Memory Verse for the week (Feb 28 - Mar 6):
But the end of all things is at hand;
therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
And above all things have fervent love for one another,
for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
I Peter 4:7-8
Spring Cleaning, Week 2 - The Kitchen:
I'm dreading this week. The fact that it took till Friday to get the little bathroom done does not bode well for the rest of the project. There is just SO much to do in a kitchen to really get it clean. I might even have to carry this room over to another week. Here it goes...
Wash and put away the dishes that will likely be on the counterDust the ceiling, corners and light fixtureRemove items from cabinets and wipe inside and out
- Plates/cups cupboard - Baking goods cupboard
- Staples cupboard
- Spices cupboard
- Cereal/drinks cupboard
- Pans/Tupperware cupboard
- Silverware/Utensil drawers
Sort through items, organize and replace in cupboardsClean appliances - Microwave
- Toaster
- Fridge
- Oven/Stove-top
- Kettle
Clean window space and windowClear off countertops, sort through items and replace only what is necessaryClear out cleaning supplies, clean cupboard and organizeClear out catch-all drawer and organizePull up linoleum in strategic areas to clean underneath (thanks to a clogged washing machine that led to controlled flooding)Scrub down the sink areaSweep floorsMop floorsHeave a huge sigh of relief
12:34 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Projects
|
Memory Verse for the week (Feb 21-27):
Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
1 Samuel 12:24
Spring Cleaning, Week 1 - The Bathroom (and Hallway Closet)
Do to the quirky British custom of having a toilet in one room and a sink and bathtub in another, my bathroom cleaning plan might sound a little funny at times. Without further ado and in an order that will NOT be strictly adhered to, I give you THE CHECKLIST:
- Dust ceiling and walls of both rooms
- Sort through bathroom cabinet and toss excess
- Clean cabinet inside and out (and on top)
- Organize and clean both window ledges
- Sort through bathroom literature and recycle outdated magazines
- Organize and clean toiletry hanger in the shower
- Clean shower and tub
- Wash shower curtain
- Clean sink
- Clean toilet
- Clean ledges behind toilet and sink
- Wash rug
- Restock toilet paper in basket
- Replace old hand towel with a clean one
- Take out trash and put in new trash bags
- Vacuum the floors
The more things on my list, the more I get to check off. I feel like singing the Count Dracula's counting song on Sesame Street.
- Take all linens out of closet
- Wipe down shelves
- Vacuum the dust bunnies out of hidden spaces
- Sort through linens and eliminate excess
- Replace everything in a sensible order
- Stand back and survey the work
- Sigh with relief - and try not to dread the work that the kitchen will require
7:06 AM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Projects
|
I've been following Simple Mom's blog for around a year or so now, and I am continually inspired by her encouragement to de-clutter our lives, externally and internally. Just recently Simple Mom has revealed a new project called
Simple Living Media. This website will combine the efforts of Simple Mom and Simple Kids and add three more: Simple Bites, Simple Homeschooling and Simple Organic. As part of their launching, each of the individual sites will be offering give-aways. Of course I would love to own any one of the items they are giving away, and I'm sharing the good news both to encourage people to head over to their sites and check it out as well as, selfishly, adding my name to the pot one more time for the big prize draw. Follow the links below to read more about them:
1:10 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Internet Finds
|
When we first moved in, there was nothing in the living room until we dragged down a pink sofa that was hiding upstairs in a bedroom.
For a few months, our living room stayed that way - toys in the corner and a big, pink sofa. Then my mom came to visit and my aunt donated fabric and the big, pink sofa turned into a child-friendly, eye-friendly brown.
Finally, as we approach our one year anniversary of living here, the living room is complete (in furniture.. not decorations).
A bookshelf... a couple of chairs... a toy shelf...
... some end tables... lots of plants... a few pictures... candles...
... and it is starting to feel homey and 'ours'.
There is still a bit to do. More books for the bookshelf (most of ours are upstairs), a few more pictures on the wall, a few more plants, perhaps. But, at least I feel like we have a warm, welcoming living room to enjoy for ourselves and to share with others.
12:47 PM |
Category:
Frugality,
Homemaking
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A few tips I've learned from a wise woman to run a harmonious household
1. Make the bed. A messy room will look neater with a straightened bed while a perfectly clean room looks a mess if the bed is left unmade.
2. Set the table. Even if you are running extremely late on dinner, the sight of a ready table will give your family hope and patience that the meal is coming.
3. Serve meals that "Daddy" likes. Your children may hate them (liver - yuck!!), but they see their father being valued and prioritized which gives a much more important sense of security.
4. Limit choices. Many discipline and behavioral issues are avoided by not giving small children too many options. As they grow up, they will have plenty of chances to make choices, but when they are small they need to have the stability and consistency of just learning to "obey mommy."
5. Keep the right focus. Start your day in the Word and prayer, and continue the day praising God for the little blessings that pop up.
Photo from http://old-photos.blogspot.com/
6:29 AM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Mama's Tips
|
I had way too much fun browsing the web for creative projects last night. I don't know if I will get around to doing any of them. Most of them probably take more time and ability than I have, but it's fun to see how creative people can be. As much as we might be denying it... Christmas IS coming and these might be some good gift ideas.
Have fun!
Having put the kids down for naps, all I want to do is sit down and "play" on the computer. It is finally "Mommy Time"... then I look at the chaos around me - the nuclear fall-out of breakfast, lunch, company for supper last night, international phone calls, getting in and out the door for Bible study, a bowel movement that didn't quite make it to the potty chair, laundry that's been begging to be hung up, rice strewn across several rooms and dishes galore... sigh!!
My typical nap time would be: resting if I needed it or setting a time-limit to "play" before tackling the necessary chores. The problem with those time-limits is that I keep adding "just one minute more" to the end. I knew that with all the mess around me, I couldn't afford "just one minute more", so I took a new approach. Rather than setting the timer for play, I set the timer for work. It is amazing what can get done in 20 minutes with that tick-tick-tick urging you on! Clothes hung, floors wiped/swept, table/counters cleared, meat out thawing for dinner, clean dishes put away... Everything got done except the still-large pile of dirty dishes before the timer rang. Now I can sit down with a relatively-free conscious and take a much needed rest from work.
2:30 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Kitchen Tips
|
When we moved into our semi-furnished house, we were happy to discover that the couch hiding up in the bedroom was also a pull-out bed. The only problem was its intense pink color. Nonetheless my husband struggled it down the stairs so that we would have SOMETHING in the living room. Our hope was to get it covered eventually.
Well, thanks to fabric donated by my lovely aunt, great sewing done by my mother while she was here and a staple gun loaned from church, it is done (except that I should probably iron it)! I hope that slowly I can decorate the room in brown and teal.
Thanks, mom, for the pillows...and all the sewing.
I also discovered that using a staple gun is rather therapeutic and potentially addictive.
Here are some links that I enjoyed reading. Maybe there are things that will benefit you as well.
There is no society as cleanliness-focused as the US. (I state it as a fact. That is my opinion, but I do know that it is a common impression of Americans.) Don't get me wrong... other countries are very clean as well, but they don't have, or want, the hosts of cleaning products that we have. I have an uneasiness about the hygienic standards we hold ourselves to in the states. Germs aren't all that bad. They help to strengthen our bodies and build immunities. Chemicals, on the other hand, ARE quite bad for us. I wonder if we have over-sterilized our lives with unsafe products and if that is not the cause of increase in allergies, intolerances and other ailments affecting children today? (But, then again, I should admit that I am the type of mother who would take my kids to play with other kids who have chicken pox just so that they would catch it at a young age. Is that bad?)
Excellent ideas! Kids these days have way too many toys. I would far prefer giving my children experiences than endless amounts of plastic. (Grandparents, please read!!)
I need these tips.
I will mourn the day, but it is bound to come that my son will start dropping his afternoon naps. I plan, however, to train him into having a quiet time even if he doesn't sleep. We all need down time; it refreshes us. These bins are great ideas for giving children quiet play time alone.
Educational and amusing. I've often wondered where our rather violent nursery rhymes come from. I've known that many of them have historical backgrounds, but it was interesting to get more details about it.
9:03 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Internet Finds
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Is it Wednesday already!?? Because I've been writing and saving blog drafts for the future, I feel like I have posted more often than I have. Sorry.
This is another Wednesday that might not get much done. On Wednesdays I have a ladies' Bible study at church in the morning and today I had to make a cake to take for an activity that is happening there tonight (I'm not going, they just needed desserts for it). This afternoon I have to swing by the clinic to pick up a prescription for iron tablets. Sigh... apparently my iron ended up too low after all. Hopefully we can get it boosted to the right levels else I will have to have a hospital birth. Shouldn't be a problem, says my midwife.
SO with all those excuses and a few more.... in the time remaining, dinner to get on and a little boy to keep busy, I hope to:
1. Take my 35th-week belly picture
2. Clear out the things that are dying (or worse, growing!) in my fridge
3. Hem up my second living room curtain
4. Work some more on the baby blanket (It's almost done. Yay!)
The only one that might not happen is #3.
Alright... "hi-ho, hi-ho... it's off to work we go..."
2:42 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Projects
|
I'm not sure how well I will participate in the "No Procrastination Wednesday" today. We will be taking my husband to the airport (on the bus), so most of our morning will be out of the house. This week (and the ones to come) I will be focusing on my
Pre-Baby "To Do" List, and already things are getting done. Unfortunately, I've thought of more things to add to the list than I have checked off. Oh, well. Checklists are very helpful for motivating me. Yes, I'm one of those who will add things to my list that I have already completed just so I can have the pleasure of checking it off. Such was the case with item #3 on my list.
1:55 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Projects
|
It is that day of the week again - Wednesday. Today I have tackled getting my nooks and crannies cleaned out and organized. I am sharing my Before and After pictures and trying not to be too embarrassed about the "Befores" and hoping my "Afters" won't revert back too soon.
This is not the final look that I am going for. Someday when my poor husband actually gets paid for all the work he's doing, I want to buy a cabinetted computer desk where I can hide away all our office supplies.
I also:
1. FINALLY oiled my squeaky bedroom door
2. Got up-to-date on our personal expenses spreadsheet (we keep our receipts and track our spending in an Excel document).
3. Ran some letters to the postbox (the only way to mail here besides the post office)
4. Wrote my "No Procrastination Wednesday" post..... Phew!
2:30 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Projects
|
Over at
my cousin's blog, she's put out an invitation to join her in trying to use Wednesdays to tackle those projects that are so easy to procrastinate on. Since procrastination is a definite weakness of mine, I've found this to be very helpful and I wanted to pass the invitation on.
Since I'm posting at the end of the day, it will give you a week to think about it and work on a To-Do list. Actually, I've found it so motivating, that I've been more energized all week to not procrastinate and get things checked off my To Do list (or is it that I've been getting more sleep and enjoying beautiful spring days?) Thanks, Anna!
Here was my simple list for today in order of importance:
1. Clean fridge
2. Send over-due emails/messages to three friends
3. Finish hemming dining room curtains and making tie-backs
4. Write a post about "No Procrastination Wednesdays"
Thankfully, everything got done and while there are many more things to do, taking time to enjoy this rare, sunny weather is remaining a high priority.
7:39 PM |
Category:
Homemaking,
Projects
|
Here is picture of the kitchen. It's hard to get a good angle on it. As you see, I have an oven, washing machine and HUGE fridge! We'll never fill that thing up. There is also a good amount of cupboard and counter space, not to mention a nice view to the back yard. I'm quite happy with it. Above all, I can cook in a warm space, with high counters and hot water in my sink. All things I didn't have in China.
1:34 PM |
Category:
Homemaking
|
We've been living in our new little home for almost a month now, however things haven't changed too much from when we moved in. I thought I would take some "Before" pictures in hopes that some day I will be able to post "After" pictures. (I was also motivated by the fact that today was cleaning day and the rooms were mostly straightened up.) Until Zhong Sheng gets a job, we are trying to limit our spending to necessities only. It is amazing how many things are not necessities, but we just seem to NEED to have them.
Anyway, here is a tour of my home. Come on in!
Entering the front door, you will be in our hallway with the stairwell going up.
To the left is our very empty living room with it's exceedingly PINK couch (but, hey, we thought we would have NO couch.. and this one is quite comfortable AND pulls out into a bed.)
Straight down the hallway is our dining room. (Please note the lovely rose bush my dear husband bought me for Valentines Day.)
To the side is my fancy-shmancy computer desk. (I would like to state that I am ever so very thankful that we were able to bring my computer with us. Especially since Mr. PhD is constantly using the laptop.)
If you go out the double doors in the dining room, you will find our pretty little garden, nicely tended by our landlord. I hope I can find some space to put in some vegetable and herb plants since the landlord preferred we didn't mess with his roses and flowers too much.
Hmm.. the kitchen is one room that I have yet to tackle today, so let's head upstairs, shall we?
At the top of the stairs is the toiletting room, of course. With a carpeted floor... Eew! Why?! This makes potty-training a little more worrisome.
Next to that is the bathing room. Why the British like to keep those two separate, I don't know. Obviously being able to use the toilet while someone is bathing is convenient, but do they not wash their hands afterwards? It would make more sense to me if there were a sink in with the toilet rather than just in the bathing room.
Across the hall is the tiny, little room which is De Sheng's room. He does have a closet back in there, don't worry.
Down the hall to the left is our very spare guest room/storage/baby room. It will get filled up eventually.
Lastly we come to the master bedroom. Sigh... we are back to pink again.
Pink walls... very pink carpet... I'm really hoping this room was decorated by the landlord's wife and not the landlord himself. I'm not sure if any level of creativity will be able to make this room less pink. Perhaps the book shelves that Mr. PhD wants to line the walls with will make a difference... rugs? Neutral drapes?? I'll take any suggestions.
Lastly we come to Zhong Sheng's office. This is the area I hope to improve first with a desk for the poor man.
That's about it. I look forward to adding nice touches like DESKS, a "big boy" bed, bookshelves, corner tables, drapes, rugs, wall-hangings, plants, etc... It will probably be slow progress, but already it is "home" and we like it.
12:01 PM |
Category:
Homemaking
|
