A Quest for an Organized Home

It's been a long cold winter in New England this year. Now that it's April, spring is finally on the horizon. And with (slightly) warmer temperatures and longer days, I have set my sights on the disaster that is the current state of my home. Yikes! The hallways are are closing in on us, the dining room (which is used for homeschooling my two kids) is overflowing with an almost-finished year's worth of stuff: books, art supplies, papers... And I don't even want to think about the laundry room. A person takes her life in her hands when entering that room. It's not a pretty sight.

All of which brings me to my Quest for an Organized Home. Now, I'll be totally honest here - my attempts at said Home have, so far, been an abysmal failure. I was really excited about the 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge and I printed out my list. I filled in the first ten days of places to "decrapify" and set to work. I got through Day 1 and that was it. (I'm not kidding!) The program gives you Sundays off, so when I explained that to my 8 year old son, when he questioned why the calendar didn't have all the dates on it, his reply was, "Hmmm - it looks like every day is Sunday for you, Mom." ...sigh...

I realized that even that was too ambitious a task for me while our homeschooling year is still in full-swing. Some people can do lots of things at once and do them well. I am not one of them. So I decided to start small. The first thing I wanted to do was get our weekly menu/grocery list organized. I had been writing each night's menu on a little square of a printable calendar and scratching my list onto an index card on the way out the door to the grocery store each week. This was a place I could make a quick improvement.

A quick visit to Pinterest brought up a plethora of home organization tools, lists, and calendars. At first I was a little overwhelmed, but then found an organizer that I liked. It wasn't perfect, but I liked it. Now that I've been using it for a few weeks, and knowing what works for our family, I decided to create my own. I've included them here if anyone wants to use one. This one is a blank template and this one is pre-labeled from Monday through Sunday.

I used the same basic set up as most of the other planners, but I added a little section next to each day to jot down anything I need to be aware of that could change what I make for dinner that night. (Spaghetti and sauce would be a good choice for a night when we have music lessons at 6:30, and homemade pizza is a good option when we have the whole night at home together.) I have the Grocery List section right next to the meal planner and then added a Notes section at the bottom. I found that I want to try a recipe and then forget where the recipe came from. The Notes section is a great place to write its location so I don't have to try to remember it when it's time to cook!

Thus begins my humble Quest for an Organized Home. I know it won't be quick (or likely very easy!) but small steps in the right direction are better than every day being a "Sunday"!

Book Review - "Thrive: Digging Deep, Reaching Out" by Mark Hall

It's been a while since my last book review, but the stuff I have to do can sometimes get in the way of the stuff I want to do.

I am a fan of the music group Casting Crowns. I knew their lead singer, Mark Hall, is a pastor, but until recently I had no idea he is also an author. It probably stands to reason, then, that I have not read his other books, but after reading Thrive: Digging Deep, Reaching Out, I can honestly say I would be interested in reading his other books. Hall writes in an easy-to-read style that is also highly relatable. Even if for no other reason, his horror movie story makes this book worth the read. Luckily though, there is a lot more to be enjoyed and learned from Thrive.

The book is laid out in two separate sections. Part one, "Digging Deep," Hall speaks to the need to get out of "survival mode" and dig our roots down into Jesus in order to thrive as we are meant to. This is not a Prosperity Gospel teaching, but a way for people in the real world to thrive, wherever they are, in Jesus.

In part two, "Reaching Out," we see what it can look like, through examples, as well as imagining what could be, by reaching out to others from a place of deep faith.

All in all, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. My first reaction to it was that this would be a great book for someone who is new (or at least newer) to the faith, or someone who is not currently engaging their faith in a meaningful way. It's a quick read, but one I recommend.

(There is also a Thrive Challenge that goes with the book, but I did not investigate it.)