Housekeeping or Homemaking?

April 3, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 5 Comments

Is there a difference between homemaking and housekeeping? Do you differentiate between the two? Ever since I wrote this blog post about homemaking, I’ve been pondering the question. I also asked this question on the Life With Dee Facebook page and received some interesting comments. The general consensus was that there is a difference. We all basically agreed that the term “housekeeping” seems to refer largely to cleaning while “homemaking” encompasses a much wider variety of activities.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

In my mind, homemaking includes housekeeping but certainly isn’t limited to that. It’s entirely possible to be an excellent housekeeping but a lousy homemaker. And while a good homemaker has a reasonably tidy and sanitary home, she may not be a “perfect” housekeeper. Instead, I think a good homemaker keeps her focus on the people living in the house rather than the house itself.

I’m pretty much one of those naturally neat types (please don’t hate me!) so keeping the house in decent order comes easily to me. And there are certain cleanliness things that are important to me. For instance, I want reasonably clean bathrooms, a kitchen that is sanitary for food prep, and clean sheets every week.

I’m also fussy about my house smelling clean so trash is taken out often, garbage gets composted, and other sources of odors are dealt with promptly. However, I can let the dusting and vacuuming go, and right now my kitchen floor could use a good mopping. While the main living areas are usually tidy, please don’t open my closets expecting to see color-coded perfection.

There’s a limit to how much time I want to spend cleaning so I focus on what is most visible and what matters most to me and my family. That means that before I start actually cleaning, I make sure the house is in order first. Beds made, dishes done, “stuff” put away – that sort of thing. I also throw in a load of laundry and give some thought to the day’s meals.

In my experience, most men are reasonably content if they have clean clothes, good food and can find their things. At least that’s the situation in my household.

The needs of children and pets are a priority for those who have either or both. In fact, the thought “living stuff first” goes through my mind when I start my daily tasks. That also includes houseplants or a garden.

I also make an effort to set aside time at the end of the day, before David comes home, to make things cozy and welcoming for him. Especially during the fall and winter as the days shorten and grow colder, I try to make sure the house is warm and cheery. That means being sure that the porch light is on, as well as the lamp on our entry table and a few other lamps around the house (I think lamp light is much homier than bright, overhead lighting). Oftentimes I’ll have music playing – never the television. And if he can smell something delicious cooking when he walks in, that makes him very happy.

Monday is the day I wash our sheets – and iron the pillow cases (!), water my houseplants (aka: jungle), and generally catch up after the weekend. Today, in addition to these things, I baked a Molasses Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Icing, made a pitcher of iced tea (I used 4 black tea bags, plus one peach and one green tea), and baked a nice homemade macaroni and cheese with caramelized onions for dinner. David was home for just a bit after work before going to a meeting so I fixed a cup of tea for him to enjoy before he had to go. I also pulled out a puzzle for us to start working on in the evenings. When we go to bed this evening, we will crawl between freshly washed sheets and lay our heads on those ironed pillowcases. And yes, the kitchen floor still needs to be mopped.

One of the women who commented on this topic on my Facebook page said that homemaking is “about people and communicating love through actions”. I think that sums it up beautifully. When I think about the homes where I’ve most felt loved and welcomed, it was not because the house was spotless but because the women in those homes know/knew how to truly make a house a home. That’s the goal I strive for.

I am grateful for the women I’ve known who have shown me what is truly important in being a homemaker. Here is a little bit about couple of them:

What Would Aunt Hazel Do? ~ Southern Hospitality

The Wisdom of Grandma

You may also enjoy this post by my daughter who blogs at Retro Housewife Goes Green:

Homemaking is More Than Cleaning

I’d love to hear your thoughts about homemaking vs. housekeeping. Leave me a comment and let’s discuss.

~~~~~

Simple Organizing Challenge ~ Join Me!

March 5, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 8 Comments

As the days get warmer and I see those first long-awaited signs of spring, I begin to feel the urge to do some decluttering, spring cleaning and sprucing up of my home. What felt warm and cozy (and “hyggelig“) during the cold, dark days of winter begins to feel a bit cluttered. That’s when I know it’s time to start making lists, checking my stock of cleaning supplies, and making time in my schedule for cleaning, organizing and freshening up my home.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

I don’t know about you but I love a good organizing challenge. It just seems more fun. That’s why I am delighted to be part of The Inspired Room‘s launch team for Melissa Michaels’ new book, Simple Organizing: 50 Ways to Clear the Clutter and her “Get Organized” challenge for the month of March.

The best part of this particular challenge is that it isn’t overwhelming. While I love “A Bowl Full of Lemons” 14 week Home Organization Challenge and do intend to work through it over the course of this year, I quickly discovered I simply do not have enough wiggle room in my schedule to finish the tasks in 14 weeks.

The Inspired Room challenge for March is much more in line with what I can actually accomplish right now. Here is how it works:

Each Monday we are given a challenge to work on during the week and then on Friday, a bigger project for the weekend. Simple.

Would you like to join me? Sign up for the challenge here.

For a taste of what the challenge is all about, here is Week One…

Week One Challenge:

Realize that the impression you make in the entryway sets the impression for the rest of your house. What does your entry say about your home?

🌸 Focus on function. We live in the country and lead a fairly casual lifestyle. I want our entryway to be attractive but it also needs to function for our family. That means we need places for coats, umbrellas, boots, Shiloh’s leash and a flashlight for late night dog walks. Organize your entryway to reflect your family, activities, and interests.

🌸 Simplify your stuff. Take five or ten minutes to note what doesn’t belong. You can even grab a box or basket and start the decluttering process right then and there. Don’t toss the box in the spare bedroom. Give unnecessary things away or recycle. We have a Re-Use Center in our community which takes any useable item and then gives it away for free. Ask around to find out if your community has something similar.

🌸 Think simple, attractive, and organized. A place for everything. What are your needs? Stylish baskets and aesthetically pleasing storage containers can transform a formerly disorderly space. Use what you have or shop in your own home for furniture and organizers to solve storage dilemmas. If you need something for your entryway, put it on a master list for home items. I encourage you to wait until you find just the right item rather than settling for something that won’t truly meet your needs or is of poor quality. I made the mistake of buying a cheap coat rack. Within a year the top portion broke under the weight of our winter coats. I learned my lesson. I took the time to find just what I wanted (while our coats remained piled on a chair!) and now we have a beautiful, sturdy coat rack that should last many, many years.

🌸 Embrace the space you have. Even if you don’t have a separate entryway, you can add hooks, a mirror, a rug, or a small bookcase near the door to create a feeling of a designated area. Shuffle things around until it seems just right. Use what you have and make the most of your space. That’s the best way to create a warm welcome. We have a small, round antique oak table in our entryway which had belonged to my great grandmother. I like to decorate it with seasonal displays. This is the first thing you see when entering our home (unless Shiloh is there to greet you!) so I make an effort to make it pretty and don’t allow it to collect clutter.

Simple Organizing is available for pre-order and will be released April 3rd.

If you decide to participate in this challenge I’d love to see pictures. I will be posting mine on Instagram with these two hashtags:

#simpleorganizing (the official hashtag for The Inspired Room)

#LWDsimpleorganizing

If you post on Instagram I’d love for you to use both hashtags so I can be sure to see yours.

The Best (and Worst) of The Flylady

February 9, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 8 Comments

Note: I am currently leading a 31 Day FlyLady challenge in my Facebook group, Make Over Your Life With Dee. You are welcome to join. We started Friday, April 13, 2018 but you can still join. I’ll be putting each day’s task/lesson in the group files so you can read them at any time.

If you’ve thought about getting your house in order sometime in the past decade and looked online for help, chances are you are familiar with The FlyLady. Inspired by Pam Young and Peggy Jones, otherwise known as “The Slob Sisters”, Marla Cilley started an email group, first on e-Groups and then Yahoo Groups, as a means of helping others get control of their homes using what she had learned from Young and Jones as a starting point then putting her own spin on it.

I first heard of The FlyLady in the early days when she was still on e-Groups. I received her (numerous) daily emails off and on for years. Even though I tend to be fairly neat by nature, I still found much value in her methods. If I had been living alone in a modest-sized home I probably never would have paid much attention to The FlyLady but at the time I was homeschooling two children in a 3000 square foot house. Having kids at home 24/7 is a challenge, even for someone who is basically neat and orderly. And the amount of “stuff” a homeschooling family acquires is a true test of a family’s organizational skills.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

So I signed up for the emails. Several times a day I would get reminders such as:

Get dressed to shoes.
Have you emptied your dishwasher?
Reboot laundry.
Swish and swipe bathroom.
Check your calendar.

This was pre-Facebook days so email was my primary source of online interaction. Even back then some people complained about the number of emails but I didn’t find it a problem. Once you’d read them a few times you knew just by the subject line what it was about so you didn’t even have to open the routine ones. I’d see one show up in my inbox and I’d be reminded to go attend to some task. I’d just delete each one after it was done and at the end of the day delete any I hadn’t done so I’d start each day with a clean slate.

In a way, it was sort of like positive brain washing. If you see a reminder to do something every day it eventually worms its way into your psyche. Even though I haven’t received the emails in years, I still have a little voice in my head which sounds suspiciously like The FlyLady.

In general, I think her methods have merit. For instance, here are some of the things she recommends:

Get dressed: Yes, all the way to shoes, first thing in the morning. Do I do this? Heck no. Do I think it’s a good idea? Absolutely. I tend to stumble out of bed following a night without adequate restful sleep, put on my robe and slippers then head downstairs to get the hot tea my sweet husband has made for me. I then curl up in my chair in the library and start reading Facebook until I realize how much time I’ve wasted. As for shoes, this is a big sticking point with a lot of her followers. It seems many of us balk at the lace-up shoe recommendation. My feet like to be as free as my spirit so the best I can do is a comfy pair of Birkenstocks. But even that is better than barefoot. It’s better for your feet (ask me about plantar fasciitis sometime) and if you have to run outside in a hurry it’s nice not to have to search for a pair of shoes. And I haven’t given up on that notion of getting dressed right away.

Shine Your Sink: The FlyLady calls it the “shiny sink” and has very detailed instructions for this. Once you get your sink clean and shiny initially, the idea is that you return to this state every night before you go to bed. Make sure the dishes are done, the sink has been scrubbed and you’ve laid out a clean dishcloth and towel for the next day. This is the lynchpin of her plan and I totally agree. If I wake up in the morning to a clean kitchen sink the day seems ripe with promise. On the other hand, a sinkful of dirty dishes is a sure way to get off on the wrong foot and to feel behind before the day has even fully started.

Swish and Swipe: This is FlyLady terminology for a daily “lick and a promise” in the bathrooms. Okay, maybe “lick” isn’t the best choice of words. Each day you quickly swish the toilet bowl with a little cleanser of some type. If you do it daily it really doesn’t matter much what you use. A splash of vinegar, a bit of PineSol, a squirt of toilet bowl cleaner – whatever. It literally takes 10 seconds a day to have a clean toilet bowl at all times.

Aside from the toilet, you take a minute or so to put away toiletries and other items, wipe the mirror and sink, pull the shower curtain closed, and put out clean towels if necessary. Once a week you do a more thorough cleaning, including the tub/shower but this daily attention means you’ll never again be embarrassed by a drop in visitor who asks to use your bathroom.

5 Minute Room Rescue: This assumes you have a room, closet, garage, etc. which needs a lot of attention but you keep putting it off because you don’t have a spare 18 hours to clean it. With this method you simply set a timer for 5 minutes and work on it in small bites. If you keep at it regularly you’ll begin to see progress.

27 Fling Boogie: Take a garbage bag and as quickly as you can, walk through your house and find 27 items to throw away. As soon as you have done this, close the bag and throw it away (or put it in your recycling bin if you have one). Then take a box or other container and find 27 items to give away. Put the box in your car and drop it off the next time you are near a place which takes used items. The FlyLady has a reason for choosing the number 27 but you can certainly pick another number. And if you don’t have time to do both the throw away and the giveaway on the same day, alternate.

Morning and Evening Routines: This seems pretty obvious but simple morning and evening routines can make a world of difference. Start small. Pick three things to do in the morning and three at bedtime. Do these consistently for a month or so then add something else.

Hot Spots: In FlyLady lingo, a hot spot is an area of your home which tends to collect clutter. A table near the entry, a corner of a kitchen counter, a bedroom chair, the coffee table, the table by your favorite chair. These are the places where it is all too easy to leave a coffee cup, the day’s mail, unfolded laundry. The thing about hot spots is that they seem to attract clutter. All it takes is ONE item left there and before you know it, it’s piled high with stuff. I’ve found that if I leave something on one of these surfaces it gives the rest of the family permission to do likewise and before you know it, we’ve got a mess. As FlyLady says, “clutter attracts clutter”. Clear these spots and then police them daily.

One of my favorite recommendations is to put something decorative in that spot. If it’s attractive, it’s less likely to become a dumping ground. Clean off your coffee table, polish it well, and place a plant, flower arrangement or bowl of fruit on it. Maybe your family will be less likely to think it’s an alternate wastebasket and will throw away their empty gum wrappers or used tissues instead. Hey, we can always hope!

Zones: If you like tearing your house apart and spending a week deep cleaning until you’re exhausted every spring and fall, have at it. But there is another way. Divide your house into zones and focus on one area each week. In addition to your regularly weekly cleaning, do one or more deep cleaning tasks in that week’s zone. Rotate these chores and over time they all get done. No, you won’t have that awesome feeling of everything spotless all at the same time. But you also won’t need a week to recuperate every spring and fall, either.

Daily laundry: Each morning throw in a load of laundry then be sure to see it all the way through the process. Dry, fold and put away. If you have a family you will likely need to do more than one load, at least on some days. But even at just one load you can be sure everyone has clean underwear and then catch up on the weekends or whatever other day you choose.

When I had kids at home I did approximately 15 loads a week. Mondays were my catch up day and it wasn’t unusual for me to do 5 or 6 loads that day. But by doing one or two loads each day I kept it under control. Now that it’s just the two of us, a load a day plus an extra one or two on Mondays keeps our laundry caught up.

Household Notebook: Take a look at Pinterest and you’ll see that the household notebook or planner is a very popular concept. But when FlyLady first gave the instructions for creating what she calls a Control Journal, it was not on most people’s radar. There are a multitude of ways to create one and it’s important to consider your own lifestyle but the instructions for creating a Control Journal is a good place to start.

Sink Reflections by The FlyLady

So now that I’ve shared what I consider the best of The FlyLady, is there a downside? Yes, I believe there may be. Now, let me just say that her plan was developed for people whose homes are out of control. She refers to it as C.H.A.O.S. – Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome. If your family is regularly out of clean underwear, you’ve resorted to plastic silverware and paper plates because all your dishes are dirty, you have to move piles in order to sit down and you spend an inordinate amount of time every day trying to find things then I believe her plan is well-suited to getting a handle on the situation.

That was not the case for me, however. I was simply looking for a structured plan for making sure everything got done on a routine basis. And in many ways her methods worked. But over time I began to notice something that concerned me. The emphasis on doing tasks quickly (often with a timer) and just barely “good enough” started to make me think of housekeeping as simply a series of tasks to do as fast as possible to get them out of the way. And if you despise housework on a deep and visceral level this might be a good thing. But I was one of those little girls who loved to play house and couldn’t wait to grow up and have a real home to take care of.

In those early days of marriage I loved taking the time to set the table with our wedding china, even if we were just having hot dogs. I enjoyed cleaning and scrubbing until everything sparkled and smelled wonderful. I was forever moving things around, decorating and basically playing house on a grownup level. I’m a nester by nature.

The message I was receiving from FlyLady emails was that perfectionism was the enemy. Set a timer, follow instructions, get it done and then go do something fun. Don’t worry about those extra touches. But I think there’s another way to look at housework.

When I think back to my childhood days I am reminded of the way my grandmother kept house. There were no lists, no timers, no housekeeping journals. She approached homemaking in a more natural, organic way.

People needed to eat so she cooked meals. She did the dishes after each meal so they would be clean for the next one. Beds were made each morning as a matter of course. When there were enough clothes for a load, she ran the washing machine. I didn’t ask her if she had specific days for such things as cleaning bathrooms or vacuuming or if she just did them when they needed doing. I do know she was in the habit of cleaning the refrigerator on Saturday mornings, though.

I never heard Grandma complain about keeping house. On the contrary, she hummed or whistled while she went about her tasks. She never seemed rushed. She kept a tidy and comfortable home, even with eleven grandchildren in and out all the time. And she seemed to enjoy the process or had at least made peace with it.

That is what I’m aiming for. I can make use of many FlyLady methods but with my own philosophy of mindfulness. Instead of rushing through a task with an eye toward the next thing on my to-do list, I’m trying to focus on what I’m doing. The feel of warm, soapy water on my hands as I wash dishes. Noticing the way sunlight reflects off a freshly polished mirror. Taking a few minutes to rearrange the decorative items on the coffee table after dusting it. I find that I tend to enjoy the things I put a bit more effort into and housework is no exception.

So while I do think The FlyLady has some terrific ideas and many of her methods are worth trying, I would also encourage a bit of caution. I believe there is something to be said for finding ways to make housework a pleasure whenever possible. Develop a regular morning routine but then take a few minutes to do a little something extra. After you swish and flush the toilet, add a few drops of a favorite essential oil. Light a candle and play some music while doing the dinner dishes. Iron your pillowcases when you change the sheets. These small touches help elevate housework from drudgery to creative expression. And isn’t that a happier way to take care of our homes?

~~~~~

Other posts you may enjoy:

How to Create Your Own Homemaking Binder

The Wisdom of Grandma

Ironed Pillow Cases ~ A Little Luxury

A Clean (-ish) House in 30 Minutes a Day

Note: I originally wrote and published this as a guest author on the (sadly) no-longer-published site, The Glamorous Housewife. Bethany Herwegh, the site owner, granted me permission to republish it here. The graphic at the top of this post was Bethany’s work from the original post on her site.

Getting My Life Together – Want to Join Me?

January 3, 2018 By Deanna Piercy 8 Comments

A new year always feels like a good time to get things in order, doesn’t it? As part of my focus on simplicity this year, I want to get rid of the excess in my home and organize the rest. I also want to simplify my daily and weekly schedules, so I can be productive without being stressed out all the time. Do either of these goals resonate with you? If so, you might want to join me over the next several weeks as I “get my life together”.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

Home Organization

The blog, A Bowl Full of Lemons, is doing a 14 week home organization challenge. Here is what it’s all about:

The 7th annual 2018 Home Organization Challenge begins on Saturday, January 6th. This gives you a few more days to enjoy family and your kids, before they go back to school (or work). It also gives you time to pack away your holiday decorations and prepare yourself mentally for the challenge. Get ready for a labor of love. Over the next 14 weeks, we are going to turn our homes upside down and give them the attention they so desperately need. We will work our way through each room, purging and donating the things we no longer love or need. We will simplify each space and set up our homes for a successful New Year!

See that word I have highlighted? Simplify. That is exactly what I’m aiming for. Not minimalism, just simplicity. If you’d like to join me (and probably thousands of others), you can download the FREE printables here:

A Bowl Full of Lemons 2018 Home Organization Challenge

You can follow along and participate via the associated Facebook group, sign up for challenge emails (click link above for this), and watch the challenge YouTube videos. There is also an accompanying book:

The 2016 print version ships from Amazon in 1-2 months but there is a new version coming out in June. I think I’ll buy the Kindle version for now and wait until June for the new print version. You can still do the challenge without purchasing the book, however.

If you sign up for this challenge leave me a comment. If there are enough of my readers doing it I might come up with some way for us to encourage one another and be accountable for our progress.

Productivity

If you have followed me any length of time you likely know what a huge fan I am of Crystal Paine’s courses. I’ve purchased all of them and can personally vouch for their quality. I was SO excited when I heard she has a new one:

4 Weeks to a More Productive Life by Crystal Paine

When you sign up, you’ll get:

-Access to an Accountability/Mastermind Facebook Group with Crystal during the month of January
-4 one-hour LIVE coaching sessions with Crystal on Monday evenings at 8 p.m. CT (January 8, 15, 22, 29, 2018)
-A weekly followup email from Crystal with additional resources and encouragement to go along with that week’s coaching lesson
-Lifetime access to the recordings of the videos of the coaching sessions to re-watch or review
-Hands-on projects to complete each week to practically apply what you are learning

I’m going to be working through this one in my Facebook group, Make Over Your Life With Dee. Registration is only open through January 6th and if you purchase by January 4th it’s only $17.

So that’s what I’ll be up to in the next several weeks. In a few months I fully expect to have my house whipped into shape and be so productive I’ll be dangerous. Hey, a girl can hope, right? If either or both of these sound good to you, I’d love to have you join me. It’s always more fun to do these sort of things with friends!

Tying Up Loose Ends and Preparing For The New Year

December 28, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 7 Comments

A brand new year will soon be here, unblemished and full of promise. I always find that rather exciting. But before I turn that calendar page, I like to take a look back, reflect a bit and tie up some loose ends. I can then move forward with a clean slate, ready to fully embrace the new year.

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

Anne of Green Gables

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more here.

Here is a list of things I like to do before the start of a new year:

1. Inbox Zero

Even though I know it won’t last, I love to begin the year with an empty inbox. I’ve been working on this and plan to finish up on Sunday afternoon. If necessary, I’ll move what’s left to a file and put a reminder in my phone to deal with it in a few days. Yeah, I know. But even if it’s largely symbolic, I want to see that empty inbox.

One thing I’m doing as I sort through emails is to unsubscribe from anything I don’t need. It’s too easy to simply keep deleting those newsletters I don’t have time to read but now is the time to be honest with myself and let them go.

If email threatens to overwhelm you, I highly recommend SaneBox. I signed up for the free 14-day trial and at the end of those two weeks I was hooked. SaneBox sorts your incoming emails into two categories, placing only the really important emails into your regular inbox. Everything else goes into a file called, SaneLater. You then receive a digest post which allows you to quickly deal with those less important emails. It’s truly brilliant and saves me hours every week. If you’d like to check it out, click here.

2. Clear Out My Feedly Account

I like the idea of starting the new year with no unread posts in Feedly (this is where I subscribe to and read blogs). I’m unfollowing those I don’t read regularly and yesterday I unfollowed over 50 blogs which haven’t posted in more than 6 months. I also have a Bloglovin’ account which I don’t really use. That’s something I may revisit at some point this coming year. When Google Reader was discontinued (let’s all pause for a moment of silence) I looked at several options for feed aggregators and at the time, I felt Feedly was the best option. In part, because their mobile app was much better than Bloglovin’s. That may no longer be the case. I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you read blogs via an aggregator, which do you use?

3. Finish a Couple of Books

I usually have a few books going at the same time. I only read one novel at a time but I often have one or more non-fiction books on hand to read when I have a few minutes here and there. It’s these non-fiction books I want to finish up before the end of the year. Here are the links in case you’re interested:

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh

4. Send Thank You Notes

I like to get my Christmas thank you notes mailed before the end of the year. Here’s a little tip: Use the fronts of Christmas cards you received as thank you notes. Very carefully cut off the fronts and then use them as postcards. You’ll even save a bit on postage!

5. Return Or Exchange Gifts

Two of the items I ordered as gifts this year arrived damaged. One was from Amazon and I’ve already reported it and received a return label. David printed it at work today so I’ll be able to send it tomorrow. I still need to contact the other company which I’ll do first thing tomorrow. It’s good to get these things taken care of right away.

6. Catch Up On Bullet Journal

I got way behind on this in recent weeks. I have all my daily to-do sheets so I have the information needed to fill out my journal. I just need to set aside an hour or two to do it. I’m using a bullet journal in part so I’ll have a diary of sorts to look back on so that is why I want to catch up rather than simply starting again where I am.

7. Set Up My New Planner

In addition to my bullet journal, I also use a Happy Planner. I like having a month-at-a-glance section as well as weekly planning pages. When I’m on top of things, I sit down at the beginning of the month and write appointments, birthdays and other events on the monthly portion. Then on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings I plan my week.

I received the 2018 Happy Planner for Christmas and now I just need to get it all set up and ready to go!

8. Create a Gratitude List For the Past Year

I haven’t ever done this before but I plan to make a list of things that happened in the past year for which I’m grateful. I must admit that I haven’t been at all consistent about keeping a gratitude journal (although I hope to do better in the coming year!) so I think this will be good alternative.

9. Create a “Let Go Of” List

While I have much to be grateful for, there are a few things that are best left in the past. Regrets, broken relationships, disappointments. If there is honestly nothing I can do to “fix” the situation then it’s time to let it go. I’m going to write my list on a piece of paper and then toss it ceremoniously in the fireplace. Poof! Moving on…

10. Current Me vs. Future Me

I recently watched this video and love the idea.

11. Purchase New Calendars

Perhaps this sounds rather antiquated in this age of smart phones and Google calendars. However, I still buy a couple of wall calendars each year. I have one above my desk and another in the kitchen. I do put events and appointments on my Google calendar in my phone. But I still like to have a wall calendar handy so I can see the month at a glance without always having to pull out my phone.

I usually buy something Paris-related for my office and something retro for the kitchen. Here are the ones I chose this year:

Office (It was several dollars cheaper when I ordered mine.)

Kitchen (Unfortunately, this is no longer available so I’m glad I ordered early!)

12. Evaluate and Tweak My Morning and Evening Routines

I’ve posted about morning and evening routines. These are ever-evolving. A new season or a new year are good times to take a look at your routines and determine if they are still working for you. I’m thinking about adding a bubble bath to my evening routine.

If you need some help creating routines, I can’t say enough about how good Crystal Paine’s courses are:

Make Over Your Mornings

Make Over Your Evenings

13. Create a List of Goals for the New Year

I’ll talk more about this in another post but setting goals and intentions is an important part of my preparation for a new year. I like to set goals for each area of my life and then break them down into small steps.

14. Select My “Word” for the Coming Year

I love this idea of choosing a word to focus on for the year. Last year my word was “release” which you can read about here. I’ve chosen my word for 2018 and will write a post about it soon. If you do this, I’d love to hear what your word is for 2018.

One Word 365

And that is how I am wrapping up the old year and moving into the new. Do you do any of these things? Or do you have additional ideas for saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new? I’d love to hear your thoughts so leave me a comment or send me an email if you prefer. I’m really excited about the coming year and look forward to providing more helpful content here on Life With Dee.

~~~~~

LWD Book Club ~ June 2017

June 1, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments

I’m back! Did you miss me? We are still in recovery mode following our 10th annual Happyland Music Fest. I’ll share some photos soon – hopefully tomorrow. We had the most amazing time. Everyone seemed to agree it was the best HMF thus far. But now it’s time to get back to whatever passes for “normal” around here. And since it’s a new month, that means it’s time for the LWD Book Club selections for June. Our theme this month includes gardening, pets/animals, and outdoor living.

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LWD JUNE BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Gardening with Chickens by Lisa Steele

When I first started begging David for chickens he thought I was a little nuts. But in recent years it has become an extremely popular hobby. Raccoons got all of mine a few years ago but I’m plotting to get another little flock. Stay tuned.

Join Lisa Steele, chicken-keeper extraordinaire and founder of Fresh Eggs Daily, on a unique journey through the garden. Start by planning your garden and learning strategies and tips for keeping your plants safe while they grow. Plant with purpose, choosing from a dozen plans for theme gardens such as Orange Egg Yolks or Nesting Box Herbs. Or choose a design that’s filled with edibles – sharing the bounty with your family and your feathered friends. Then comes the fun part: enjoy the harvest, even let the chickens graze!

Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead

I can’t wait to read this next one. I adore humorous tales of people moving somewhere and exploring a totally new way of life. And if it includes chickens? All the better.

If Joe and Vicky had known what relocating to a tiny mountain village in Andalucía would REALLY be like, they might have hesitated…
They have no idea of the culture shock in store. No idea they’ll become reluctant chicken farmers and own the most dangerous cockerel in Spain. No idea they’ll help capture a vulture or be rescued by a mule.
Will they stay, or return to the relative sanity of England?
Includes Spanish recipes donated by the village ladies.

The Telegraph– “a colourful glimpse of Andalucían life. And a psychopathic chicken or two…charming…funny”

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter

I became aware of this next selection because I have been following the adventures of the author’s sister for many years. Riana Lagarde used to have a blog which I adored. Now I have to be content with following her via her Flickr account, These Days in French Life. That is where I heard about her sister’s book, Farm City. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you will, too.

For anyone who has ever grown herbs on their windowsill, tomatoes on their fire escape, or obsessed over the offerings at the local farmers’ market, Carpenter’s story will capture your heart. And if you’ve ever considered leaving it all behind to become a farmer outside the city limits, or looked at the abandoned lot next door with a gleam in your eye, consider this both a cautionary tale and a full-throated call to action. Farm City is an unforgettably charming memoir, full of hilarious moments, fascinating farmers’ tips, and a great deal of heart. It is also a moving meditation on urban life versus the natural world and what we have given up to live the way we do.

Bonus selection:

The Backyard Homestead

This comprehensive guide to homesteading provides all the information you need to grow and preserve a sustainable harvest of grains and vegetables; raise animals for meat, eggs, and dairy; and keep honey bees for your sweeter days. With easy-to-follow instructions on canning, drying, and pickling, you’ll enjoy your backyard bounty all winter long.

I’d love to hear what you are reading right now. Leave me a comment!

PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:

Best Homemaking Tips ~ A Reader Roundup

April 28, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 1 Comment

I’m always looking for homemaking tips to make things easier, less time-consuming, or simply make my homemaking life more beautiful. I decided to ask YOU, my readers, to share your best tips and received some great responses.

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The Best Homemaking Tips From Life With Dee Readers

I love all these wonderful tips and am so pleased to be able to share them all with you!

Mandy: I love a great smelling home. It is so comforting for me and my family but it is also very welcoming to our guests. Even children love to walk in my home and say “your house smells so nice”. It makes me feel good. Not only is my home clean and clutter free but smells wonderful. I use natural essential oils. I have different scents in different parts of my home. It is not overwhelming or mixed up. In the main part of the house and entrance I use rose oils. In the kitchen and dining room I use either lemon or cinnamon. The bathroom and hallways I also use rose oils and I use lavender oils in the bedrooms. It is one of the best and simplest things you can do to make your home special.

Dee: I’m the same way about having my home smell good. I love the idea of having specific scents for each area of the home!

Kat Murray: I love hanging my laundry out on the line. I think it is the nicest thing I can do for my family. My husband could tell the bedding was hung out as soon as he walked in our room.

Dee: There is absolutely nothing like the scent of line-dried laundry. David doesn’t know this yet but he’s going to be installing a clothesline for me soon!

Karla Riggs Neese: 1. I like to keep cleaning supplies in each bathroom under the sink so I don’t have to go very far to get to the stuff.

2. We mostly go barefoot in our house so we keep a pair of flip flops by the back door to put on when we go outside.

Dee: I do the same thing regarding cleaning supplies. This is especially helpful in an upstairs bathroom! And I love your idea of keeping flip flops by the door. I do wear my Birkenstocks in the house because they keep my feet from hurting. However, I don’t like the idea of wearing the same shoes indoors and out. I just bought a new pair so I think I will follow your example – sort of in reverse. I’ll put my old pair by the door to wear INDOORS.

Patricia Snodgrass: I have discovered that white vinegar does a wonderful job of taking soap scum off the bath tub.

Dee: We have terribly hard water here so that just adds to the soap scum issue. Vinegar is a great help!

Denise L. Moore: Following up on Karla’s suggestion about cleaning supplies in the bathrooms, she suggests keeping a roll of paper towels under the bathroom sink, too.

Dee: I try not to use paper towels but I do something similar. I keep a cleaning cloth on the bottle of glass cleaner under the counter and a microfiber cleaning cloth hanging in the shower. Whichever you prefer, it really does help to have all the necessary supplies close at hand.

Mellissa Bond: Home making tips…mine are basically just establish a routine. Stay on top of dishes and laundry. Declutter often. Sorry Dee. Nothing fancy here.

Dee: Ah, but it’s those simple, routine tasks which can make such a HUGE impact! It’s all too easy to overlook the obvious but they matter most.

Alice Birchfield: -Keep powdered milk in your cupboard. You never know. I don’t even drink cow’s milk, but I keep it for recipes and in case I need it.

Keep a basic drill and some bits and screwdriver tips.

Always have white vinegar and baking soda. You can clean most things with them, separately and together.

Also, a spray bottle with water, a tablespoon of bleach and a tiny squirt of dish soap is a good sanitizer cleaner too. I love bleach.

I do make my own laundry soap/detergent (powdered) and you can turn baking soda in to wash soda by heating it in the oven on low for a couple of hours. I set my timer and stir it around and then let it go another hour. I then put it in a container to use when I make my laundry soap.

I lived on an island for about 15 years, so I always keep back ups of things like toilet paper, toothpaste (I make that too), Dog and cat food and other essentials. I hate being forced to run to the store. I have to make myself grocery shop most of the time.

Dee: Wow! So many great tips. I don’t live on an island (yet!) but it’s about a 20 minute drive to town for me. When we moved to the country I learned the importance of keeping extras of the essentials.

Joan Johnson: Every other day, I set a timer for 15 minutes and grab 2 paper towels and a bottle of windex. I don’t stop wiping things down until the timer goes off. At first you’ll do windows, mirrors, etc. But if you keep at it, soon you’re doing lamps, phones, TV remotes, switch plates, etc., and quickly you see your home start to sparkle!

Dee: I LOVE this idea! I’m envisioning a group challenge. Maybe in my “Creating a Beautiful Life” Facebook group?

Annabel Smith: Fold everything from the line and do not crush things up in a laundry basket ever! Also dry shirts and tops on hangers in the breeze, no ironing. Let the breeze do the ironing for you.

Dee: I will definitely keep this in mind WHEN David puts in my clothesline. 🙂

Jeff-Rhonda Oliver: My tip is to make lists to prioritize and plan ahead and then just do it. Procrastination just costs money with late charges on bills not paid, overdue library books, food that spoils because you put off cooking it, coupons that expire because you don’t use them, plants that die because you put off taking care of them. This list could go on and on. When you procrastinate laundry, the stains may set in and never come out, causing ruined clothes. I plan ahead as much as possible. I loosely plan out our budget for the year, including expenses that may only occur 1 or 2 times like insurance, pet checkups, vehicle registrations, etc, so they aren’t a big uh-oh when due, gifts, etc.

Dee: What a good point. So much could be solved simply by avoiding procrastination.

Jeff-Rhonda Oliver: (referring to a discussion about line-drying) Most of my clothes are knits and I wash them with fabric softener in the rinse and then hang them all to dry in doorways inside our home. Then when they’re dry, usually overnight, I just move them to the closet. There’s no folding or letting them wrinkled in the dryer. I do my husband’s knit shirts like this too. We had a clothesline, but our Oklahoma wind can just be fierce and would sometimes blow my laundry to the ground or just blow it gone. So I prefer indoor drying.

Dee: I like the idea of drying on hangers! I may need to come up with a place to hang them in our laundry room. I still want an outdoor clothesline (makes things smell so good!) but as you say, some days it’s too windy (or rainy).

Janice: When I was young, my nanny taught me a trick when sewing. You know how sometimes it’s hard to pull a needle through a fabric because it’s either getting rusty or the fabric is so tight? Well, she rubs the needle on a candle so it glides in and out with no problem. I’ve even seen her rub the needle on her scalp! Lol. She said not to do that, but she thinks it does the same job. Oh, I forgot to mention, she also wraps the threads around the candle and pulls, sort of to coat them with a bit of wax, so they don’t tangle while sewing.

Dee: I’m not much of a seamstress (that’s the understatement of the year!) but I do have a small basket of things that need to be mended. I’m going to put a candle in there so I can try your trick!

Greta Durbin: My best tip would be to clean as you go, especially in the kitchen. Do quick pick-ups as you go through your home and then it’s always easier to dust, vacuum , etc. when you don’t have every room to clear first!

Dee: Such a good reminder. David usually helps me clean the kitchen after dinner and he is very happy if I have cleaned as I cook. I figured out as a child that it isn’t cleaning I mind but tidying up after other people (my younger brothers, for instance!) drives me nuts.

Lisa Sharp: Set up a good morning routine. It will help get your day off to a good start and make your day seem productive even if the rest of the day doesn’t go as planned. Here is something I wrote about this: A Homemaker Morning Routine.

Dee: This is SO true. My morning routine keeps evolving. I’m working on a new routine for summer. If I want to get any gardening done I’ll need to do it in the mornings before it gets too hot.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your great homemaking tips and ideas! If anyone else has a tip to share, leave me a comment. Maybe I’ll do a “part two” if there are enough.

~~~~~

How To Create Your Own Homemaking Binder

April 26, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 6 Comments

Taking care of a home and family is a surprisingly complex job. Managing schedules, planning meals, organizing daily/weekly/seasonal tasks, keeping track of home-related information and so much more. Creating a homemaking binder can be a huge help in getting it together and staying on top of all that it takes to manage a home and family.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

How To Create a Homemaking Binder

I first heard of the concept of a homemaking binder many years ago when I began following The FlyLady. She calls her version a “Control Journal”. She now offers a number of free journal downloads including versions for holidays, packing, office, student, home maintenance and others. You can see all of them here:

FlyLady Control Journals

Initially, however, it was a simpler concept including a list of cleaning zones, daily cleaning, weekly checklist, detailed cleaning lists, daily spiritual focus, and a weekly schedule. It also included an address book and I think a menu planning sheet. One thing she recommended which I think is a good idea is to put your daily and weekly checklists in clear plastic sheet protectors. You can then use a dry erase marker to check things off and then erase and use again.

The next major source of information regarding homemaking binders that I ran across was on Organized Home. They refer to it as a Household Notebook and offer a large number of free printable pages. It is more detailed and wider in scope that The FlyLady Control Journal, although perhaps a little less personal.

Here is the link to the list of printable pages they offer:

Organized Home Household Notebook Printables

When I put together my homemaking binder I used resources from both The FlyLady and Organized Home. I bought a white, 3 inch, three-ring binder and printed a cover sheet with “Deanna’s Household Notebook” on it which I slipped inside the front cover.

Over time I added sections for birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions, menus and grocery lists, emergency information, health and medical, holidays and personal. I also printed helpful or inspirational articles about homemaking and tucked those inside.

And then I didn’t use it. Oh, I’d occasionally drag it out and read through parts of it. But honestly? It became a symbol of good intentions and lack of follow-through. Otherwise known as “the story of my life”.

And yet I’m convinced that there is great merit in creating some form of a homemaking binder. The key is in determining how you plan to use it and what it should contain in order to make it genuinely useful for YOU.

You see, just because something works for someone else and sounds really cool doesn’t necessarily mean it will fit your lifestyle and your way of doing things.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before creating a homemaking binder/household notebook/control journal or whatever you prefer to call it:

Do you prefer paper or digital? This is a big one and deserves some serious consideration. If you love using the latest technology and like to be able to access everything from all your devices, then perhaps a physical binder is not for you. You can definitely create a digital “binder” instead and that might work much better for you.
Where do you spend most of your time? If you are at home full-time with few outside activities then a large, single binder containing everything you need to run your home and schedule could work well for you. However, if you work outside the home or are involved in many volunteer activities you are not likely to drag around a big binder all the time. You may need to consider a digital version or keeping some information and lists in a binder at home and others in your phone or a small notebook which fits in your purse.
What is YOUR purpose for a homemaking binder and what will make it useful for YOU and your family? When The FlyLady first created her Control Journal I recall that she considered it not only something the homemaker would use but that it could be helpful if someone else needed to step in and help manage your household in case of illness or for some other reason.

After you have considered these questions here are the steps I recommend for creating your very own homemaking binder.

1. Make a list of what you want in your binder.

Some possible ideas include:

Daily cleaning tasks
Weekly cleaning
Monthly or seasonal tasks
Morning and evening routines
Menu planning sheets
List of favorite recipes, perhaps including the cookbook and page number where it’s found
Emergency information
Family medical information (blood type, surgeries, medications, doctors, pharmacy, etc.)
Addresses and phone numbers (this may sound old fashioned and unnecessary – until your phone dies and wasn’t backed up recently)
Household information such as heat and air filter size/type, refrigerator water filter number, list of special types of light bulbs, paint colors, various measurements, etc.
Household project list (maybe include a pocket folder to hold paint and fabric samples, magazine pages for inspiration, receipts, etc.)
Household budget
List of birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions
Vacation packing lists
Freezer inventory list
Pantry inventory list
Passwords

And on, and on…

Carefully consider which of these will be useful to you. There’s no point in a packing list if you rarely go on vacation. And some of these things I listed might well be kept in some other place besides your homemaking binder. Just because someone made a free printable for it doesn’t mean it needs to be in your binder.

2. Purchase a binder.

Once you know what you want to include, then you can shop for the perfect binder. You might be tempted to reverse this order but you need to know how much it will contain so you can decide what size to purchase. As I mentioned above, I have a 3-inch binder. And it’s quite full. If you plan to create a very comprehensive binder and especially if you think you might want to include pocket folders and/or an address section, then I recommend a 3-inch version.

On the other hand, if you are more interested in a streamlined version with just your cleaning lists and a few other things, then choose a slimmer size. This may be especially important if you plan to leave it out somewhere during the day to check things off. If it’s too big and bulky it might just end up staying on a shelf somewhere.

Mine is just a plain white binder that I’ve had for over 15 years but I’m ready for a change. I think I “need” something prettier. I’m going to be doing a major overhaul of my homemaking binder this summer and am now in the process of finding just the right notebook/binder. I’ll be sure to share a photo!

3. Print the necessary sheets.

There are countless sources of free printables. You can certainly create your own and one of these days I’d like to do just that. However, chances are you can easily find any type of page you desire.

Here are a few sources:

Organized Home

Scattered Squirrel

Fab N’ Free

4. Use it!

This is where some of us lose the plot. Like any new habit, it takes time to implement. Once you’ve determined your purpose for a homemaking binder you can then decide how it will best serve you. Is it something you will leave out and utilize every day, checking off daily tasks and referring to often?

Or is it more of a resource for occasional use? If that’s the case, it’s way too easy to forget about it. I recommend setting up some type of reminder to pull it out and look through it on a scheduled basis. Even if you are just using it as a household information resource, it will soon become out of date without regular updates.

5. Schedule an annual review and update.

As soon as you get your binder up and running, get out your calendar. Schedule time one year from now to do a thorough review of your binder. Remove sections you aren’t using. If you have sections for addresses, passwords or other information that has changed, update those. Perhaps you’ve thought of something else that would be helpful to have in your binder. The key to a useful binder is to keep it up to date and relevant to your life. Things change…so should your binder.

Do you have a homemaking binder? If so, is it working well for you? I’d love to hear about it.

~~~~~

This is one of the binders I am considering when I update mine. Isn’t it pretty?

If digital is your preference, here is a resource that you might find helpful:

This post is linked up at Linda’s Lunacy Homemaking Linky:

Give Me Your Best Homemaking Tip

April 24, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 3 Comments

Do you have a favorite homemaking tip? If so, I’d love to see it AND share it. I’m going to do a reader roundup post this Friday and would love to share YOUR best tip.

You can reply directly to this post or contact me via email. Either way is fine. Be sure to include your name the way you’d like it posted (initials are fine). Also, if you have a blog and would like me to link to it, include that as well.

I’m really looking forward to your tips and excited to share the whole collection with all of you. The deadline is Wednesday evening, April 26th, so don’t delay!

A New Blog Feature ~ Cozy Corner

April 14, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

Welcome to a brand new Life With Dee blog feature: Cozy Corner. I adore seeing little glimpses of other people’s homes and I feel certain I’m not alone. Every once in awhile I will share a little peek into my house. I hope you enjoy it.

The Entry Table

We have a very long, narrow entry hall with a rather unusual feature. Just inside the door to the left is an open area. We were told by the owners who built the house that they originally had the staircase in the entry but they decided to move it. They enclosed what would have been the staircase, giving us a very long, narrow storage closet/room. That left this odd little inset area.

When we bought the house we thought about turning this area into a coat closet but my mom mentioned that it was just the right size for my antique oak table. I inherited the table from my grandparents – it had originally belonged to my great (or great, great?) grandmother.

Mom was right. It fit just right and provides the perfect place for seasonal decorative displays. It could easily become a place to set things upon entering the house but I am vigilant about not letting that happen. I might set a letter on it to be mailed the next day but nothing is allowed to stay there that doesn’t belong.

My favorite thing to have on this table is a bouquet of fresh flowers, especially if they have a nice scent. What a pleasure it is open the front door and get whiff of the lovely fragrance of lilies:

I also have candles and a little candy dish. Right now I have a lilac-scented candle and the dish contains Easter candy.

And that’s it for this first “Cozy Corner”. Oh, one more thing. I have a habit of spelling it “cosy”, rather than “cozy”. The former is the British spelling and apparently a lifetime of reading old-fashioned British novels has seeped into my brain. So don’t be surprised if you see that spelling on my posts occasionally. In fact, I had to edit the title of this post because I had “spelt” it wrong. 😉 I trust you’ll excuse occasional inadvertent British spellings.

Now it’s your turn. I’d love to see a picture of a little corner of your house. Leave a comment with a link to a blog post or Instagram pic. You can also post a picture on the Life With Dee Facebook page, my private little Facebook group “Creating a Beautiful Life” (if you aren’t a member and would like to be, feel free to join) or send me an email.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!