Vinegar and How I Use It

Vinegar is a great all natural cleaner, mild disinfectant and deodorizer that is not harsh or abrasive and can be pretty much used on anything anywhere.

Here are the main places I use Vinegar in my home on a regular basis for the purpose of Cleaning.

1)  Toilet Bowls - I add about 1 cup of vinegar to my toilets and allow it to sit while I clean the rest of the bathroom then scrub your toilet just like you would using any other cleaner and flush.

2)  Fabric Softener - I add between 1/3 - 1/2 cup vinegar as my liquid fabric softener and it works great.  No, your clothes do not smell like vinegar when they come out of the wash - they just smell fresh.

3)  Dishwasher -  I used to use 1 cup of vinegar about once a month as cleaner but now I use it instead of Jet-Dry or other "spot removers".  Works great, super cheap and your dishwasher is getting cleaned in the process.

4)  Floors - 1 cup of white vinegar to 1 gallon of water.

5)  All Purpose Cleaner - Vinegar diluted with water (equal parts) and put in a spray bottle works great as an all purpose kitchen or bathroom cleaner.

You can google "Uses for Vinegar" and honestly there are so many they are countless.  Here is a link to a great website that lists many of its uses from cleaning and laundry to health and cooking and gardening.

Do you use Vinegar to Clean with??

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 Proverbs 31:17 (Good News Translation) 
She is a hard worker, strong and industrious.

Specific Prayer

One day I will write all about our families journey to home ownership and living debt free but today I just want to touch on a small portion of it with hopes of encouraging you in your prayer life.

Be Specific When You Pray.

What exactly do I mean by that? 

If you read in Genesis 24 about Abraham's servant - he prayed a very specific prayer. Abraham sent him to find a wife for his son Isaac.  The servant prayed  for God to make him successful and he prayed that when a women came to the spring to draw water and he asked for a drink that the woman who is to be the wife of Isaac would give him a drink and also offer to water his camels.  The Bible says that before he had even finished praying Rebekah came to the spring to draw water.  He asked for a drink and guess what she did?  That is right she not only gave him a drink but offered to water his camels as well.

That is pretty specific.

How about Gideon?   In the book of Judges Chapter 6 God tells Gideon that He is going to use him to save Israel.  Gideon being a bit skeptic told God that if he was truly the one to save Israel to give him a sign.  He would put down a blanket on the ground and in the morning if the blanket was wet but all the ground around it was dry then he would believe.  And the next morning that is exactly what happened.  Gideon still not convinced asked God to allow him one more request.  This time he said in the morning let the blanket be dry and the ground all around be wet.  God did exactly that.  The rest of the story is pretty awesome so I encourage you to read it all on your own as well as the above story. 

Gideon was very specific with God. 

We should be too.

Philippians 4:6 says Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Before my husband and I bought our home and property we were told that the owner was wanting to sell it and we were also told a few prices that he was thinking of asking for it.  We were unsure of our future living situation and didn't really know where we were going to end up and the amounts of money that were rumored to us were more than what we could pay and more than what we wanted to pay.  Here is where specific prayer came in.  My husband and I had been praying for "Our Home" for many years.  We had been saving for it, paying off other debts and felt like we were following God's plan for our lives so we prayed once more.  Our Prayer went a little something like this - "Lord, if this is where you want us to be and where you would have us to live and raise our kids we ask you to work it out for us.  If this is where we are supposed to be we pray that the owner will not ask one penny over (and we named the dollar amount).  If he asks even one penny over this amount we will know that this place is not for us."

We are now living in our house - the same one we prayed a very specific prayer about.  The same one that God showed up and showed off big time over and blessed us with and answered our prayer to the EXACT dollar amount.

God is no respecter of persons the Bible Says - If He will answer specific prayers for Abraham, Gideon and Me - You can be sure that He will do it for you.

Acts 10:34  Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.

How about you?  Do you pray specific prayers? 
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Note:  In time I will write "our story" of home ownership and the journey we have been through achieving this but it is a rather long story so until then.....

Easy Homemade Instant Oatmeal

I apologize for being MIA this week.  My boys are off on their Spring break from school and my husband is taking a week of vacation with us.  We are just spending the week working around the house inside and out and trying to squeeze in a couple fun things but mostly we are just eating too much and spending time together.  I did want to share something with you that I made the other day though.  I thought maybe some of you may like the idea and want to make your own. 

I have made this Easy Homemade Instant Oatmeal for 3 reasons. 

#1  It's Cheaper.
#2  It makes our mornings much easier.
#3  Once put in the packets - any member of my family can prepare it (not just me).

My husband loves the Quaker Instant Oatmeal in the Cinnamon Raisin Flavor.  I have bought it for him off and on since we have been married - that is until the past few years when finding it has proven to be a challenge for me.  I am not sure if they have stopped making it or the grocery stores around me just don't carry it but either way I have not found it.

Then one day I met a dear friend of mine at McDonald's for breakfast and I ordered for the first time ever their oatmeal.  I don't remember what it's name was exactly but it had raisins and chunks of apples cut up in it.  It was very good and the next morning for breakfast I decided to recreate it at home.  I mixed together some sugar, quick oats, cinnamon, raisins and chopped up apple - added a little water to it and popped it in the microwave and it was great.

So the next day I decided to make it minus the apple for my husband which would be like the flavor he likes so much and he loves it!

In my effort to make life easier and be more organized I made up some of this oatmeal and put it in snack size zip lock bags. 

Ingredients are simple:  quick oats, raisins, sugar and cinnamon.  As you can see from my picture I use store or generic brands.  Any brand will do.  Also I used white sugar but you could use what ever type of sugar or sweetener you prefer.

Each bag has 1/2 cup oats, 3 tsp. sugar (you could use less), 1/4 - 1/2 cinnamon (depending on how much you like), and 2 Tbls. raisins.

And there you have it - one bad of instant Raisin & Cinnamon Oatmeal ready to go.  All you have to do is add in your hot water and it will be ready to eat.  I still like to add in some chunks of apples with mine.  :)

I made up several bags worth and put them in a little basket to store in my pantry.

Are You Saved?

Psalm 51:7 (NCV) Take away my sin, and I will be clean.  Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

With Easter coming up this Sunday I am reminded of the goodness of God and of what He has done for me.  I am reminded of where I was and the road I was on before I truly made Jesus Lord of my Life and this made me wander...

Are you Saved?  Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior?  Do you know for sure that when you leave this earth you will be in Heaven with God FOREVER?

We will all LIVE FOREVER.  The question is where? 

If you do not know for sure in your heart that Jesus is your Lord, I want to invite you to know him. 

John 3:16 and 17 says For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 10:10 and 11 says The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Romans 10:9 and 10 says If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

It is very simple.  Believe in your heart and Confess with your mouth.

Come to Jesus just as you are.  You can never get "good enough" to be deserving of this gift He has freely given us. 

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and You would like to, Pray this prayer out loud right now.

Heavenly Father, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask you to cleanse me and forgive me from all of my sins.  I believe in my heart that Jesus is Your Son, that He died to save me and was buried and raised again.   Lord Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart right now.  I declare that You are my Lord.  Thank you Jesus for Saving me.  Amen.

Hallelujah!  If you prayed that prayer just now please leave me a comment to let me know so that I may pray for you.

 

Inviting the Joy of the Lord

Praying Parent - Week 21

Are your children happy? 

I can say yes, my children are normally happy and joyful.  Of course there are times when they don't get their way and for a time they are not so happy but it quickly passes. 

I do my best every morning to wake my children with a smile on my face and in some goofy way.  I am usually singing some silly wake up song to them (yes even at 12 and 14) because that is just who I am.  I try to make our mornings flow smoothly because I am with them a total of about 35 minutes each morning before they hurry off to catch the bus to school.  I hear friends say and read posts on facebook all the time about how awful their morning was and that really makes me sad.  I try so hard to keep the house happy and upbeat of the morning because I NEVER want to send my kids off away from me in a bad, sad, unhappy, not joyful mood.  Now, I am not perfect and of course there has probably been the rare occasion that they have left mad or upset but it is definitely not the norm.  I love them and God gave them to me and my husband to be a good stewards over. God wants our children to be happy and full of joy.

But guess what?  No matter how hard I try to keep them happy and joyful - true joy doesn't come from me or how "GREAT" I try to make their mornings.  True joy and happiness comes from God.

John 15:10-11
I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy.

Psalm 16:11 
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Romans 15:13
 I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 61:10
I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!  For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.  I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.

Pray for your children to remain full of the Joy of the Lord. Teach them that the way we have and keep this joy of the Lord is by staying in His presence and by realizing that He is all we really need.

My Bedtime Routine

Yesterday I talked about the importance of establishing good habits and turning them into your routines.  Today I am talking more about my Evening/Bedtime Routine.  I call it my Evening/Bedtime routine because really it is not something that I just do at bedtime.  I start my bedtime routine (at least the kitchen part) while I am preparing my families dinner and it lingers on until I go to bed.  It really doesn't take long - even though it looks long - and most of the things in it are second nature to most people.  However, I do not fall into the category of "most people" so I needed to learn how to break my day down into parts and then I had to figure out what I needed to do in each part of my day.   

I break my Bedtime Routine down into 3 parts. 

Pick up the house.

Think about tomorrow.

Focus on me.

Pick up the house. 

  Kitchen - After dinner is done do your dishes, wipe off your counters and sweep your floor.

Load and Run your Dishwasher.

Check your Washer and Dryer - make sure all clothes are put away

Put away all toys, clothes, etc...

Quick run through of the house - no more than 15 minutes to tidy up.

Think about tomorrow

Check your calendar.

Make "to do" list.

Lay out clothes (iron if needed).

Pack/prepare lunches (as much as possible).

Pack back packs.

Think about "What's for breakfast?".

Think about "What's for dinner tomorrow?".

Check/Send emails, Facebook, blog.

Prep coffee pot.

Focus on Me

Bath/Shower

Skin Care

Teeth

Lotion

Read/Pray/Journal

Snuggle with my husband

Are you ready to start this with me? You can follow my bedtime routine or use it as an example and come up with your own. It takes 21 days or 3 weeks of being consistent to form a habit. Lets start today with our evening/bedtime routine and work at making it a habit.   

This is a picture of my bulletin board in my kitchen with 21 little "post it" note page markers on it.  I saw this somewhere and thought it was a good idea to mark our 21 days of forming a habit.  I encourage you to do this, make a chart or get a calendar so that you can mark off each day that you successfully do your Bedtime Routine. 

Once we master this we will move on to our morning routine. Oh yes, there is a morning/afternoon routine as well.  And after we get our daily routines established we will move on to a weekly cleaning schedule.

What about you?  Do you currently have a Bedtime Routine that you follow?  If so, what does it look like?  Are you consistent with it?

Housekeeping 101 - The Number One Way to Keep Your House Clean

I took this picture the other night of the "how to" cleaning books that sit on my shelf.  How nice would it be if just having these books would make my house stay clean.  Of course without reading the books and applying the techniques and ideas that are written on their pages this will not happen. 

What is the number one way to keep your house clean?  Are you ready for it?  Ok, here it is...  My Secret and the number one way to keep your house clean is....

ROUTINES

Yep, that's right - Routines.  I know to some of you this may sound too easy or silly but to others of us it makes perfect sense.  About 11 1/2 years ago in an attempt to get a handle on my housekeeping chores and make them easier I searched the Internet for ideas.  A dear friend of mine helped in the search and we found an awesome web sight to get us started. 

Fly Lady 

We were fly babies way before it was cool.  lol  Anyway I am almost ashamed to say that I have worked my way through Fly Lady's steps more than once or twice.  In fact it seems that every time I feel like I am losing control of the order in my house I fall back to her and her system of doing things.  The one thing she stresses the most out of everything is establishing ROUTINES and habits. 

Are you starting to get the picture of what is important? 

Having a consistent established routine is important in everything we do.  Bed time with our kids and their daily routines, our Bible reading, housecleaning, etc...

We are "creatures of habit" and most of us work better when we are following some type of routine.

What should your routine look like?

This will look different for different people depending on your own individual family needs.  There is no right way or wrong way it just has to be something workable that you can do and keep up with.  Start small and simple.  Take "Baby Steps" and build from there.

I am writing this post on this subject because as you probably can guess I am feeling a bit out of sorts with my house work - AGAIN!  My house is not a disaster area but it is not where I want it to be.  So I reevaluate my old routines to see where I need to adjust and attempt to make things better.  

Start with a simple "Bedtime Routine".  Think about the things that you would like to have done when you wake up in the morning.  Flylady suggests shining your sink which basically means that all of your dishes are done and table and counters are wiped off before you go to bed.  If that is important to you then maybe that is a great place for you to start.

Let me stress (because this tends to be my problem) that just writing down what you hope will turn into habits and become a routine for you will not make it be so no more than the books sitting on my shelf on how to clean my house will make my house be clean.  You have to actually get up, get moving and make it happen.  It will get easier the more you do and the benefits from having a neat and tidy house will be a blessing to your whole family. 

I break my Bedtime Routine in 3 parts. Join Me tomorrow and I will break down my Evening/Bedtime Routine for you and we will get started on establishing good habits.

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Note:

There are many websites, blogs and books that can help you and inspire you to get your house work in order. Fly Lady is just the one that I personally like the best. It can be a bit overwhelming if you do not follow her steps and do them one at a time. Trust me, trying to skip ahead will only leave you frustrated. 

Homemade Spaghetti or Lasagna Sauce

My friend and I were recently talking about stocking our freezers with ready made food to help make our busy days flow more smoothly.  Today for dinner I decided to fix Spaghetti and instead of making just enough sauce for tonight I made an entire pot full.  We had enough for our dinner this and I had enough for 4 - 4 cup bags to put in the freezer.  I am so excited to start getting some things like this stashed so I can pull it out for a super quick meal on those days when time is very limited. 

I thought I would share my personal Spaghetti Sauce recipe with you tonight.  This recipe is one I made up on my own, it is very simple to make (as with most of my recipes) and really doesn't take that long either. 

This is the recipe for 1 batch which is what I normally fix when I am making dinner.  It gives us enough for dinner and some leftovers. 

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

water

2 cans tomato sauce

1 tsp. of the following:

salt

onion powder

garlic powder

Italian seasoning

2 1/2 - 3 tsp. chili powder

1/2 onion finely chopped

What I do is add my ground beef to a pot with enough water to cover it.  Then I take my clean hands and smoosh the hamburger in the water until when I turn the heat on it will cook up to be little crumbles of beef.  That is the way I like my sauce.  If you like larger pieces of meat then you do not have to do it this way. 

After my ground beef is cooked I drain off the water and grease then return it to the pan.

I then add in my 2 cans of tomato sauce, the onion, all the spices and about 2 cups of additional water and I simmer it on medium low for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how much time I have.  If time allows I like to let it cook longer just because the flavors blend better but it will be done sooner than that.

That is it!  Super easy!  You can top your pasta with it or mix it all together.  

I also use this same sauce when making my 3 Cheese Lasagna.  If you are wanting to make Lasagna here is what I layer with:  Sauce and Pasta of course and I use Mozzarella Cheese, Provolone Cheese, and Cottage Cheese (alternating the cheeses).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and it's bubbly.

Enjoy!

Receiving a Sound Mind - Praying for our Children

Week 20

The same verse I used last week 2 Timothy 1:7 applies just as much to this week.  We have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. 

Stormie says in her book that a large part of having a sound mind is controlling what goes in it and she is absolutely right.  1 Corinthians 2:16(b) But we have the mind of Christ.

We have always tried to be so very careful with our boys and what we allow them to watch, to listen to, read and so on.  We are careful of where they go and who they hang around also. 

It has been several years ago now my youngest son started having some issues.  He was all of the sudden having bad dreams.  He became scared of the dark.  He started having bad thoughts about people and about things happening.  He was seriously being tormented in his little mind.  My husband and I prayed with him and did our best to reassure him that everything was fine.  We told him he wasn't a bad boy for having bad thoughts because the devil will put all kinds of bad thoughts in our minds but we have to do what the Word says and take every thought into captivity.  2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  Meaning we judge every thought that hits our mind and ask ourselves some questions - Is this thought life giving?  Is this thought good?  Is this thought loving, kind, peaceful and all the things that God is?  If not then we know that the thought did not come from our Father God.  When dark, bad thoughts come to our minds that is not a sin.  If we do not rightly judge those thoughts and we act on them then we sin. 

My husband and I retraced our sons steps back over the previous couple of weeks thinking about where he went, who he was around and what he did.  After asking our son many questions we found out that the family of a little boy he had stayed the night with watched some things on television and did some things that we did not approve of at all.  1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from evil [shrink from it and keep aloof from it] in whatever form or whatever kind it may be.  The door had been opened to Satan in the short amount of time that he was with them to put these un godly thoughts into my young sons mind and he didn't know how to handle them.   Ephesians 4:27 says Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].

The point of me telling you this is to let you know the importance of praying for our children and guarding their hearts against the enemy.  Do not allow Satan to have any access to your children.  Be careful of where they go, who they are with, what they watch, listen to and read.  It may seem silly to some but I know from experience that when we give the enemy an inch he will take it and lets not forget that he comes to kill, steal and destroy.  John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows).

Enjoying Freedom from Fear - Praying for our Children

Week 19

Enjoying Freedom from Fear

When I think about fear or being afraid one thing comes to mind.  Thunder Storms.  I am not a fan.  When I was a child they terrified me then as a teenager they didn't seem to bother me so much but after I got married and became a mother the fear and terror from them returned.  Part of what scared me so much the fact that for the first almost 14 years of my marriage we lived in a single wide trailer and I never felt completely secure there.  Everything was so loud and magnified when it was storming - the wind, the rain - oh the pounding rain.  The wind sounded like it was tearing our home apart.  I kept ear plugs in my night stand drawer that I used at night every time it stormed just to help me sleep. 

My mother always told me that her mother (my grandmother) was afraid of storms and that must be where I got it from.  While I loved my Grandmother - that is one thing I didn't want from her.  That is a generational curse that I do not want any part of. 

Being a mom changes things so much.  While on the inside I might be filled with fear - on the outside I couldn't let it show.  I have to encourage my boys and reassure them that everything is fine so they will not be afraid.  We pray, read the Bible, quote scripture, sing songs and so on.  But then one day when reading in Stormie's book "The Power of a Praying Parent" I read her quote that says "Fear is something that comes upon us the moment we don't believe that God is able to keep us, or all we care about, safe.  Oh Lord Jesus please forgive my unbelief, fear and doubt. 

2 Timothy 1:7 says that fear is a spirit.  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.  John 10:10 says The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows).  If you have ever been afraid of something then you know that in the moment of fear - you are not living your life like you should be.  It changes who I am in that moment.  Fear has changed my plans many times.  When fear grips you it is impossible to live life to the fullest like God intends for His children to do.  Every good gift comes from God so I know that he is the not the one sending this spirit of fear.  James 1:17 (Amp.)  Every good gift and every perfect (^[a]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].  And to put it plainly if it doesn't come from God - I DO NOT WANT IT!

My Verse for dealing with fear is 2 Timothy 1:7.  I quote it often and remind myself that fear has no place in my life.  I am a born again believer.  I belong to God and I refuse to be gripped by the spirit of fear that the devil would try to put on me. 

I have given you a personal story about me dealing with my fear but
fear can come in many different packages over many different things.  Thunder Storms may not bother you at all while something else may.  Be sensitive to your children and what they may be fearful of.  It may be not measuring up at school, their grades, friends, storms, disappointing you or many other things.  Pray for them and with them about this and do not allow the devil to steal anything from them through fear.  We have the power to stand against the power of the enemy for ourselves and our children.  Luke 10:19 Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

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1 John 4:18 (Amp.)  There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love ^[a]turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear ^[b]brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].

1 John 4:8  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

2 Timothy 1:7 (Amp.)  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Money Savers for the Stay at Home Mom Part 2 - Readers Comments

I thought it would be cool to post all the ways that you, my readers have commented that you save or make money.  If you didn't get a chance to read my first post about this click here.  This list is from you, my reader!  Thanks for your input and for the great ideas.

• Recycling bottles and cans.
• Yard sales.
• Selling jewelry I no longer needed.
• We are currently looking at getting Netflix and dropping cable. 

Note from Jen:  We have NEVER had cable or any type of dish service.  My husband and I can not justify spending that kind of money on television.  We use an outdoor antenna to pick up local channels.  About 18 months ago when we finally were able to get slow high speed Internet - we live in the sticks - we opted to pay the $7.99 each month for Netflix.  I highly recommend it.  Lots of cute shows and cartoons for the kids and a lot of educational ones too not to mention all the movies.

• I have saved quite a bit of money by cutting our sons hair myself.

Note from Jen:  Didn't think of this one when I did my original post but we too cut my boys hair and my husbands hair from home and have for years.  The price of a good pair of clippers is equal to what we would pay for 3 hair cuts.

• Borrowing books and DVDs from the library.
• Planting a garden .

Note from Jen:  We also plant a garden.  You can do this even if you don't have a place to do a large one.  You could do a container garden if space is limited. 

• Babysitting.

Note from Jen:  I have in the past done this as well from time to time.

• I mend and alter clothes whenever possible, instead of buying new. It's often possible to turn something old into something else wearable or useful.
• Bartering.
• I don't use paper products (besides cheap toilet paper in my house-we use cloth napkins, rags, real silverware, plates and cups.

Note from Jen:  Another thing I wanted to mention is selling products from home.  There are so many things you could do like Avon, Mary Kay, Thirty One, Scentsy and so on.

Keep the comments coming.  If you are just now reading these posts and have other great ideas I invite you to please share.  We all love hearing good ideas! 

Recipe Organization Part 2

Yesterday I showed you my many recipe books and how I used a basket to sort and store my personal recipes and also how I store recipes that I am wanting to try.  Today I am showing my favorite system for sorting and storing recipes that I switched to from the basket a few years ago when my tried and true recipes began to outgrow the small basket they were in.  Click here to read yesterday's post.

 

I bought a one inch three ring binder, tabbed dividers and sheet protectors.  Using sheet protectors or laminating your recipes is very helpful in helping them to stay clean and last a long time. 

 

I used this website here to make my front and back covers. 

 

 

Back Cover

 

Front Cover

 

 

 My tabs are as follows: Cakes, Cookies, Candy, Bars, Pies, Fruit, Sweet Bread, Misc.

 

 

In the very front of my recipe binder I have an index page that tells what my dividers are through out the book. 

 

These pictures are of my recipe binder that holds all things sweet.  I have another binder that holds the following:  Appetisers, Snacks, Casseroles, Veggies, Salads, Sides, Main Dishes, Mexican, Italian, Soups, Sauces, Misc.

 

I was able to easily convert all of the 4x6 note cards with recipes on them to fit in this book.  I simply placed 2 at a time on my printer and made a copy of them and then slid the copied paper down inside of a sheet protector.  My recipe binder is a work in progress as I am adding new ones often. 

 

 

 

I must make a note here.  The only recipes that I put in my basket or binder are ones that I have made, tweaked and that my family LOVES!  If I make something that we do not care for I pitch the recipe immediatley. 

 

 What about you?  How do you sort and store your recipes?

Recipe Organization Part 1

I love to cook and try new recipes so as you can imagine I have a lot of recipe books and individual recipes that I am wanting to try.  Today I want to talk about where and how I store all of those recipes that I am waiting to try plus how I store all of my tried and true recipes and my collection of too many recipe books.  Recipe books are a weakness of mine (lol). 

 

This is a picture of my cabinet - yes an entire cabinet and this is not even all of my recipe books, almost but not all.  I said I have a problem.  lol

 

 

This is my corner basket that sits on my counter with more recipe books.

 

What I first started storing my recipes in.

 

 

Ok, first up my recipe basket.  Many years ago my mother in law bought me this lovely basket for Christmas and I loved it (still do). 

 

 

I spent a great deal of time typing my recipes onto 4x6 index cards, laminating and organizing them in my basket.

 

 

This little basket works great and we still use it to some extent but the problem for me is that my recipes were outgrowing it and I needed another system to sort and store them all (will share about it tomorrow). 

 

If you like this idea, there are many variations you could use.  First of all you could use any type of basket to store your recipes in.  This little wire basket is one that I bought a couple years ago at our local Walmart in the canning section.  I wanted it for my sink to hold my dish soap and hand lotion but it's purpose originally was to hold recipe cards.  If you typed (or printed) your recipes onto note cards you could easily fix them together with one of these little key ring type clips by simply using a hole punch and punching a hole in the corner of each card.  You can buy these in various sizes. 

 

 

 

Storing Loose recipes that I am waiting to try.

 

I find recipes that I want to try all of the time in magazines, online or that a friend may give me.  If I find it in a magazine I tear out the page, online I print the page but do I immediately fix the recipe?  NO.  Sometimes I will fix it within a few days but sometimes not for quite a while so what do I do with all these loose recipes? 

 

 

Well if you will look in my first pic of my cabinet I have this tin box sitting on the top shelf. This is a tin that was a gift and held cookies in it many Christmas' ago. When all the cookies were gone I re-purposed it and now it holds all of those recipes that I am wanting to try. 

 

 

It keeps all of those loose pieces of paper neat and it stores away nicely in my cabinet.  I pull it out from time to time when I am wanting to try something new and go through the recipes I have saved.

 

I encourage you to find a shoe box, cookie tin or something that you can store these kind of recipes in.  It will keep paper clutter to a minimum and you will know right where to go when looking for a recipe.

 

Join me tomorrow as I tell you how I sort and store my recipes now.  We still use the basket some but I a few years back I changed it up.  

 

Click here to be taken to Part 2.

Praying Through a Child's Room

Week # 18

Praying Through a Child's Room

Between listening to my Pastor and reading Stormie's book I have learned the importance of praying through your child's room. 

Most of us are in and out of our children's rooms through the day anyway (if you're not then I firmly believe you should be) so why not while you are in there say a prayer for that child? 

The following are passages from Stormie's Book on the subject.  It would be hard to say it any better than she already did.
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After talking about how her son Christopher had started having bad dreams at night, Stormie went into his room and prayed "  Lord, if there is anything in Christopher's room that shouldn't be here, show me", I prayed.  Immediately, I felt prompted to go to his computer and look at his games. 

There she found a game he had borrowed from a friend at church that looked innocent on the outside but in the back pages of the book she found the worst kind of satanic garbage. 

Every one's house needs a spiritual housecleaning from time to time, especially in the rooms where our children sleep and play. 

If your child is becoming fearful, rebellious, angry, depressed, distant, strange, a disciplinary problem, or having bad dreams and nightmares, sometimes simply praying through the room can change things quickly.  Singing Christian songs, hymns, and worship choruses in the room is also very effective, and I've seen a change of spirit in my children after I have done so.

When you pray through your child's room, remove anything that is not glorifying to God:  posters, books, magazines, pictures, photos, games, or articles of clothing depicting drug or alcohol use or any kind of blasphemy.

This is not a superstitious little ritual.  This is a powerful claiming of your home, your child, and all aspects of his life for God.  It's standing up and proclaiming, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).  It's saying, "My home is sanctified and set apart for God's glory".

Let's start our spiritual housecleaning by praying though our children's rooms even before the need arises.
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Stormie's words above are very powerful!  Wow!  I encourage you to purchase this book if you do not own it already.  It is a great investment into the lives of our children.  I refer to mine all the time and have for many many years now. 

10 Easy Ways to Tackle Paper Clutter

 

Paper clutter!  Ugh!  Just the thought of it makes me have ill feelings and that is because this is an area that I struggle with often.  Paper comes into my house daily either through mail, school work and notes from school, shopping trips, etc... and it can pile up on us very quickly if we do not take action against it.

I have been trying to make it a point in this new year to tackle paper clutter as it arrives so that I do not have a mess like the picture above EVER again.  It is not a good feeling when stacks of paper (some important and some not) sit on your desk, or kitchen table or where ever your hot spot for it may be.

So, here is my list of 10 easy ways to help us get a handle on it.

1. Stop Junk Mail.
2. Go through your mail as soon as you bring it in and file it appropriately.  Does it need trashed, filed away, responded to, or place with your "bills to be paid"?
3. Balance your checkbook frequently (at least 2 times per week) and either toss, shred or file (important) receipts.
4. File important papers at least weekly.  In order to this efficiently you will need a workable filing system.
5. Create a "bill binder" or basket.  Have a place where you keep your bills that need paid and the ones you have already paid.  Or go paperless on your bills.
6. Cull magazines at least one time per month.  I order a few different magazines that we enjoy but almost daily we receive magazines from different companies wanting us to order from them.
7. Keep only important or special notes and papers from your children's school.
8. Have a basket, binder or some other system you use to store receipts in until they clear your bank.
9. Shred papers and empty shredder monthly.  My papers in my shredder usually pile up so high I would never get them all shredded and I end up adding them to a bon fire when we have one.
10. Write dates and information from cards and invitations in your calendar ASAP and toss the actual invitation.

So there you have it.  My list of 10 things that I am doing to try my best to cut down on paper clutter in my home.

Do you have any other good ideas to help with this problem?  I would love to hear them.