When you know what you want, you’ll be better able to communicate it to others, including yourself. As a result, you’re more likely to grow and change in ways you are proud of. A month or so ago, I was having a in-depth debate with my husband. In my head. You see, he is an…
Household expenses like cleaners, soaps, furniture, maintenance, and energy costs are all things that you can adjust with a little creative thinking. Five years ago, our lives were turned upside down. We finally faced the music of the consumer debt we had piled up. It amounted to over $16,000. We decided to get serious about…
Life as MOM contributor Janel offers tips and tricks to deodorizing a home the all-natural way. This past summer, my family was “homeless.” We house-sat for various friends and acquaintances for 8 weeks in California and then spent a few weeks visiting family and driving across the country back to Virginia. Meanwhile, all of our…
As we all know, adhesive bandages, aka Band-aids, are a cure-all for all that ills a five-year old. At least at my house, that is usually the case. The girl has a minor scratch, a Band-aid can cure it magically. It happens often, as witnessed by the wrappers and papers left in her wake. One…
Heads up: This post does include Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through those links, I am paid a small amount in way of advertising fees. Life can be crazy. The unexpected is sure to raise its head and knock your best plans off course. “Simple living” is a good thing to strive…
While we can’t be fully prepared for everything that could happen, there are plenty of things that we can do to make life a little more comfortable in the case of an emergency. Over the weekend, our power went out in the middle of the night. It was a beastly hot night, and since we…
Once upon a time, I did the bulk of the housekeeping on my own. Today, my kids help share the load. I’m both humbled and amazed at where we are today. (Hang in there, mamas of little ones, your time will come!) Now with children aged 16, 12, 11, 9, 6, and 4, I have…
This year we’re back on Zone Defense, tackling clutter and getting our homes more in order. This month, we set our sights on organizing our traveling and vacation equipment. (At my boys’ hockey games they play inspirational music during warm-ups and right before a face-off, so here’s a little music to get you going before the…
Participating in kitchen clean-up is good for kids and for parents. Here’s how it works at our house. I remember when my eldest child was just five years old. We gave him the job of busboy. I bought a small plastic dishpan. After each meal, he would load it up with the dishes and take…
Kids can do laundry. Here’s how it’s working at our house. Early one morning as we lay in bed, still waking up, I heard the girls giggling and running to the laundry room which is next to our room. FishChick6 came into our room to grab a chair. “What are you doing?” hubby called. “I’m…