The Self Cleaning House

cleaning, family, organizing, routines, Tips and Tricks

You Don’t Need Money to be Organized

Posted on January 24, 2019 by theselfcleaninghouse

Boxes. Cardboard boxes. Sometimes taped together to make a particular shape. A shoebox, a cereal box cut to the right height, toilet paper tubes taped together.

When I was newly married we had next to nothing. Then we had three children and had even less. But we managed! I didn’t have money to spend on Rubbermaid boxes or cute baskets to organize my things. It really never crossed my mind! I just made do with what I had to organize our things. So cardboard, packing tape, and yogurt containers were often used as “organizational tools”.

I share this to say, don’t wait until you can find the right baskets or till you can afford the containers for the pantry. Declutter, see what you have left, decide what shape and size things you need and then find a shoe box or a salad bowl and use that for now. Write down in your notes in your phone the exact size etc of the things you need. Next time you are at Walmart or Target you know exactly what you are looking for. Do not buy a bunch of cute baskets and wooden boxes before you know what you need!

You don’t need money to organize. If you never get the perfect basket and your bathroom is primarily organized by shoe boxes and packing tape…. guess what?! It’s still organized. Currently, the drawer that holds my cleanser, moisturizer, deodorant, contacts and the like is completely coordinated with boxes taped together to make dividers. Classy, right?! At least it is organized!

I am sure by now you all have heard of Marie Kondo. If you haven’t, she is a Japanese woman with an incredible amount of wisdom about decluttering and living a simple clean life. I will link her book here. You can click on the image to order from Amazon if you are interested! She has a show on Netflix called “Tidying Up”.

She does suggest that you do huge decluttering sessions and I don’t find that very feasible. As much as I would LIKE to do that I don’t have a lot of time for that and I don’t imagine you do either.

Declutter in a small area every day. Instead of putting off decluttering at all until you have time to pull everything out of each room of the house, I suggest doing little bits every day or as often as possible. Yes, it will take a long while to get through everything, but at least you will be making progress.

Decluttering is not a one and done. Hopefully next time you declutter and reorganize the junk drawer it will be much better, but you are going to have to do it again.

If you have the time and inclination to go all out… don’t have the kids at home, have pizza planned for dinner and have help! The likelihood of becoming overwhelmed is very possible so it is imperative to have a friend to help you.

Don’t start it if you can’t finish it! Don’t pull everything out of a dresser or the kitchen cupboards if you only have an hour to do it. Make sure you have the time to completely finish. Take it out, sort it, put it back, bag up garbage and take it to the trash, bag up donations and take them to a thrift store or charity of your choice. Do NOT leave donations in a bag in the living room or by the front door. Get it out! Decluttering is supposed to make your home less chaotic and more peaceful. A pile of junk left on the kitchen table when you got tired of doing it, is just the opposite.

Here is a super great article on what NOT to do when decluttering! Check it out!

Pro Organizer Tips: What NOT to do when decluttering your home

I hope you do something fun this weekend. Spend time with your kids. Our time with them is so short. Be with your spouse. Enjoy the life you’ve been gifted!

1 Thessalonians 5:16
Be joyful always

Blessings! XOXO

cleaning, family, organizing, spiritual

You Deserve a Clean and Peaceful Home

Posted on January 17, 2019January 29, 2019 by theselfcleaninghouse

I have a guilty pleasure. I get tremendous enjoyment from watching “Hoarders” and immense satisfaction watching them clean up all that junk. At first, it’s like a train wreck and you can’t look away. Then you want to shake the person and say “You don’t deserve to live like this!”! The cleaning process begins and it is amazing to see what is under all that garbage. You can see that at one time they had a beautiful home!

Unfortunately, I am sure that without a lot of intense counseling those people will go right back to living in filth. Somewhere in their lives, they decided that they weren’t worth anything but garbage…. and lots of it.

I am not suggesting that any one of us has a problem even remotely like this! If you did, you probably wouldn’t be here reading this. A lot of us do struggle with excess stuff though.

Let me tell you right now that no matter what life has handed you, you are worth more than your junk, your clutter, and garbage. You are a daughter or son of God! He wants the very best for you.

If you are drowning in “stuff” and find it hard to get rid of, I want you to ask yourself when it was that you decided that you didn’t deserve a nice clean home. If it is really a difficult challenge for you I strongly encourage counseling. Sometimes it’s fear. Fear of letting go of things because of the fear of not being provided for. Sometimes it is surrounding ourselves with a layer of stuff so we are protected from hurt. Our minds do funny things while trying to protect us. Without some help to learn to forgive, let go and heal it will continue to be an issue and keep you from being the best you can be! Therapy is for everyone because this is am an imperfect world full of imperfect people!

I read an article by The Minimalists called “Decluttering Doesn’t Work”. I will link it here. They talk about what happens if we don’t address the “why”. If the reasons we have our clutter don’t go away then getting rid of it won’t help. We will just find ourselves replacing our “pacifiers” as they call it.

https://www.theminimalists.com/decluttering/

The Minimalists “Why Decluttering Doesn’t Work”

When we remove our possessions we have to face who we really are. What is really important to us? Are material things so essential? Where does our happiness come from? Who are we without anything? Some pretty deep questions to consider and some serious soul searching to do!

Every single one of us deserves to come home at night to a well organized, clean, healthy, safe house. Not just certain people, not just rich people, not just other people. YOU! Your home is your castle, your refuge and a place of peace.

This is the reason and the passion behind this blog. I want to make that clean, organized dream home come true for everyone! YOU deserve it! So…. on with decluttering and maybe some inner cleansing as well.

If you are part of the VIP Self Cleaning House Facebook group, I hope you are enjoying the daily challenges! If you aren’t, please enter your email to follow my blog and you will get an invite!

cleaning, happiness, organizing

Happy Decluttering!

Posted on January 10, 2019 by theselfcleaninghouse

Hi Friends!

We are going to start this year off with a bang! We are going to focus on DECLUTTERING!!!! I am sooooo stinkin excited guys! I am doing this right along with you! We are going to toss, donate, rehome and classify!

So what exactly IS clutter? Clutter isn’t just that stack of last weeks mail on the counter and the pile of magazines that you just haven’t had time to read yet. Although those things ARE clutter, there are so many more things that are clutter.

clutter
(klʌtəʳ )

Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense clutters , present participle cluttering , past tense, past participle cluttered
1. uncountable noun
Clutter is a lot of things in an untidy state, especially things that are not useful or necessary.
Caroline prefers her worktops to be clear of clutter.
Synonyms: untidiness, mess, disorder, confusion
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/clutter

Clutter is anything that makes your space too crowded or busy and causes stress, anxiety or confusion. Clutter is unnecessary and drags you down, even if you don’t realize it. It can be too many pictures hanging on the wall, too many clothes in the closet, excess Christmas decorations, an entire shoebox full of nail polish….and you get your nails done at a salon. Too many lipsticks, phone apps or salt and pepper shaker collections. It can be too many projects, sports activities or even the wrong people.

You can try to organize clutter, but it is guaranteed to turn to chaos the minute you turn your back. Organized clutter is ….still clutter. The only way to truly organize and KEEP a clean and tidy home is to get rid of the clutter!

Clutter not only is an eyesore and an annoyance. Did you know that clutter actually affects our health, our choices, and our relationships? Clutter actually makes you tired. Your brain is forced to deal with every item you see. It is like a program running in the background that is making decisions and choices and using energy to do so.

I listened to these podcasts over again this week. There is an incredible amount of wisdom here! I can’t say enough about Chalene Johnson! A former “messy person” she knows what it is like and how to go about changing it. She has so many tips for getting rid of “stuff” and keeping your things organized. You can be free of the mess and clutter that prevents you from having the life you want!

https://themodelhealthshow.com/decluttering-your-life/

The Model Health Show with Chalene Johnson Episode 287

If you are new to podcasts these are a great first! I am obsessed with listening to podcasts whenever I get the chance! I listen to them at 1 1/2x speed so that I can fit more in! Learning from people that have more wisdom than you do is….wise!

Proverbs 2:2 “So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding.”

Proverbs 3:13 “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.”

Best Of The De-Clutter Project

Chalene Johnson Best of the De-Clutter Project

Please take the time to listen to these podcasts! They are exciting and uplifting. Listen while you are putting your make up on, doing your hair, driving to work. What a great way to start your day, filling your mind with good ideas, positive thoughts, life hacks, and wisdom!

I don’t know about you but I am really looking forward to going through my house again (yes, again…. decluttering is not a “one and done”, it is an ongoing process) and digging even deeper this time! It is so freeing!

Happy decluttering!

I hate belongings. I hate clutter. It really bothers me because I can’t think properly. If you’ve got distractions in front of you, your mind goes nuts. ~ Simon Cowell

cleaning, family, family traditions, food, happiness, organizing, planning

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 3, 2019January 3, 2019 by theselfcleaninghouse

Happy New Year Friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

We had a “quiet” New Year’s celebration this year. Quiet for us anyway. It was still rather noisy and full of laughter and fun! It was just our family and a couple of friends playing games, eating and generally having a good time.

It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without the annual tree burning. I honestly don’t know how this tradition even started. For years we have been burning the Christmas Tree in the backyard in the snow New Year’s Eve night.

It seems so symbolic. The representation of the end of the year. All the past year’s mistakes go up in a pillar of black smoke and we are given a clean slate to start new. We get a chance to make different decisions and make better choices. It, in some way, resembles the forgiveness we were given when Jesus died on a tree and then defeated death to give us new life.

It is awesome sight to see a tree burning in your back yard! Safely… for the most part!

It is now January 2nd, and everything is back to reality with the addition of maybe some new resolutions to actually make changes this year. It is a good thing to want to make good changes in our lives! We often have such lofty goals that we totally miss the mark and are more discouraged than before though, and that is not where we want to be.

The key is making small changes that will lead you in the direction you want to go! Having someone to be accountable to, that can encourage you, guide or help you is good too!

I am so excited about the upcoming things planned for The Self Cleaning House this year! We are going to work together, step by step to get rid of clutter and organize the things we need to keep. We are going to learn how to decide what to keep and what to get rid of! We’ll find out what needs to be cleaned and how often we need to clean it. What are the best tools and supplies for cleaning? How do you make it look nice once it is clean? We will talk about time management, kids, meals and menu planning, self-care, positive attitudes, self-talk and keeping Jesus at the center of our lives.

I don’t claim to know all things clean and organized and so there will be some guest bloggers here to share their knowledge and skills!

Most importantly, these things are not going to be so hard, time-consuming or overwhelming that it takes away from your family time or your weekends. They will be small changes that will be fun and lead you to have a clean, peaceful home for you and your family to enjoy.

We are going to do this together! We are going to stick to those resolutions to clean and organize your home and we are all going to be doing it together!

When you enter your email to follow the Self Cleaning House, you will receive an invitation to the exclusive Self Cleaning House Facebook Group! There we can discuss what topics you want to hear about, chat about questions or ideas you have. We will do challenges and get daily reminders for things.

I am looking forward to transforming our homes together this year so that you can spend more time doing what you love!

Cheers to a very happy 2019!!

food

To Instapot or Not

Posted on December 13, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

I have been using a pressure cooker for almost as long as I can remember. The one I have, I believe was my grandmother’s. I have replaced the seal on it a few times and it is just as good as it was when she used it!

I have always prided myself in being able to use very efficiently something that apparently a lot of people are afraid to use or don’t know how to use. So when the whole “InstaPot” craze began a few years ago, I wasn’t on that. It sounded like just another kitchen gadget to take up room in the pantry. I already had my “instapot” and wasn’t afraid to use it! hmph!

This year the instapot craze has seemed to reach an even higher level of crazy and I was hearing more and more about them. Rice cooker, crock pot and pressure cooker ALL in one?? hmmmm…. maybe there was more to it than I had originally thought. Nah….. I have a rice cooker (working on wearing out my second one in 10 years), a crockpot (15 plus years old and looks like a spaceship, but works) and a pressure cooker (well over 40 years old!). Why do I need some new fangled thing?!

The instapot sears and browns meat in the same pot you slow cook in? Wait…. you say you can make yogurt in this thing? You don’t have to stand over it vigilantly watch the weight on the top and monitor the temperature? (Hahaha….. there was that one time when the weight got bumped and I had to clean chicken and chicken grease off the ceiling. That was exciting, to say the least.)

Maybe, just maybe I might want one…. but let’s be perfectly clear. It is NOT because I don’t know how to use a pressure cooker!! These new things DO look pretty cool…….did you know they have a steam setting AND there is a delay timer?!

Ok, yes…. I do want one…. I think.

Then for my birthday, my dear friends bought me one!! WOW! This thing is pretty cool! I spend the first week reading up on it and looking at recipes for the Instapot. I was not horribly impressed with the recipes I found on Pinterest etc. Meh… I wanted to make the things I like to make but make them in this fancy new pot! So…. that is exactly what I did.

My birthday is the 8th of November. Today is December 12. I have used my instapot nearly every day, sometimes twice a day after that first week. I have adapted so many of my recipes to use in that thing! I make homemade chicken stock and doing it in that has been sooooo much easier! And faster!

I’ve done, pot roast, goulash, pierogies with ham and broccoli, cheeseburger chowder, beef curry, a corned beef (from frozen even) chicken wings, pork chops (I don’t recommend that… they dry out), chili and many other things!

I can officially say that I am part of the instapot craze and I do highly recommend them! I am home all day but this would be a total lifesaver for those of you working outside the home! Either with the delay timer, slow cooker or the “oh crap, I forgot to get something out of the freezer” feature!

My instapot is a CrockPot brand and I am really impressed with it! I have the 8 quart for our family of 5 people. There is a 6 quart also if you don’t need one so large.

You can purchase yours with the links below! You won’t regret it! I would love to hear what things those of you with an instapot have done with yours!

The 6 quart!

This is an 8 quart. I couldn’t find an 8 quart in the Crock Pot brand to save my soul but Instapot is a great brand as well!

Happy cooking!

cleaning, laundry, Tips and Tricks

Laundry Cheat Sheet

Posted on December 11, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

I was tidying up in my laundry room and came across the “Laundry Cheat Sheet” that I made waaaaaay back when, when I was teaching my daughters how to do laundry. I had put it in a page protector and hung it in the laundry room so that they could easily look to see how to wash what they were washing!

As you can see, it is a bit wrinkled and worn. It has been stored away for quite some time. I thought it would be fun to update it and make it prettier and share it with you! It can be a reminder for you or help you to teach your kids to laundry too.

I am a fan of bleach. I use inexpensive white hand towels and washcloths for my dish towels and dishcloths. They can be bleached and when they get gross or wear out I throw them away! I can’t stand the thought of all the bacteria and raw meat and all the nastiness that can be in a kitchen NOT being cleaned with bleach. Bleh! That is just my germophobia coming out I guess!

I don’t wash my bath towels with dish towels. It just seems yucky to me. I don’t bleach my bath towels either. Vinegar is a great way to get any smells out of the bath towels though! No, they don’t end up smelling like pickles!

I rarely dry any of our shirts. The less time in the dryer, the longer your clothes will last. Besides, I find that skipping that step and going straight to a hanger to dry and then to the closet speeds up the laundry process. There is less in the dryer so those things dry faster, and the shirts are hung up already so they just have to be moved to the closet.

This is one of my husband’s favorite shirts. Notice the year printed on the shirt. It has rarely ever been dried, if ever. I would say it has lasted pretty well!

My favorites things for laundry are right here! You can purchase from Amazon by clicking on the pictures.

If you are subscribed to The Self Cleaning House you will receive the Laundry Cheat Sheet in your email! I hope you enjoy it! My Christmas present to you!

routines, self discipline, Tips and Tricks

New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on December 4, 2018December 7, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

The new year is fast approaching and it is the time when people begin to think of change. New habits they want to start, old ones they want to break.

I have not been a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions. They sound good, but really they are just a way of procrastinating what we know we should be doing now, until the first of January. We will probably spend money to lose weight or exercise or start some new craft or hobby and then by March, if we are lucky to make it that long, we are back to where we were but with less money and nothing to show for it. I am not trying to be a Debbie downer here, but let’s face it, it is pretty typical.

I am very guilty of this myself, which is why I haven’t been a resolution enthusiast and most definitely don’t share my attempt at resolve to change an area of my life on social media. No one likes to fail publicly!

I am currently reading James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. It is one of the most amazing books I have ever read! If you want to really learn how to change your habits and change your life you need to get this book! It is powerful! Because of this book, I may change my opinion and actually make some New Year’s Resolutions this coming year and stick to them! I am learning so much!

We often we fail to follow through with our efforts to change because although we WISH to change, we don’t really WANT to. Even though we don’t like the habit or behavior we wish to change, it is comfortable. Change is hard. We may be afraid of change. It may be subconscious. We may not feel we deserve it. We got there for a reason. It may require working through those issues before change can happen.

Another reason our resolutions flop is because we don’t know how to go about changing! We rely on sheer willpower to make huge changes in our lives. When we are tired, stressed, hungry, sad, our willpower is the first of our character traits to bail on us! Our brain is trained to make us feel better and protect us. It doesn’t know that a quart of ice cream at 10pm is a bad thing. It just wants us to be ok.

There are some amazing habit hacks that you can use to help you actually stick to those resolutions!

Make your new habit as fun and attractive as possible! Buy a new pair of walking shoes or a cookbook.

Reward yourself! Pay yourself each time you work out and use that money for a spa day or for something you want.

Don’t make your new habit so difficult that you are defeated before you start. Go to the gym a couple times a week, not 6 days a week for two hours a day! Make it easy!

Remove any obstacles that would give you an excuse to not follow through. Set out your gym clothes at night. Get rid of all the junk food in the house.

If you are trying to stop watching so much TV put the remote in another room or on top of a shelf that you can’t reach well.

Change your routine. If you always have cookies after dinner and you want to stop, immediately after dinner, do something else! Go for a walk. Take a bath.

Most of those things relate to weight loss and healthy living but you can apply those principles to anything!

Those are just a few small things that are mentioned in this book. There is a wealth of knowledge in it!

You can purchase it here!

I am following his blog as well. It is always fascinating and I learn something new every time I read a new article. I am kind of a nerd when it comes to self-improvement, productivity, motivation and that sort of thing. If you are into that, you really should check it out!

https://jamesclear.com/

If you are wanting to make a change in the New Year, whether in your home, in the way you go about housekeeping, or in your health or whatever it is you want to change, now actually is a good time to start planning and moving in that direction. With the proper tools and knowledge, you will be able to achieve your goals!

Check the routines page here on my blog for the basics to help you stay on track!

Get the Atomic Habits to help you learn how to best keep those habits in place

And hide the Cookies!!

cleaning, family, family traditions, food, happiness, memories

Holiday Traditions

Posted on November 19, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

Traditions are something that you give your family that will last long after you are gone. They are a gift you give your kids and they give their kids.

Traditions make your family unique. It is what makes your family special and different from the neighbor. Tradition gives us a feeling of belonging, a part of something exclusive.

woman preparing christmas table — Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

As parents, it is our responsibility to pass on our core values and beliefs in a way that they will be as meaningful to them as they are to us. There is no better way to instill your values into your children than through tradition. Faith, patriotism, integrity, responsibility, work ethic, and compassion can all be taught through tradition in a way that it becomes a part of them and they will pass it down to their own children.

Traditions give security to children. Something they look forward to year after year. Your children will remember the traditions forever. The gifts at the holidays and birthdays will be quickly forgotten.

Families need to be held together by that bond of memories and traditions. Now more than ever we need to keep our traditions and give that gift of belonging and history to our children so that they never forget who they are!

It is important to involve your children in your traditions! Take the time to explain why you are doing those things and where it came from. Family history gives them pride in who they are and in their family. It’s that sense of being part of something big and special. The most important thing about tradition is that it is done every year!!

Our traditions have changed slightly over the years. When my husband and I were married, we combined and morphed our traditions together and add a few of our own. It makes OUR family unique!

We have a lot of traditions in our family! I will share a few of them with you. It’s always inspiring to see what other families do and I am always looking for new ideas. I would love to hear what you do!

We go to church on Easter morning every year. We have lamb for dinner and always have communion as a family before dinner. Easter baskets for our kids always had a new swimsuit for the season!

When our kids were young we went downtown to the local fireworks display for the 4th of July every year! Over time the crowd got really bad and it just didn’t feel safe anymore. So now we have a huge BBQ at our house, play yard games and do our own fireworks in the street in front with our neighbors. The May Family Annual 4th of July Party is awesome!

The planning, baking, and cooking for Thanksgiving with my girls is one of my favorites. Before we pray over the Thanksgiving dinner, we each say what we are thankful for. After dinner, we play games, watch football, and just hang out in comfy clothes until we are hungry again and then we have rolls with turkey and cream cheese and cranberry sauce, and more pie! Mmmmmm!

The day after Thanksgiving/Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year! Not because of the shopping. That is fun and all but our favorite part is going to our local annual lighting ceremony, parade and fireworks! Rain, cold or snow has never stopped us from being there. It is the most wonderful time of the year! After the fireworks we go home and have Cheeseburger Chowder for dinner. Yummy!

Putting up the Christmas Tree and decorating it has always been super special for all of us. We all get involved! We play Christmas music, have a fire in the fireplace, drink hot chocolate and have Clam Chowder for dinner.

When our kids were little they always got to open one present on Christmas Eve. My daughter has continued to do that with her daughter but changed it a bit. She makes a Christmas Eve box for her to open. She gets new Christmas jammies, slippers, a new movie to watch that evening among other things. Such a fun thing to do!

On Christmas morning we open presents…like at the crack of dawn! A lot of times my husband and oldest daughter have to work at 7am-7pm Christmas (they are law enforcement) and we want to have them there for presents so we just all get up really early! Then we put on a huge brunch for all the extended family. It is an open house style so that people can come and go as needed. It’s nice to get to see people without anyone feeling like they have to be there at a certain time or stay until the party is over. It works out great! Later in the evening, we have a nice family dinner.

We have always had a big New Years Eve party with lots of friends and family and champagne! They are so much fun!

Keep your family traditions alive! Give your children the memories and traditions that will continue to live on for generations.

Please enjoy my favorite pie crust recipe! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Holiday Recipes / Holiday Recipes

Perfect flaky pie crust everytime!

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 3/4 cup shortening

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 egg

1/2 cup water

Mix first 3 ingredients, add shortening. Cut in until crumbles. Beat water, vinegar and egg. Combine with flour, stirring until moistened. Do not over mix. Divide into 5 pieces. Chill. Makes about 5 single crust pies.

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cleaning, organizing, planning, routines, self discipline, Tips and Tricks

The Crockpot List

Posted on November 6, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

composition cute design diary — Photo by Miesha Moriniere on Pexels.com

I am a list person! I love “to do lists” and “honey-do lists” and “things I want to make lists” and “grocery lists”. For some though, lists are overwhelming and discouraging. They are not a challenge but instead just daunting, and they are likely to give up before they start. If that is you, I want to help you!

First of all, your daily routines are going to become HABIT and you won’t need a list to tell you to do it. You may need to remind yourself for a while with sticky notes or index cards until your habits are set in stone but eventually, they are like breathing. That is the whole point! You won’t have to think about it! (If you haven’t read the daily routines on my blog, go do that now! Check in the main menu! )

If you get overwhelmed by lists, I am willing to bet that you put everything from “Clean the garage” to “feed the cat” on your list of things to do today. Your list is longer than your arm and you have work, your child has ball practice and you have to make cookies for the bake sale. Not a good day for cleaning the garage or anything else that is going to take more than five minutes to accomplish. That list, although some things like “feed the cat” need to happen today, is way too much and it is discouraging right off.

Even if you don’t think you are a “list person”, lists can be very helpful. Going to the store without a grocery list is like a dizzy blindfolded kid trying to hit a pinata. Good luck! If you don’t make a list of Christmas gifts to buy, you are guaranteed to forget someone. Awkward!!! Lists are very important!

Sometimes our minds get so busy thinking of all the things we need to do that we can’t focus or even sleep well. Putting those things in writing on a list helps to get it out of our brain and onto paper so you can rest or focus fully at the task at hand.

Lists help you feel grounded and less scattered. Lists allow you to be able to make a plan.

The trick to not getting overwhelmed with lists is to not put everything on the same list and don’t expect to get everything on your list done by lunchtime. You can have lists for things you don’t plan to have finished until next year!

Today I want you to take just a few minutes and start a “crockpot list”. Yes, a “crockpot list”! This is a list of things that you would eventually like to get done but aren’t vital do NOW! Things that can sit and “cook” for a while. This is not a list that you are to look at and feel pressured by. This is a list that you can look at next time you find yourself at home for an afternoon and you have two hours free….what on that list can you get done? Maybe your husband agreed to help you do some household things for one hour, what on that list can you do? You are waiting for a friend and they call and say they are running fifteen minutes late. There is a lot of things you can do in fifteen minutes instead of staring at the clock!

My “Crockpot List” looks like this:

Clean out/tidy the secretary desk (desk where we keep bills, coupons, envelopes, stamps etc.)

Clean and organize the corner cupboards in my kitchen

Work on my cookbook

Defrost the chest freezer and organize

Work on my book

Organize the craft supplies

Post the items I would like to sell on Marketplace

Scan old photos and save on my computer

Clean the junk drawer

Tidy the coat closet

Break down boxes to fit in the recycle bin

person hands woman pen — Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

Make your crockpot list and keep it either in your day planner or the side of the fridge, where ever you will find it next time you have a few moments to work on something. A “Crockpot List” will help you be more productive and a better time manager!

round gold colored analog watch with pink leather strap on pink notebook — Photo by Jess Watters on Pexels.com

camping, cleaning, Coeur d' Alene River, happiness, motivation, organizing

Minimal Stuff Makes Minimal Mess

Posted on October 23, 2018October 25, 2018 by theselfcleaninghouse

My husband and daughter took a couple of weeks off for hunting. After a week of “camping in the fall” and not seeing anything, they came home. They are still hoping to get some day-hunts in before the end of the season!

My hubby, bless his heart, decided to be productive the last week of his vacation time and clean the garage! We clean the garage really well a couple of times of year. Isn’t it crazy how fast it can get disorganized again???

Photo Credit: memes.com

This time we decided to really clean it out. Not just organize the “stuff ” but take a good hard look at what we have and decide if we really need it, if someone else could better benefit from it, is it replaceable, or is it trash?! We were brutally honest with ourselves. We made a “Trash” pile, a “Donate” pile and a very small “Sell” pile (that is a dangerous pile and you don’t want many things in that one or they will just be re-assimilated!) We also had a pile of “Things to return to others”.

We opened boxes, took things off shelves, pulled things out. We ended up with a truckload of things to go to the dump, a truckload to take to donate and a few things to sell. It felt AMAZING!!!

I honestly thought I would not come up with a lot to get rid of. I hate clutter. I don’t like a lot of “stuff”. Come to find out, I had a lot of crap I didn’t realize was crap!

Truly taking an honest look at what I had, was so freeing! I realized that a lot of things that I had been keeping, I was keeping out of fear. Fear that I would need it and not have it. Fear that if I did need it, I wouldn’t be able to afford to replace it. Fear that someone would be offended if I got rid of it. Well, kicking fear to the curb and thinking “If my house burned down, would I miss it? Would I be able to replace it? Would I buy another one? ” helped me to get rid of soooooo much!!

Getting rid of “stuff” is the only way to really have a self-cleaning house. Minimal stuff makes minimal mess.

I have started on a new “Crap crusade” in my closet and I am excited! I will keep you posted on that venture!

When you let go of stuff you unclog the positive flow and new and wonderful things can come into your life in many ways, not only just in your garage. When you hang on to too much stuff and things it clutters your mind and life, not just your home. Your life isn’t meant to be stagnant. By hanging on to old things, too many things and unnecessary things you are blocking the stream of abundance that belongs to you!

Remember when you were a kid or when you told your kids that they couldn’t have a new toy unless they got rid of one (or five!)? Yes! Just like that! Our life is supposed to be rewarded and blessed, but first…. you have to get rid of some stuff.

you can't reach for anything new

I encourage you to kick the fear, tell yourself that it’s ok to let go. Enjoy the amazing feeling of a clean uncluttered home, and the positive things that will come your way!

Go get rid of some stuff!!