A Clean House Confession

If you spend more time cleaning house, than you spend loving, playing and listening to your husband or children . . . you simply do not have your priorities straight!  Do you spend the best part of yourself on keeping a perfect house?  If so, you have wasted the best part of yourself!  Can I get an Amen?

Below are a few housekeeping tips:

 Telephone Housekeeping:  While on the phone chatting with your mother, sister or friend use that time to walk around the house and pick-up while you are talking.  

Dusters with a handle:   The new dusters enable you to dust quickly without moving most things.

Window and glass cleaning cloths :   The new glass cleaning cloths are wonderful!  The cloths can be purchased at the Dollar Store and after dampening them a little with water, you can clean glass doors, glass tabletops and mirrors in seconds with no streaking.   

Scenting your home:  The new candle warmers lightly scent your home and people assume that your house is very clean because it smells so good!

Remember the main thing:  Relationships, family, good health and rest are more important than a clean house!

What if someone shows up without calling?

• If it is a good friend, they do not care if your house is clean or not, they came to see you!
• If it is a complaining, nosey . . . . .(well you know), do not go to the door or put the vacuum cleaner out and say, “Oh, I’m so glad to see you, I was about to begin housecleaning ~ want to help?”

Do you have a housekeeping tip?

We labor to make a house a home, then every time we’re expecting visitors, we rush to turn it back into a house.  ~Robert Brault

Is a tidy house good enough?

Is the simple life ~ the good life?  When my husband and I began dating, Marie (his Mom) worked full-time, took care of a husband (who had serious health issues), had three adult children at home ages 18-21, kept a nearly perfect house, cooked two meals each day and never seemed overwhelmed. Whew, that made me tired just writing the sentence!

Below is the example she set:

     1.) Marie’s home and her family were a priority in her life.
     2.) A tidy house appears cleaner than it is and a tidy house is good enough!
     3.) Keep decorating simple – there will be less to clean.
     4.) Keep cleaning supplies simple.
     5.) Do not over-stuff drawers, closets or cabinets. Have “just enough stuff and no more.”

Honestly, I do not know how she did it, but she did. Marie made housework appear effortless, she made home-cooked meals look easy (she did not have a dishwasher and did I mention the washing machine and dryer were in the basement) and she never appeared stressed regarding the care of her family and home.

I think it all comes down to one word: SIMPLIFY. Simplify everything in your life ~ simple meals, simple clothes, simple make-up & hair, simple yards, simple commitments, simple routines, etc.

Is there one thing, one room, one drawer, one closet or a meal that you could simplify and enjoy life more?

My house is protected by killer dust bunnies.  (Author Unknown)

TORNADO!

Almost everyone has a tornado story, what is yours? Most people have been in or seen more than one tornado, which is the very reason every household needs a plan! Every person needs a plan! What is your tornado story? What is your plan?

I have seen three tornados! Well I suppose I have actually only really seen two tornados. The first one was when I was a small child; I closed my eyes and prepared to meet my Maker as the tornado came close to the car! Our family had gone “peach pickin” and we were traveling home when a terrible storm came up quickly. My sister, Meta, recalled the feeling she had when my parents began to whisper in the car. Her feeling was curiosity and a sense that something was terribly wrong. (My feeling had nothing to do with curiosity!)

Just as our family car crossed the Catawba River my Dad pulled the car off the road. He told my Mother that it would be best if the car faced the wind as oppose to the wind hitting the side of the car. Within moments twigs, leaves and small branches began whirling around the car, followed by the sound of hail hitting the car. My Mother told my sister and me to get down on the floor board and put our heads down. My fearless and curious sister, Meta, kept popping her head up to see what was happening, as my Mother kept telling her to put her head down. On the other hand, I was the obedient child, well — the frightened child, my head was down and my Mother recalls me repeating the Lord’s Prayer over and over. Within moments the storm passed.

The rest of our drive home demonstrated the power of the tornado that had passed by us that Saturday afternoon. We saw telephone poles down, trees uprooted and many damaged homes. As we arrived in our neighborhood we found that the storm passed over our home without doing any damage.

My Dad always had a plan to keep our family safe. His plans served our family well over the years. Make a plan before you or someone in your home or family needs one. What is the safest place in your home? What would you do if you were traveling, in a store, a school or some other unsecure place? What is your story? Most people have more than one tornado story if they live in NC!

8 smells that boost your well being

I just read an article about 8 smells that boost your health. We have millions of smell receptors in our nose that is 10,000 more precise than our sense of taste. Here’s a list of the smells that improve our health and well being:
To resist snacking – green apple or another favorite smell, thought I’d think smelling something you like would make you more hungry.
To calm down – try smelling lavender or orange. Spray a light lavender spray in your bedroom before bed and enjoy the light, fresh scent as it calms you down to sleep.
To help learn something new – sniff on the scent of rosemary that’s why we keep a rosemary bush planted outside, not only for cooking but for sniffing before memorizing for a test.
To help with pain – sniff on lavender or peppermint. Put lavender on an eyemask and sit and rest until the headache stops.
For your libido – baby powder, pumpkin pie or lavender. Maybe it’s the thought of babies, which would kill my libido, but these scents are said to turn women on.
To feel younger – sniff on the fresh citrus scent of grapefruit. I recommend Love’s Baby Soft, it always makes me feel younger.
For your workout – peppermint puts an extra umph in your workout, sniff that before and make sure you’re pushing your limit.
Whatever part of your lift you want to help, use these scents to put you on the right road to living a more healthy, better you!

Power Outage – Be Prepared!

How do you survive power outages? What is the difference between true essentials and mere comforts?

Two weeks ago, the wind was strong, the ground was wet… and a tree fell near my house! My power was out for almost eight hours. Alone and in the dark, unable to go anywhere, I’m going to be honest – I was miserable. Eight hours in the dark with nothing to do except look at my dog and call my husband and complain (thanks, Tim – I’m not sure I would have been as patient!). It’s a little embarrassing when I really think about how miserable (and pathetic) I was, but one thing I vowed: I will be better prepared for next time!

I now have a little place in my closet with necessary supplies. This includes both essential and comfort items. If I’m completely honest, I had all the essentials – what I was lacking were the things that would make me comfortable.

Essentials:
Batteries
Flashlights
Candles – however, careful here
Matches
Know how to open the garage door when the power is off!
Call the power company immediately – do not assume your neighbor did!
Food and water

Comforts:
Lights that work with batteries (so that you can read)
iPod or CD player that works off batteries (back ground music is a must)
Extra little LED lights around the house . . . it’s amazing how dark, dark can be!
Keep your cell phone charged
Red wine (white would need to be chilled) 
Chocolate
A friend

Any other suggestions? We have more bad weather on the way and we also have storm season to look forward to in the spring. Might as well get prepared!

Cyber Monday Tips

It’s Cyber Monday and here I am on my computer surfing the internet. Here’s a few quick tips for internet shopping that could save you a lot of pain and suffering:

Everyone is receiving emails from our favorite retailers about discounts on cyber Monday, I get them all. Here’s the important tip, read the email then go and type in the website for the retailer and shop from there! Why? Because scammers are now creating emails with all the links that look like your favorite retailer, you click on their link and off you go to their site or activate some malicious software or spyware. By not using the email links and typing in the retailers website address you are positive you are at the correct retailer’s website.
Watch out bad spellers out there. There’s a new type of scamming called “Cyber Squatting”, these scammer create shopping websites that look exactly like your favorite retailer except for a slight misspelling, like dropping off the last letter or leaving off the .com. You go to their website, do all your shopping then are left wondering why the Christmas presents aren’t showing up at your doorstep.

Last by not least, it’s not a good idea to shop while at at a WiFi location. You, like me, didn’t really read the disclaimer that states the connection is not a secure connection. You run the risk of people getting your credit information at an unsecure location, to just looking over your shoulder while you type. Most retailers allow your shopping carts to sit for a period of time. Do your shopping, put it all in your cart, then check out when you have a secure connection.

Finally a fun tip. There are coupons and promotions everywhere. Make it a point to do a quick google search with your retailer name and the word coupon (electrichut+coupon) and make sure there isn’t a coupon sitting out there for free shipping or a percentage off before you check out.

Or better yet, shop locally! Hit some of the retailers advertised in Forsyth Woman and Forsyth Family for great gifts that keep you from waiting at the mailbox and you support local businesses! Happy Shopping!

Coffee Wars-a lesson in the compromise of marriage..

I love my morning cup of coffee, on some race days I’ll get up at 430am just to have time to process that precious cup of coffee before a race begins at 7am.

Since my morning cup of coffee is so important, like many women, I’ve started enjoying flavored coffee. This has sparked a war in my household. My husband drinks coffee all day long at work, he, like me loves his coffee. But he’s a purist, it’s black. In our over 20 years of marriage I’ve listened to his lecture about how I ruin the coffee with my cream and sugar, then watching him blanche as I buy “flavored” creamers!

I get up early and since I’m the first up, I have control of the coffee machine, the wonderful smells of Hazelnut fill the house. My husband comes down pours his cup of coffee then almost spits in in the sink. “What’s this?”
“Oh it’s just Hazelnut coffee, I thought you may want to try something different.”
“Hazelnut?” You’d think I’s said, “Oh we’re living in Jonestown, go ahead and drink this fruit punch.”
“You can still drink it black?”
“Guys don’t drink flavored coffee.” He leaves the cup of coffee on the counter and leaves for work.

The next day, I hear shuffling in the kitchen. My husband set his alarm early and as I shuffle down to the kitchen, there’s strong black coffee brewing in the pitcher. OK, I can use a flavored creamer.

I take out the directions and learn how to use the timer on the coffee maker and as my husband shuffles down in the middle of the night, the Hazelnut coffee is sitting there giving him the finger.

This is where there’s compromise in marriage. We could go along with this game that is fun when it starts but end up with someone mad at the end. My husband comes home with a big box for me! I’m so excited, “What’s this for?”

“Because I love you.” He says. I open it up and it’s an insulated carafe. He did buy that because he loves me, loves me enough to stop the battle before it becomes a war. That’s the compromise of marriage, I think as I sip my Hazelnut coffee.

Do you have a battle you’ve fought? What are some of your compromise solutions?