Motivate Me Monday: Making It Work

With things in such an economic crunch for a lot of people, I've really been thinking about a lot of things lately. It's so easy to get caught up in this whole organizational trend of needing to go out and get more stuff in order to get our lives organized in the chaos we call home. Believe me, I've been there. In fact, this past weekend, I was there.

I decided to dive headfirst into my boys' room this weekend and get it organized and cleaned up. At first, I sat down and looked around me and instantly became overwhelmed with thinking of things I was sure I needed in order to clean this messy room up. I thought I needed a hanging closet organizer, as well as shelves, maybe even more crates. As I sat there, though, knowing that we are in a crunch ourselves right now with rent coming up due next week, amongst other things, I told myself that I didn't need those things....what I needed was to make do with what I had and make the best out of what I had. I began to think of how hard my husband works to provide for us and of what Proverbs 31:11-12 says: The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life (NKJV). What hit me was that instead of going out and buying more stuff to organize the other stuff here at home, I needed to use things I already had, to get creative with what was already available here at home. So, that's exactly what I did.

The boys' closet really did need a shelf because I was taking the dresser out, since Dan will have our $10 bunkbeds in the room by the end of this week, and there will be more room. I was determined to put more clothes and toys in the closet, out of sight, so their room could stay a bit more organized. In our own closet, Dan and I had a shoe shelf that we didn't ever use because we keep all our shoes in the garage. So, he helped me take it off the wall, and he found a way to have it lay flat instead of tilted (as shoe shelves usually are), and now there is a huge, long shelf for storing toys and clothes in their closet.

For dress up stuff that they play with a lot, I thought I needed another crate, BUT I found an old suitcase, which is perfect for storing that stuff, plus it's small enough that it's easy for them to handle. As for finding more storage room for clothes (since Jacob will no longer have his bed drawers when the bunkbeds come in), I didn't really need to, because I put away clothes that were too small, and with the dress-up stuff being put in the suitcase, that gave us a whole other drawer in the dresser to work with.

A while back, I had found these cute fabric boxes at the dollar store for $1 apiece and was able to put a lot of their little stuff in these boxes, such as Jacob's ties and belts, diapers, portable dvd player with cords, smaller board books, etc. (Yes, I know what you're thinking, but our kids have 3 sets of grandparents, so they have no want for toys, let me tell you....we go through and purge every so often to give some away).

Now, their room looks so much less chaotic, and I didn't really have to spend a dime (besides those fabric boxes I'd gotten a long time ago). We took down the crib, and until the bunkbeds are in, Jaden is sleeping on his little mattress on the floor.

What I'm trying to get at is that you might think you need all the latest fads for organization, just as you've seen them on Martha Stewart or Oprah or any home makeover show.....believe me, I am easily persuaded that I need all this stuff too; but really, if you look around you, you probably have all you need to create calm out of chaos. It just takes a bit of creativity and ingenuity on your part. Find things you can use that you might not ordinarily think of as organizational tools, such as an old suitcase, an old trunk, old shelves in another part of the house, etc.

As moms, it's not only our job to organize and make our homes havens, but it's our job to protect that haven by making the most of what God has provided us with. We need to be careful stewards of whatever He has placed in our possession. After all, everything we have has come from Him....we're only borrowing these things while here on earth.... Make it work!:) Have a great day!

For more Motivate Me Monday, link up with Composing Hallelujahs.

TOS Crew: Growing Healthy Homes- Nutrition 101

Learning about nutrition can often be overwhelming; there are so many opinions and books and ideas out there on what is healthy and what is not. It can often lead to information overload because you're just not sure whose advice to follow. Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a handy resource that basically covers everything for you in one spot.

There's no need to run off and look something up somewhere else, because this e-book is chock full of anything you'd ever want to know. It is meant for the family to use together, and it's based on Scripture. It was written by four moms, all with education and experience in nutritional studies, who wanted to share with other mothers how they can feed their families, according to God's menu.

One of the things I really found interesting with this book is that it covers the major systems of the body, first of all. It explains how they work and gives prompts for family discussion. The book is wonderfully illustrated with pictures and diagrams to further study. It covers the following systems:
1) The Brain and Nervous System
2) The Digestive System
3) The Respiratory, Olfactory, Auditory, and Visual Systems
4) The Skeletal and Muscular Systems
5) The Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
6) The Endocrine System and Emotions

Throughout each section, there are also activities to do with your children. For example, in the section on the brain, there is an activity in which you help your kids understand the difference between left brain and right brain by simply having them brush their teeth with first their right hand and then their left hand. It helps them to see the difference when one hand works better than the other. The authors also suggest supplements for each system of the body and several recipes, or "power" recipes. In fact, last night we made the Ultimate Pizza, found in the section on Endocrine health. Jaden loved it; it was actually really good! The sauce was a little different at first, but it grew on me.I couldn't be more thrilled about the information given on different supplements, because over the years, I've heard so many opinions on which supplements I should/should not be taking, and with all of the opinions out there, it's hard to discern which ones are going to be the best and which ones could actually be harmful. Now, I can actually sit down and read about how these supplements actually work with the particular systems in my body and if they might be beneficial for myself or my family to take.

Not only does the book break down the major systems of the body, but it also breaks down nutrition and explains the different terms, such as omega fatty acids, carbohydrates, glycemic index, fiber, etc. Certain health topics and diseases are covered, such as vaccines, diabetes, cancer, etc. It makes these topics very real within the study of nutrition and helps the reader to learn how to apply these Biblical, nutritional concepts to their everyday life.

My favorite part of the book comes toward the end, in the form of the Appendices. There are certain things that help make my life easier, such as a shopping list, vitamin chart, tips on how to select fresh produce (which I've always wondered if I'm getting the right stuff), etc. I especially appreciated the page that gave information on nutritional recommended daily allowances for not only adults, but children as well. Dan and I have been questioning how much we should let Jacob eat because we know he's growing, but it just seems like he's starting to want more and more, and we just weren't sure where we should draw the line. Now, we can kinda look at this to get an idea of how much is probably too much.

As I studied through this book and started using it to make recipes, I realized that living organically takes true dedication because not only are the ingredients a bit more expensive, but it takes more time to prepare some of the dishes in this book. If you are a mom who is dedicated to helping her family live more organically and healthy, then this book is a great resource for you. If you are a mom who wants a quick solution, then this might be a more difficult transition. I am actually hoping to use this myself, as well as with my children through the next few years to try to teach them about proper nutrition and how their bodies work. It is an awesome resource for any family.

At 448 pages, this book is basically a manual on how to have a truly, healthy home. You can order the book via the Growing Healthy Homes website. It is available as a CD-ROM for $79.95; print book for $99.95; or the combo pack of both the CD-ROM and the print book for $129.95.

To read more reviews, head over to the TOS Homeschool CREW Blog.

Ecostore Giveaway

A few weeks ago, Ecostore sent me a couple of products to try out and review. If you haven't heard of Ecostore, they are a company of twenty years that makes more naturally based household cleaners, baby products, bath and body products, etc. Their products are known to have "No Nasty Chemicals." Their ingredients are based off of plant and mineral products. If you are trying to live green, then this might be just the thing for you. You can read more about them over on their blog.

The first product I was blessed to try out was their Pure Oxygen Whitener. I actually wanted to try this because Jacob does Tae Kwon Do, and he has to wear a white uniform called a gi. It can be very difficult to keep anything remotely close to a young boy white.:) So, I'm always trying new things to whiten his gi. The whitener comes in a powder form in a pretty good sized container, 35.3 ounces. Plus, I only had to use 1-2 tablespoons of the powder in a whole load of wash. The results were honestly great....the gi was looking pretty white when it came out. It really didn't help with stains that were already set into other socks and things, but for just a general whitening effect, it did a pretty good job; I was pleased with it. As for value, I believe it would be a good value, considering how long the jug would last in our house, and it can be used to brighten those colors that tend to fade over time as well.

The other product I got to try was the Citrus Spray Cleaner. It's a naturally antibacterial cleaner with "No Nasty Chemicals." I've been using it some in my kitchen just for minor spills and cleanup, but I also used it on our back door yesterday, which tends to get filthy with all the coming in and out. I sprayed it on and was able to just wipe the majority of the dirt and grime right off; I really didn't have to scrub, so that was a plus in my book. Now, if you don't like a strong smelling cleaner, this is also another plus; I kept trying to see what it smelled like, but the smell really isn't all that strong and dissipates rather quickly. That was one minor downside for me, as I like the smell of fresh and clean, as long as it's not overpowering with chemicals.

The best part of all is that Ecostore has offered to give one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to their store; it will be sent by email to the winner. To enter the giveaway, you can do one or more of the following; just be sure to leave a separate comment on here for each of the steps you've done(the more steps you do below, the more chances you have of winning):

1) Leave me a comment on what you like about this prize or your favorite quality about it.
2) Go check out Ecostore's blog, and be sure to leave them a comment while you're there; you can also sign up for their No Nasty Chemicals newsletter, located on the right sidebar of their blog.
3) Follow my blog, over on the right-hand sidebar....or subscribe to it.
4) Tweet about this giveaway over on Twitter!
5) Go to Ecostore's Twitter page or their Facebook page, and follow them!
5) Compose a blog post on your own blog about this giveaway, and make sure to link back to Heart Prints!
6) If you love the sounds of this prize, head on over to Ecostore, and purchase something that will be very useful to you in your own home; they have quite a few to choose from.

I'll be using an online number generator to draw the winners, and the winners will be announced on Tuesday, August 11, 2009, just to give more readers a chance to enter. Good luck!:)

Kitchen Declutterbug Has Struck Again!

This week, I'm focusing on decluttering and cleaning my kitchen. Today I was able to do our food shelves and freezer. I think we have enough food to live on for quite a while. LOL So, here are before and after pictures from today:

Food Shelves:

Yes, my dryer is in my kitchen, right next to my stove. What can I say? We live in a very small house, but it works. I forgot to take the picture before I actually started on the shelves, so that's why there is food all over the top of the dryer.Our kitchen is very small, so Dan built these shelves for me when we first moved in, and they work great! The kitchen may not be so pretty, cosmetic wise, but it works, and I'm working on that, starting with the dining room (pics to come).

Freezer:

So, maybe the freezer doesn't look that different, but it sure feels different and is actually organized into sections now. Yep, we will definitely not starve anytime soon.:)

Even Jacob caught the spirit today; can you believe that desk? It's been a while, since I've actually been able to see the top of that desk! Wow!

So, there's my transformation for today....nothing huge, but another step in a good direction!

Declutter Bug Transformation

Well, it seems that the declutter bug has bitten me; I've even been assigning myself 2-3 tasks a day to do this.:) This week, I'm focusing on the entryway, dining room, and front porch. Today, I cleaned out my refrigerator (I know, that's in the kitchen, but it was in dire need of it), and I decluttered out our dresser cabinet (the place we tend to throw things we don't know what else to do with) in the dining room. Here's before:

And here's after on both!:)

I'm so happy; I feel like I accomplished something good! Now I can actually find things in my fridge, and all of our cards and material and decorative items have a place to rest in the clean drawers. Once you start, it's like a can of Pringles...."Once you pop, you can't stop!" Have a good day!

Living Simply Saturdays

Living Simply! I can't tell you how many times I've gone through my home trying to purge, and I do purge some things, but I hang on to way more than I actually purge. I've even wasted more time than I should have trying to find ways to organize, which is not bad in and of itself, but when I'm procrastinating on doing the actual work, then it is bad. In the last year, though, we have moved once, and it looks like we will be moving again soon. I had gone through about a year and a half ago and gotten rid of countless possessions that I just didn't need. As of right now, there are little "clutter spots" that I need to go through, and I really want to hit my boys' room, with them, and see what things we can live without. Purging isn't all I wanted to write about, though. I think that the hardest things for me to get rid of sometimes are the things that other people give me, and not necessarily because I love them either. I have such a hard time with this because I don't want to hurt their feelings. I've come to the conclusion lately, though, that I want my home to be a haven for myself and for my family. If I'm harboring things here because I'm afraid of what someone else will say, it's not my haven. Our homes should be our havens, ladies, and that's it! We should surround ourselves with things that we love! Not with things that we keep around just because they were a gift or out of guilt. Maybe that thing that you are harboring on your bookshelf can find a better use, or maybe, just maybe, there's a better home for that "clutter." "Clutter" as defined by The Merriam Webster Dictionary is defined as "to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness." Is that "clutter" taking up space that could otherwise be filled with something that brings you happiness? The "clutter" in our lives can bog us down in our every day lives. Maybe someone else would love to have that piece of "clutter." Maybe that piece of "clutter" could be someone else's treasure. Believe me, I'm preaching to myself here....I need to hear this because it's something I've been struggling with lately, since I'm trying to make my home more of a haven for our family. Living simply could be as "simple" (not to make a pun here) as ridding yourself of that item/s that you just don't love. Proverbs 31:22 says, "She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple." Maybe it's time our homes were made up of our own individual styles of "fine linen and purple." Think about it. Read more Living Simply Saturdays over at Keeper of the Home!

Before & After

This is before in the boys' room.... (keep in mind some of this stuff was down because we had been working in there)

And this is after! WooHoo! Hallelujah! The job is done! Finally, got through the boys' room this week. Man alive, they just have way too many toys; it's almost a little ridiculous; I kinda blame it on all the extended family we have who send them soooo many toys for birthdays and Christmas. And the sad thing is, that I purged some this week and not too long ago. I'm thinking we could have our own toy drive come next Christmas!:) Anyway, Dan made some awesome shelves, and we can now see the floor!!! With just a little bit of time every day, I was able to get it ready to rearrange after the shelves were done. Praise the Lord! I still need another drawer for some more of their clothes, but it's so much better now. Look at that beautiful floor, all clear of toys, waiting to be played on!