Home Sanctuary

Brave Little Toaster

 Our brave little toaster works hard every day, as we are Toast People and love to eat toast.  Toast is the perfect breakfast complement, makes sandwiches seem more substantial, and provides the ideal night-night snack.  Crunchy, yet tender and comforting.

I always clean up the crumbs around the toaster, but only occasionally take the time to unplug it, open the little hatch at the bottom and shake it completely out.  

Today's Small Thing is to give your brave little guy a good cleaning. A nice swab of the exterior will get him looking shiny and smart looking, just the way a toaster ought to be. Shake out the crumbs and he'll be ready for action.

You might even give him his blanky.

Have a great Monday....enjoy this easy and fulfilling task.

What's your favorite toast topping? I'm loving almond butter with raspberry jam!

Song of the Day: Burnt Toast and Black Coffee

 

Resolution Revolution - and Coffee

Most of you probably know that besides writing Home Sanctuary, I also manage Priscilla Shirer's blog, at Going Beyond. Priscilla and I have been close friends for a long time and it is truly an honor to write for her. On her blog today, she is announcing a countdown to the release of a new book, called "The Resolution for Women." It is being released as a companion to the upcoming movie called "Courageous." I've actually read the manuscript for this book and girls! This is a GREAT book. I would say it is Priscilla's best to date.

I was concerned that the "resolutions" would be a total beat down to read and feel guilty over. But each chapter is beautifully written and by the end of each one, I was ready to sign in blood. It's uplifting and encouraging and challenging, all at the same time. I'm excited to share this with my daughters....and with you, my sweet CG's.

Today's Small Thing is to pop over to Priscilla's blog and watch the little video she did about the "The Resolution Revolution Project" she is doing. For the next 7 Fridays, she will be doing some giveaways and interviewing some women (Darlene Zschech is one!) on different aspects of the resolutions. Today, she is giving away three signed copies of the book - just listen for the instructions in the video. (And enjoy the cicadas in the background. Gotta love Texas.)

 

I hope you'll also link up for Company Girl Coffee - a weekly roundup of gals who frequent Home Sanctuary. It is open for anyone who would like to participate....just link up and visit! Easy and fun! Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, Rachel

 

Out of Sorts

photo from Gracious Home

My husband left on Monday, after a whirlwind weekend of preparing, for another sales trip. For most people, it might be easy to throw a few things into a bag and hop on a plane for their destination. But for us.........not so easy.

Being a family-run operation means that we do everything - from creating handouts, business cards and signs to making displays and order forms. Then it all had to be loaded up into the vehicle and driven 11 hours to Sparta, IL. for the week. Whew, I was exhausted when that car drove away!

For the past couple of days, I've been trying to catch up on the "regular" work, so I've ignored the piles of miscelaneous stuff laying around. You know, the items that got dumped out from the LAST trip to make room for items for THIS trip....from clothing and toiletries, power cords, tools, papers, and laundry. Our workshop is in a similar situation - and I still haven't gotten to it.

I've been ignoring it because of all the sorting that will be involved. I just look at that stuff and don't even know where to start. It seems like piles of mish-mash! Ugh.

It's occured to me once again that sorting starts early in life and is a major lifelong task. Sorting doesn't always require a lot of skill, but people who have not learned to categorize items into "like" groups often have trouble with organization in general. (I guess I'm telling on myself here!) But the good news is, sorting is something that can be learned and improved upon.  If you have children at home, helping them learn how to sort is a practical skill that they will thank you for later. 

Have you ever noticed how many things you sort in a day? Oh my.

Socks

Underwear

Silverware

Mail

Toys

Trash

Groceries

Papers

Desktop folders

Tools

Today's Small Thing is to pay attention to the amount of sorting you do....and pat yourself on the back for how many categories of things you deal with.You don't REALLY have to do anything different than what you are normally doing, which is sort of cool. Because you're probably ALREADY sorting your little hiney off anyway!

This one would be great to get the kids involved to help you find things to group. Let them put the silverware into the tray, gather all the dolls, pick up things with wheels etc. You could make a category of "brown things" to gather.....make it fun and start sorting!

How many "like" categories can you sort today? You might just impress yourself - and us! Let us know what you're sorting - cuz we're nozy that way. :)

Song of the Day: One of These Things is Not Like the Other, Sesame Street

Knick Knack Paddy Whack

We've done this Small Thing before, but it's about time we do it again!!

Sing with me!

This old man, he played one

He played a knick knack on my drum

With a knick knack paddy whack, give a dog a bone

This old man came rolling home.

QUICK! Can you name the rest of the things the old man played knick knack on?

Two - shoe

Three ........

Please don't hate me for getting this childish song stuck in your head, but I had to come up with a way to bring the words "knick knack" into a Small Thing.

Because "chotskies" didn't fit into anything.

Say, are you a collector? Do you drool over commemorative plates and Thomas Kinkade figurines?

Does your heart beat faster when you see Precious Moments people or Willow Tree carvings?

But maybe the Fitz and Floyd rabbit teapots and Hallmark ceramic pretties are proliferating and partying on the shelves when they should be posing in neat, dust-free groups.

Today's Small Thing is to tidy up the knick knacks, the bric-a-brac, the chotskies and pretties around your house.  Give them a quick dusting to make them shine. Are your displays looking cluttered? Edit them and put out only a few things for awhile. Try rearranging what you have and see what a difference it makes.

Play knick knack paddy whack with your decor today.

Do you collect things? I used to collect teacups but they suffered too many casualties over the years and I gave up. I'd love to hear what your collections are, or what decorative items you enjoy.

Song of the Day: Knick Knack Paddy Whack, Barefoot Books

Sole Mate

I looked around in disgust at the careless way the people in this household left their shoes everywhere. No matter how many times I've told them to please. put. them. away., it seems like my demands fall on deaf ears. It's like I'm their slave and they are happy to let me pick up after them. In resignation, I began scooping up the pairs to remove them to their respective closets, but suddenly stopped, mid-scoop.

Three of the five pairs of shoes in the living room were.....mine.

Another pair of my flip flops was by the back door.

Sheesh!

I guess there is something to the saying, "more is caught than taught," and in this case, my family has caught my penchant for leaving shoes around - despite what I've taught them!

Today's Small Thing is to gather up the shoes that may be loafing around the house and put them where they belong. If you don't have any loitering sets of soles - give yourself a pat on the back and celebrate being so neat. This is an easy one and makes you feel great seeing shoe-free entries, steps and living rooms all at one time!

Today, gathering the sole mates and putting them in their places will bring a little taste of sanctuary into your world. How many shoes can you put away?

Song of the Day: Boogie Shoes, KC and the Sunshine Band

PS I'm discussing flip flops over at Going Beyond today....join me!

Good Monday Morning!

Hi Company Girls! I had a crazy busy weekend and crawled into bed at midnight last night without pulling a post together for this morning. My husband goes out of town again today so the morning is already full with getting him loaded up and ready to go. I will see you tomorrow....I hope ya'll have a great day!

Love, Rachel

Shine - and Company Girl Coffee 7.8

On the heels of yesterday's easy task, we will tackle yet another easy one. It's like we never really WORK around here....so how is it that sanctuary happens with such little effort?? It's a miracle, I tell ye.

 

Today we are taking a cue from the FlyLady, and will simply shine up our sinks.  I really like the philosophy of keeping your sink shiny, except that in the summer time, it is super hard to stay on top of dishes and sink-shining.  I don't have the time or inclination to be the Sink Vigilante all day, so I'm pretty content with keeping the mess to a reasonable minimum and then doing everything up at the end of the day.  I mean, really.

My old Barn House has the kind of kitchen sink that shows every scratch and stain, a real treat to care for.  But some Comet, a sponge and about 2 minutes of elbow grease gets them looking presentable...and dare I say....FlyLady worthy. 

Today's Small Thing is to shine up your kitchen sink. That's it, the end. 

You can do this!

Song of the Day: Shine On, Needtobreathe

It's time for Company Girl Coffee - our weekly meme that simply allows us to invite each other over for a virtual cup of coffee. Link your blog's URL into the space below! Everyone is welcome - try it and make some new friends! Non-bloggers (that's most of my readers, btw) are welcome to chat in the comment section....tell us a little something about yourself so we can get to know you!

 

Sounds Like...

I often think about how creating a Home Sanctuary is all about the senses.  Having a place of refuge in this busy world means that when you walk through the door, you feel "Home."

This is my place.

This is my sanctuary.

This is my refuge.

You can close the door on the world of high gas prices and international turmoil, office politics and play group drama.  You can circle the wagons, so to speak, and live in your own little shelter from the storms.  

I know that we all struggle with the clutter of life...the toys, the laundry, the junk mail...and we spend a lot of time on doing things to make our homes LOOK nice.  That's important stuff, because how your home looks affects your sanctuary in a big way.

But for today I'd like to focus on another important sense, and that is hearing.

What does your home sound like today?

Stop and pay attention to what is bombarding your sense of hearing and you might be surprised.  TV's, radios, phones, traffic....we are constantly hearing things that we've learned to "tune out," yet affect our sense of peace.

Today's Small Thing is really simple.  It starts with just listening.  Listen to your children play and even bicker (well, yours probably don't bicker, but mine did).  Listen to doors and cabinets being slammed, footsteps and the volume of media.  Listen to birds chirping, dogs barking, horns blaring.

The second thing is to ask yourself:  are there some things I can control to make my home sound more peaceful?  Could I put felt stoppers on doors and drawers to eliminate the slamming?  (I LOVE FELT STOPPERS!)  Could I turn off the TV and radio?  Could my children please use their inside voices?  How about the level of my own voice?  Could I play some beautiful or upbeat music?  Sometimes just being aware of sounds is enough to make me take a little bit of action to do things better.  I want my home to appeal to my ears so that it SOUNDS like home to me.

• Today, listen to the sounds of your home (could it get any easier than that?)

• Then, take ONE action to make it sound like a sanctuary.

 

What are you doing today to improve the sound of your home?

Song of the Day: Finding Nemo Theme, Thomas Newman

Let's Talk "Structure"

I LOVED all the comments and great tips yesterday! Many of those tips would make excellent Small Things - did you get a chance to read them yet? Thank you so much for the wonderful response to Laura's (OrgJunkie) book, Clutter Rehab. I saw a lot of tweets and facebook posts about it and I know that really helps....every mention counts!

The winner of Clutter Rehab is: LisaDigiDesigns! Lisa, send me your address and I'll get the book to you. Congrats, girl!

Today kind of feels like the "first" day of Small Things for July to me - and it's already the 6th! Yikes, this summer is going by fast. Here is a cute Small Thing Tracker if you'd like to print it off and follow along this month. Even if you don't care a lick about doing these reallyeasyandsimplelifechanging tasks with me, it is handy for keeping track of other things that are on your To Do list, plus it's cute. Download JulySmallThings

 

 

Last night, as I was slaving away in the kitchen - alone - I realized that I've really fallen off of the Structure Wagon. I was getting real mad about cleaning up all by my lonesome, when it occured to me that the problem is not that my people don't care. (Even though it felt like it.)  See, everyone left me to do the dishes alone because I didn't make it clear ahead of time that I expected some help in there. They scattered as soon as that last bite was finished.

Yep, I need to get some structure going again. Now, I've always been much too much of a free spirit to set up elaborate systems for my family. And when things get TOO rigid, I start to rebel against my own rules. But somehow, having just enough structure (read: clear expectations) helps me be a nicer mom because I'm not angry all the time.

I can be a manager instead of a tyrant.

Today's Small Thing is to implement a SIMPLE rotating chore chart if you do not already have one. You can make your own, or try this idea, which has worked well for me.

Two circles (cut from manilla folders) with a brad in the center will suffice - hit the areas that need to rotate between kids so they can't complain about your mean unfairness ever again. :) Don't cover every chore you can possibly think of. Just take the ones that you are constantly struggling with....for me there are always these three: Pets, Kitchen, Mom's Choice. Mom's Choice gives me the option to assign a job and expect a cheerful attitude....because it's on the wheel. hehe

If you have kids at home, do you have a system for rotating chores? I'd love for you to share it! Remember, kids aren't slaves, but they need regular responsibilities as part of the team - Team Sanctuary.

Take the burden of chore-nagging off your shoulders and get those tasks on paper. Keep it simple and DOABLE!

Song of the Day: Clean Up Song, Kindermusik

Clutter Rehab

For those of us who feel like we are drowning in disorganization, either occasionally or as a permanent lifestyle, Laura Whitman tosses a life saver to us through her blog and daily inspirations. I've said this before and I'll say it again.....the thing I love most about Laura is her friendly, encouraging tone that makes us feel like we really CAN get organized and have fun doing it.

Fun is a big factor for me, if you haven't already noticed.:)

I've had the pleasure of receiving Laura's book, Clutter Rehab, for review....and I'll be honest, I was a little worried that the book would be a beat down. You know what I mean? The kind with so doggone many things to do to pull your household together that you just feel tired after the first chapter? 

I shouldn't have worried. True to form, Laura has the book organized into simple "Top 101" tips for organizing. Each tip is simple and easy to follow, illustrated with inspiring photos that make you want to jump in and do it right then and there. What's great is that you can pick the book up and open it anywhere to find something you can easily incorporate into your quest for organization.

Man, she's good. This little gem is a must-have for anyone looking for creative ideas to make their life a little more sane....and a little more beautiful. It's perfect for anyone who is struggling with "where do I start?" and also for those who just need a little inspiration to get those organization projects done.

Today, I'm going to give away a copy of Clutter Rehab. YAY!! You need this book, just sayin.

Here's what you need to do to be eligible for the drawing:

1. Leave a comment about your favorite/most needed Small Thing task in June OR simply share a quick organizing tip.

2. Tweet OR Facebook OR blog about Clutter Rehab. I want the Company Girls to help Laura get a buzz going about her book - it's the least we can do! She is such a positive force on the web and I hope she sells a gazillion copies. But that will only happen if we start yakkin' about it. Here is an example you can use:

I've entered to win @orgjunkie's #ClutterRehab today! U can 2 http://bit.ly/lZ8sJu

I will randomly draw a winner tomorrow.......good luck, my friends! And a special "thank you" to Laura for providing the book for today's giveaway!

Song of the Day: Mushaboom, Feist