Poets and Saints
…and the moms who try to be both.Archive for Homekeeping
Garden Love
This morning I started weeding after the rain. I forgot how satisfying it feels to accomplish something small, even if I don’t like doing it, early in the morning. My tomatoes are going gang buster, but so are the weeds. I am heavy into water-and-weeding season but thankfully God has been doing the watering for me.
I get a lot of questions about my garden. My garden is small (it’s the suburbs after all) and very simple. If you are looking to try out a garden here are a few tips I’ve learned that may save you a lot of hassle:
1. Do garden boxes. They’re easy to make (see picture above). They contain the garden. They don’t take up much yard. You can start gardening sooner (the soil warms up quicker in spring). They’re great for tomatoes, peppers, peas, lettuce, beans, zucchini and more. They’re not good for corn, melons or any “vining” plant, including large plants that take up space.
2. Weed when it’s wet. They’re easier to pull when the soil is wet. You can do a small area in fifteen minutes and feel like you accomplished something. There are very few tasks that I can do in 15 minutes and feel a sense of accomplishment. It doesn’t mean I like weeding, just the feeling of finishing something.
3. Plant the easiest veggies. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, peas, beans have proven to be the easiest for me.
4. Add compost to your soil. You can buy it if you don’t make your own. It’s a great natural fertilizer for plants. Add it in spring by raking it into soil.
5. Start small. It’s less overwhelming when watering and weeding season come around. I recommend tomatoes or peppers. Bunnies won’t eat it. You can even grow them in pots. The grape tomatoes are especially easy to grow. You can buy the plants from Lowe’s or even start them from seed during late winter inside.
The best thing about gardening is that there is a reward at the end. You get to enjoy the delicious produce from summer for many months! Plus I’ve been amazed how much kids get into gardening. Give them a special dirt corner to play in with a trowel and a few seeds. But beware: something might actually grow. I gave my daughter sunflower seeds to play with and plant and now they’re all over my garden. At least she’s learning where food and flowers comes from. And I’m learning not to expect perfection these days either.
Even a little bit of gardening satisfies my green thumb.
3 Ways to Organize your Day
One of the things I’ve struggled with as a woman and mother is how to organize my day. Going from working (where my day was organized for me) to staying home meant I had limitless free time, yet some days I felt like nothing got done. Many mothers tell me this is “normal” and yet as the years have gone by, I’ve found a few things that have helped me to feel more productive, even if it means only accomplishing a few things everyday:
1. Keeping a schedule or to-do list for each day. Some people swear by organization systems, like this daily docket from Simple Mom. This is a great form to print off if you don’t know where to start. I find I don’t need such a formal system to accomplish the same thing. Often I will organize Monday through Friday at the same time, thinking about what I’d like to get done this week and breaking it down into 5 days. If I get off schedule, I readjust the schedule. This isn’t about feeling guilty. Life happens. It’s taken awhile to get a feel about how much I can accomplish in a normal day, and as we all know, life is rarely normal. If you hate lists and organizational systems, do what works for you. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for moms. But by doing a little each day, you can accomplish a lot in the long term. (By the way, if you have a baby under the age of one, ignore all of the above advice. Getting a shower is enough some days.)
2. Organize shopping lists. I try to avoid running errands too often with small children. When I was babysitting two toddlers, I learned that it was difficult to go out with both of them so I started keeping a running list for each of the major places I shop: grocery store, big box store, and then any other stores or errands that happen to be close by, like the post office, pharmacy, etc. Then I make one trip a week. Of course at especially busy times of the year like Christmas I make more trips, but since I hate running errands, I really try to limit these trips. This keeps my days free since I don’t have to plan my day around errands. Please know if you have school age children in lots of activities you can’t do this. This works for me because I am in the life stage with small children and few activities and I really dislike running errands.
3. Plan your downtime. Many years ago I stopped watching TV, except for a few “favorite” shows. I decided that I wanted to do other things in the evening that were both relaxing and fun. I started reading books, blogging, sewing, and my latest hobby: knitting. I found so much more gratification in doing something in my free time that was stimulating that I am a big advocate of turning the TV off. If you love watching TV and don’t want to give it up, then this is not a post to make you feel bad. We made a family decision to watch less TV, but I’ll admit that not all couples can be unified with this kind of decision. Whatever you decide your hobbies are (even if it is TV) make a decision what you’re going to do each night. When I don’t think ahead about my free time, I find the decision is made for me. I end up puttering around, flipping channels, surfing the internet and wasting time. When I do have a plan, my free time ends up being so much more fun and I have all day to look forward to it. Let me also say that as moms, we don’t always get free time. Sometimes my day falls apart and I end up doing laundry, or taxes, or working on our budget late at night. That’s just life. On the nights when I get one free hour for myself, I’m usually writing, reading, working on my Bible study or crafting. These activities help me to feel human again, and as a mother that’s really important.
I know lots of women who have great ideas about how to organize their lives. Feel free to share any ideas that work for you or someone you know.
P.S. Tomorrow I will be posting an adoption update on my new adoption blog. There will be news! (hint, hint…)
6 Ways to Spring Clean (and Save Money)
I am in the midst of spring cleaning. This isn’t just your ordinary dust and sweep routine, but doing the dirty work that hasn’t been done in a year or more. As I polish the woodwork, organize closets and get rid of junk, I’m surprised how much dirt, dust and clutter are around. I clean every week but when you look under my bed, you’d never know it! The best part of all, spring cleaning makes your house look better with little monetary investment.
1. Use Vinegar or Club Soda to Clean Windows These products are cheap to use and eco-friendly too. Some people like to wipe their windows with newspapers. That works but be careful of walls and trim. The damp newspaper can leave newsprint on your lovely painted walls.
2. Clean Out Closets and Donate Whenever I think I need more space, I clean my closets and I have instant space. I donate a lot of things and create more space on my shelves for other things. Amazing and totally free! (except for the time and labor you put in.)
3. Use Rags Cut up old t-shirts, shorts. polos, and sheets and you have your supplies for spring cleaning! No more paper towels!
4. Make Your Own Scouring Powder with a paste of baking soda and water. I use this when I have coffee and tea stains on my counters or when washing the bottom of my shower, which frequently gets mildew buildup. Vinegar also works great in the shower too. For an easy drain cleaner, pour baking soda down your drain, then add vinegar. The combination will bubble up like carbonation and is fun to watch. Be sure to rinse the baking soda when you are finished.
5. Use Scratch Cover for Wood I love Old English’s Scratch Cover for Wood. This is my most pricey cleaning product ($4.00-5.00) but it does wonders for my banged up woodwork. It makes light scratches disappear and polishes the woodwork too! It will not cover deep scratches or gouges, but does amazing things for all the toy dings and pet scratches (from the previous owners) and makes my woodwork, stairs rail, and trim look so much better. I’ve been putting off this job for a long time, but now I’m so glad I did it. Although the scratch cover is more money than I usually pay for cleaning products, it’s by far cheaper than replacing trim. Plus, it was so satisfying to polish away scratches and make my wood look like new again.
6. Use the Sun Take blankets, rugs and more outside to get a good airing out and light bleaching from the sun on a nice day. I like to wash my blankets and line dry them. The dryer is expensive to use, especially when you are drying heavy objects like blankets. Use free energy from the sun and wind and enjoy a fresh, clean blanket.
Happy Spring Cleaning!
Green
Yesterday I had the chance to speak to my MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) on “green living.” I didn’t know how receptive people would be about the topic, but I found that the group was very interested and there were lots of questions and positive comments. People were eager to learn ways to make their homes and food choices more natural. I also tried to emphasize that it’s the small choices that count too. We’re not going to change the world by growing organic food or composting our vegetable scraps, but it is one step closer to making a difference. Sometimes all we can do are the little things.
I can’t say that I haven’t faced doubters in the past. I get asked by a lot of people about organic food. I’m not sure why I’ve become a resource for this, but I encounter people who are both curious and doubtful. I had one friend who even told me that people who shopped at our local food co-op didn’t wear deodorant.
“What?” I asked.
And he said, “You know, they don’t wear deoderant and so they’re a little stinky.”
I said, “They wear deoderant! What are you talking about?”
We laughed about it as only friends can, but there was a grain of truth in his joke: he thought people who shopped there didn’t believe in it.
Others ask us more innocent questions like “what is organic food?” One friend admitted he thought all food was organic since the literal definition of organic is “derived from a living organism.” My husband told him that organic food has not been sprayed with chemical pesticides or weed killers, and only those labeled organic have met these standards. This friend later revealed that he had been buying organic ketchup because he thought it tasted better. My husband and I think a lot of organic food tastes better since it’s allowed to ripen naturally and picked closer to its peak state. But my goal isn’t to beat that into people’s heads. I’ve never thought of myself as an expert; I’m a learner like everyone else. And I like sharing what I’ve learned with others too. So it’s a little surprising to find that I’ve become a resource for those who are just getting started on this journey. But it’s a journey that we’re doing together in our own little communities and I enjoy experiencing this with them.
But at the same time, I wonder why am I a resource for this and not something else like my faith? I don’t have people asking me about my beliefs in the same way that they ask about my organic eating or natural cleaning habits. I rarely get asked by the curious or doubtful person why I believe in Jesus Christ, but I have lots of stories about being questioned on my food choices. Is it just easier to talk about food than faith? Or am I not living my faith to the extent where people see the difference? These are things I’m asking because I’d like to share the same kind of encounters about my faith that I do with my food. I want others to see that choosing Christ is an alternative lifestyle that changes my thinking, my actions, my words, and the choices I make everyday.
Because this is real living.
Making Space
I’ve been sorting and stacking, throwing things out and hoarding things away. It feels good to clean out my closets and get rid of the clutter and baggage and realize how much space there really is. I’m slowly working through them, one at a time, on days where I’m not babysitting or working some other odd job. The results are worth it: less clutter, more room, and the feeling of purging that happens when you donate and throw away bags of stuff. Like many people, I have trouble with the latter. Throwing things away feels a bit too American–a bit too rich and hasty. Can’t I find some use for this old curtain? The other devil-of-a-thought that comes creeping around is I might use it someday.
I’ve found that donating my junk is far more effective. I figure if I can’t get rid of it, then someone else can; that is, if my junk is actually usable and worth making a buck off of.
I stack up these great piles: the donation pile, the throw-away pile, the keep-here pile, the move-to-another-closet pile and the attic pile–the only storage place we have for the occasionally used items. The attic has, unfortunately, become a refuge for all the things I can’t seem to part with, but which don’t have enough use in my everyday life. They are things I might use once a year, or keep for nostalgia’s sake, like old plaques and awards, and even some large crystal bowls I received as wedding gifts. They are gorgeous bowls, but too impractical with young children around the house. I keep them for the day when I might have a special party, maybe something with fancy cheese and a frothy punch recipe. Those types of parties are almost nonexistent when you have small children that need to be in bed by 8:00. But I’d like to think that maybe, just maybe, I’ll be brave enough to have a party like that, even with small children
My daughter find various odd things to play with as I clean the closets–a rolled up sleeping bag becomes a toy to tackle and roll around on. Candles are stacked and lined up on the floor. Old baby toys get played with briefly, then tossed aside. Forgotten hats get tried out. A string of craft pearls is wrapped around the waist like a belt. Between the mess I’ve created, she creates her own little piles of things tried out and played with. It means going back later and cleaning up after her, but that’s the least I can do since she’s entertained herself while I stack and pile.
Then there’s the great moving of the piles, where I employ my husband’s help to take a stack to the attic, and another to the trunk of my car, where it will be dropped off at the back door of a Goodwill store. The drop off point is at the back of a strip mall where the truck deliveries are made and the dumpsters are stacked high with last week’s trash. The sign outside says, “please ring the bell” and it feels a bit like I’m making an illegal transaction with the mob when I park at the back door in an empty lot, ringing a solitary bell against a windowless building, except that the mob wouldn’t be that polite and have a sign posted, there would just be a secret knock before Vinny, the mob’s bouncer, shows up. Then the door swings open and the mob scene disperses as quickly as it formed, with the hubbub of the sorting room at the Goodwill store. A lanky older man with a friendly face takes my junk without comment, hands a form to me, and lets the door swing shut. All the sorting and piling ends quickly, with my trunk’s slam, and I return home.
When I open the door of my newly cleaned closet, I feel lighter, as if the junk I removed from the closet was the same junk I’ve been carrying around on my own shoulders the last few years. Life seems a little simpler with less stuff. Less to hang on to, less to worry about, and more space to fill up with life. It’s realizing that every time I give away, the more space I have for people–not things. A recently cleaned closet will make room for a new baby’s clothes. A bared shelf becomes a storage place for some handmade presents. A cleaned out pantry allows for extra treats to feed friends. Making more space in my life for others is part of this process of cleaning out and rearranging. It’s making room for what really matters, one garbage bag at a time.
