and always feel good knowing our money is going somewhere worthy and benefiting people who have worked well to earn it.
I did away with my coffee pots (yes I had multiples) a few years ago in an effort to clean up the counters.  I use a French Press from Ikea that washes up well and stores nicely in a cupboard.
If you’re looking for a challenge this week try one of these:
Watch Where You’re Spending Your Money.
1. Are the purchases you’re making necessary?
2. Are they fairly benefiting both you and the person/company that you’re buying them from?
Clean up Your Counters
Unless you’ve got some mad skills or super powers, I’m sure there is SOMETHING you can do to clean up your counters a bit.  I used to even put the toaster away in the pantry when we weren’t using it daily (now we don’t own one).  Clean Counters=Calm & Order.  It’s pure delight to walk into a kitchen with clean counters. 
Sip Coffee and Relax
If you’re in a season where you want a challenge, but the thought of actually taking on one more thing stresses you out to the max, then THIS is the challenge for you! 
Just take time to sip some coffee (OR TEA!) and relax.
 
*Note: If you are looking for a way to add some Fair Trade accessories to your wardrobe (like the scarf and earrings I’m wearing in the picture) check out Trades of Hope. There you will find beautiful scarves, jewelry, handbags and more!  All Fair Trade, All Beautiful!

Let Your Heart Wander

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Hello!
Do you ever feel like you’re strictly doing only what you have to do, just to get by?
I’ve been in that mode for a few weeks now.  I’ve been having a hard time saying “no” to the things I’m not super passionate about, because I’ve had the mentality of “yeah, I can squeeze it in”  or “that sounds ‘kind of’ fun”.  Along with
that, when I have said “no” people have been having a hard time hearing and accepting it.
Ordinarily I am a reliable person.  I do all that I can at home, & still show up to put in 110% at whatever I’ve signed up to do.
Now don’t get me wrong here.  I like that people can count on me.  The problem is, I’m also drowning in my have-to-do list (which is different than a typical ‘to-do list’).  I’m not kidding you- every square on my calendar is filled in, for as far as thee I can see!
I’m not getting any time to just let my heart, mind, and even my feet wander.
So this weekend we were supposed to go to a family reunion 3 hours away.  I love my extended family and miss them something terrible, but I had just hit a breaking point and couldn’t do it.  I went to bed thinking we were going, but I woke up with a change of heart (and the girls and I had that silly lingering cough, so I sort of felt justified.  But really we need a family day more than anything, and I needed to not feel guilty about that).
What my heart REALLY wants is to just wander and be unhurried.
So that’s what we did Saturday.  We slept in until 8am and then Mr. Awesome and I cooked a great big breakfast together.  It had been SO long since we had cooked a meal together.  I had really missed it, even though I occasionally whined that he was in my way or spraying water all over the place while he rinsed the dishes (that I believe can go straight into the dishwasher without rinsing, but that’s okay).  We sat down as a family to eat and we actually had time to listen to the kids tell stories, talk about conversations they had with their friends, and heard great big belly laughs from each of them at different times.
We took care of several errands, delivered hand-me-down clothes to a friend, returned plumbing pieces to the hardware store, took a van load of things to our favorite 2nd hand store to donate, and best of all we FINALLY delivered that wedding gift that had been sitting here for 3 months since we missed a wedding back in July.  Now these were “to-do” things, but we didn’t have to do them on anyone’s time but ours.  We didn’t have to show up at a certain time. which hasn’t happened for us in a very long time.
After that, we just wandered.
When we were headed to look for a new blog planner at Staples (which I didn’t find- so any and all suggestions are welcome!) we decided to take a detour and take the family mini-golfing.
MINI-GOLFING, People!
Do you know how fun that is?  It’s insanely fun.  Especially with a group of kids as fun as mine and a husband who is a great big goofball!  That makes me laugh the whole time.
Our mini-golf coupons were expired, but we took a chance and they let us use them anyway (Shout out
and THANK YOU to North Iowa Golf).  The course was quiet, and we got to take our sweet time.  And believe me, with three kids, one of them being a two year old carrying her own club, we really did take.our.time.
I left my phone in the van, which was a good thing; because when I got back I realized I would’ve had 7
interruptions while we were out enjoying family time.  They were all things that could wait, but if I had my phone on me, I would’ve felt obligated to respond back or take phone calls that didn’t have to happen right then.
What I’m saying is:
1.      Are you giving a gentle “no” in areas that you just can’t passionately serve right now?
2.      Are you taking time to let your heart, mind, and feet wander?
And when I say serve, I want you to know you can serve in absolutely any way, and this will look different for each of us.  Maybe you serve through babysitting for a friend, making meals, sitting on a committee, helping organize  an event, etc. 
I personally cannot serve by babysitting your kids right now, but I can be of service by making a meal.  Maybe you’re the other way around right now.  That’s okay!
The Answer Key would look like this:  1. YES 2. YES.
If you can’t answer both questions with a firm YES, then I encourage you to take a look at this next week, and see what changes you can make so that you can serve passionately.

DIY: Convert a Standard Kid’s Bike Into a Balance Bike

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Not to brag, but I really love teaching kids to ride their bikes, and most of the kids love learning too!
One of the quickest ways to teach them to ride without training wheels is to first teach them to balance on two wheels.

In order to learn balance, they need to be able to reach the ground.  Remember that when buying a bike.  That’s super important.  Don’t buy a bike too big for your child, or you’re just asking for trouble.  Yes, I know it’s tempting to save a few bucks by buying a larger one they can use for a little longer, but it’s usually not worth it for their safety, and for their comfort level.

We have a tiny blue bicycle I picked up from a garbage pile a few years ago.  It was actually pink at the time, and maybe even from the 70’s.  Even though it clearly looked like garbage, my heart whispered that it was special.  So I brought it home, and with the help of my brother and my husband, we refurbished it.

I think I’ve taught 7 kids to ride without training wheels on that bike.  The first day or so we work on balancing by just using their feet on the ground, no peddles.  Then once they get going pretty smooth that way, we incorporate the peddles.  Works every time!

I’m sure you’ve heard of the craze with Balance Bikes, right?  I personally love them, but think they are WAY over priced.  Now to be honest, we did just get a  Strider No-Pedal Balance Bike for our youngest daughter, because we couldn’t modify one on our own to be short enough for her.  And because we got a crazy good deal on it that I just couldn’t refuse (Thank you Strider and Amazon!).

But just for fun, we made one for our son!  He’s 7 and has been riding the neighbor girl’s balance bike every chance he gets for a year, so I knew he would actually use this.

We converted his old $40 Wal-Mart bike into a balance bike in about 15  minutes, using a super helpful YouTube Video.  You can find used bikes EVERY WHERE.  Facebook, thrift stores, garage sales, etc.

I could try to write up steps for you, but honestly this guy covered it so well that I’m just going to direct you over to him:

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