I'm working hard this advent season to keep my focus on the sweet birth of my savior Jesus. There are so many distractions. Good heart warming traditions can be good and heart warming or they can be very stressful and distracting.
The list of things to do is long and daunting.
Buy the gifts
Wrap the gifts
Stay within the budget
Decorate the house
Get the tree
Decorate the tree
Make the cookies
Make the candies
Do we have proper outfits?
Attend the performances
Attend the parties, each requiring something to be made and brought.
Attend the Christmas teas
Write the letter
Address the letter
Buy the stamps
Mail the letters
Organize gifts into family units for all the family gatherings
Plan, buy and make the food for the three family gatherings
Prepare for the Christmas morning breakfast
Get the stocking stuffers
Obtain and implement Advent devotions
Play Christmas music
Put the lights on the house
Encourage and give to those who need it.....
Wow the list could just keep going and going. All of these tasks are good things, heart warming things that allow us to enjoy those we love. All of these things can take away from our focus on WHY we are doing them.
Why are we doing them? Christmas is a big holiday nation wide a lot of time and money is spent on Christmas each year.
For some it's about family memories and having fun. I want it to be about Jesus, being grateful,
celebrating what his birth means for us. I DONT WANT IT TO BE ABOUT OBLIGATORY BUSINESS.
My husband says every year "I love Christmas" and I use to say "I don't it's so stressful".
What a sad statement!
I am finding that this year I am loving Christmas so what's different?
I tried to simplify things, stick to what's important, enjoy the process of each item on the task list and opt out of the less meaningful events. This has helped me to lessen the anxiety of the daunting list.
I'm finding that it's a mindset. Really I don't have to do anything on that list, I want to do what's on
the list.
When I choose to slow down and enjoy the process, take a moment and notice the beauty, sing out loud with the music, my view of that list is changing from a "must do" to "I get to".
Our advent devotion this year is "The Greatest Gift unwrapping The Full Love Story of Christmas" by Ann Voskamp
it's beautifully written and short enough to be read during our nightly family prayer time.
I will leave you with the quote on the back of her book because it is exactly what I am striving for this Christmas Season.
Remember keep it simple and stay focused.
"I DONT WANT A CHRISTMAS YOU CAN BUY. I DONT WANT A CHRISTMAS YOU CAN MAKE. WHAT I WANT IS A CHRISTMAS YOU CAN HOLD. A CHRISTMAS THAT HOLDS ME, REMAKES ME, REVIVES ME. I WANT A CHRISTMAS THAT WHISPERS JESUS"
-Ann Voskamp
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Chart Maker
As a home schooling parent I have been involved in many support groups both as a participant and a leader.
Home schooling families can be very creative and there are a lot of great ideas shared in support group meetings. I found that I would fall into a trap and it was not simple.
What is the trap?
Well, "Susan" shows her incredible chore chart during our meeting and I think to myself "YES! If I put this chart together my boys will get all of their chores done and I will not have to remind them, thus simplifying our chore time." (insert any area of your life here, it doesn't have to be charts or chores)
Great idea, so home I would go, and organize all my supplies, make the chart, explain it to the boys and we were off and running.
The problem is...... I am a great chart maker but not a great chart keeper.
This means there is a very impressive looking chart hanging on my fridge but really it was not accomplishing anything because I just don't maintain stuff like charts. In fact it is accomplishing adding stress and feelings of failure to my life.
So let's keep it simple,
I need to forget the charts and actually use my time and energy on training my boys in their chores. A well trained child is a blessing to their family.
Just figure out what it takes for you to keep things simple.
If you are able to make and maintain charts with out stress then go for it! However if charts complicate your life then put them aside and train your children in ways that work for both you and your kids.
I bet I've made probably 20 or more charts in my 12 years of home schooling, you'd think I would have learned early on that charts don't work for me or my family but I didn't.
I am telling you this personal experience to illustrate that what I write in this blog may work for me but if it doesn't work for you that is OK just keep reading, keep striving and soon you will figure out how you can make things simple in your life.
Just remember to keep it simple.
Home schooling families can be very creative and there are a lot of great ideas shared in support group meetings. I found that I would fall into a trap and it was not simple.
What is the trap?
Well, "Susan" shows her incredible chore chart during our meeting and I think to myself "YES! If I put this chart together my boys will get all of their chores done and I will not have to remind them, thus simplifying our chore time." (insert any area of your life here, it doesn't have to be charts or chores)
Great idea, so home I would go, and organize all my supplies, make the chart, explain it to the boys and we were off and running.
The problem is...... I am a great chart maker but not a great chart keeper.
This means there is a very impressive looking chart hanging on my fridge but really it was not accomplishing anything because I just don't maintain stuff like charts. In fact it is accomplishing adding stress and feelings of failure to my life.
So let's keep it simple,
I need to forget the charts and actually use my time and energy on training my boys in their chores. A well trained child is a blessing to their family.
Just figure out what it takes for you to keep things simple.
If you are able to make and maintain charts with out stress then go for it! However if charts complicate your life then put them aside and train your children in ways that work for both you and your kids.
I bet I've made probably 20 or more charts in my 12 years of home schooling, you'd think I would have learned early on that charts don't work for me or my family but I didn't.
I am telling you this personal experience to illustrate that what I write in this blog may work for me but if it doesn't work for you that is OK just keep reading, keep striving and soon you will figure out how you can make things simple in your life.
Just remember to keep it simple.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Simplify~ Paper Piles Part 2
If you have a school aged child then you have paper to deal with. How do we decide what to keep, and how do we store it?
School papers can take over our homes if allow them to.
Deal with notes from the teacher, field trip permission forms and schedules immediately then throw them away, do not pile them.
I had a conversation last week with a group of home schooling moms about this very topic. We discussed the different ways that each family dealt with the mounds of paper that come along with school.
Here are some of the ideas that were shared:
Keep one binder for each child with page protectors. In this binder keep their completion certificates, awards, samples of their art and writing from each year. This binder can also contain medical records.
One mom said she makes a couple of scrap book pages for her child with the best work from that year represented. Each child has their own book and upon graduation there is a complete record of growth for that child beautifully displayed.
Sometimes you can get pizza boxes from your local pizzeria. One box for each child, this allows for storage of bigger art project pages that may not fit into binders or scrap books.
Take a picture of your child with their creation, these pictures can be printed and then placed into the binder or scrap book. Pictures of any field trips or vacations can also be included in your child's book.
Set a plastic bin aside for each child and keep the papers that are in the running for keeping in the bin. At the end of the year go through the bin and decide what to put into your book, file etc....
So what if you simply do not have the time, energy, or creativity to make a book? Keep one file for each child in the file cabinet to store their best work. You could also keep one plastic bin for each child and just simply put what you want to keep into the bin.
What ever you do limit the amount of space in your home allowed for school work and then stick to it.
If you have methods of dealing with your child's school records and work please share with us as we can all benefit from your experience.
Keep it simple.
School papers can take over our homes if allow them to.
Deal with notes from the teacher, field trip permission forms and schedules immediately then throw them away, do not pile them.
I had a conversation last week with a group of home schooling moms about this very topic. We discussed the different ways that each family dealt with the mounds of paper that come along with school.
Here are some of the ideas that were shared:
Keep one binder for each child with page protectors. In this binder keep their completion certificates, awards, samples of their art and writing from each year. This binder can also contain medical records.
One mom said she makes a couple of scrap book pages for her child with the best work from that year represented. Each child has their own book and upon graduation there is a complete record of growth for that child beautifully displayed.
Sometimes you can get pizza boxes from your local pizzeria. One box for each child, this allows for storage of bigger art project pages that may not fit into binders or scrap books.
Take a picture of your child with their creation, these pictures can be printed and then placed into the binder or scrap book. Pictures of any field trips or vacations can also be included in your child's book.
Set a plastic bin aside for each child and keep the papers that are in the running for keeping in the bin. At the end of the year go through the bin and decide what to put into your book, file etc....
So what if you simply do not have the time, energy, or creativity to make a book? Keep one file for each child in the file cabinet to store their best work. You could also keep one plastic bin for each child and just simply put what you want to keep into the bin.
What ever you do limit the amount of space in your home allowed for school work and then stick to it.
If you have methods of dealing with your child's school records and work please share with us as we can all benefit from your experience.
Keep it simple.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Simplify~ Paper Piles Part 1
Paper piles, most of us have them and they can seem like a daunting task to conquer. Today pick ONE pile to go through if you are like most people you have more than one pile so just keep it simple and pick one.
Before going through the pile gather a couple of tools to help you deal with the pile.
A garbage can
A box to put papers to be filed in
A digital camera
I would guess that most of the pile can go into the garbage, if it has sensitive information on it you may want to shred it or burn it.
How do I know if I can throw it away? Here are some guidelines for you to consider.
Is it junk mail? Throw it out.
Can I get this information on line? Throw it out.
Is it an idea that I want to keep for later? File it or take a digital picture to upload to your idea file on your computer.
Ask yourself why you feel you need to hold on to this piece of paper. I agree there are some things we should be keeping. Tax information, recent pay stubs, charity giving receipts, birth certificates, passports, school records... these paper items are important so be sure to have a file system to keep them safe in.
We also want to be keeping some of our childrens work, we do not want to throw out their childhood.
Be realistic today and try to throw most of the paper pile away.
In the future we will look at what to do with the kids special items from school. For now put those items into a folder or a box.
Just take this one piece of paper at a time and keep it simple. You can do it so go ahead and get started.
Before going through the pile gather a couple of tools to help you deal with the pile.
A garbage can
A box to put papers to be filed in
A digital camera
I would guess that most of the pile can go into the garbage, if it has sensitive information on it you may want to shred it or burn it.
How do I know if I can throw it away? Here are some guidelines for you to consider.
Is it junk mail? Throw it out.
Can I get this information on line? Throw it out.
Is it an idea that I want to keep for later? File it or take a digital picture to upload to your idea file on your computer.
Ask yourself why you feel you need to hold on to this piece of paper. I agree there are some things we should be keeping. Tax information, recent pay stubs, charity giving receipts, birth certificates, passports, school records... these paper items are important so be sure to have a file system to keep them safe in.
We also want to be keeping some of our childrens work, we do not want to throw out their childhood.
Be realistic today and try to throw most of the paper pile away.
In the future we will look at what to do with the kids special items from school. For now put those items into a folder or a box.
Just take this one piece of paper at a time and keep it simple. You can do it so go ahead and get started.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Simplify~ One A Day Challenge Day 6
Today is the last day of our challenge. If you have been following along this week you most likely now have a pile, maybe even a mountain of items that are going out of your house.
Our challenge today is two fold.
1. Go back to the one area that you feel you want to do more work in. I know you may want to weed more out of all of the areas we tackled this week but for now just pick the most urgent one. Go ahead and spend some more time today weeding out and organizing.
2. Today is the day that we take all of the items we have weeded out to the donation center. It is important to have a plan in place to actually deliver the boxes or bags of goods otherwise we end up creating a new problem.
If we allow the bags and boxes to remain in our homes items tend to migrate out of the box as we second guess our decision. You have worked hard this week to gather up all of these items, now go donate them so they can bless someone else.
There are many donation centers around, I'm sure your town or a town close to you has one. Usually you can get a receipt from them as your donation is a tax deduction. Some donation centers will come and pick things up from you.
Where ever you decide to donate do it today and one more thing, do not go into the second hand store because you might come out of there with all kinds of things you do not need.
Remember keep at it and keep it simple.
Our challenge today is two fold.
1. Go back to the one area that you feel you want to do more work in. I know you may want to weed more out of all of the areas we tackled this week but for now just pick the most urgent one. Go ahead and spend some more time today weeding out and organizing.
2. Today is the day that we take all of the items we have weeded out to the donation center. It is important to have a plan in place to actually deliver the boxes or bags of goods otherwise we end up creating a new problem.
If we allow the bags and boxes to remain in our homes items tend to migrate out of the box as we second guess our decision. You have worked hard this week to gather up all of these items, now go donate them so they can bless someone else.
There are many donation centers around, I'm sure your town or a town close to you has one. Usually you can get a receipt from them as your donation is a tax deduction. Some donation centers will come and pick things up from you.
Where ever you decide to donate do it today and one more thing, do not go into the second hand store because you might come out of there with all kinds of things you do not need.
Remember keep at it and keep it simple.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Simplify~ One A Day Challenge Day 5
It is day five of our One A Day Challenge, today we will take a look at the media in our homes.
Remove at least one old media item from your home today, an old magazine, newspaper, book, DVD etc...
The optional challenge for today: declutter all of your media.
We tend to hold onto those movies that at one time we just loved but now we find we do not really long to watch it, get rid of it.
How about VHS tapes, do you have them? Do you have a working VHS player? If you have VHS tapes and no player.... get rid of them, if you have a player and it does not work.... get rid of it.
Is there a Media cabinet for your DVD and VHS tapes, if so be sure that all the tapes you have fit into your cabinet, if they are spilling out weed through them and pair your collection down to only what will fit into the designated space.
Video games also fall into this category, make a place and make them fit, weed out those games that are no longer played.
Work out tapes/ DVDs do you actually use them? If not then donate it so some other well meaning soul can benefit from it.
We will tend to hang onto an entire magazine because we like one article, recipe or decorating idea in that magazine. Tear out what you like and file it IF you know you will use it and then clear the magazine out of your house.
If the city of media has overtaken your home you need to take it back. Be brutal! Be HONEST with your self, do not hang onto it just because you might want to watch it, read it, or look at it again someday.
Media can most certainly be an overwhelming area in our homes as the mound of items we have tends to grow with each birthday, holiday or sale at the store. Ask yourself if this item is bringing your home joy, relaxation, or enjoyable down time. If it really is just there reminding you of the past, take a moment to reflect and then move it out while you move on.
Keep it simple, take it one DVD at a time and before long you will truly enjoy your down time as the space around you becomes peaceful and inviting.
Remove at least one old media item from your home today, an old magazine, newspaper, book, DVD etc...
The optional challenge for today: declutter all of your media.
We tend to hold onto those movies that at one time we just loved but now we find we do not really long to watch it, get rid of it.
How about VHS tapes, do you have them? Do you have a working VHS player? If you have VHS tapes and no player.... get rid of them, if you have a player and it does not work.... get rid of it.
Is there a Media cabinet for your DVD and VHS tapes, if so be sure that all the tapes you have fit into your cabinet, if they are spilling out weed through them and pair your collection down to only what will fit into the designated space.
Video games also fall into this category, make a place and make them fit, weed out those games that are no longer played.
Work out tapes/ DVDs do you actually use them? If not then donate it so some other well meaning soul can benefit from it.
We will tend to hang onto an entire magazine because we like one article, recipe or decorating idea in that magazine. Tear out what you like and file it IF you know you will use it and then clear the magazine out of your house.
If the city of media has overtaken your home you need to take it back. Be brutal! Be HONEST with your self, do not hang onto it just because you might want to watch it, read it, or look at it again someday.
Media can most certainly be an overwhelming area in our homes as the mound of items we have tends to grow with each birthday, holiday or sale at the store. Ask yourself if this item is bringing your home joy, relaxation, or enjoyable down time. If it really is just there reminding you of the past, take a moment to reflect and then move it out while you move on.
Keep it simple, take it one DVD at a time and before long you will truly enjoy your down time as the space around you becomes peaceful and inviting.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Simplify~ One A Day Challenge Day 5
The week of One A Day Challenges is almost complete.
Today we are focusing on our offices. If you do not have a physical room in your house that is an office you still have an office it's just part of another room or maybe it is all over the house. If you do not have time for the optional challenge below just remove one item from your office collection, even a piece of junk mail counts.
Here are some office areas for you to consider today:
The desk top, is it clear of stuff? Is it functional? Flat surfaces tend to collect clutter so declare an all out war with the desk top and clean it off, you will love the result.
The paper piles, sometimes these are piles sometimes they are hills and sometimes they are mountains! If the document is IMPORTANT to keep then file it otherwise toss it, you may want to shred it first. I will deal with how to manage paper piles and what to do with sentimental things in those piles in a separate blog down the road. Today just throw away the junk.
Pens, pencils, markers, crayons etc.... do they work are they broken.... get this down to a manageable number and make sure they have a place to live in your home.
Notebooks, folders, binders, loose leaf paper, post it notes, weed them out and organize what is left.
Envelopes, stamps, stationary, take a look at these things and weed out what you don't use.
Staplers, rolls of tape, scissors, paper clips, binder clips, thumb tacks, brass brads, rubber bands... make a place for them and organize them so they are easy to get to.
Printer papers, printer ink etc..... organize it.
We will deal with computer programs and all those computer CDs in a blog down the road for now get rid of what you do not use.
With the above list get rid of duplicates. Anything you have excessive amounts of but do not really use donate some and keep some.
For items like tape, staples etc... that will be used make a place for them and if you think you have way too many then do donate them, someone will be happy to have them, perhaps a school? It will not hurt you to have to buy new staples in a few years but keeping too many in the house can stress you out.
If you have been taking the weeding out challenge with us you may be finding one of two things happening.
One, you are feeling empowered, invigorated, excited to see some things being weeded out of you life as you gain more and more control over your time, space, and finances. This is an awesome camp to be sitting in, keep going!
Two, you are feeling very overwhelmed and want to just give up even trying to simplify as it is an impossible task. If this is the camp you are sitting in I want to encourage you that this is a normal feeling. Personally I have been working on simplifying for about three years now and I'm still not there. This is the slow and steady wins the race kind of thing. Do not give up! Every little decision you make towards simplifying is one step closer to the freedom those sitting in camp one are feeling.
Just keep it simple, you know what you can handle, however do press on, do not give into the materialism mountain, you CAN conquer it.
Today we are focusing on our offices. If you do not have a physical room in your house that is an office you still have an office it's just part of another room or maybe it is all over the house. If you do not have time for the optional challenge below just remove one item from your office collection, even a piece of junk mail counts.
Here are some office areas for you to consider today:
The desk top, is it clear of stuff? Is it functional? Flat surfaces tend to collect clutter so declare an all out war with the desk top and clean it off, you will love the result.
The paper piles, sometimes these are piles sometimes they are hills and sometimes they are mountains! If the document is IMPORTANT to keep then file it otherwise toss it, you may want to shred it first. I will deal with how to manage paper piles and what to do with sentimental things in those piles in a separate blog down the road. Today just throw away the junk.
Pens, pencils, markers, crayons etc.... do they work are they broken.... get this down to a manageable number and make sure they have a place to live in your home.
Notebooks, folders, binders, loose leaf paper, post it notes, weed them out and organize what is left.
Envelopes, stamps, stationary, take a look at these things and weed out what you don't use.
Staplers, rolls of tape, scissors, paper clips, binder clips, thumb tacks, brass brads, rubber bands... make a place for them and organize them so they are easy to get to.
Printer papers, printer ink etc..... organize it.
We will deal with computer programs and all those computer CDs in a blog down the road for now get rid of what you do not use.
With the above list get rid of duplicates. Anything you have excessive amounts of but do not really use donate some and keep some.
For items like tape, staples etc... that will be used make a place for them and if you think you have way too many then do donate them, someone will be happy to have them, perhaps a school? It will not hurt you to have to buy new staples in a few years but keeping too many in the house can stress you out.
If you have been taking the weeding out challenge with us you may be finding one of two things happening.
One, you are feeling empowered, invigorated, excited to see some things being weeded out of you life as you gain more and more control over your time, space, and finances. This is an awesome camp to be sitting in, keep going!
Two, you are feeling very overwhelmed and want to just give up even trying to simplify as it is an impossible task. If this is the camp you are sitting in I want to encourage you that this is a normal feeling. Personally I have been working on simplifying for about three years now and I'm still not there. This is the slow and steady wins the race kind of thing. Do not give up! Every little decision you make towards simplifying is one step closer to the freedom those sitting in camp one are feeling.
Just keep it simple, you know what you can handle, however do press on, do not give into the materialism mountain, you CAN conquer it.
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