For Valentines day I bought myself my husband a new strainer.  AND since I bought it early….. I’ve already showed him.  I just can’t keep a secret.

They really do.
But not bad enough to totally ditch everything I own.
I have some favorites, like my cosmetics.  Mostly because I paid a fortune for them while I was selling cosemetics and would feel totally guilty just throwing them away.

Really though, what’s in all those tubes and bottles? TOXINS!
A few months ago I cleaned the bathroom.  Not like wash the sinks & scrub the toilets kind of clean (that only happens when my mother comes over & does it for me).  I just quickly (HA!  okay, it was like 2 hours) went through the cupboards and drawers and took out any lotions, body washes, sprays, etc that I didn’t use or just wasn’t interested in using.
The result was fairly clean shelves, and A FULL garbage bag!

So today I decided to clean the bathroom again, this time just washing the mirror & counter top.  While I was in there I thought to myself, what would happen if I were to take out every product that wasn’t good for me/my family?

I thought about it for a few minutes and realized my shelves would be empty and I would probably look horrible & stink.

But this is something I want to keep in mind, especially when buying new products.

Oh, we also ditched the bathroom cleaners A LONG time ago, because they made me physically sick!  I found that vinegar and water in a spray bottle works just as good.  And a baking soda/water paste is sufficient for scrubbing (Thanks Jessa for this tip!)

Have you made any big moves in the bathroom for the sake of protecting your family?

Here’s what I came up with:
I wasn’t doing it to provide for the needy or to give to others with a kind heart.  I was doing it as a way to cleanse the space around me, to get rid of the STUFF that was occupying my eyes.  I did it so it was easier to clean, and less to mess with.

I’m not certain, but all I can think is maybe I was doing this because I have pretty much ALWAYS had more than what I needed.  Growing up in a home that was certainly not high class, and sometimes not quite middle class, I only a few times really remember experiencing a sacrifice or struggling.
But when we did, those times although hard, passed quickly, and without a thanks to God or a lesson from my parents about the things we did have.  (You’ll know from past posts though, I have great parents, but God was not usually pointed out as being the center of our home when I was growing up).

So recently I decided to go through my home and give, when I wasn’t in a mood.  I took the kids along with me and we went through each closet, drawer, cupboard and shelf.  We decided that the dining room table was our GIVE space.  We talked about the types of things we wanted to give and that we weren’t giving just because it was things that we didn’t need, but because we wanted to be Godly givers.

When my children went through their toys and clothes to give, it shocked me.  When going through my daughters hair bows I stepped back, and let her decide what to keep and give.  I didn’t influence one way or another.  Once she was finished I just asked her, “Are you sure your piles are right, this looks like you’re giving more bows than you’re keeping?”.  Thinking that she’d quickly switch the piles, she instead just said “That’s right, and guess what mom? I still have A LOT!”

My daughter realized that she still had more than enough.  We said several thankful prayers to God.  This was much harder with the 3 year old because everything was “This is mine” “I want to keep everything!”.  But by the end of the two day event it turned into “I don’t NEED this” or “Someone else can love this”.  He would willingly run his un-needed items to the giving table and proudly yell out “I’m giving!”.

This experience was great for all of us.

I was certain not to guilt the kids into giving, I wanted them to realize each of their blessings and only give what they felt comfortable giving.

The princess and I took a car FULL to the second hand store and on the way down she said “Mommy, I really don’t think I’m ready to give my Hannah Montana pillow”.  We talked about it, and I told her how I had also put something in the give pile that I thought I wanted to keep.  I told her I was going to go ahead and give my item because I knew I was only thinking of keeping it because it was new, not because I had a use for it, or an attachment to it.  If she wasn’t ready though, she could keep the pillow until she felt ready.  So she kept it, hasn’t touched it since, BUT that’s okay. 🙂  She recognized her feelings and expressed them to me, that made me pretty happy 🙂

What can you give freely and with an open heart?  If not something you possess, when and where can you give your time?

I think it was about 2 years ago I made a decision to cancel our cable TV.  It wasn’t a financial decision, but one that I thought was a good  move to get the awful horrible media out of our home (the grown up shows my husband and I were watching, thinking the kids weren’t paying attention, but they were).  At the time, it was a decent idea.

About 3 days in, we all missed TV and, to be honest, we were BORED!  So, we got a little antenna for the top of the entertainment center, to pick up the news, which was important to my husband.  After that he discovered that if we bought a big one for the roof we could pick up several more channels.

Then 10 months ago I reactivated our Netflix subscription (we used it 4 years ago and liked it).

For about $10 a month we could watch movies/TV episodes instantly on our TV (through our Wii)  and set up my laptop in the bedroom for the kids to watch a movie.  Cheap entertainment.

CHEAP!  Not inexpensive, but CHEAP (which to me, is kind of the same as saying crap).

I just figured out that in 10 months we’ve had 45 DVD’s mailed to us, and watched OVER 350 TITLES INSTANTLY!

#$%$#%#$^

So, yes, it is inexpensive.  $100 in fees / 400+ movies = A quarter (or less) for each show.

What a disaster this has been.  We’re watching more TV than ever, even though we’re getting it at a good price.

I feel so stupid that I let it get this out of control.  And stupid that I didn’t really FIX the bad habit, I just CHANGED it.

I’ve begged my husband to let me take the TV out of the living room.  I know this is very ‘unamerican’.  But it’s something I so deeply desire.

It’s my wish that by the end of 2011 (but really, sooner would be better), we’ll have our basement completed enough that we can put our entertainment center, TV, and all video games down there.

It’s not that we watch anything that is really terrible, is just that there is so many other things we could be doing with our lives than watching shows we aren’t really interested in, just because it’s available.

Just like a cookie-  Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean we should eat it.  Just because the shows are available, doesn’t mean we should watch it.

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For those of you who are thinking of cancelling cable to save money, here is our financial break down-
Cable was $40 a month, so if we had paid that for 2 years it would’ve been $960
We spent $50 on a little antenna, and $200 on a great one.

$960-$250=$710 in savings

Minus say, 1 year of Netflix, $120
Means in 2 years, we’ve still saved $590.. which is a great savings.  It just didn’t accomplish what I had first set my sights on, which was controlling the media in our home.

This is what is on my mind:
Intentional Parenting–  Not just letting each day slip by, and giving in to whatever makes our kids happy, but intentionally parenting our children.  Training them to be well disciplined.  This is a new experience for me, and let me tell you, it is H.A.R.D!  Especially after so many years of not doing this.

Homeschool-I don’t know if this is right for our family or not.  But it’s something My husband and I are praying deeply about.  It would mean a total lifestyle change, but may be worth it for our children.  Especially my daughter.  I went to public school, I don’t see it as a terrible thing.  But I think a home school environment would be less distracting and give me more time with my children.  I feel like 18 years having them home is just too short, I don’t want to miss more than I have to.  There are so many pros and cons to this.

Decluttering- I spent about 30 minutes in the kitchen yesterday filling paper grocery sacks with things I don’t use, or don’t want to use anymore.  Today I took an hour to have a paper shredding party with the little prince.  I organized my husband’s night stand.  I think it looks MUCH better, and I hope he appreciates what I’ve done.

Food–  I’m thinking of what to have for lunch, and what to make for dinner.  Wednesday is our busy day.  Thankfully I made a Turkey earlier this week, and the whole family likes it!  I’ll have some for lunch, set some aside for dinner, then put the rest of it in bags to freeze and use later.
Anyone have a favorite turkey recipe?  I have another frozen turkey in the basement freezer.

The second change we’ve made over the past few years is our food.  I used to get so excited over a sale on hamburger helper.  Then when I found Wal-Mart had their own brand of it for cheaper I thought I was the luckiest gal in the world!  Until I realized the luckiest gal in the world wouldn’t be excited over the ingredient list on that package!  Even though we are still transforming we have come along way.  For 2011 the changes we’ll be making will be slow, and come in phases.  For the first quarter of the year I have decided we will not purchase the following things:

Granola Bars–
My husband loves these and eats one every day for breakfast. The kids also love them, and I find them to be a quick snack for myself as well.  In short, that is why we won’t be purchasing them.  They are not so terribly awful that I will never consume one again, but I am hoping to avoid the high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and artificial sweeteners.

Cakes–
I love baking, but for some reason when a birthday rolls around I’m the first to say “lets go pick out your cake”.  Store bought cakes will be taken off the list.  This will be super easy, since none of us have a birthday in the first quarter of the year anyway.  Man, I do love making a list that I can tackle easily!

Packaged pasta–  This one may be a big mistake.  I really have only made pasta noodles once, but I feel confident that I can do it again.

Bottled water-This is a true sacrifice for me.  We’ll see how this goes.  Without bottled water I drink less than a glass a  week.  I’m hopeful that I can make this change work.  Oh & I know water isn’t unhealthy, but the plastic bottle it comes in IS.

Soda-We’re pretty well stocked up right now, but if we run out before March 31st, we will get by without it.  My husband drinks a can a day.  I love him so very much and I know that this is something that will benefit him.  So I’ll put up with whatever crap lines he gives me as to why he NEEDS soda and how its’ actually healthy to have just one can a day…  moving on…

Fruit Snacks-  you know, the gummy little things in a package.  We have a couple boxes open right now, and a few in the pantry.  These things aren’t even real fruit!  They have been a snack time staple in this house.  The youngest child here whines and cries for them and doesn’t ever stop with just one package.  I usually feel like if I get one out for him I might as well have one too.  Then I’m in pain because the sugar crapola is stuck to my teeth and I wish I never heard of the things.

Suckers-Maybe if there is a great deal on organic suckers again.  Otherwise NO SUCKERS!  I don’t care how cheap they are, or if my princess is offering to use her own money, no suckers!

Pancakes- I’m just going to have to figure out how to make pancakes on my own, using ingredients that I know.  Like Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, egg & butter.  Wow, even typing that was easy, I bet making them will be just as simple!

A week ago I was actually having dreams about planting our garden and all of the wonderful vegetables we’ll harvest.   Each year I am learning so much more and I feel like this year is going to be a great year for our garden!