Home Sanctuary

Turn in March Points!

March is OVER, ya'll! Good gracious it went by fast! Well, you know what that means....it's time to add up the points you've been earning each day you've done a Small Thing - for a chance to win this:

This month, our Most Points Winner will receive one of my favorite canvas designs. I've given this one away before, but I thought maybe ya'll wouldn't mind another chance at winning one. I've got mine displayed as a tabletop piece, but it comes ready to hang on the wall....you can have fun deciding where you'd like to put it. I love it because it's our theme - our hearts' prayer to make our homes places of sanctuary for the people we love. And ourselves.

I really think you need this.

The Random Drawing Winner will receive the Dana Bachman Zebra Trim Tote from Kohls. (love that store) It is part of the KohlsCares line of products that support breast cancer research - a great cause and a CUTE tote!

 

Today's Small Thing is two steps:

1. Email your point total number to me at [email protected]  Just sharpen your pencil and add up what you've done this month! Please be sure that you only give yourself points for the tasks you completed on the days they were assigned (or within the timeframe given). No cheating and "catching up" all at once on the last day! That would defeat the whole purpose of daily Small Things, right??

If you simply want to be entered into the Random Drawing, let me know in an email as well. Anyone is eligible for the drawing...no adding of points required.

2. Leave a comment, letting us know which Small Thing you enjoyed/needed the most this month.  This is a fun way to nudge the fence-sitters to go ahead and jump in next month. See?  It's fun!!

You even get points for doing today's Small Thing.

POINTS: 40 for the two steps: sending your email, and leaving a comment...good toward March's total. If you've already won for Most Points previously, you won't be eligible to win again, sorry. I'll collect points/emails until midnight Friday, April 1 CST. 

Song of the Day: Oh Happy Day, Edwin Hawkins Singers

Keep Smiling

I have a confession to make. 

I have FOUR active toothbrushes. 

I have one in my master bathroom (my favorite brush because it feels the best), one in the guest bathroom (because I often get ready in there since the girls moved out), one in the downstairs bathroom (for that last-minute brushing before heading out the door), and one travel-sized brush in my purse for emergencies (like removing an errant poppy seed from a restaurant lunch.)

Is that excessive?  I don't know.  All I know is that I love the just-brushed feeling that a stick of gum just can't give you after you've eaten garlic and onions. 

But as much as I love my toothbrushes, I hate to clean the toothbrush holders.  Maybe because I'm a "neat" brusher and don't have foam running down the handle when I brush, while others in this household jam their wet, drooly handles into the receptacles without so much as a thought.  All that crusty toothpaste that collects at the bottom doesn't belong to me so I don't want to be responsible for it.

Is it me, or is that crust just nasty???  Blech!

Today's Small Thing is to clean your toothbrush holders (or wherever you store toothbrushes.) You might need to let the years of saliva sediment soak in warm water for awhile before you can face scrubbing them.  It will feel great to see those holders looking all shiny and pretty again!

POINTS: 30 for cleaning one holder

BONUS: 10 each for any other holder/drawer/countertop your toothbrushes may rest

Song of the Day: When You're Smiling, Dean Martin

More confessions:  when was the last time you replaced your toothbrush?

Let There Be Lots

"Let there be lots," sounds like a prayer a shopper might whisper on her way to a mega-closeout sale of, say, a Bed Bath & Beyond store.  YES, LORD!  May there be many placemat sets, designer comforters and bathroom rugs at rock-bottom prices so that I may glorify Thee with my thriftiness and shewcase the humble abode wherein Thou hast caused me to dwell.

But "let there be lots" is actually Southern-speak for a phrase in Genesis 1, in which God placed a "lot" to rule the heavens during the day, and "lots" to rule the "not." ("Not" is generally when it is dark out.)

And speaking of lots, I recently noticed how grubby the walls around my lot switches have become. Yes, there is a distinct shade of grub around some of the most oft-used switches. Ladies, it's time to tackle an easy job that is easily overlooked....until today.

Today's Small Thing is to damp-wipe around your grimy "lot" switches.  It won't take but a minute, I promise!  Start with the ones in the "guest" areas: bathrooms, entries, living rooms, and then work your way through the house.  This is an easy job because there shouldn't be anything baked on or ground in....but I can't guarantee that there won't be jelly or greasy fingerprints. 

You might think this is a silly job (especially when there are bigger fish to fry), but you will feel so ON TOP OF THINGS when you finish, that it will be worth it.  Go ahead...flip those switches for NO REASON AT ALL!  Celebrate your attention to detail!

plus 30

POINTS: 30 for doing the ones in the main living/guest areas.

BONUS POINTS: 30 more for tackling the bedroom switches.

Song of the Day: Shine One, Needtobreathe

 

Pick Up the Floor

I landed at the airport on Friday afternoon, drove an hour home to pick up our son from school, and then went directly to the first State Tournament hockey game of the weekend. I literally threw my bags on top of the pile of laundry, which I'd moved from the bed to the floor. Over the weekend, our hockey team played three games (placed 7th overall), we watched our rivals play the championship game, and then my husband coached his junior varsity team on Sunday......it was fun but I got home "hockey'ed out" and discouraged by the state of my bedroom. Everything is still all over the floor. Yuck!

Fortunately, I remembered this Small Thing that we've done before, but is JUST THE THING I NEED to cope with the debris I'm faced with today! Read on:

 

One of the best-loved characters in Childrens' literature is Amelia Bedelia, the housekeeper who takes instructions quite literally.  Who could resist a woman who puts sponges into sponge cake, or pitches a tent by throwing it into the woods?

I thought of Miss Bedelia as I considered today's Small Thing, which is to pick up the floor.

I wonder how SHE would go about it?

Picking up the floor, or should I say, "picking up what's ON the floor" is one of the fastest ways to make your home look presentable.  It sounds crazy, but I'll betcha if you just look around at your house, you'd find shoes, purses, backpacks, toys, socks, clothes, half-eaten sandwiches, wet towels, and papers, all just laying there to be stepped on and tripped over.

Childrens' rooms tend to be the worst, not only because they have so much stuff, but also because they seem to be born with the inability to see anything below their knees.

Sometimes, just scooping up the one or two items (or ten or twenty) left on the floor is enough to make it seem like you had a whole team of housekeepers clean up the place.  It's a miracle!

It's best if you can actually put the items back where they belong, but don't let the thought of organizing it all prevent you from zipping through the house on a mission to just pick it up. You might try dragging a laundry basket around so you can dump stuff in it as you go, or you could simply stack the items neatly so they are ready to be organized later.  Don't over-think it, just do it.

POINTS: 40 for picking up the floor in one room

BONUS POINTS: 10 for each additional room, up to 4 more

80 points, max. Thanks, Amelia!!

What's on YOUR floor?

Song of the Day: Pick Up Sticks, Dave Brubeck Band

Company Girl Coffee 3.25

I had a wonderful time at the Spring Event in Bastrop, LA with the ladies of First Baptist last night. I will post photos on Monday....thank you so much for your prayers and well-wishes as I truly stepped out of my comfort zone to speak. It is amazing to think that God can use ANYONE who is willing - no matter what. I loved meeting everyone and ya'll made me feel so welcome! Thank you Lyndsey (and friends) and Lydia Cate for travelling to see me...that was awesome.

Here I am with Lydia Cate, baby Amber, and Lea Culp! Now we are REAL LIFE CG'S!

Now, there is no clever Small Thing today on account of my being out of town .............but I will award 50 POINTS to you for doing Minimum Maintenance today. Go check out past MM posts and then get cracking!

That's right, I said get cracking for 50 points. Yahoo! So worth it.

You're invited to link up for a virtual Coffee Party below....it's a chance to meet new bloggers and catch up with "old" friends. Simply add your blog post URL to the list below....and if you'd like for the list to show up on YOUR blog, just follow the instructions for "Blog Hop."

UPDATE: SORRY ABOUT THE LINKY NOT BEING THERE THIS MORNING! I'VE GOT IT FIXED...THANKS TO AIRPORT WIFI I WAS ABLE TO ACCESS IT!

Keep on Fluffing...

Yesterday, I lost my Small Things post in cyberspace and was I was late getting it re-done and posted. So let's just keep this simple and "keep on fluffing" today....especially since some of your fluffing ideas are taking some time. Remember, you have through the weekend to accomplish this task, so it might be a great opportunity to fit in a larger project than our usual 5-minute tasks.

I'm headed to Bastrop, LA today and will be with Lea from CiCi's Corner! I'm excited to meet Company Girl Lydia Cate, in real life, and also CG Lyndsey from Monroe, LA! I'm sure there will be other gals there as well, and I can't wait to hug your necks. I'll be speaking at Lea's church's Spring Event tonight, and I would so appreciate your prayers.

Fuss and Fluff

 

For being a person who has made a career being creative for other people, I'm surprisingly UNcreative when it comes to my own home.  Like all of us, I have trouble seeing my own decorating faux-pas and the clutter that would be only so obvious if I hired someone ELSE like me to come in and help me out.

Perhaps I should pay myself to fix up my own house, and then maybe it would get done?  An idea worth consideration.

There are the Big Decor items, like paint and carpet, that usually can't be replaced in one day.  And there are furniture items, like armoires and couches, that aren't easily moved.  But there are smaller things that can make a huge difference, simply with a little fussing and fluffing.

For example, I recently moved ONE throw pillow from a chair to the couch, and it makes me happy every time I see it!  Golly, it takes so little to make life sweet.

And not long ago, I moved the sofa and love seat to a slightly different angle....OH MY!  I've fallen in love with the living room all over again.

Today's Small Thing is to take a few minutes to fuss with and fluff the things you already have in your home. You will have through the weekend to complete this!

Here are a few ideas:

Consider rearranging pillows on the couch or chair.  Just because you've ALWAYS had the red pillow on the couch doesn't mean it won't look great on your bed. Or chair.

How about setting a stack of books and a candle on the coffee table?

Straighten the picture frames on the mantle that someone knocked over with a nerf ball.

Move a flower arrangement into another room.

Set out some Spring place mats.

Hang fresh towels in the guest bath.  Garnish them with a folded washcloth over the top.

Put some fruit in a bowl for a centerpiece.

Move the cookie jar to another spot on the counter.

Move a side table to another location.  Top it with a lamp or family memento.

Put angles to use:  Throw rugs, furniture, kitchen tables, side chairs.  Sometimes a slight turn will breathe new life into what you already have.  Try it!

"Shop" your closets and storage for vases, knick knacks, frames and mementos and bring out something you haven't seen in awhile.  Aunt Martha's quilt might look stunning draped over the end of a bed, rather than in a box.

"Retire" some things that are cluttery.  Editing the things you have "out" will help you love what you have even more.  Don't be afraid to put things into a box or closet for awhile....in a few months you can "shop" in there and be delighted with what you find!

OK, now let's hear some of YOUR ideas!  How will you fuss and fluff?  You don't have to make the perfect arrangement to be able to enjoy it!  Just take a few minutes to squint your eyes and purse your lips, as you tip your head to the side to decide how to make the most of what you already have!

POINTS: 50 for fussing and fluffing!

Song of the Day: Beautiful, Phil Wickham

Ack! Where's My Post?

Ladies, I don't know what happened, but today's post has gone missing! I got up to check something this morning and it's not there. Huh???? I'll post later today...

Rachel Anne

Impressive

"Wow, Mom!" Where did you get those huge spoons?" my daughters, Lauren and Meghan watched wide-eyed as I pulled industrial-sized spoons from the drawer.

"What, these?" I answered nonchalantly. "From some giants."

The girls, about seven or eight at the time, looked uncertain about whether they could believe me. Then they started peppering me with questions: Are there really giants? Are you just telling a story? How did you meet them? What do they look like?

Finally, I just had to tell the the truth. I met the giants in a far away land, they made a delicious pot of soup for me and gave me the spoons as souvenirs for my journey. Simple. The End.

Lauren and Meghan looked at me in wonder, clearly impressed. Our Mom. Knows giants.

It's easy to impress little kids....not so easy to impress teenagers, or even yourself. Today's Small Thing is to impress someone - maybe not so much with a tall tale, but with an action that gets a "wow" response.

It could be a simple as adding dessert to an ordinary meal, making an elaborate fort with your child, or finishing that project you've been putting off. You could impress yourself by exercising for ten extra minutes, actually putting some makeup on, or wearing jewelry at home. You could impress your boss by making that presentation look top-notch, impress your husband with your cleavage, or impress your teen with your cage-fighting skills. Hey, it's time to pull out the stops...this is for some big points.

POINTS: 50 for doing something impressive - big or small

Song of the Day: Wrong Impression, Natalie Imbruglia

Hot Mess

I enjoyed Spring Break last week - but I MISSED YOU ALL!! It seemed a little lonely without our daily interaction....so it's nice to be back. YAY!

We'll start back to the Small Things with something that I really need to do, and I've been putting it off until I could get points for it - ha!

The term "hot mess" usually brings someone like Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen to mind, poor people. While they work out their problems, I've got my own hot mess to think about: my stove top.

Since I tend to be a "stove top" chef, I am constantly wiping up greasy splatters in the kitchen.  I start a number of my edible delights with sauteed onions, garlic and red peppers - the basis for making anything taste good, even if it's a hastily prepared meal.  The downside is that the buttery goodness ain't so good when it's sprayed all over the top of the stove and adjacent counter.  Particularly the next day.  Blech.

Today's Small Thing is to do a de-greasing cleaning of your stove top area.  Pay attention to the backsplash, under the knobs and of course, those crusty drip pans. I use warm water to soften the gook, followed by something like Bam to wipe up the greasy spills.  I like lots of paper towels for this job.

When my stove top is sparkling, I feel inspired to eat out.  That might be a sweet reward for having a gourmet-level of clean for one day.

Take a picture.

POINTS: 40 for cleaning up your hot mess

Song of the Day: Mess Around, Ray Charles