Anti-Procrastination: Do What You Can

There are a whole bunch of things I'd love to do around my house, but they're just not possible right now due to lack of time, money, or energy.   I'm sure all of you have the same problem in one area or another.

I'm the type of person that just says “Forget it” when I can't do things the way I want them done.

But really, if I'd just do what I can, things would at least improve.  I guarantee I will never have a perfect house, but why should I allow things that can be changed to continue looking junky?

Here's an example of something little that I did that looks a whole lot better.

I'd love to have a new kitchen floor.  The linoleum in there is quite old and worn out, and it never looks clean even when it's been freshly swept and mopped.  But even though I can't get a new floor right now, I decided to at least fix the disgusting vent covers.

And I mean disgusting.

I guess I've just been looking hopelessly at that old ugly floor for so long, that I didn't even think about the fact that I could at least replace the nasty vent covers.

Thanks to my friend Christina at The Frugal Homemaker, I learned that I could even spray paint my vent covers instead of buying new ones!

So I did!

It's not perfect since the linoleum has some cuts around the edge of the vent, but it's much better than it was before!

Do you a project you've been putting off because you don't have the resources to complete it?  Think through any areas that you can work on and do what you can!

If you’re just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. Be sure you’re subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each new challenge!

Printable Scripture Verse Art

I've slowly been re-doing my living room decor, and it's hard to find pretty scripture verses that are in King James Version.

I made up this little printable today and mod podged it onto a wooden plaque.

I think it would look good in a picture frame as well.

My sister-in-law had a great idea with the last printable I made, which was to print it in black-and-white on colored scrapbook paper.  Just in case anybody wanted to do it that way, or if  you don't have a color printer, I've provided a black-and-white version for you as well as the color version.

Download color version here (will print without watermark)

Download Black and White version here (will print without watermark)

If you know of others who would enjoy this, please be sure to share the link to this page with them!

Here's the image one more time in case you want to pin it:

You can also find a beautiful printable of Philippians 4:8 right here.

How I Got a Pair of Jeans for $.15 Shipped!

I just got my little guy a pair of jeans for $.15 shipped to my door!

You can get something for one of your kiddos for free or dirt cheap too!

Here's how:

• Sign up for an account with ThredUP using my referral link.
• You'll receive a free $10 credit which is automatically deposited in your account.
• Find something priced at $3.99 or lower.  (There's tons to choose from!)
• Go to checkout and enter the promo code AUGUST20.  You'll get 20% off, plus your $10 credit will automically come off too.
• Check out and enjoy your free or almost-free clothing!

Important Update:  When you click the link to sign up, make sure you create your account using the yellow strip at the top of the page in order to get your $10 credit!  Do not click on “Sign Up” on the white part of the page as I do not believe that gives you the credit.

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Just Start!

One of the excuses I tend to give as a reason for procrastinating is that I want everything to be “just so” before I start.  If I can't do something exactly the way I envision it should be, I keep waiting until everything is just perfect.

The only problem is that most of the time everything is not going to ever be just exactly the way I want it to be.  There are a whole lot of things that never get done because I never even get started!

That was how I was feeling about getting started with our first year of homeschooling.  (We actually did some K4 last year, but kindergarten seems so much more official, doesn't it? 🙂 )

There were a lot of things that I wanted to happen before we started.  I wanted to get the kitchen re-arranged to make room for a school desk so little bug could sit at the proper height to do his writing.  I wanted to get all our flashcards laminated.  I wanted to have a better idea of what I was doing for K while little bug did his work.  These were just a bunch of little things that really weren't going to hinder a 5 year old from learning what sound letter I makes.

I finally decided that it was time to stop waiting for everything to fall perfectly into place and just start!

And start we did!

Little bug is quite happy with his letter I's.

Miss K did her best to keep up with her brother.

Concentration faces!

What have you been neglecting to start until everything falls into place exactly like you want it?  Maybe you should let your expectations go and just start!

If you’re just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. Be sure you’re subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each new challenge!

Oh, and another quick note.  Some of the activities you see my kids doing are from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  She has a lot of great printable homeschool worksheets (both paid and free) for preschool and K4.

Printable Quote: Life is a Sequence…

I came across this quote while browsing the web a couple days ago, and it goes along just perfectly with my year of Anti-Procrastination.

I created an 8×10 printable quote of it that I'll be putting in my living room.  Every time I see it I'll be reminded that what I'm doing right now is important.  Am I wasting time or using it wisely?

If you'd like to print your own copy, you can do so right here.

If you want this in a different size, let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Don't forget to subscribe to email updates or follow me on Facebook to keep up with what's new!

Anti-Procrastination and Priorites, Part 2

If you didn't read part one, you can read it here.

Before I go any further, I want to make sure a few things are clear:

1. I am not in any way saying that sewing or doing crafts is a wrong use of your time.  They're a natural part of being a homemaker.

2. I am not indicating that you haven't used your time wisely if your house isn't immaculate 100% of the time.  A stay-at-home wife or mom knows that you can clean and clean and clean, but because you live there, there are always new messes being made!

3. My husband is not a domineering ogre whom I tremble before if the house is messed up or he doesn't have a hot dinner on the table when he gets home.   In fact, he normally doesn't say a word even when the house looks its worst, and most of the time he simply pitches in to help without being asked.  The reason I'm embarrassed when he sees the house dirty is because it's evidence of  my lack of discipline.  I'm ashamed of my sin, not of the dirty house.  If I've been using my time wisely all day, it doesn't bother me for him to walk in to a mess.  He understands that there are three little people who require a lot of attention (and who make a lot of messes behind my back!)

So, how do I determine when my house is “clean enough” to start on some other project with a good conscience?

I'm not saying this is what all women need to do in their home, but I know this is what I need to keep my own home a scene of inviting serenity.

I've narrowed it down to two simple things:

First, nothing needs to be done if there are dirty dishes undone. There's just nothing that screams filth to me so much as dirty dishes on the counter. The rest of the house can be entirely clean, but if there are dishes out, the whole place looks like a dump. When you walk in our back door, you're looking straight across the kitchen at the sink. What you see there makes or breaks your mood as soon as you walk into the house.  So my first strategy is, no other projects until the dishes are done.  That's all I ask of myself.

Second,  extra things need to have a time limit.  I will determine how long is a reasonable amount of time to work on a project before I need to turn my focus back over to my kids and other housework.  I will set a timer, and when it goes off, it's time to put away the project until later.   I am a very determined person, which most of the time is a good thing.  However, there are times when I get so focused on conquering something, that I lose all track of time and lots of things go undone and little people get ignored.  My sewing machine was being rebellious the other day, and I was not giving in until I broke its will.  That's fine and dandy, except for the fact that I almost made us late for church, left the kitchen an ugly mess, the kids were left to themselves for too long, and nobody got to eat dinner.

As a homemaker, my basic priorities are, in this order – my Lord, my husband, and my children.  If something, even a domestic project, is robbing my time from those three groups, it is wrong for me to spend time doing it.  Was it wrong for me to sew the other day?  No.  Was it wrong for me spend hours doing it when other, more important things were being neglected?  Yes.  Having a timer set would have brought me back to the reality of how much time I was spending.

So those, my friends, are my two very easy ways to make sure I'm doing the things I'm supposed to be doing while making sure I can find time to get to the extra projects too.

I hope these ideas are helpful to you in finding that balance between doing the extras while making sure to keep your priorities in order!