My weekly routine

I am getting settled with my school time routines. I find that I do best when I have a basic schedule to follow. Every week things get rearranged, but this provides a good frame work for me. Here is mine (the format got a little messed up when I moved it to google docs, but you get the idea). When I follow it things go great. When I don't, not so much. As you see, no computer time right now, so I have to go!

Weekly assignments:

5 Minutes: Andrea
Weekly: LeAnn
Tips: Brenda

Happy cleaning!!

5 Minute Challenges

So, this is the vacation edition of the 5 minute challenges:

1. Call an old friend that you haven't talked to in awhile (or email them)

2. Spend 5 minutes playing a favorite game with one of your kids

3. Tell your spouse thank you for something they do for you.

4. Take a bubble bath (or spend an extra 5 - 10 minutes in the shower just relaxing)

5. Post a link on this post of a funny website/blog entry / Youtube video that you like.

Have fun! We are!!

Woo Hoo!

Bonus points this week!

I just did this (on my own!) about a week and a half ago. I did need just a minute to do a little rearranging in the freezer.

Confession: I was going to make a post about how productive I'd been, completing a few extra projects like the laundry room and fridge... but I was secretly hoping that if I kept my mouth shut someone would choose this as a challenge and I'd get the bonus points! Mwahahahaha!

Weekly Tip- Use the Snack Sizes!!

This tip was an idea I stole from a friend of mine. It has to do with portion control. Have you ever gone to buy sandwich bags and accidentally picked up snack bags? You know, the little tiny ones? Anyway, instead of buying the little prepackages chip and snack bags like I usually do for the kids' lunches and snacks, I bought those little snack bags. I then bought large bags of things the kids like and then divided them into the bags. It is saving me a TON of money (at least $5/week for chips and $8/week for snacks- that included adding in the price of the bags) and the kids are happy (because, really, the options for prepackaged little bags is pretty limited.)

Bonus plan- when I make cookies and such I make them smaller and put them into the snack bags, too. Three small cookies per bag. Anything homemade I store in a plastic container in the freezer to keep them fresh.

So far, it has worked great! I keep one container for chips (or salty stuff) and one for snacks. Every morning the kids choose one from each container (or grab something homemade from the freezer for snack).

If you want to do this, too, here are my suggestions:

• Divide out the whole bag/box at once. Otherwise the kids will get into the stuff and it won't really be saving you money. After I put them into the bags I put them back into the container they came in (if it is big enough).
• Buy the $3 container and put some of each choice in it. It makes it easier to choose when they can see the whole selection at once. I try to keep three options available for both chips and snacks. When it gets low, I add more from their stored containers (from above)
• I tried not freezing the cookies because the kids would eat them pretty quickly- it is worth it to freeze the homemade stuff.
• Don't overfill the bags. 3 vanilla wafers or 5 pretzels seem to be enough for the kids.
• Buy the name brand bags. I tried the off brand, they did not work as well.

I think that is everything. This has worked really well for us. We are still using the cheese balls and pretzel sticks I bought the first week (and they don't taste stale yet!)

Weekly Challenge: Clean out your hearts closet

Have you ever had a dream where you find an extra room in your house. A room full of dust and old things you have forgotten completely about? And you think to yourself "How did I forget about this room? I could be using this space for so many other things!" I have this dream ALL THE TIME! Until recently I had thought this dream was my mind telling me there was some part of myself (talent, knowledge, faith, etc) that was going unused. Recently someone told me what they thought of similar dreams they were having.
The extra room was a closet in their heart. A place where you stored offenses, bitter feelings toward others, hurt feeling, unforgiven things, etc. Basically things you were pretending you had forgiven but that they were really keeping around but hidden. These things we keep in our heart's closet are taking up space that could be used for so many other things.

So basically the challenge is to start to clean out your closet. Think of something you have been holding against another person and forget about it. Forgive them. Let those wasteful feeling go. This isn't an easy thing but something that will truly improve the quality of your life.

Oh yeah and while your at it clean out your fridge and freezer!!! :)

Assignments, Week 3

5 Minutes: Kim
Weekly: Tami
Tips: Charlotte

I'm getting better, but for some reason Fridays are always a dud for me. I'll have to work extra hard to get it done on the last day this week!

And to think, it only took me 3 and a half hours

Although, every food shelf in the kitchen has now been disinfected and I discovered I have twins of pretty much all my spices. See those 2 clear plastic boxes on the shelf above the white 25 gallon containers? That is my Tuesday tip for next week. Bet you can't wait.

Tuesday Tips

Are your garment less than white? Are your whites not white? Well here is what I have found that helps. Makes the load smaller than usual, ONLY WHITES, (like I only wash Dad's white shirts and socks in one load then only garments in another) then put it on the longest wash cycle. Use normal soap with WATER softner, then add borax laundry boaster. Do not use fabric softner or dryer sheets . Wash in warm not hot water rinse in cold. Mine started looking better right away but after a couple of washings they really looked alot whiter. Hope that this helps your whites like it helped mine. Happy Washing.

5 Minute Challenges

Ok, I have been a bit out of things being sick and off my feet so I am not sure what 5 minute challenges have been assigned recently, so I just chose things that I needed to do, sorry if they are repeats. I have been doing ok at keeping up lately (ok truth be told Bryan has done most of the housework lately) But I am really going to try hard this week.

1. Spot Clean one carpet area (not a whole room)

2. Microwave

3. Sliding Glass Door

4. Front Porch (mine needs to be gotten ready for colder weather)

5. Clean Under Couch Cushions for at least one Couch.

Weekly Challenge

Does your snack shelf look like this?

Does your tupperware look like this?

(Can you spot the blocks??)

Not for long!

This week's challenge is your kitchen cupboards! Remove the dishes and wipe down the shelves, organize those canned goods, wipe up the powdered sugar that spilled all over the lazy susan weeks ago (oh, is that just me?), etc.

And, yes, I realize I am AGAIN handing over bonus points to certain people who might have recently moved! :-)

Let's see some awesome before/after pics!

Assignments for Week 2

5 Minutes: Brenda
Weekly: Andrea
Tips: Mom

Happy Cleaning!!

Weekly Score (Charlotte)

I could have kicked myself! All week I did the dishes, vacuuming, and sweeping. Then I FORGOT on Friday. We went out to eat that night, so there were only a few dishes. It took me less than 5 minutes to do it in the morning. Grrr. Anyway, my score this week was the following:

Mop- 5
Laundry- 5
Bathrooms-5
5 Minute Challenges- 5 + 5
Dishes- 4
Sweep- 4
Vacuum- 4
Bed- 1
Read- 0
Weekly- 30

Total: 68

Worked hard this week

I did everything this week so I get a perfect score. But I also had done the weekly challenge so I also get the bonus points. The only reason it was done was because my curtains finally came and when we put them up it made a mess in the windows and I had to clean them up. I always keep the top of my washing machine clean. It was hard with seminary starting having to get up at 4:15 and not getting to bed until 10:30. I also have been walking 4 to 5 miles every day. It seems to pay off because so far I have lost 15 pounds. That is 1/2 of what I wanted to lose.

Have you been doing your daily work?

I haved been plugging away at my deep cleans. I took today off because a friend who moved away is in CT visiting and asked if we could have a playgroup at my house. I needed the break anyway. I am not even halfway through my list and I am already tired. It is my own fault for letting it go so badly during the summer, but still. Exhausting. I have done my daily cleans every day (except scriptures and bed- somehow I forgot those. Hoping for better luck next week).