Home Sanctuary

Time to Turn In Points!

It's That Time of the Month

No, not THAT time, the OTHER time, when we get to tally up our points for the month and turn them in for a chance to win a prize. If you've been "playing along" with me by collecting points for each Small Thing I posted, this is the other payoff (besides having a more organized home!) Even if you didn't worry about the points, you still have a chance to win a Random Drawing (keep reading below!) This month we had two prizes.

First, one of our Company Girls, Melissa Jones, is giving away two clothing items from her store, MommyBee Designs. Here is the idea behind the designs:

Back when I was pregnant with my first child, I started to notice, really for the first time, all of the amazing (and not in a good way) things that children's wear had to say - things like "I'm the boss" or "Brat" or "Diva" - basically the complete glorification of disrespect and misbehavior.  And so began percolating the idea of a line of baby/toddler/children's clothes that glorified good and respectful behavior.  One sleepless night several years later, and "MommyBee Designs" was born.  With it came designs such as our "Learning to bee" line ("Learning to bee obedient," "Learning to bee respectful," "Learning to be kind," etc.) and some miscellaneous designs ("Learning the Golden Rule," "Not in Charge," "Unexpected Blessing," etc.).

These shirts really reinforce the positive messages we want our kids to hear and internalize as their own. It's such an awesome way to help your child (or grandchild) learn to BE the kind of little person God wants them to be! Thank you sooo much, Melissa, for sponsoring part of March's prizes. I hope ya'll will go on over and check out her store and do some shopping!

 

And that's not all....

Now, along with the MommyBee Designs clothing, the Most Points winner will receive something special from me: a personal design consultation for one room in your home.

 

 

Countryliving.com

 

When you win, I'll have you send me photos of your room - living room, bedroom, etc - and we will discuss via email what you want the room to become. I'll give you expert advice that you can use immediately, such as paint colors and furniture rearrangement, and some suggestions that you can work on as time and budget allows, such as decor and furniture purchases. This is a prize worth several hundred dollars (FREE!) and you'll walk away with a room you'll LOVE!

 

The Random Drawing:

Everyone is eligible to win this print by simply sending in their name and leaving a comment. I love this one and have it hanging in my kitchen to remind me that it's really OK to dream! This is a small "sample sized" print that will fit anywhere your little heart desires.

 

Today's Small Thing is to enter to win!

This is an easy two-step task:

1. Send me an email (rachelanne (@) homesanctuary.com) with either your Point Total, or your Random Drawing entry. I love seeing photos of your completed Tally Sheets if you want to include them, but it's not required. 

2. Leave a comment, letting us know which was your favorite Small Thing this month! This encourages our fence-sitting Company Girls to go ahead and jump in for next month and it's just FUN to see which tasks you enjoyed!

POINTS: 40 for doing the two-step Small Thing, good towards March's total. You will have until midnight Sunday, March 31 to get your emails to me and comments posted. I'll announce the winners on Monday. Since it is a holidy weekend, try and get those emails to me ASAP!

 

How's That Ripple?

Back in January, I talked about creating a ripple effect in your home by choosing one small area to keep beautiful. It was a starting point, a "pebble drop" to begin a whole new feeling of determination to expand that beauty into the rest of the house. I wrote:

The Ripple Effect means that a single point of energy will send out waves of change thoughout your home before you will even realize what is happening.

A single point of energy, like a pebble tossed into a pond, creates ripples that reach the shore and affects everything around it.

Today's Small Thing is to pick one area in your home that will be the nexus of your sanctuary.

Take a look around your home and find one - just one- spot in which you will clear the clutter, tidy your decor and create a piece of sanctuary.

 

Today I'm checking in with you about your pebble drop area. How are you doing with it?

In January I had asked:

Where will you drop your pebble?

Your entryway?

A kitchen counter?

The living room?

A guest bathroom?

The back porch?

Really, it does not have to be a big area. But give this a bit of thought, because over the next year, you are going to maintain it and keep it looking nice. Don't worry, I'll help you keep it up. Pick a spot that you want to be successful with....and that will make you the happiest when you look at it. This will be your point of energy that will give you power to move on to other areas and conquer them as well.... but later.

See, when EVERYTHING is in disarray, we can feel so defeated we never get the courage to start. We need one small success, a shining victory, that will fuel our tank for bigger battles. Today, stake out your "sanctuary spot" and get it looking good. Don't worry about the bomb that exploded in the rest of the house. Just focus on this one little space.

Today's Small Thing is to re-visit (or choose) your pebble drop spot. Make it look good...and then enjoy your success. That's all.

{points}

Let us know: how is your one "sanctuary point" going? Have you been able to keep it looking nice? Has it been more difficult than you thought? Are you happy I'm reminding you because you pretty much forgot about it? LOL

If you are new here and this is the first time you've considered The Ripple Effect, let me know what area you are choosing! How does it make you feel to see ONE WHOLE SPOT looking good?

Personally Speaking

I was so proud of myself last spring, when I finally put drawer dividers into my dresser drawers!  Suddenly, my socks had their own space, my jammies could be neatly tucked away, and my undies....well, let's just say they'd never had it so good.

I could tell that the panties enjoyed having a place all their own. Granted, it was still right smack dab next to those socks, but the saying, "Good fences make good neighbors," certainly seemed to be proven true. I noticed right away that there was a whole lot less arguing and fighting for territory in there.

But recently, I've seen a discouraging pattern. It's happened as I've gotten hurried and busy. I've been ignoring those dividers I put in, and now everyone inside the drawer neighborhood has started sleeping around. Sometimes the panties will have a slumber party over with the the crew socks, and the dress socks just mingle wherever they want to, like a bunch of swingers. The bras tend to land anywhere they feel like, and it's been disappointing to see those girls hook up for one night stands like that. You'd think they'd have higher standards.

Today's Small Thing is to straighten up your personal items.  

The "intimate apparel," if you will. Maybe your things are utilitarian in style and don't seem to care much about aesthetics, but deep inside, those cotton, hard working girls like having a soft place to land. They appreciate a bit of attention just as much as the glamorous lacy ladies, who don't get out much but who think they deserve a drawer of their very own. Those gals are a bunch of divas, but that's ok. When we need them, they willingly do their jobs in style on those special occasions.

This Small Thing shouldn't take more than a few minutes. But opening a drawer and finding your unmentionables resting in the comfort of their own neat space will give you a warm glow. You know they deserve better than what you've been giving them, and today is they day they will get their dues.

40 Points

POINTS: 40 for organizing undies, panties, socks, bras and/or lingerie

I don't do a Song of the Day anymore, but if I did it would definitely be: Soft Jazz, by Kenny G.

Just for fun, here's Comedian Jeff Allen on Underwear:

Supporting Cast

My husband and I have a tradition when we go to the movies.  After the movie is over, we always stay for the entire credits.  It's fascinating to see the names of the foley artists and assistants, as well as all the extras and supporting cast members.  It's those people, the ones who aren't the main stars, who often make a movie a great experience. They are on the side, doing their jobs, making everyone else look good.

 

You know, come to think of it, I've got a hardworking supporting cast of furniture pieces in my house.  The side tables, the bureaus, the end tables and night stands - they stand around, day after day, waiting to do their jobs when called upon.  They carry the lamps, hold books and magazines, display flower arrangements and lego creations with aplomb, and sometimes even steal the show when given the opportunity to shine.  These quiet thespians know their place on the set and go about their business with academy award winning professionalism. They deserve some credit.

Today's Small Thing is to reward your supporting cast by giving them a shot at the limelight. 

 Give them a swift dusting, and costume check and a pat on the back for doing what they do so well: making the rest of the house look like a star. 

{each}

POINTS: 20 per side table, end table, chest, bureau, or furniture piece that plays a supporting role in your production. Limit 10 (200 pts.) 

Do you have any supporting cast members that deserve a special spotlight today? A grandmother's bureau, a garage sale find, or a handmade table? Tell us about them!

Swab the Poop Deck, Me Matey

You can count on a name like "Poop Deck" to bring about snickers in a pre-school crowd. They just can't resist such an overt reference to bodily function.  If you have young children at home, please, for your own sanity, do not read the title of this post to them.  You will never hear the end of it.

I know, I know.  A "Poop Deck" is a part of a ship, not a home.  Wikipedia says it's a deck that constitutes the roof of a cabin built in the aft (rear) part of the superstructure of a ship. 

But like a pre-schooler, I also find the humor irresistible.

After all, the term comes from the French "la poupe," and which parent among us hasn't been tempted to speak French when changing a diaper? 

Le bebe' has put la poupe in le diapier.  Le Pew!

There can be only one area of the house that could constitute a poop deck.  I'm speaking, of course, of the bathroom floor.  And while I regularly mop my kitchen floor, my bathroom floor gets minimal attention. A quick sweep and a wipe around the toilet and I consider it done.

But Avast Ye! Today's Small Thing is to swab the poop deck at your house. 

I love my Swiffer disposable pads for just such a nasty job.  "Swab and throw" is my method of choice, especially for bathrooms.

For you landlubbers, let's make the booty of points interesting by offering a selection of scores:

30 + 30 + 30 + 30 POINTS

Sweep one poop deck floor: 30 points

Damp mop the poop deck floor: 30 points

Sweep an additional deck (any floor you choose): 30 points

Damp mop the additional deck: 30 points

Aye, yer plunder of points could top 120 today!  Better shove off and start swabbing, because an offer like this is a real treasure.

Company Girl Coffee 3.22 and The Armpit of the House, the Laundry Room

Maybe your house is different than mine, but one of the worst areas to go into is the laundry area. It's like the inner city slum of my home.

Now, I realize that some people have laundry closets. Or you might have a corner in your basement for your washer and dryer. Many people have a small space between the garage and the rest of the house, or you might even have a wash machine in your kitchen.

But wherever laundry is done, there is often trouble lurking.

I always seems to have a pile of clothes that are loitering. Are they clean? Dirty? Needing repair?Why have they been here for weeks?

And there is usually a gang of empty boxes of detergent or dryer sheets kicking around. The trash can overfloweth.  And stuff that no one knows what to do with gets shoved in there, too.

Today's Small Thing is to straighten up your laundry area. 

Throw out the lint, dust off the appliances, weed through your cleaning products. Get rid of the abandoned items and chase off the criminal element.

Do something with the clothes that are simply loitering. Move along, you ne'er do wells.

Take 5 minutes and turn that eyesore into a jewel of revitalization. 

POINTS: 40 for doing some urban renewal in the laundry room! What's kicking around in YOUR laundry neighborhood?

Just for fun: Inner City Pressure, by Flight of the Conchords

 

And now for a bit of coffee, the virtual kind. I hate to have to admit this, but in the real life coffee world, I've had to take a step toward stronger (and more expensive) brands. Yes, the Starbucks and the Gevalia kinds.

Am I becoming a coffee snob?

I've always been disgusted by people who claim they must drink the "finer" stuff....ugh, so pretentious! I mean, what is "full bodied" coffee anyway? Start throwing adjectives like "mysterious, musical, and sensuous" at it and I'm out. Seriously....coffee is coffee and I'll take the regular cup of joe any day.

Until recently.

My regular coffee suddenly didn't taste strong enough. So I added more grounds. And that still didn't help. Bottled water? Nope. After a couple of weeks of messing with my usual brands and feeling disappointed every morning, I broke down and bought the designer coffee. Ouch, I hate to pay a few extra dollars just for my habit.

But, I'm back in coffee heaven....my cup is overflowing with delight once again. I'm drinking (a little) less so I can enjoy it more and not think about cost of such luxury. What's a couple cups a day, right? It's a small indulgence.

Just hit me if I ever start calling my coffee "full bodied and mysterious."

Link up for our weekly Virtual Coffee - Company Girl Coffee! Are you a coffee or tea afficionado? Is iced tea your cup of choice? Just for grins, share your favorite drink - hot or cold - and the brands/methods you use to get it "just right."

 

You've Come a Long Way, Baby

 

Do you ever stop to think about how far you've come? 

Most of the time, I'm thinking about how far I still have to go. I get a little discouraged when I see mountains up ahead and I think, "I'm gonna have to have to climb THOSE suckers??  Yeah, right."

And then something comes along.  Maybe a conversation, or a sight or a smell that reminds me of the past and where I've come from. I remember the challenges I've faced in my faith and the mountains I've already climbed. I remember the silly grudges I've held and the times when I've failed even myself. 

Somehow through all of that there has been a Faithful God.

He's changing me.  Molding me.  Creating something new.

With each failure, with each victory, with each passing day, I'm not who I was.

OK. I don't always know who I am TODAY, but I sure as shootin' am not the same person I was yesterday.

That's because He's taking the garbage I bring him and making it into something beautiful. I can't always see what or how or why He's doing it, but He is.

Spend a few moments today reflecting on just how far you've come.  Forget for just a minute where you think you ought to be, and take joy in being right where you are. Right where God wants you to be.

See. You're not who you were, either.

Today's Small Thing is about reflection.  And let's tie it to a task, because that's how we roll. Take a few minutes to clean the mirrors in your home. 

Get them all shiny and clean!  And as you do, reflect on that girl in the mirror and the Faithful God who's NEVER given up on her.

 POINTS: 40 for shining up all the main ones

Want to share?  Leave a comment or write a blog post about not being who you were. If you blog it, be sure and let us know so we can stop over!

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes

Yea, I will lift up mine eyes unto the heights; from whence cometh this dust?
The dust cometh from the Other Guy, who also made germs and despair.

Hezekiah 4:12

One advantage of being "vertically challenged" (ok, short) is that I can't see a lot of the dust and grime that settles in my house... because it is above my eye level. It also helps to not actually look for it. Sometimes you should just leave well enough alone.

My husband has asked me on several occasions if I ever clean the top of the refrigerator and I just stare back at him blankly. Why would I do THAT??  Duh, I can't SEE it!

Sometimes he misses the obvious. See what I have to put up with?

But it's not just the top of the fridge.

Cabinet shelves that are up in thin atmosphere.

Ceiling fan blades.

Tops of door frames. Psh.

Ceiling lights.

Valances and curtains. Why.

Picture frames.

Tall bookshelves. Don't care.

Upper corners where cobwebs like to hang out.

It pains me to have to lift my eyes up to the dirt that is above my head. And it hurts to move my arms that much. I've got my hands full with the dirt I CAN see down below, thank you very much.

But, on the rare occasion that I've cleaned off the top of my fridge or dusted the fan blades, I've notice a distinct spring in my step and a lightness in my soul.

By golly!  I'm cleaning things that don't matter and I like it!!

Today's Small Thing is to clean ONE thing that is above eye level. 

Oh, once you get down from the chair or step ladder, you'll never see it again, but you'll know in your heart how clean it is!  And that knowledge is power, honey.  You're gonna feel invincible!

POINTS: 40 for lifting your eyes to see the grime...and cleaning ONE thing on high

BONUS POINTS: 20 for cleaning an additional upper area

Is there a spot up high that's been tugging at your conscience? Telling us about it will make you feel better.

Drapery Style Statements

You know, drapery, the kind that festoons windows and adds a touch of finishing elegance to a room, is lovely.

But there are other kinds of drapery that are not nearly as beautiful, yet wildly successful as decor statements. Here are a few examples:

• Outfits draped over exercise equipment in the bedroom. It says, "Yes, I use this equipment every day. For clothing storage."

• Laundry draped over the couch shouts, "I'm casual enough for everyday to be a weekend day."

• Kitchen towels draped over cabinet doors state, "My work is done in here."

• Afghans draped over the backs of comfy chairs beckon, "You need a nap."

• Bedding, the best friend of slumber, practically purrs, "Why make up the bed when you'll be back in it in 15 short hours?"

• Children, particularly teenagers, slouched over their gameboys, state the obvious: "We have nothing better to do than waste hours getting to the next level."

• Cats, ever so slinky and enigmatic, yawn as they whisper, "I need to leave a pile of my fur on the back of this couch so you can remember me fondly everywhere you go."

• Jackets, so warm and comforting, seem perfectly at home being worn by kitchen chairs and hallway benches. They say, "I'm ready to go at a moment's notice, so no need to hang me in the closet."

Does your home make these kinds of drapery decor statements? Do you have "something" draped over any furniture and/or protruding objects? If so, this task is for you.

Today's Small Thing is to gather up and straighten any draped articles that are not attached to a curtain rod and put them away.

Make a new style statement that says, "I'm tidy and I'm proud of it." See if you don't stand a little taller and feel like an accomplished June Cleaver when you see how lovely your home looks sans clutter drapery.

Points: 40

PS You don't have to put the kids or the cat into a closet. Just thought I'd clarify that. Unless, of course, you feel like it.

What's YOUR drapery style statement?

 

Unplugging...To Breathe

Gray and Me - I love this kid.

Last week I took a break from blogging and (most of) social media so I could enjoy time with Grayson, our college son who was home for spring break. We didn't have any big plans, but as I suspected, we stayed up too late watching movies and talking, and I didn't feel much like retreating to the office to write a post each night. And although I didn't specifically excuse myself from Facebook and Twitter, I pulled back enough to realize just how much I enjoy life without being tethered to my phone.

 

I was reminded to breathe.

To inhale deeply of each present moment, and choose to exhale freely with contentment.

 

Funny how easy it is to "forget" the one thing that is supposed to be my focus for 2013....breathing. Life gets going, the calendar gets filled, and my mind gets occupied with stuff that really isn't all that important

Ooh, a new follower on Twitter.

Ooh, I better answer this email.

Ooh, a comment on my blog post.

Ooh, a cute cat video on Facebook.

Ooh, a link to an article on (fill in the blank).

Ooh, a text from Suzy.

All of it seems so impatient for my attention that I become a victim to the demands of the media streams that fill my phone, laptop and office computer. Checking in becomes a habit that interrupts conversations and thoughts and devotions and stillness.

I forget that I need stillness. Quiet. And so do you.

Today's Small Thing is to set your social media aside for one solid hour.

Can you go two hours? How about a whole morning? A full day? Now, that might be scary.

Emails, chats, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest....it's all good, it's all fine. Really. There's nothing wrong with any of it.

It's just that the online world can creep in and expand to fill the spaces that we need for quiet. The spaces that we need to leave empty so that we can hear God speak, or listen *uninterrupted* to our child tell a story, or notice the color of the evening clouds.

It's in the quiet that we find ourselves and learn to breathe again.

 

If you're "playing along" with me this month for a chance to win a sweet couple of prizes, take some sweet points like these for intentionally unplugging:

 

For those who aren't playing for points, go ahead and challenge yourself to this task as well. Let's swim against the tide and be in control of  media, instead of the other way around. Set your phone aside, close your laptop, turn off the monitor...just for an hour.

Let's breathe today.

Tell me: how do you manage media? Do you struggle to set boundaries? Do you have some tips for creating boundaries? I hope you'll share.