Landfall in Pensacola!

One of the things we've done on this trip is scout out local beach style architecture.  My friend, Cindy, loved this subdivision, and we stopped in for a few pics.  Enjoy!

My Household Control Journal

In my last post, I covered the goal setting and planning tools I use around my home, with a promise to reveal my Household Control Journal.

Accused of being a control freak from time to time, for alot of people I'm also the go-to person in a pinch, so I guess there are trade-offs to being organized and keeping up with one's own life! 

It's imporant to be prepared, especially in case of an emergency, and it is convenient to be organized in your everyday life. That being said, a Household Control Journal can become a behemouth in about 2 seconds, so think about it's purpose before springing into action to make your own!  FishMama and FlyLady have their own, each with a specific purpose in mind. 

Here's mine...

Decorated with calendar artwork, my three ring binder has been the perfect set-up for my Household Control Journal.  I also have a Daily Control Journal, Medical Control Journal, a Financial Control Journal, and a History-of-this-House Control Journal, but I'll have to cover those one at a time!

~ K.I.S.S. it!

The purpose of a control journal is to tame the documents of life, so Keep It Simple, Sister! Mine includes the following categories in this order:

Emergency Contacts ~ one page for basic names, phone numbers, addresses

Emergency Plan ~ a "read this first" plan that says what to grab and what to leave in case of a major emergency (fire, disaster, evacuation, etc.)

Perscription Information ~ I hole-punch the papers from the pharmacy with our scrip info and put them right into the binder.  Easy to replace a perscription this way, since it contains all the dosage and technical information.

Personal Phone Book ~ form pages to fill in, rather than writing on the backs of envelopes and little scraps of paper here and there!

Business Phone Book ~ also filled in form pages.

Online Account Information ~ lists of who I do business with online, usernames and passwords can be included for non-critical accounts.  This can be a great timesaver!

Rewards Program Statements ~ hotels, grocers, airline miles, etc.

Rewards Program Cards ~ in baseball card holders, especially helpful to keep the wallet from getting overloaded!

Bulk Food Ordering Information ~ I keep the most current list of what I ordered, so I'll remember what I purchased, and what the prices were compared today's costs.

Pantry/Freezer Inventory ~ usually taken every six months, spring and fall.

Current Calendar ~ again print free from internet or software

Chore Charts ~ my scheduled household chores, and kids chores if applicable

Vehicle Records ~ maintenance records, description information, etc.

Maps ~ local, state, and emergency maps in sheet protector pockets

Disaster Information ~ evacuation plans, triage information, etc.

Catalogs ~ bulk food catalogs, and mail-order only company catalogs, in the back pocket.

That's it in a nutshell.  Remember to keep your journal simple, tailor it to your needs, and use it!  The best made organizers do nothing if left on the shelf.  I position mine close to my desk/computer space, so I can access it easily, I make a conscious choice to use it. 

I does not contain my weekly shopping lists, daily goals, lists of errands, etc.  because that's not the purpose. 

Plan to update the journal regularly, and write a reminder on your Family Calendar to check for needed updates every so often.  Purpose to establish the habit of using your journal on a weekly basis or daily basis at first, and eventually it will be a lifelong habit with a very positive effect on your life!

New Perspective

There was a real lack of beauty in this home office space before.  I was utilizing what I had, and really had no inspiration to guide me.  Without vision the people perish, you know.  So when I saw what Nester had done with her new space, I knew I could do something similar. 

I started by selling what I had, and made $140 towards my new furniture.  I kept watching Craigslist, and found the table, chairs and buffet (pictured near the end) for $150, so my net cost for those items was a whopping $10.  Easy peasy. 

I still had the problem of finding a printer stand, and when the china hutch showed up on CL for $65, I knew it would be functional and beautiful in the space, so I made a call.  The woman who owned it said she would deliver it, (an almost 2 hour drive!) for $20!  That had to be God!

I think the furniture is beautiful, and it matches this room, which is primitive and cozy. 

One of the main reasons I needed to make a change was that I had no place to effectively study my Bible.  I'm a book person, and have loads of commentaries, translations and also use my computer, so I needed something functional.

Now, what I have is functional AND beautiful!  The idea of using a table like a partner's desk where people can sit face to face is fabulous!  Remember this post?  It's also beautiful. 

One of the things I love most is that the whole family likes it.  We've had opportunity to sit together to work on projects, and there is room for everyone.  Best of all, we don't have to clear the table so we can eat dinner!  I love that.

Even the hateful cat seems to approve! 

Did I mention that when the china hutch was delivered, the woman offered me $50 for something she liked from my house, so my hutch was $35 out of pocket and delivered?  That brings my final cost for the transformation to $45!

Isn't God amazing?!

Make It Do or Do Without?

One of my goals on my Finishing List 2009 was to put my den and office area back in order.  Remember this saying:

The beauty of the house is order...

If order is the qualifier, my den hasn't been very beautiful lately!  In fact, I've been pretty ashamed of the clutter that accumulated , BECAUSE MY ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT would kick in, and I would hold on to things that I knew I could sell on Craigslist to make a little money.  But I just didn't HAVE THE TIME.

After being reminded that there is beauty in order, I immediately set out to make beauty a priority!  It started with prayer, because I had issues with holding on to stuff.  So I asked the Lord to help me "be rutheless" in cleaning out my stuff and I asked my husband and daughter to pray for me as well. 

Next, I read several books by Lauri Ward, who has a blog with a "use what you have" focus.  Her books are now listed in my Bookshelf 2009 (in the right hand column beside this text!), so you can check them out from your local library.  Of the four books I read, my favorite by far was Home Therapy, because it showed the before and after layouts, and explained why things didn't work in the original configuration, and how to identify or fix the issues by simply rearranging with strategy.  Visit her business blog here to view before/after video of her work.  It's quite impressive to see strategy at work.

One of the issues I discovered was that some of my furniture was not functional, especially in my office area.  Sometimes you can't make it do, nor can you do without...  So, I got busy searching Craigslist and came up with an inexpensive solution.  I replaced my desk and printer stand, and added a storage piece and bookshelf to better serve my needs. 

Did I mention that this all took about three weeks, during which time we celebrated Thanksgiving and finished our preparations for finals in school???  Now you know that I've been really busy!  But, I think when you see the pictures in my next post, the results will prove to have been worth the effort.

Here's a sneak peek for the next post...

Meeting New Friends

Sometimes, when I'm surfing Google images for information on an item, I come across a blog that could be my own. It's cozy.  It reflects my own taste, desires, or interests.  It feels like home.

One of them I found recently belongs to Stephanie over at A Fine House.  (We even have titled some of our posts EXACTLY the same!  How amazing is that?)

So, I hope you enjoy checking out her blog, especially the "Silver & Gold Have I None ~ Yet" post.  It's simply beautiful!  Enjoy.

The Gospel

Ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full!

²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24, New King James Version)

Yesterday I posted my Finishing List for 2009 and one line item was to purchase two chairs for the living room.  This would be the THIRD set of chairs I have purchased, but I made a profit on the sale of the other sets, so I'm not feeling too bad about the whole fiasco.  Yes, buying and selling chairs is a fiasco, and I don't want to do it for a living!

Still, I'm not complaining because I made a profit each time, and I am now the owner of the chairs from this ad:              Two (2) Chairs...Must Sell...Make Offer - $40 (West Tulsa)

Here are the pictures at their house, and I'll take some in my house and post them in my next post...

I know they look a little like "what were you thinking" chairs, but really, THEY WORK WITH MY SOFA!  I've had the hardest time finding something tall enough, with the right tone of green to match this yellow/green Lane Westwood Stationary Sofa I purchased a while back. 

Now we have a nice little family of married furniture, all from Craigslist, and all for under $275 if you count the profit I made from the other chairs!  Amazing, isn't it?  I heart Craigslist!

All the woodwork in the living room will be changing to Espresso, I believe, so that's what I'll be on the lookout for next! ;-)

Seen these?

I'd like two of these, please!

Favorite Fall Decorating

Inspiration to do something...

Dream a little dream...

Images from Country Living

Blog BreakFast!

Really, this is a break from a blog fast!

I had been fasting this past week from reading blogs and blogging in an effort to hear from the Lord more clearly concerning a 24-hour prayer tent we had at a local fall festival in my town. The results of the fast were very gratifying for me personally, and I hope to post on my other blog very soon about the testimonies from the prayer tent.

Meanwhile, I was able to sneak away this morning in between a very hectic list of appointments, and purchased a few garage sale treasures.

Is your heart beating fast? Are you jealous? Well, don't hate me, but I actually only bought the paint for these projects. Gotcha!

I've been collecting paint for some time after reading other blogs about using mistints and other clearance or OOPS paints for their rehab projects. I was amazed at how easily I have found paints on clearance and at yard sales, not to mention the mistint bins at Lowe's and Walmart. I scored the blue paint for $0.50 and two sample size gray/brown paints for $0.10 each. I'm excited to use them, so now I need to find the crate, and someone needs to give me the Pottery Barn cabinet and TV for the living room. ;-)

I guess I'll keep searching Craigslist!

Free Organizing Printables

Lesson plans are on my mind lately, since we're starting our History this week. We decided on The BlueStocking Press, Uncle Eric books, and I'm working on lesson plans for the semester.

For those of you interested in keeping organized, there are many free, helpful printables available at this website, Donna Young. Even if you don't homeschool, there are many helpful forms, calendars, and printables that you might be interested in using. Go check it out!

Turtle Power!

I keep telling myself, "Slow and steady wins the race!" That's how the kitchen will get done, I suppose. In a perfect world, we would have already finished. But this world is far from perfect.

Still I'm glad to see those appliances disappearing, even if it is only one at a time!

I hated that laminate backsplash we used to have. It served it's purpose but I needed something more my style.

Now, we have beadboard. It was so inexpensive, only $10 because we purchased a damaged piece. We measured and planned carefully, and did the entire kitchen from one piece!

Just as we were preparing to do the backsplash, the microwave quit working. Each time we have been ready, or almost ready to take the next step, an appliance dies. It's like they know...

So, I picked out the microwave I liked, which was purchased from Lowe's at $248 including tax. We saved $100 by installing it ourselves, which was a cinch.

Then, the fridge died. That was a big deal, because I had done some window shopping, but hadn't decided what to purchase since we had a small space.

The configuration of my cabinets at 68 3/4 high, coupled with the wall on the right of the space made it difficult to find a fridge that would work. We ended up with a 22 cubic foot Whirlpool side by side, mostly because it would fit in the space. Special order.

A 25 cubic foot would have been cheaper, but because it just wouldn't fit the space, we had to go with the smaller. I was excited the day it was installed, and all my friends came to see it, just like I had a new baby or something. LOL

By day two, I was thinking, "Okay, it's just a fridge. It keeps things cold. Yipee." How quickly we move on to the next thing!

So, the range is now an orphan, counting it's numbered days. And the cabinets look so shabby next to these new appliances, that they'll just have to have attention as well.

It's a domino effect...

I've got a big fat head!

I'm working on a post about my kitchen, so check back in a little while. In the meantime, I have news...

My blog post on the gossip bench was featured on Kimba's A Soft Place To Land! Can you believe it? It's almost too good to be true, but I saw it with my own eyes here...

Thank you, Kimba. You made my week! Now my bench has a little secret of it's own.