Domestic Excellence

Files to Keep

2012-03-03T14:19:00.001-08:00

FINANCIAL: (Green tabs on LH side)
Incoming and outgoing money
Banking
Credit Cards
Investments
Mortgage
Taxes, Wills
Employment
Auto
Utilities, etc.

INSURANCE & VEHICLES: (Blue tags, Left of middle)
Cars
House
Life
Health Insurance

PERSONAL: (Yellow tags, Right of middle)
Each person and pet
Sub-folders behind each (medical, education, etc.)

HOME: (Red tags, RH side)
Projects
Purchases
Improvements
Repairs
landscaping

Smash

2012-02-10T13:29:00.003-08:00

Smash Online

New Color Palette???

2012-02-06T18:32:00.003-08:00

http://www.carolthompsonbeautysecrets.com/autumn-color-analysis.html

Site for college encouragement for homeschoolers

2012-02-04T08:09:00.001-08:00

http://learninfreedom.org/

Food Plan for Sunday

2012-02-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

Breakfast: LLC, HLW, 2 eggs, supps
Take 1 bottle of cranwater for after church
Take 1 nice cup of cranwater for during church (for speaking time)
Home for lunch: Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy (small amount), salad with flax and lime juice, supps
2 more cups cranwater
Supper: protein, veggies, small starch, dessert
Supps before bed

Today's To Do

2012-01-25T07:21:00.000-08:00

IRON Len's stuff
Put clothes away
Ready my church clothes
Color Hair

Lost 115 pounds

2012-01-20T21:06:00.001-08:00

http://healthystrides.blogspot.com/

Grease Stain Remover (Try on Len's dress shirts)

2012-01-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Use colorless dishwashing liquid.

Cover spots and gently work in.

Rinse area with white vinegar.

Wash as usual.

Repeat if necessary.

Cash Generators

2012-01-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

http://www.cash4books.net/ No fees, No shipping charges

http://www.elance.com/ post own job as freelance person

http://www.secondspin.com/ sell DVDs and CDs

http://www.flipswap.com/ sell cell phones and equipment free shipping

http://www.cellforcash.com/ (NOT taking orders right now)

For good articles: http://www.womansday.com/

Cleaning Recipes: http://www.womansday.com/home/cleaning-tips/mary-hunts-do-it-yourself-recipes-12218?click=main_sr

Roasted Sweet Potato Apple soup

2012-01-03T12:18:00.003-08:00

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/roasted-sweet-potato-apple-soup-00000000006606/index.html

Puzzle

2011-12-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

New Year's Jigsaw Puzzle

Mini Pot Pies (muffin tin)

2011-12-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2011/03/mini-chicken-pot-pies-on-pi-day.html

Pizza Muffins

2011-12-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

http://simplybeingmommy.com/2011/06/06/pepperoni-pizza-muffins/

Toy Story and Cars party ideas

2011-12-27T08:38:00.001-08:00

http://family.go.com/disney/pkg-disney-character-fun/pkg-disney-pixar-toy-story/

http://family.go.com/disney/pkg-disney-character-fun/pkg-disney-cars/

Thank You List

2011-12-25T15:05:00.000-08:00

L&R:

~~Kents: Cookies~~
~~Bev: Cookies~~
~~Stones: GC to Chilis, tea, golf balls~~
~~Forrests: GC to Longhorns~~
AAA: Golf membership
~~Micklus: Cookies~~
~~Robears: money~~
~~Christies: Glass ornaments, PB fudge, Flash lite~~
~~Angelinis: GC to Dakin Farms~~
~~Finleys and JoAnn: toffee chocolate~~

Jonathan:

~~Stones: Pickle Game THURSDAY~~
~~Christies: Coloring ornaments THURSDAY~~
~~Angelinis: Cars mugs FRIDAY~~
Maw Maw: $10 SATURDAY
Grammy: $5 and joke book SATURDAY
Gianino family: Stocking full-o-stuff SATURDAY
~~Aunt Elizabeth: "Groovy," "Santa," and "King" MONDAY~~
~~Grandma Alice: Drumsticks, "Finn," and $5 MONDAY~~
~~Debbie: part of "Woody" FRIDAY~~

Today's To-Do

2011-11-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

GENERAL:

AARC Class
Practice Christmas songs
CoDust
Vacuum
Sweep
Mop
Homeschooling

Eggplant Parmesan

2011-11-23T18:16:00.003-08:00

http://www.food.com/recipe/Easy-Eggplant-Parmesan-220757

GSE Uses

2011-11-23T08:01:00.001-08:00

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/grapefruitseedextract.htm

Monday

2011-11-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

Take Jonathan "to work"
Library: Christmas Story, Toy Story 3
Phone: Wazz up?
Shoes: TJ Maxx??
Bank
Chimney Sweep Guy at 2:00

Upstairs Freezer

2011-11-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

TOP SHELF:
Meats:
1 lb cooked shrimp
1 lb. scallops
~~1 pkg. hot dogs~~
5 slices uncooked ham
1 pkg. bacon
1 open pkg Jimmy Dean ssg.
1/2 lb. cold cuts
1 pkg. smoked deli ham
1 sm raw steak

Bread and Cheese:
Puff Pastry sheets
~~1 lb. shredded mozzarella~~
20 small corn tortillas
~~Quart bag of fancy bread ends~~

Cooked
1 1/2 pkgs. Philly Steakums
~~2 Tina's burritos~~
2 smaller burritos
~~Sm. pkg. Garlic-Lime chicken~~

BOTTOM SHELF:
Fruits
1 lg. Strawberries
1 sm. Cranberries
2 sm. Peaches
1 sm. Blueberries

Vegetables
3 sm. bags cut okra
1 sm. bag red peppers
~~1 sm. bag corn~~
1 bag whole green beans
~~1 almost full bag mixed veggies~~

DOOR:
Top shelf:
Flaxseed
Gr. flaxseed
Nuts
Gr. nuts
4 sticks butter

Bottom shelf:
1/4 bag flour
1/2 jar white flour

Downstairs Freezer

2011-11-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

DOOR:
2 bags flour
Jimmy Dean hot sausage
1 summer ssg
~~1 kielbassa~~
9 bags summer squash
3 lbs. butter
4 bags corn
4 bags peas
~~1 bag mixed veg.~~
3 bags winter squash
1 box limas
1 box spinach

SHELF 1: (Beef)

3 lbs gr. beef
8 Filet Mignons
3 pkgs London broil
1 pkg venison
1 pkg ground venison

SHELF 2: (Poultry and Seafood)
2 lbs cooked shrimp
2 lbs raw shrimp
10 lbs leg quarters
5-2 lb packages BLSL
2 whole chickens
1 carcass
3-2 lb packages tenders

SHELF 3: (Pork)

2 spiral hams
1 ham steak
3 hambones

Shelf 4: (Vegetables)

3 pkgs chopped onions
Lg bag yellow squash (on shelf 3)
Lg bag red peppers (on shelf 3)
Lg bag zucchini (on shelf 3)
2 bags szech
1 bag spinnach
1 bag collards
1 bag blackeyed peas
4 bags whole green beans
2 bags broccoli
2 bags cut green beans
8 bags whole tomatoes (on top shelf)
1 large bag hash browns (on top shelf)

Procedue for Vomiting

2011-11-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

After last vomiting, NOTHING AT ALL for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, 1 Tablespoon of liquid every five minutes for 4 hours.

Gatorade
watered down juice
watered down tea with sugar
flavored ice

After 4 hours, slowly increase liquids and following foods:

plain white rice
plain white potatoes
saltine-type crackers
applesauce
banana
unbuttered toast

Continue bland foods for 8 hours.

NO MILK FOR 12-24 hours.

If there is stomach pain or high fever for more than 2 hours, take to doctor.

Check to see if lips are dry and eyes are sunken. If so, call doctor.

Book List

2011-11-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Anna Maria's Housekeeping

The New Housekeeping

A Manual of Homemaking

The American Woman's Home

Twenty-six Hours a Day
The Fruit of Her Hands

The Family Nurse

The HomeKeeping Book

Wednesday's To Do List

2011-10-12T05:20:00.000-07:00

Regular chores
Apple Pie
Clean out Pantry
Freezer US
Freezer DS
Frig
Iron
Streamline Business papers
Pay Bills
Email Sherry
AARC Class
Diet
Pedicure
Put Away Porch Stuff
Garden
Egg Plant
Red Peppers
Homeschool
Battles with Bears
Bearis

My Role

2011-07-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

To succeed in my role, I need to learn the feminine arts and skills:

Learn to cook, clean, and manage the household. Learn the womanly art of thrift and how to rear a child. FORGET ABOUT MYSELF and devote myself to the welfare and happiness of my family.

Managing the Kitchen, the Mindset

2011-06-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

What impresses me more is that she knows how to *manage* the kitchen. She chooses what to cook based on what we have (her mental inventory is better than mine), what should be used up, what we are almost out of, and all those hard-to-express intangibles that hopefully develop by a decade or so of homemaking.

~ Anna about Bella, Pleasant View Schoolhouse

Debt

2011-06-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

My Healthy Home website

2011-05-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

Homey Touches

2011-05-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Laundry Room:

Fireplace area: ~~A new fireplace~~, Recover wing chair, Recover footstool, ~~small table~~, wall decoration
Living Room: ~~Rearrange~~, ~~mirror~~, have a way to keep desk clutter GONE.

Kitchen: Keep cookie jar full of something yummy

JAB's Room: Constellation table cloth on ceiling

Master Bedroom: Done.

Powder Room: Done.

Master Bathroom: New bath rugs? What color? Black?

Life Changes Diet

2011-05-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Don't "diet", simply make small changes to your current diet.

Water is your friend, drink 8 cups daily, and don't drink anything except water until you have met your daily quota. Americans drink 1/3 of the calories they consume in a day, get rid of all soda, tea, sweet coffee's etc.

Don't consume unnatural sweeteners, aspartame etc.

Now, add fresh to your diet. Homemade soups, stews, salads, sandwich's made with fresh veggies.

Eat homemade everything, don't eat out more than once every couple of weeks. When you do eat out, buy from the kid's menu.

Add in an exercise three times a week.

Shop in the fresh foods- avoid canned, boxed, or otherwise prepared foods.

This is the first step to being a slimmer, healthier, happier person.

Worksheets

2011-05-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

The Basic Responsibilities of the Homemaker:

Keep House
Laundry
Meals
Children
Husband

Qualities of a Domestic Queen:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Family Primary Priorities

2011-05-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

Roxanne:

Home neat and tidy

Good meals--nutritious, tasty

Spend time with Len

Spend time with Jonathan

Laundry (all aspects)

Grocery shopping done regularly with ample food on hand

Jonathan:

Spend time with Jonathan

Mama happy, rested, and cheerful

Meals

Home neat and tidy

Homeschooling

Beds clean

Len

Mother is happy, rested, cheerful

Home neat, tidy, and organized

Mother spends time with father

Good meals, tasty and nutritious

Ironing

Church

Sat PM Writing

2011-05-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

I finished everything but the laundry room. Not too shabby considering the facts about the basement and starting late.

1) I'm proud of myself for persevering.

2) The house feels great

3) The basement has STOPPED flooding!

Sat. AM Writing

2011-05-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

The final day of the spring cleaning. I KNOW I can finish it today. I'm VERY tired, however. I'm still having to maintain the swamp (yuk), but I'm hoping the fact that we've got more sun today will some how slow down (stop?) the rising waters. I'm also going to try to catch up on laundry AND set up my Daily Diary.

1) Very tired but it's nice to know that I'm on the final section.

2) I'm very excited about the fact that we're not doing 10 weeks on cleaning and organizing (read spring cleaning), but got that out of the way in the first week.

3) I'm thrilled to have a dryer again!

Fri. PM Writing

2011-05-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

I did it. I managed 120 minutes of swamp maintenance as well as spring-cleaning the kitchen. That was all I got to since it was all so physically taxing--but I. Finished. It.

1) I love that I can cook in a nice, clean, organized kitchen.

2) I love that the organizing part was pretty minimal. I really do "keep up" with the clutter.

3) I'm glad that Brian's workday is tomorrow and that there are very few to no yard sales. That means I can Swamp Maintain AND finish the final two rooms of spring cleaning. The basement was kind of "done" before the Grays. The only organizing I need to do down there is the sewing area. We won't talk about the fire room.

Fri. AM Writing

2011-05-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

This extreme cleaning sport is kicking my butt. My entire body down to my skeleton is aching and sore. Doing the wet vaccing of the basement probably did most of that, though.

The good news is that I'm NOT spring cleaning the basement considering all the flooding situation.

1) I'm on track for finishing the first floor since I'm not doing the basement (though I'm not happy about it).

2) Despite the flooding, the rest of the house feels SO good.

3) My dryer works again and I will be doing mega laundry amounts. That means I can clean the "extras" from my deep cleaning.

4) It's SUNNY today!

Thurs. PM Writing

2011-05-05T17:23:00.000-07:00

Weeeeelllll, the TWO rooms I got to took way longer than I expected and the basement is flooding.

1) The bedroom and the main bathroom are SPOTLESS!

2) I was able to simplify more than I expected.

3) Ummm, I got exercise today with all the wet vaccing?

Thurs. AM Writing

2011-05-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

First full day after chaos. I'm still buzzing on last night's accomplishment! I'm a little less enthusiastic about the physical labor because these are harder rooms, but I KNOW I will be thrilled when I'm done.

1) The ENTIRE first floor (living space) will be completed, except the laundry room. Woo Hoo!

2) It's so much easier to have energy now that six other people are not creating messes. I need to be grateful about the "only child" issue in this area because it is WAY easier.

3) It's 9:00 and I'm READY to get this show on the road!

Wed. PM Writing

2011-05-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

I did it! I managed to have company for three days, have them leave in a whirlwind at 2pm and GET FOUR ROOMS deep cleaned!

The key help for me was that Len was away and the statement "5-Star Hotel." It worked!

1) It feels SO good to know that I can catch up with the class.

2) It was very interesting (and exciting) that the "simplifying" portion was already VERY done because of the continuous decluttering I've been doing. That really made getting it done tonight possible.

3) The only thing I would say I "need" is a paint job in the bath and new flooring. The first MAY happen this year, the second not so much.

Wed. AM Writing

2011-05-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to clean the downstairs bathroom, the seating area, Jonathan's room and the basement pantry.

I'm glad that Len is out tonight so that I can still accomplish this week's assignment.

I'm glad that I'm generally clean and in order so that this isn't too much after company for three days!

I'm thrilled to be a part of this course. I know it will bring a level of peace to me.

Fundamentals of Homekeeping

2011-05-04T18:19:00.001-07:00

Often the difference between a good homemaker and a poor one is a matter of following basic principles which lead to success. The following are some of the most fundamental principles which, if followed, will lead to a clean, uncluttered, well organized household:

CONCENTRATE:
The management of a household requires concentration. One cannot daydream or ponder problems and at the same time expect duties will be performed with efficiency. There is some work like ironing, cleaning windows, and doing dishes in which daydreaming is possible, but most of our work requires thought as well as hands, especially organizing and meal preparation. So, put other things out of your mind and concentrate on the jobs at hand. (BE IN THE MOMENT. ~ Holy Spirit) What is often interpreted as lack of homemaking ability is usually mental laziness.

SIMPLIFY:
You cannot become a good housekeeper if you have TOO MANY THINGS, such as too much furniture, too many dishes, unnecessary clothes, old papers and magazines, too many toys, objects or ornaments, or old treasures which are handed down from generation to generation. "Priceless objects," you may say. They may be valuable if they are useful or add beauty to the home; but they are not priceless if they make life difficult. For greatest efficiency, households should have only enough goods to serve the family. Anything more only clutters and burdens the homemaker.

If you have a cluttered household and would like to turn it into an organized one, the first step is to simplify by getting rid of things you do not need. A good suggestion is the following: Set aside a day for "whittling life down to the bone." Get three boxes and label one "throw away," one "give away," and one "can't decide." Go through all of your cupboards and drawers quickly, keeping only things you know are essential and discarding the rest in the three boxes. Also consider all objects sitting on open shelves, tables, or hanging on walls. When you have covered your entire household, put the "can't decide" box (or boxes) in the garage or attic and leave it there for about two months. In this time you will be able to see whether you have needed the items or not. Then, sort through the box when convenient.

In simplifying a household, remember a basic principle: Everything in a household should be either USEFUL or BEAUTIFUL. And you should have only ENOUGH useful and beautiful goods to serve your needs. In other words, an egg beater is useful and glasses are useful, but you do not need two egg beaters or forty glasses to serve your household. BETTER TO HAVE TOO FEW THAN TOO MANY. And, as for beautiful ornaments or pictures, not only should they be beautiful in themselves, but should enhance the beauty of your home. In other words, the home should not be a place to just "store" beautiful objects. And as for family heirlooms, art treasures and things of sentimental value, if they burden your life rather than enrich it, how can you justify their possession?

ORGANIZE:
Basic good homemaking depends upon being organized. This means having a PLACE for everything and a TIME for everything. If you have "simplified" your household as I have just described, then you should have a PLACE for everything. But the important thing is to always put things back in that particular place. A household should be so well organized that you should be able to get up in the night, without turning on the light, and find something you need. This means that the dishes bowls, glasses and pans should each have a place of their own and be put back in the same place.

As for organizing time, this should be less rigid and more human, but the following is recommended:

For ROUTINE JOBS, work out SCHEDULES--weekly and occasional schedules. To work out these schedules, list all routine jobs of the household and then arrange them on the two schedules.

FOR NON-ROUTINE JOBS, follow a CALENDAR or DATED DIARY. In this, record phone calls, appointments, daily menus, and things to do which are non-routine. Also work in things on the occasional schedule. (The weekly schedule should be memorized.)