Are you taking time to take care of yourself?

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Dear Friends,
Have you been setting time aside for your self-care and things you enjoy doing?

Each week I ask the ladies I talk to about their self-care, and each week, I get similar answers. They have too many things going on and did not take time to do something they enjoy. Many of them are not taking time for date night either. Friday night is date night, and even if you cannot go out, you need to have some time as a couple each week.

Let’s start with your self-care. Before you had children and homeschooled, you had some activities or hobbies you enjoyed. After the children came along, your hobbies started dropping away. Then you added in homeschooling, and even your pleasure reading time turned into reading for homeschool preparation.
Sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil. Write down some of the things you enjoy doing. If you are having a hard time thinking of something, then it has been way too long since you did something for yourself.
Some ideas are a soak in the tub, reading for fun, needlework, sewing, drawing/art, crafts, writing, listening to music, singing, playing an instrument, or spending time outside.
There are many more things than this, but I thought it would give you a jump start on your list. Email me with your ideas, too!
Now, let’s talk about date night. When you have young children, it is harder to work out plans for a weekly date night out of the house. But you can have a date night at home after the children are in bed. You can serve the children an early dinner, and then you can set up a nice candle light dinner for the two of you. You can trade out baby-sitting services with another family. If available, you can ask grandparents to watch the children for you to have a date night.
Date night can be as creative as you like. One family only does at-home date night due to a chronic health condition of one of them. They make time to be together and watch a movie or play a game.
What are some activities you enjoy for date night?
Have a wonderful weekend!
Today’s Zone Mission is to clean under your bed.

Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.

My menu plan for Friday is fried chicken and fixings.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Small Routines Have a Big Impact

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Dear Friends,

How is your Master Bedroom looking after your Zone Missions this week? These small daily missions have a big impact on your home. You will start to see these areas with peace in your heart. You will want to maintain them. Some of the areas you declutter will take regular decluttering sessions, and some of them will remain clutter free.

The areas that I hear most often that you struggle with decluttering are the entryway and kitchen. The master bedroom comes in right behind these areas. Usually, the living room stays in pretty good shape once you have it decluttered. The bathroom stays maintained if you do your daily swish and swipe.

My best suggestion to you on keeping the common areas of your home free of clutter is to pick up behind yourself and to teach your children to pick up behind themselves. The entryway gets cluttered up when people walk into the house and drop things. They don’t take the time to put things away where they belong.

Use gentle reminders to your children about putting their things away. Establish the launch pad area where they do have a place near the entryway to keep things they need when they leave the house. You will have to set boundaries on what can stay in the entryway and what needs to be put somewhere else.

The kitchen is a well-used room in your home. You will likely need to do a Hot Spot drill in the kitchen every day as a part of your afternoon or evening routine. I do this in the evening in my home, but you can do it in the afternoon, too. Kitchen counters become a catch-all for clutter.

Your bedroom is not your storage unit, so don’t use it for stash and dash items. Use the 27 Fling Boogie in your bedroom. Find 27 things to put away. Then find 27 things to throw away. Finally, find 27 things to give away. Mark three boxes or bags for this. When you finish, put the trash outside in the trash can. Put the items to donate in your car. The next time you do errands, stop off and make a donation.

Some of you are resisting donations because you are over-thinking where to donate the items. Just pick a place and donate. Don’t make it complicated.

What is your most cluttered area in your home?

Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter items from 1 dresser drawer.

Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.

My menu plan for Thursday is chicken and a salad.

Have a great day!

Declutter for 15 Minutes Today

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

 

Dear Friends,
Decluttering daily is the Habit of the Month, and we are getting closer to the end of the month. How are you doing with this Habit?
Some of you have been resisting this habit for various reasons. You keep excusing yourself from decluttering because you might need something you decluttered. You don’t declutter because you are weary of making decisions. You are afraid of making a mistake. These excuses are your perfectionism. You are trying to hold onto all of this stuff, and you are not able to effectively clean your house because of the stuff you have everywhere.
Each evening, I have a little decluttering session. Sometimes I am just throwing stuff away, and sometimes I am putting things in my “to be donated” box. I let go of things because I don’t need it all. If a need arises, God always provides. I have a loose grip on material things.
If you are holding onto papers, books, clothes, toys, or whatever you feel like you need to keep. Evaluate how much room you have for this stuff. Is it contained, or is it filling up your flat surfaces? One of the ladies I talk to on a regular basis has been decluttering a storage building a little at a time. She told me that some of the stuff has been boxed up so long that it is easy to declutter. She has not seen this stuff in 10 years.
Another lady I talk to regularly has moved a lot over the past 20 years. There are some boxes she packed up for her first move 20 years ago. She has purposed to get rid of these boxes. They are weighing her down. She has paid to have them moved multiple times, but she is finding peace now by letting them go.
Many of you are holding onto homeschool materials that you are not using and will probably never use. Spend 10 minutes today putting together a box of materials to bless someone else with. You all know a homeschool family who has curriculum needs. Have a curriculum swap night. Just don’t come home with more than you took.
Spend 5 minutes decluttering paper today from your homeschool papers. I know you have papers that you do not need. You like to hold onto papers. It makes you feel secure. Just keep the papers you need to satisfy your state homeschool laws. You do not need every math paper your child has ever completed.
You can declutter a little bit each day and bring peace into your home.
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter from your Master Closet for no more than 15 minutes.

Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe your windows and mirrors.

My menu plan for Wednesday is Sloppy Joe’s.

Have a great day!

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Get Dressed in the Morning

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Getting Organized:
In Your Home and Homeschool


Dear Friends,

Some of you have been resisting getting dressed down to the shoes each morning. You don’t see the point if you are not planning on going anywhere. I want to give you the top 10 reasons why I think it helps you to get dressed each morning.

1)      You will feel energized and ready to take on the tasks of the day.

When I get dressed down to the shoes each morning, I feel ready to take on my morning duties. I have school to do with my boys. I need to do some computer work and start the day off with my social media. I need to check in with the members of FlyLady Premium.

If I am not dressed, I am not ready to do these things. Pay attention to how your energy level is when you get dressed versus a day when you hang around in your pajamas.

2)      Your family will take you more seriously.

Teaching your children is not always an easy task. There will be hard days. There will be days when they do not want to do part of their school work. You are their teacher and authority for your school. Wearing clothes versus your pajamas suits your role as a home educator. You will be taken more seriously.

3)      You are ready to leave on a moment’s notice.

This one reason can almost be the number one reason for getting dressed down to the shoes each morning. You never know what might happen in the course of your day. Accidents happen. People get sick. Barns catch on fire. Cars break down. Tires get flat. Loved ones lock their keys in the car. Kids need stitches or x-rays.

Every one of these situations have happened to me over the years. I was thankful that I was dressed down to the shoes and that I had gas in the car.

4)      Your children will be ready to do their tasks when they are dressed down to the shoes.

Resist it when your children ask you to let them have a pajama day for school. They will be able to pay attention better and work with more energy when they are dressed. If you are worried about the germs on your children’s shoes, you can assign them to have a pair of shoes that are to be worn inside of your home.

5)      Getting dressed down to the shoes will lift your spirits.

When you are dressed down to your shoes and feel pretty, it boosts your spirits. I have observed this over and over again.You do have to buy fancy clothes to feel pretty. I tend to have a daily “uniform.” I wear pants or leggings with a pretty top. I shop online or in thrift stores. I do not spend a lot of money on clothes. I tend to buy things that I can mix and match.

I attend a church where a men’s mission brings 40+ men to church each week. They have a dress code to be in a collared shirt, tie, and dress pants for any church or chapel service. Many of these men do not have the means to purchase these items new, but they receive clothing donations and have a thrift store. They work together to find clothes that will fit new men who come to the mission (Most arrive with nothing.). You can tell by how they walk and carry themselves that taking care of their appearance and wearing dress clothes gives them confidence and a boost in their spirits.

6)      Getting dressed to the shoes each morning will boost your self-esteem.

Some of us struggle with low self-esteem. Getting dressed gives you a little boost. You will start to see yourself doing more things around the house to bless yourself and your family. You will want to declutter and do your Home Blessings because you want the peace that comes with caring for your home. As you continue taking care of yourself and your home, your self-esteem will blossom.

7)      It is important to take care of yourself.

Taking a daily shower or bath, brushing your teeth, and getting dressed daily are important elements of your daily routine. It is important that you take care of yourself. You are teaching your children by example to take care of themselves. Believe it or not, I have talked to ladies who can’t remember when they last showered. They admit to falling asleep before they brush their teeth at bedtime. They are doing too much. I understand that some of you have dry skin or eczema, and you might not be able to bathe daily. At the very least, you should bathe every other day if you suffer from dry skin.

8)      You will be fully dressed if you have any deliveries that day.

Many of us rely on online ordering for basic supplies, and it is helpful to be fully dressed if a delivery man shows up on your doorstep with a delivery. How many of you have hidden in the house and just let the delivery man leave the package on your porch? I am sure there are several of you who have done that. Some of you ask your children to accept the deliveries for you, so you don’t answer the door in your pajamas.

9)      Getting dressed down to the shoes helps you set your routines.

Having a daily routine helps you navigate your day. As you do the same morning routine over and over again, it helps you have structure. Your body and mind get used to doing things in the same order. My morning routine is basic, and it happens whether I am at home or traveling.

I get up, make my side of the bed, go to the bathroom, eat breakfast, have quiet time, brush my teeth, and get dressed down to the shoes. Yes, I make my bed when I travel. I also wipe around the bathroom sink. I straighten things and declutter. I do not consciously think about these things. They are just so set in my routine that I do them without thinking about it.

10)   If you are dressed down to the shoes, you are less likely to stub your toe or injure a foot or toe.

All of us have dropped a glass at some point. If you are dressed down to your shoes, you are safer cleaning up the mess because your feet are protected. Some of us walk through the house when it is still dark. Having shoes on will help you keep you from hurting your toe if you accidentally walk into a piece of furniture.

If you are resisting this one routine, I want you to start doing it daily for the next week. Then, I want to hear from you. How did you feel? If you are already getting dressed down to the shoes daily, I want to hear some of your positive experiences. You can email me at tami@tamifox.com or at homeschool@flylady.net.

Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.

Your Zone Mission for today is to declutter deal with the stash and dash in your room.

My menu plan for Tuesday is Taco Tuesday.

Have a blessed day!

Siggie - Tami Fox

Decluttering and Detail Cleaning Your Master Bedroom

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Dear Friends,
Welcome to Zone 4 this week! We are going to declutter in the Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom this week. Your Master Bedroom sometimes turns into a catch all for things that do not have a place. The FlyLady calls this your stash and dash. You know the stuff you stash because someone is coming over to your house. This week, you are going to find a place for this stuff, or you need to give it away. You will rest better if your bedroom is clean and decluttered.
Zone 3 Missions: The Master Bedroom
Monday – Declutter & Dust Flat Surfaces
Tuesday – Deal with stash & dash in your room
Wednesday – Declutter In the Master Closet
Thursday – Declutter items from one dresser drawer
Friday – Clean under the bed
Set your timers and then take a break when it goes off! If you did not declutter and detail clean in your Master Bathroom last week, spend 5 minutes a day this week in there as well.
You can also give your children missions to declutter and clean their bedrooms. For children, you need to be concrete in what you ask them to do in their rooms. If you tell them to clean their rooms, they don’t really know what to do. But if you tell them to pick up the floor, they know exactly what your expectation is. Use a timer and don’t send them to clean for hours.
You might want you use a list of 5 things to do in their rooms and draw one per day. Some ideas would be to:
  • Pick up the floor
  • Clear off flat surfaces
  • Wash their bedding
  • Put away clothes
  • Take out the trash
  • Put away toys/games/books
  • Clean their bathroom if they have one
  • Clean off their desktop if they have a desk in their room
  • Wipe their windows or mirror
  • Dust their room
You don’t have to assign them all of this, but you can use it for ideas.

The FlyLady has a Student Control Journal that helps your children develop routines and part of that is in cleaning their rooms.

Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.

Your Zone Mission for today is to declutter flat surfaces in your bedroom and detail dust.

My menu plan for Monday is beef stew.

Have a blessed day!

Finishing Up Your Zone Missions and Home Blessings

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Dear Friends,
Today we are finishing up our zone missions, and for some of us, we are also finishing up the Weekly Home Blessings. If you are thinking about putting these off until tomorrow, I want you to set your timer and do what you can right now. Involve your children in whatever you need to do around the house. You might need an hour or so, but it will be worth it when you can enjoy your weekend.
If you have been in the habit of cleaning house and doing big projects on Saturday, I want you to work on getting your zone missions and Home Blessings done during the week. If you need to do a home project, such as painting, only tie up your weekend time once in a while to do this. Don’t spend every Saturday in project mode.
Plan your Family Fun Day activities. One of the ladies I talk to each week takes suggestions from each family member for activities. Then, they take turns each weekend doing one of these activities.
Having fun as a family is important. It builds your family bond. It also gives everyone something to look forward to each week. It’s the reward for everyone.
Another thing that really helps me enjoy my weekend is to have my menu planning and shopping finished. I typically do my menu planning on Thursday, and I grocery shop on Friday afternoon. This takes a lot of decisions off my plate for the weekend. We know what we are eating, and we know what things need to be moved from the freezer to defrost.
Having my menu planned for the week and the groceries on hand also helps me on Monday morning when I start my week off. One of the first things I do on Monday morning is check the menu plan and make sure I have things ready to prepare.
Menu planning truly saves you time and money. It also helps you keep your stress level lower. Sit down for a few minutes today and work on a menu plan for next week. Consider foods you can cook in bulk if you have some busy days ahead.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Today’s Zone Mission is to shine your tub or shower.

Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.

My menu plan for Friday is take out.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Decluttering and Organizing Your Homeschool Materials

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Dear Friends,

How does your homeschool look? Do you have a place for everything, or is it all over the house?

Today, I want you to declutter and organize your homeschool materials. Since I have homeschooled for 18 years, I have had to reign in the amount of homeschool books, materials, papers, and craft supplies that I have on hand.

You can have too much stuff. Sometimes, you have so much stuff that you miss using things that would be beneficial to your children. I talked to a friend just this week who decluttered many books because they did not have a place for everything. She could not find what she wanted to use.

Periodically I go through my school materials and declutter. I have a box right now that I need to drop off this week for a volunteer tutoring center. This year I have also decluttered craft supplies and given them to a friend who is a preschool teacher. Her class was happy to have some new materials, and I was happy to reclaim some space in my cabinet.

You have curriculum that you purchased that did not work for your children. You have not let it go because you paid for it, and the guilt you have for not using it is keeping you from blessing someone else with it.

Pull those books to the side, and check with your homeschool friends. Maybe you can have a curriculum swap party.

Don’t empty your cabinet and bookshelves all at once, but start today with 15 minutes of decluttering excess school materials. If you start now, it will make it easier to put together your curriculum list for next year.

Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter items from your homeschool collection.

Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.

My menu plan for Thursday is chicken and a salad.

Have a great day!

Financial Planning and Budgeting

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

 
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Dear Friends,
Happy Valentine’s Day! Have a wonderful day with your family. You have been working on the baby steps to taking care of yourself and are on your journey to FLYing (Finally Loving Yourself.)

This time of the year has most of us gathering paperwork for taxes and looking at our budgets. Did you know The FlyLady has free download to help you with your finances?

You will find the Financial Awareness Continually Empowering (FACE) Control Journal on her website.

She has great tips and missions to help you with budgeting and menu planning. Several of the ladies I talk to regularly are going through this now. They are finding it helpful in their journey to setting up a budget.

Your budget is something you might not want to face, but it is important that you know where your money is going. It will help you make decisions for your family. One of the biggest areas that we control our spending is in food costs. Menu planning will save you time an money.
If your budget is tight and you are depressed about it, the journal addresses that type of thinking as well. Look for blessings in each day. Practice thankfulness in the lean times. I know it is hard.
For homeschoolers, we also need to establish an education budget for books and supplies for our children. Now is a good time to start talking about your book purchases for next school year. Make a list of your needs and your wants for homeschool books. Research prices and availability of the items you want. If you go to a homeschool conference this spring, you will be prepared for it. You do not have to impulse shop at a homeschool bookfair.
What are some things that have helped you with budgeting and saving money?
Your Zone Mission today is to put away all of the laundry and declutter in the laundry room.

Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe your windows and mirrors.

My menu plan for Wednesday is soup and sandwiches.

Have a great day!

A New Homeschool Planner For You

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Getting Organized:
In Your Home and Homeschool

Dear Friends,

How is your homeschool planning and organization going? As we are moving along after Christmas break, we sometimes lose the zeal for lesson planning. I have a new resource for you that will help you with your homeschool organization and your home organization.

My Homeschool Planner is currently in production and will be available in the next couple of weeks. I am doing a pre-sale of them at a reduced price. The retail price is $22.95, but I am selling them for $19.95 as a special for you.

They will be spiral bound, so they can be easily opened for you to view the pages easily. It combines your lesson plans with your daily home keeping routines, menu planning, and more!

You can use this planner with one student or up to 4 students.

Includes: Homeschool Planning Pages Daily Routine Pages Monthly Planning Pages Menu Planning Reading List Transcript Attendance Website Passwords Notes

What I have learned over the years is to keep my routines simple. I don’t add a lot of things to my routines. That way I don’t forget to do something important to the running of my day.

Homeschooling is an important part of your day. Setting up for a good start to your morning starts the night before. Your Before Bed Routine is important even if you don’t have to leave the house the next morning. Laying out your clothes will help you move through your Morning Routine faster, and they will be ready if something unforseen pops up.

Getting to bed at a decent hour at night will help you get up on time the next morning. It will help you start your day off in a more peaceful way if you can get up at least 15 minutes before your children get up. I know that is harder if you have little ones, but having time to have a cup of coffee or tea before the children get up will help you start off the day without someone needing something right off the bat.

Developing the habit of daily paperwork and decluttering will help your homeschool run smoother. How many times have your children misplaced a paper or book? By looking at their papers and filing or tossing the papers daily, you will have less stuff for them to lose.

Our Morning Routine goes smoothly now because I spent the time with developing the routines with my children. I don’t think my boys consider the steps to the Morning Routine. They just do it.

Take heart if your children are little, and you feel like you are always reminding them of their routines. Use pictures and check off sheets. Post them in a visible place. You can make it fun with stickers for them to mark the things as they do them.

Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.

Your Zone Mission for today is to declutter under the bathroom sink.

My menu plan for Tuesday is breakfast for dinner.

Have a blessed day!

Bless Yourself and Your Family with a Decluttered Home

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Dear Friends,
How is your daily habit of decluttering a little at a time going? Some of you have been resistant to decluttering daily because you don’t want to make decisions on what to do with your stuff.

You avoid dealing with declutter paper because you might need one of the papers you declutter one day in the future. Be intentional this week on decluttering a little bit each day. Take advantage of this week’s Extra Room Mission. Declutter somewhere you have been avoiding.

Zone 3 Missions: The Main Bathroom and One Extra Room
Monday – Declutter & Wipe the Bathroom Counters
Tuesday – Declutter items from under the Bathroom Sink
Wednesday – Declutter In the Laundry Room and put away Laundry
Thursday – Declutter items from the Home Office
Friday – Shine the Tub/Shower
Set your timers and then take a break when it goes off
If you work at decluttering more stuff, it will make doing your Weekly Home Blessings easier. The Home Blessings should go faster if you have the floors picked up. What bogs us down on doing the Home Blessings is that we have to pick up before we start.
Have a place for everything. Teach your children to put things away when they are done with them. Pick up behind yourself. Set up files for papers if you have stacks of papers sitting around the house.
If you have followed along with my daily list for Home Blessings, you will notice that I have them divided out throughout the week. I started with my trash day on Friday, and I built the rest of the week around that. On Monday, I do my sheets. During the rest of the week, the boys do their sheets.
On Tuesday, I dust quickly, and one of the boys vacuums the one little area rug that we have. (Most of our home is laminate flooring or tile.)
On Wednesday, I do a quick wipe of the windows and mirrors. They just need a quick swipe. I use a wet FlyLady purple cloth and a dry one.
On Thursday, I declutter magazines or catalogues. I also spend a few minutes on decluttering paper.
Friday we don’t have a full school day since the boys do extra school work Monday through Thursday, we finish up the last of our Home Blessings. The boys gather the trash, and we work as a team to sweep and mop.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.

Your Zone Mission for today is to declutter the bathroom counters and wipe them down.

My menu plan for Monday is beef stew.

Love yourself and love your family with a decluttered home.

Have a blessed day!