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A Schedule for a Quarantined Day

April 19, 2020 by Tasha Hackett 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Let me check my schedule: Create a workout parody video. CHECK

Who’s having fun?! We are!? (Hint: I schedule fun into my week.)

Exercise

I schedule Saturdays for playing and Whew! Just finished creating a silly work-out video with my family. We dressed up and I donned some bright pink lipstick. Blue tights, overlaid with my swimsuit. Nothing like a little family fun to get the day going.

“Wow,” you say, “Tasha’s family is so cool. I wish I could be as cool as her.” Well, don’t let me fool you. We completely trashed the house and had cheerios for breakfast all week, pre-packaged chicken nuggets three days in a row because my mind has been so overwhelmed with I-don’t-even-know that I couldn’t think past the next five minutes and then it was time for another meal… and another meal. What is it with these people!? Didn’t I just feed them? I don’t know what day it is anymore. My mom’s birthday was on the 17th and I almost missed it because I was a week behind (thought it was only April 11th) **Face Palm**

I have bad days and good days, BUT I have a daily routine that keeps me mostly sane during this quarantine.

The only way I have survived is maintaining my schedule. Do you have one? Years ago I scoured the internet looking for a Stay-At-Home-Mom routine and didn’t find one I liked. So I made up my own. It morphs through the years, each new kid and season changes it.

Morning Routine and Homeschool Life

The ideal perfect morning would look like this, but more often than not I crawl out of bed at 7 because the baby’s still not sleeping through the night:

5:30 AM Wake // Pray // Meditate on scripture  // Stretch

6:00 AM Make bed // Shower // Dress

6:15 AM Drink water //  Put (frozen or premade) breakfast in oven // Read // Study

6:45 AM Empty dishwasher // Start laundry // Set out breakfast

baby at dishwasher

Lots of help around here!

7:00 AM Wake kids // Help the littles with Morning List

Too often I let my day start here.

Kids’ Morning List: Make Bed, Get Dressed, PJs Away, Diaper in Trash, Drink Water, Go Potty, Fix Hair, Read Daily Verse, Take Care of Pets. (This list is an anchor and must be done before breakfast.)

pet rat on Tashas head

Meet Tippy! Our friendly pet rat.

7:15 AM Breakfast and Tidy Kitchen (Kids Help: Clear the Table, Wipe the Table, Sweep the Floor.)

8:00 AM House Blessings (Each kid has a separate daily chore. Gather laundry from all over the house, empty trash, sweep bathroom), Extra Daily Chore, (This will be anything that needs done to maintain the home such as wiping the mirror in the playroom, dusting the piano, vacuuming around the furniture, watering plants, sweeping the entry, lining up shoes, etc. We skip this when breakfast runs late.)

8:30 AM Walk Outside, Online Workout, or movement of some kind. (If nothing else we pretend to be a variety of animals. I have a 7, 5, and 3 year old, so they like that, and we have to keep moving throughout the day because, you know, kids and energy.)

walking outside

Quack! Quack! Off we go.

9:00 AM Morning Time // School

Morning Time with the Kids, My Favorite!

I learned this term from A Humble Place, but it is a Charlotte Mason homeschooling idea. This is the heart of what is most valuable in our home education. Not worksheets and tests and homework, but singing, and poetry, and beautiful ideas.

Our Morning Time can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a full hour depending on the moods of the kids and what we have going on for the day and if we started on time. I won’t go into much detail, but this is bullet points of what we cover; if short on time, we don’t do everything listed:

Pray for God to speak to us and bless our day

Bible story or scripture to think about

Song from our Hymnal: We sing all the verses to the same hymn for an entire month

Review one or three other hymns from previous months

More Singing: American Folk songs, silly songs, National Anthem

(I excuse myself to put the baby down for a nap right around here, I don’t know what they do while I’m gone for 10 minutes, but they’re all still alive in the living room or on the couch when I get back.)

Pledge of Allegiance

Poetry: We love poetry! This is a lovely book: Favorite Poems Old and New, Selected for boys and girls by Helen Farris. We read 1-5 a day depending on how we feel. I ask, “Shall I stop or read another?” The answer is usually, “More!” I pick one that I like and read it every day for the month along with the dailies. By the end of the month the kids are reciting it with me. We have found many poets we love, Carl Sandburg and Robert Louis Stevenson, to name a couple.

Art Appreciation. We look at prints of famous paintings. We don’t worry about educating ourselves on the style or anything. I just show them the picture and talk about what we see and what we like. “If you were in this picture, what would you be doing?” “What are they doing here?” “What do you suppose he is thinking about?” “Do you think she is sad?” (You can buy many of the prints here. So far Peter Bruegel the Elder is our favorite. Who knew!?)

Nursery Rhymes. Great for little guys and surprisingly still applicable through elementary. I love watching my three-year-old learning along with the 2nd grader. I often find them reciting these while they play through-out the days.

We close with the Lord’s Prayer, sing the Doxology, and a simple Benediction, “May the Lord be with you.” And we answer each other, “And also with you!” (My boy used to say, “May the Yord be wif me.” It was lovely.)

School Time!

kids writing in notebooks

Working mostly quietly

After our official Morning Time is over, the youngest wanders off the to play with cars and little animals while I read a chapter book. I find narrative stories that are engaging, yet not dumbed down in the least. A.A. Milne’s “Winne the Pooh” we have read multiple times. Currently we’re reading Richard of Jamestown by James Otis. We’ve read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and Chronicles of Narnia. If we are short on time I’ll skip this because Dad will read to them in the evenings, too.

boy reading books

We have many nooks for individual play and quiet time.

I do 10-ish minutes of a reading lesson with the Kindergartener out of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Engelmann. This will take us much longer than 100 days because we do the same lesson two or even three days in a row because she was getting frustrated. Slowing it down has been amazing for her confidence. She is now excited to see progress instead of discouraged when it was difficult. With the 2nd grader we’re using McGuffy’s Eclectic Reader Series a lesson a day, then I assign copy work to both of them. Copy work is often short. We desire a few perfectly written words rather than a whole page of sloppy handwriting. My kids have surprisingly neat handwriting.

example of hand writing

The Kindergartener is done with school for the day. The 2nd grader has math practice, or learning new math skills; he’s going through the Math-It packet (Elmer Brooks), and The Complete Book of Math Grades 1-2 (School Specialty Publishing), he looks up a word in the dictionary and we read the definition together, finds a country on the globe and then finds the same country on our large wall map. We then talk about how we could get there from Nebraska. Those things are listed on his schedule; he can complete many of them on his own.

If you’re looking for some simple curriculum that invites family participation, memorizing scripture AND serving your community, I highly recommend Laura’s ebook Learn Your Letters Learn to Serve. This is INCLUDED with your club membership! (Everyone cheers!!)

kids looking at a large map

This map makes us legit homeschoolers, right?

We are often done by 10:30 AM. The kids have free time until lunch. They find all sorts of things to do on their own. (See, and here you thought my kids stuck to a boring schedule all day long.) They have access to craft supplies where they make paper puppets on popsicle sticks and put on shows, draw comic book-style scenes, draw pictures, my girl will often copy her reading lesson to show it off to Dad, they have train sets and blocks and tents, they build towers and dress up and generally make messes everywhere. If it’s nice they run around outside.

kids playing in toy tents

Can you find all four!?

I do a variety of things. I may play on my phone, (I know, I know…Instagram is sucking my brain out.), meal prep, do a special project with one of the kids, sew something, read books, call my sisters, clean the bathrooms or other chores, go outside and check on my plum trees (THEY HAVE BUDS THIS YEAR!!), and put lunch in the oven.

kids outside

11:30 AM Wake up the baby from his nap. Read to him, snuggle, and play.

12:00 Dad comes up from his basement cave where he’s working from home and we eat lunch.

Afternoon

All help tidy the kitchen, switch laundry (2nd grader’s chore), get ready to go outside. 

Family walk or outside time (if the weather allows)

Free time

boy with block tower

One of many daily creations.

2:00 PM Nap time for baby, quiet time in separate rooms for everyone else. They are not allowed to talk to me or each other until 3:00. The 3 year old usually falls asleep in my bed. I don’t know what the 5 year old does, but she stays in her room with dolls and books and things. The 7 year old plays Legos and looks at picture books and draws in his room.

Finally, I check-out from mom-life in whichever room is the cleanest and causes the least amount of stress, and get incredibly snippy if anyone tries to talk to me during this time. With my laptop I sit and write and write and write. I blog (like now), but mostly I am attempting to write a novel. It’s been three years in the making but I am determined to finish it this year… #goals. I’ll keep you up to date if I ever finish. Because it’s on the schedule, I’m much more likely to do it.

desk with laptop

My office!

If I absolutely don’t feel like writing, I read something I want to read and eat a yummy snack that I don’t share with anybody.

3:00 PM The bigger kids are allowed to come out of their rooms and play quietly in the house or go outside. The younger two generally sleep longer.

toddler sleeping

He naps in my bed because he shares a room.

4:00 PM I close the laptop and come out of hiding. Wake the baby if he’s still sleeping. Dad joins us and we play outside, fold laundry, work on a home project together, grocery shop, meal prep, etc.

big brother reading to baby

5:00  PM Dinner and kitchen clean up.

Evening

6:00 PM Family time. House clean-up, outside time, reading books, listen to music and play, dream and draw plans of the house we’re going to build someday, discuss important things like the most deadly animal in the world: Tiger or Mosquito, I might sew something, paint pictures, kids take baths, go on walks, etc. If I don’t schedule this time in, we miss it! This is my favorite part of the quarantine: Daddy is home every evening.

kids peeling wallpaper

Group project: Removing wallpaper!

6:30 Baby is ready for bedtime routine and he’s asleep by 7:00

7:00 Dad puts the older three to bed. I finish cleaning the kitchen, fold laundry, bring the laptop back out to work some more, sew something, paint something, waste more time on my phone.

Tasha sitting at sewing machine because playing is on the schedule

One of my many hobbies.

8:00 Lights out for the bigger kids

9-10: Lights out for me. And up again at midnight and 3 AM with the baby.

OKAY!!! That’s the basic outline of our day. Not every day goes by this schedule exactly. But the framework has SAVED my kids and me. They know what to expect, and Dad knows what to expect. They don’t have to ask me “Can I go outside?” “When is lunch?” “Am I done with school?” The answer is on the schedule.

What keeps you grounded?

kids pretending to be in a bus

Beep Beep! The bus is leaving.

Do you have a schedule or routine? Does your family know what to expect each day? Do they know what’s expected of them? This schedule has been a life-saver, but it’s been through many transformations. It will look differently this summer and next fall when Dad goes back to work.

Tell me, how is your day planned out?


tasha

Tasha, friend of Laura is a stay-at-homeschool-mom to four kids. When she’s not writing about money and birthdays and how to survive anything, she can be found Instagramming for Laura @heavenlyhomemaker, producing something from a variety of creative hobbies, sneaking treats she doesn’t want to share with her family, and repurposing old shirts into toddler dresses. She and her family recently bought two-acres of prairie and are dreaming of a little house to build on it.

 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Top 5 Birthday Budget Tips

April 8, 2020 by Tasha Hackett 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Ready to read Tasha’s Top 5 Birthday Budget Tips?

Can you have a great birthday on a budget?

Duh! Of course. Okay, but really, when your family is used to something and things and times are changing (like being stuck at home during a pandemic), how do you have a great birthday? Perhaps you’re starting a new budget that doesn’t include extravagant gifts, what do you do?

Peter is one

My youngest just turned one. (Yay!) We celebrated him ALL DAY. Peek-A-Boo was played as often as he wanted. We snuggled and snuggled and snuggled. We served pasta (his favorite) with Easy Chocolate Fudge Pie (his favorite). Lighting a birthday candle was a highlight. (He loved it, we blew it out and lit it multiple times). We gave high fives (his favorite) and Pound It! (his favorite), we sang Happy Birthday at least 20 times throughout the day. We danced with him (his favorite); the kids and I got down and crawled on the floor. We cheered and laughed and clapped when he took five steps! He is loved and he knows it.

Baby in bath

This is how much he loves homemade chocolate pie!

Oh, and did I mention, we didn’t buy him a thing. Not a single thing. It was a great example to my other kids how we can have birthdays without presents.

“He was one, so it doesn’t count,” you say.

What about the big/little kids?

Another turns eight this month, his day will look entirely different. He can play a mean game of Peek-A-Boo, but it’s not his favorite. He might notice if he doesn’t get any presents. For him, I’m thinking Lego challenges as a family (he will win because he’s amazing), a one-on-one donut (take out) date with Dad (his favorite), a walk around town just the two of us (his favorite), charades, crazy-silly LOUD dance party (his favorite), hide-and-seek (his favorite), tag, all the popcorn he could possibly eat (his favorite), a show, and a family slumber party in the living room (his absolute favorite).

Notice a favorite trend here?

We’ll talk in advance about some of our plans so he’ll know what to look forward to. His siblings and I will pick out one gift together, (new drawing pens and notebook) but we don’t want that to be the focus of the day.

Here are the top five things I’ve learned about money and stuff and birthdays.

1. Budget, Budget, Budget.

Fancy word for: Set aside. Take some money each payday specifically for buying gifts and throwing a party and set it aside. Budgeting doesn’t mean not spending money, it just means you know where your money is going. Budget whatever makes sense for your family. If you love to buy expensive gifts, that’s your choice! (And can I be your friend? I’m super into kitchen appliences and tennis shoes with super cute summer dresses. In case anyone was wondering.) Just make sure the money is there for it.

2. Kids are stronger than you think.

They don’t need stuff to be happy. (And neither do we, except for blentecs and robotic vacuum cleaners. *Ahem*)

My oldest was crushed after a hard conversation about what he wasn’t getting for Christmas. I felt terrible. The thing he wanted just wasn’t in the budget, it wasn’t something we wanted in the house, and it didn’t fit with what we were trying to make Christmas about. He was sad for half a day and he got over it. Whoop-De-Do.

Therefore, I give you permission to not feel guilty about not buying more stuff. Permission granted to feel wonderful about making great memories. You know your child better than anyone, let the day be about him, not about what you bought. Decide ahead of time something to do instead.

3. Plan ahead.

Talk about expectations of the day as a family well before the event. “We are going to celebrate you by…doing all these fun and awesome things that are your favorite… so there won’t be many wrapped up presents this year.”

Focus on what you will be doing, not what you’re not doing. What does she like to do with you? Can you spend the whole day just enjoying her? Brainstorm with the whole family ways to celebrate and make memories. This can be extravagant budgeted excursions or completely free. (Mamas, unless your man is really into planning things, I give you permission to plan your day and let your family know what you expect of them. Be Specific. If you want breakfast in bed, it might be a good idea to make it ahead of time and show your people where to find it. I recommend something good eaten cold, like this Straweberry Bread.)

4. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. (Luke 12:15)

Can I get an Amen!? I need a large poster with this verse. After living a few (many) years on a spending lockdown, when we finally had a bit of cash, I fell into the habit of buying all the things I thought I needed. Remember my Amazon addiction? I did the same for the kids. Suddenly because I could buy stuff, I did. And you know what? They weren’t any happier with the stuff than they were without it. More stuff doesn’t change our hearts and our relationships with others and our relationship with God. We know this, and yet we all fall into a consumerism trap from time to time.

5. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. (Luke 12:23)

Not to take this passage out of context, Jesus wasn’t talking about birthdays OR WAS HE? It totally relates! A child is more than a party, and the birthday more than presents. A present does not a birthday make. (Does everyone hate me yet?) Planning fun activities is more work than buying stuff. (It can be so. much. work.) Trust me, I know what it’s like to have zero energy to organize and throw a party. Sleeping through the night is a luxury these days. Homeschooling little ones who can’t even read?! You’re 5 already, get with the program! (Kidding. I’m kidding.) Whew. I do have to keep this house from falling apart, too. Laundry and dishes and sweeping. Sometimes we even mop! (You know, when somebody brakes a glass full of milk.) How am I supposed to plan a party for a bunch of 3-year-olds?!?

And then I am reminded that life is more than food and the body more than clothes. Being happy is better than being perfect. Last December, my 7 year old was SO FOCUSED on what HE was going to GET, that he could hardly enjoy anything else about Christmas. We are making some changes in our house this year and not because we can’t financially afford to buy presents.

I still want birthdays to be something special.

Truthfully, I used to worry about birthdays because I wanted them to be special and wonderful, but I couldn’t afford to buy nice things. Now that we’ve paid off a bunch of debt, we can afford stuff and I realize we don’t need ‘em. Most of the time I don’t even want it! (Correction. I want new shoes. Shoes are great. I bought three pairs this month and I’m ecstatic. First new shoes I’ve had in 18 months. Somebody send help!) More stuff is often more mess and therefore more work. Then we have to spend even more time clearing out our junk and decluttering.

If you are a Heavenly Homemakers Club member, Laura has put together so many great ideas for celebrating your people. Look under FAMILY TIPS and browse her ideas that make sense for your family. Trip ideas, experience ideas, party ideas. You don’t have to come up with a plan for your family all on your own. Much of the work has been done for you!

I challenge you to find ways to really celebrate and love your people individually. You get to decide what that means. You can spend lots of money, or none of it, but in my experience, I have found the price tag doesn’t correlate with the success of the day.

Answer in the comments: What do you like about the way you celebrate? What would you like to do differently? Do you have a favorite childhood birthday memory?


tashaTasha, friend of Laura, and fellow homeschooling mama, lives in the middle of America and does her best to keep the floors clean. Hahaha. Her kids are currently one, three, five, and seven. When she’s not writing for Laura she can be found on Instagram @heavenlyhomemaker, sneaking Jalapeno Cheetos, painting with her kids, pretending she likes to garden, and watching Star Wars with her husband.


 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

That One Time I Got to Be a Speaker for the Homemaking Ministries Online Conference (Plus, win a NutriMill?!)

July 5, 2018 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I’m not sure which to tell you about first: the Homemaking Ministries Online Conference I was invited to speak for, or the NutriMill Grain Mill you have a chance to win!

I guess I’ll try to share both at once. :)

Coming in just a few weeks, you’ll want to take part in the 2018 Homemaking Ministries Online Conference. I was honored with an invitation to be a speaker and have had so much fun preparing!!

You’ll want to sign up to learn more about this conference here and when you do, you’ll be signed up to win some awesome homemaking prizes, including an actual Grain Mill!!!

There are more prizes where that came from. But more importantly, the Homemaking Ministries Conference covers much needed topics like:

  • Gospel-Centered Parenting
  • Overcoming Anger
  • Biblical Marriage
  • Your Identity in Christ
  • and many, many other kitchen, home, and Christ-focused topics.

As for my topic, I get to share from my 21 years of experience teaching my kids to cook. It’s been a blast working on this, especially once I realized how much my kids’ ability to cook is such a blessed part of our family’s ministries. Who knew? More on that during the conference!

When you sign up before July 9 to get info about the conference, you’ll not only be registered for the giveaway, you’ll also be given a chance to get a huge early bird discount. We’re talking a $20 savings! Plus this, which takes your savings up to $25:

So hurry over to sign up for the Homemaking Ministries Conference before July 9!

I can’t wait to share more as the conference dates get closer.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How to Host a Rockin’ Garage or Yard Sale {Plus a FREE Printable Checklist!}

June 4, 2018 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Hoping to clear out clutter from your house this summer? Here are some fabulous tips for hosting a ROCKIN’ garage or yard sale. Get rid of unneeded items from your home and make some extra cash too! (Be sure to get your Free Printable Checklist below!)

Kudos to my friend Kim (aka Garage Sale Queen) for providing all the wisdom for this post!

1. Prepare for your Garage or Yard Sale

Purge the House and Garage to Gather Sale Items

Several weeks before your sale, do a room by room purge. Check closets, cupboards, under beds, in storage places/tubs/shelves, etc. As you work your way through each room and see each item, ask yourself:

  • Are we using this?
  • Do we need it?
  • Can we do without it?
  • Would life be simpler if this was gone?
  • Is it more important to have a few dollars or cents in my hand or to still have this thing taking up space in my house?

If you see an item and hear yourself saying, “Why do we still have this?” – put it in the garage sale pile.

Prepare Your Sale Items

  • Wipe down everything that is dusty or dirty so they will look more appealing.
  • Put jewelry and other small items in ziploc bags to keep them from getting lost and so you can put a price tag on them more easily.
  • Group items in flat boxes so people can easily see what is inside.

Price Your Sale Items

If people cannot find a price, they will often choose not to purchase. In addition, most people do not like to “make an offer.” We recommend putting a price tag on everything!

  • Price items in 25 cent increments (eliminating the need for dimes, nickels, and pennies).
  • Use brightly colored stickers and large print to mark prices on each item.
  • Be willing to negotiate your prices if someone offers you a lower price that is still reasonable.

Put an Ad in the Paper or Online

It’s often worth the investment of putting an ad in the newspaper so more people know to come to your sale! What to consider when writing your ad:

  • Highlight major items like furniture, bicycles, appliances, unique items, homeschool curriculum, antiques and name brand clothing.
  • Think about what might make your garage sale stand out. Mention specific collectibles, children’s play equipment, tools, or outdoor furniture.
  • If you are doing a multi-family sale, emphasize that. It makes people more likely to come because there will be more things to see in one location.
  • If you are doing a moving sale and “everything must go”, say that because people know that you are more motivated to get rid of things.
  • If you are selling off baby equipment, make sure you say that. New moms are always looking for great deals on baby equipment- Grandmas and child care providers, too!
  • Include the specific dates and times you will hold your sale. Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday mornings tend to be the best times for most.
  • If your address is one that is hard to find, include directions in the ad.

This guy is incredibly excited to come to your sale after reading your ad.

Free Advertising: Post your ad to your local Facebook Selling Page. Consider posting it on your personal page.

A Note About Posting Online: People may ask about the prices of things and ask you to sell them “before” the sale, sometimes at a reduced price. While this can be nice, it can also make for some difficult situations, especially if you have already put that item in your newspaper ad. If someone came to your house specifically for that item at the beginning of your sale only to find that it is already sold, it can make for some not very nice exchanges.

Prepare a Cash Box

A bag, box, or drawer works nicely for your garage sale money. In advance of the sale, be sure to fill it so as to have change on hand for customers.

  • It is best to begin with about $20 in ones, $20 in fives, $40 in tens, plus at least one roll of quarters for making change. Keep track of what you began with so you have a more accurate total of your sales at the end.
  • Try to keep it organized throughout the sale. Keep ones together in front of fives, in front of tens, etc.
  • If your bag is getting full during the sale, take some inside your house (especially the checks and larger bills) and put it in a safe place.
  • Decide ahead of time: Are you willing to take checks? If so, do you have requirements? For instance, check has to be local and include a usable telephone number.
  • Most people are not set up to take credit or debit cards, but would you accept PayPal? This new way of paying is becoming more popular at garage sales, especially with the commonality of smart phones.

Collect Needed Items:

There are several items that are nice to have on hand before and during a garage or yard sale.

  • You might need masking tape to write on, to tape up signs, to mark prices, to hold boxes together, and group items together.
  • You might need scratch paper to make signs about prices, to write down additional information, etc.
  • Sharpies, both small and large point, come in handy.
  • Consider locating a tarps or two to cover sale items overnight.
  • Measuring tape is nice to have to lend to customers interested in specific items.
  • A calculator can come in handy unless you’re great at doing math in your head.

2. Setting Up Your Garage Sale or Yard Sale

  • Borrow and set up many tables to place sale items on. Tables are better than the grass or driveway in most cases because people don’t want to bend over. Make things easier for people to see and reach and you are more likely for them to sell.
  • Group things in categories:  kitchen, bath, kids toys, clothing, bedding, tools, books, curriculum, crafts, baby equipment, etc. Arrange furniture in nice groupings, if you can. Put the same size clothing and shoes together. Put bedding sizes together and mark them clearly.
  • Have a free box. If you don’t know how to price it and you’d price it super cheap, put it in the free box and watch it leave!
  • Make LARGE LOT deals: For example, “These books are 50 cents each or 12 for $5.” “This box of toys is $5 for the box.” “Clothing is “$1 each or 12 for $10.” It is amazing what people will take to make a great deal. The more they take, the less you have to deal with at the end.
  • Set furniture close to the street so it will attract buyers to your sale.

3. Running Your Garage or Yard Sale

  • Stick with your planned start and end times.
  • Ask for help. There are often times when you need two or more people to move a table, set up something quickly, get a drink, change the baby, or cover for you while you use the restroom.
  • Be less willing to negotiate at the beginning of the sale and much more willing to negotiate toward the end of the sale. If someone wants an amazing deal (like less than half the requested price), tell them you will think about it and call them back later. Get their number and give them yours. If it doesn’t sell later, call them and work on the amazing deal.
  • If someone wants to come back later to pay for something, consider that they might not come back and you might miss out on another sale. Get a phone number and give them a timeline. “If you are not back and/or have not paid for the item before XXX time, then I will make it available to someone else.”

Obviously the people helping you move furniture will be dressed in matching red overalls.

4. Other Considerations:

  • Larger sales are more likely to draw greater numbers of people. If you can plan a neighborhood sale or a multi-family sale, more people are likely to come.
  • If your sale is a multi-family sale, in advance make a sheet that includes the names of all the people who contributed to the sale across the top. Then, add their sold item prices to the list so you can keep a running total of their sales. Or have each family’s price stickers of a different color or mark price stickers with initials.
  • If you are not going to keep the money for yourself, but are raising money for a charity or event, let people know. People can be more generous when they know that their money is going to a good cause.

5. What to Do with Garage and Yard Sale Leftovers

Not sure what to do with items that don’t sell? Here are some ideas:

  • Put it on the side of the road and offer it for free. It will likely disappear.
  • Take it to a local thrift or charity store and get your tax receipt. That is not immediate money in your hand, but it might help with your taxes later on.
  • Donate appropriate items to a local rescue mission or women’s shelter.
  • List it online using a local buy, sell, trade page or your personal page. Use Craigslist or ebay, if you are savvy.
  • Put an ad in your local newspaper. Some newspapers offer one free ad after your garage sale if you advertised with them.
  • Put a notice in your church email or communication. You never know when the right person will be listening or know someone who “was looking for that.”

Get a FREE Garage Sale Checklist Printable.

Use this handy checklist to help you have a super effective garage or yard sale!

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The Truth About Having a Productive Day

May 15, 2018 by Laura 17 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This spring, God gave our family a glorious opportunity to serve in an unexpected way.

It all happened quite suddenly, and before I knew it, there was a precious pink bundle in my lap. We rocked, we prayed, and we loved. We didn’t sleep much.

We made phone calls, had meetings, and did research. We constantly sought God’s best for this wee one and her family.

Day after day, I fell wearily into bed hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before a night-time feeding. I’d see unfolded laundry piled up nearby, reminding me of all I hadn’t done. I knew the dishes were waiting downstairs. I couldn’t remember what my family had eaten but I was pretty sure there were no vegetables involved. I hadn’t checked email, much less answered any inquiries. Bills stacked up on the counter-top and the registration forms for my kids’ prom were threatening to become past due.

Each night, I was very tempted me to say, “Wow, I didn’t get one thing done today.” But God stopped me, convicting me that was a lie the enemy wanted me to believe.

The truth was, I’d changed diapers, made bottles, and rocked, held and loved on a baby all day long. I’d shown my boys how to hold a baby, and maybe even how to lay down their lives for others in the midst of crisis.

I’d made phone calls and advocated for the future of this dear one. I’d gone to a WIC appointment. I’d picked up formula. I comforted, and cooed, and gave tummy time.

Most of all, I’d prayed.

Friends, there is nothing, not one thing, more productive than prayer.

In the midst of loving people, standing in the gap for those who have no voice, and serving the “least of these,” we must never look at the un-done chores and feel as though we’ve been unproductive.

A clean house means nothing when there are hurting and lost people in our midst. A scrubbed kitchen is meaningless when there are little ones to rock and faces to be wiped. Folded laundry is ridiculously overrated when there are naked to clothe and hungry to be fed.

As soon as my arms were free, I baked and I cooked and I washed and I typed. I scrubbed and I organized and I emailed. I felt so productive! I had accomplished so much! My check-list was complete and my chores were diminished!

But the truth had won out. A check-list is just a check-list. Chores are just chores. The true definition of productivity is love.

Loving people is always productive, whether it looks like a home-cooked meal in a clean kitchen or a store-bought pizza on paper plates. God’s love wins. When we listen, obey, serve, and trust, we are productive. When we let the Holy Spirit live through us, when we surrender and let God work, we have done the exact thing God had planned for us to do. This is perfect productivity.

Did you love people today? Then you were productive. Did you pray and trust God today? Then you chose the very best. Did you let God work while you listened to His voice and responded in obedience? You have been incredibly productive.

Put love on your list and check it off daily. You’ll be amazed at how productive you become.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.S. I wrote and scheduled this post back in April after we’d been caring for a 3-month old girl. Just a few days later, God made us foster parents to a four-year old boy. It’s amazing how God prepares His people! I have to fall back on this Truth every day as I care for  this little boy.

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Simple Ingredients for Simple Meals Printable! Gift for You!

April 5, 2018 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

After many a request, we’ve finally created a Simple Ingredients for Simple Meals printable list for you to work with. Just when you thought it wasn’t possible, simple cooking just got even easier!

Over the past several months, many of you have requested that I create a list of all the ingredients I like to keep on hand to make real food cooking easier. It’s taken a while, but I called in for back up and had one of my assistants help create what I declare to be beautiful, practical, and of course, simple!

Simple Ingredients List to the Rescue

The timing is perfect for this fun Simple Ingredients list to become available for you. Why? Because we just kicked out our High Five Recipes eBook, which shares 111 recipes that all include 5 or fewer simple ingredients. Wondering which ingredients can be mixed and matched to make all 111 of these recipes? This list pretty much covers it! And then some.

Don’t you love how easy this printable breaks down that basics of ingredient needs? All the ingredients listed are real food, nourishing, and un-complicated. Simple, simple, simple! Yes, real food cooking is SIMPLE!!! And it tastes great. This, of course, is a must.

Obviously we’re all going to have favorite items not listed here. But this is our go-to list for all Simple Ingredient needs for Simple Meal preparation. Add to it as needed for your family!

It’s our pleasure to give you this Simple Ingredients for Simple Meals printable list as a gift.

We hope it is a huge help in simplifying your real food cooking lifestyle. Use it as a guide so that grocery shopping will be simpler, so you can save money, and so you’ll be able to have basic ingredients on hand for creating Simple Meals.

Sign up here so we can send you this wonderful freebie. (As an added bonus, we’re including several surprise freebies too. Wait till you see!)

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The Easiest Meal to Make for Easter

March 22, 2018 by Laura 11 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

As with any holiday, I like to actually enjoy myself and my guests instead of spending hours in the kitchen. Thus, today I will share the easiest meal to make for Easter.

The Easiest Meal to Make for Easter

It has become our tradition to invite a houseful of college students over to enjoy our Easter dinner with us. It is worth noting that young adults are most certainly not too old to enjoy plastic eggs filled with bunny-shaped sugar. We fill eggs with candy, then half of our guests hide the eggs all over our yard, hoping to challenge their fellow college students to climb into precarious places to find said eggs. We dig out plastic grocery sacks for everyone to use as Easter baskets because at our house, we like to be fancy.

easter 20168

The meal I serve? Well, college kids love any form of home-cooking, thus they tend to not care what I make, as long as I’ve made it.

It is a good thing that simple food just so happens to also be delicious. Love makes food taste better. Praying over my guests while I’m preparing the food has become my favorite hospitality practice. This takes away all the stress over the meal as I know God is the One who makes the food and the fellowship sweet and memorable.

easter 20162

I’ve found that the easiest meal to make for Easter includes ham, potato casserole, veggies, rolls, and a simple dessert. Nothing fancy necessary, except for the above mentioned plastic grocery bags we use as Easter Baskets. Those always wow our guests.

The Easiest Meal to Make for Easter

ham

1. I buy a Spiral Sliced Ham.

These taste incredible and are super simple to make. I plop it in a pan, throw away the packet of glaze, cover the ham, and bake it while we are at church. Just before serving we cut it off the bone and put it on our buffet. It is a hit every time and it takes no work to prepare. Spiral sliced ham for the win!

Bacon Hashbrown Casserole

2. I make a Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole ahead of time.

Then I slide it into the oven along with the ham to bake while we are at church. This is multi-tasking at its finest.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

3. I quickly make some veggies and/or a salad.

Steamed green beans, Honey Glazed Carrots, a tray of raw veggies – none of these takes much time or effort to prepare. If I have time, I might put together a “fancy” salad like this Strawberry Spinach Salad.

rolls1sm

4. I buy rolls.

I never thought I’d see the day, but I’ve learned that relationships and hospitality can look like homemade rolls AND store-bought rolls. For this season in my life, I have decided to buy rolls, plop them in a basket, and go love on the people. Maybe eventually I’ll get back to making homemade rolls, seeing as they are hard to beat!

Build-a-Brownie

5. Dessert isn’t fancy.

Sometimes I skip making dessert altogether and simply sprinkle Easter candy across the middles of the tables. If I have time to do more, I bake brownies, buy ice cream, and set up a Brownie Sundae Bar.

easter 20163

This Easter meal is simple but fabulous, our tables are filled with people we love, and I guess it goes without saying that hiding/hunting Easter eggs with college students who are walking around holding fancy grocery bags provides enough fun to last us all year round.

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My Favorite Real Food Cheat Trick to Save Time Chopping Onions

March 18, 2018 by Laura 12 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This Real Food Cheat Trick is going to sound fairly lame. I admit it. But this tip saves me oodles of time without costing much, if any, extra money! This is how I save time chopping onions!

minced onion trick

How’s this for a tip? Want to save time chopping onions? Don’t chop them. Hold your applause. Please stay tuned for more brilliant tips like this one.

Now that I’ve fully prepared you to be unimpressed, I will admit that it’s likely that many of you will thoroughly dislike my trick. Why? Because most certainly the smell of freshly chopped onions and minced garlic sauteing in a pan with olive oil or butter is incredible!

You are right and I agree. But I still like my trick and I love the time this saves.

My Favorite Real Food Cheat Trick to Save TimeHow I Save Time Chopping Onions

I always keep a huge supply of Dried Minced Onion on hand. I almost never go to the trouble of chopping an onion. I simply grab my jar of dried minced onion, dump in the desired amount, and stir it into the meat I’m cooking. It still smells amazing. It flavors the food marvelously. And I save myself the trouble of chopping an onion, crying a river, and cleaning up the mess afterward.

I suppose it goes without saying that this method also keeps me from having to work at getting the onion smell off my fingers. (Yes, I know. Rub your fingers on stainless steel. I do. It works. But still.)

Also, for people who don’t love chunks of onion in their food, but do love the flavor onions give, using Dried Minced Onion is a great solution!

Save Time Chopping Onions

I might as well make a garlic confession while I’m here.

I frequently cheat with that too. True story: I almost never buy fresh garlic, a fact of which has many of you throwing tomatoes.

Fresh garlic is tough to beat, no doubt. But time saved in the kitchen trumps all, in my book. So I either keep a jar of minced garlic in the fridge or I grab my jar of dried garlic powder from my spice cabinet. My food still tastes delicious, but I’ve saved myself some work by using these convenience items.

So there you have it. Now you know. I often cheat and use already-prepared onions and garlic. You can’t talk me out of it. (Though I suppose you can try.)

But doesn’t this cost more?

Minced Onion appears to be more expensive per pound compared to cost per pound of fresh onions. However, Dried Minced Onions have been dehydrated, shrinking them down and changing their weight. You’ll get a lot of dried minced onion per pound compared to fresh onions. One small fresh onion equals 1 Tablespoon Dried Minced Onion.

onion3

Where to purchase Dried Minced Onion

Most grocery stores carry these. They can be found in the aisle with the spices. However, I typically purchase it in bulk either from Azure Standard or Amazon.

Huge Bulk Amount of Dried Minced Onion

Dried Minced Onion options at Azure Standard

Now it’s your turn to tell me if you feel it is worth taking the extra time to chop onions and garlic. If you’re often feeling tight on time in the kitchen, I recommend giving this a try, especially on busy days!

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The Easiest Way to Organize Your Recipes

March 8, 2018 by Laura 14 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Today I want to hear the ways each of you has found to organize your recipes!

Favorite Recipes12

As you all know, I am a recipe nut. A full fledged recipe guru. Recipes are my thing. I love them. I collect them. I invent them. I dream about them. And often these recipes include butter. This cannot be helped.

But recently I was asked, “Laura, what’s the easiest way you’ve found to organize your recipes?” My response, “Oh, I don’t organize them. I just create them.”

You guys do not want to see my recipe cabinet. 

Yes, it’s true. I have an entire, very unorganized cabinet full of recipes. (And also a cabinet full of Pyrex. These are needed so I can bake the recipes piled up in my cabinet. And also so that I can enjoy the butter.)

butter

#iheartbutter
#andpyrex

So my recipe cabinet. It is about as messy as can be. When I need to use one of the recipes in this cabinet, I have to dig and scrounge and muddle. But never fear. While looking through my mess to find the one recipe I need, I end up finding three more I forgot were there. And you guessed it. Many of them require the use of chocolate. (Bet you thought I was going to say “Pyrex” or “butter.” Ha. Just keeping you on your toes.)

So today, my friends, we’re going to talk about the easiest way to organize recipes. It’s high time I found a system. My messy cabinet pile is no longer working. It never worked. So let’s talk about how to organize your recipes!

I’m sure you’re eager to learn about this subject from someone who clearly has no clue. Come closer, my friends. I’ll teach you everything I don’t know.

Tips for the easiest way to organize your recipes

As I’ve searched for a system, these are the new tricks that are working best for me at this point.

  • Keep all your recipes in one place. (At least having all my recipes in one cabinet was better than tucking them randomly inside school books, the silverware drawer, and behind the toaster oven.)
  • If the recipes are cut from magazines, torn from a book, or printed off the computer, slide them all safely inside a large manila folder or envelope.
  • Invest in a binder. This is my best idea so far.

I came across this DIY Recipe Binder idea online and I don’t know why I never thought of it before! It’s way too simple, and turns my messy cabinet into a nicely organized recipe haven.

binder

DIY Recipe Binder – FREE Printables!!

DIY Recipe Binder - Free Printables

I spent a little time creating these lovely binder pages to help me become more organized. I like them so much I decided to share them with you! Not only can all of our recipes be in one place, we can put them all into one organized (and fun!) binder.

How to make and use your Recipe Binder

  1. Enter your email address here and the free printables will be sent to your inbox. (This will connect you to our Heavenly Homemakers email list so I can continue to send you freebies, recipes, and deals!)
  2. Print each of the Recipe Binder pages you will use.
  3. Use a 3-hole punch to prepare them for a 3-ring binder.
  4. As you print recipes from the computer, add them to your binder within the fitting category.
  5. If you have small recipe cards, recipes cut from magazines, etc, re-write them on 8.5×11 inch paper so that they fit your binder. Or slide them into a plastic sleeve that fits in a 3-ring binder.

And that, my friends, is how we’re going to get our recipes organized once and for all!

Or at least that’s the hope. The fact that my new Recipe Binder is cute and fun offers me lots of incentive. :)

Get your FREE DIY Recipe Binder pages here.

 

What ways have you found to organize your recipes?

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The Easiest Way to Get the Stink Out of Shoes

March 4, 2018 by Laura 7 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Do you have stinky shoes at your house? If so, today I shall become your new best friend as I reveal my fabulous (but weird) secret to getting the stink out of shoes.

shoes

You can be very sure that my methods work as I am, most definitely, an expert on shoe stink. Is my profound wisdom on the matter a result of time spent doing extensive research on the subject? No. In fact, my expertise comes from living with five male, adult-sized athletes. We have four pairs of basketball shoes plus ten pairs of soccer shoes (because, of course, they all need both indoor and outdoor varieties).

The stink here is real, folks. Anyone who opens our front closet does so at their own risk, as the stench of 28 athletic shoes rises up inside in a thick, green cloud that makes a person wonder if a dead animal lies therein.

We tried airing the shoes outside, stuffing newspaper inside them to draw out the smell, and used multiple commercial products that promise great results.

And yet, the stink remained. The tears rolled down our faces. We thought we might have to move out of our house, but of course, the shoes would move with us, so then what would we do?

newspapershoessm

See? I told you we tried the “stuff newspapers inside” method.
It works. Sort of.

The Easiest Way to Get the Stink out of Shoes

Not to worry. There’s a simple remedy for shoe stink and you are about to be amazed!

I should warn you that as excited as I am that my shoe stink removal methods work so fabulously, my grandma would likely shake her head in dismay were she alive to read this article. “Surely there is another way, Laura,” she might say. But I would say no. I’ve tried all the other ways and nothing else works as well as this.

So ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid it’s time to buy some vodka. Yes, this is what it’s come down to.

Vodka just so happens to be a magic ingredient in Grandma’s baking vanilla extract, a fact of which I’m sure she was blissfully unaware. And, as my husband and I have recently discovered, it also works fabulously, mixed with tea tree oil, at immediately killing the stink in shoes.

Spray Bottle with Flower and Scrub

This fabulous discovery became known to us on a day we had finally had enough. The shoe stink has somehow risen to a new level. There were no words.

My husband did a quick online search to find that simply spraying a mixture of vodka and tea tree oil into the offending shoes would immediately remove the stink. Could it be?

Well, I always have a bottle of vodka on hand so that I can make batches of Homemade Vanilla. So we quickly got out our vanilla-making vodka and poured it into a spray bottle. We added some tea tree oil from our collection of essential oils. We sprayed the mixture into a pair of shoes.

Miracle of miracles. The shoes immediately smelled fresh. I’m talking, you can put your face right down into the shoe, live to tell about it, and even come up smiling.

I double dog dare you to try this amazing concoction. Spray it into your most offensive shoes. Put your face into the shoe. Be filled with joy.

Now this spray is not a one-and-done stink removal remedy. We’ve found that we must spray our shoes down after every athletic event because while the DIY spray is powerful, so is fresh sweat. Good talk.

DIY Shoe Stink Spray

The Easiest Way to Get the Stink Out of Shoes
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 2 cups plain vodka (the cheap stuff is just fine)
  • 8-10 drops tea tree oil
Instructions
  1. Pour vodka into a spray bottle.
  2. Drop tea tree oil into the bottle and shake to mix.
  3. Spray mixture into stinky shoes and be amazed!
3.4.3177

The Best Way to Get the STINK Out of Shoes

Why this works

Vodka kills bacteria and Tea Tree Oil is both antibacterial and antifungal. The combination works magic. So now the only reason I make sure our closet door stays closed is because well, have you ever seen 28 shoes thrown haphazardly into one space? Someone give me a DIY remedy for that mess. :)

Some of these links are my affiliate links.

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