MaryEllen, Author at Imperfect Homemaker

All Posts by MaryEllen

How To Survive When You’re In Survival Mode

We all go through times in our lives when we're in “survival mode”. Whether it's a life change such as moving or a new baby, illness, or a busy season with a job, those crazy, stressful times come upon all of us. When you're going through a “survival mode” season, you might wonder if you're going to make it through with your sanity, or perhaps even your marriage, intact.

My personal “survival mode” as of late has been caused by my health problems. Add to the chronic fatigue, weakness, heart palpitations, dizziness, brain fog, and digestive issues an unexpected pregnancy (Surprise! That was an announcement!) and you can understand why I spend a lot of my days in the bed. Three kids 5 and under with their mommy in the bed is a recipe for disaster!

Here's how I'm surviving my “survival mode” season. I hope these ideas will be of help to you next time your life is crazy and stressful.

1. Be willing to accept help.

This is hard for me, and I'm sure it's hard for most people. It's embarrassing to let someone see your messy house, let alone allow them to clean it for you. You feel badly letting someone else trouble themselves to cook your supper or watch your kids for you. But if people want to help – let them! They want to be a blessing, so allow them that opportunity.

2. Lower your expectations.

Don't get upset if you're not serving your usual home cooked meals for supper. Let everyone eat sandwiches, be happy they have something in their belly, and leave it at that. You may be running clothes through the washer and dryer and never getting them folded. If you have to live out of the laundry basket for a while, don't sweat it. Just be glad everyone has something to wear. Your house will not be spotless. Accept that fact, do what you can, and don't worry about the rest.

3. Simplify.

Make everything as easy as possible for yourself. Remove everything from your schedule that is not absolutely essential. Use paper plates at meals. If you're in the bed and you have small children, try to keep everyone confined to the same room. This will save the house from getting torn apart by curious little hands. Occupy the kids with videos or activities they can do themselves (coloring books, puzzles, etc.)

4. Use the timer.

Whether you're suffering from illness or are just extremely busy, most people can carve out one 15 minute cleaning session each day. Set the timer for 15 minutes and straighten the house as quickly as you can, starting with whatever area is bothering you the most. If you absolutely can't do 15 minutes, try to do just 5. You'll still be surprised how much can get done!

5. Brighten your mood

When you're not feeling well, the house is falling apart, and you feel like a lousy wife and mother because you can't keep up with everything, it is easy to start feeling depressed. Make it a priority to spend time with the Lord each day (the joy of the Lord is my strength!) Find other ways to cheer up the atmosphere of your home. Raise the windowshades and let in some sunlight. Clean one room thoroughly, shut yourself in away from the rest of the mess, and enjoy the view! Turn on some uplifting music. Count your blessings and focus on the positive.

How do you survive when life seems crazy? Please share your ideas!

You Might Be Crazy If You Don’t Do This!

If you don't have $29.97 available to your name, I suggest you do your best to come up with it by Monday! (Or do some hinting that you'd love this as a Mother's Day gift!)

I've got some news for you about an incredible opportunity (and I mean incredible!) coming up next week.

For 6 days only, more than 75 widely-known bloggers and authors in the homemaking sphere have joined together to offer 97 of their most popular eBooks and eCourses, valued at just over $600, for the incredibly low price of $29.97!

I promise you the $29.97 will be WELL worth it! The list of books in this bundle is absolutely fabulous, and you would not be able to buy more than a few of them for $29.97 if you bought them at regular price.

This library of homemaking helps include topics such as mothering, organization and cleaning, recipes and kitchen helps, home education, spiritual growth for both moms and kids, home décor and DIY, pregnancy and baby care, frugal living, health and fitness, and even work-from-home and financial tools.

On top of that, when you purchase the ebooks, you will also receive $140 worth of BONUS PRODUCTS!

I know for myself that I would be crazy not to make this purchase. Several of the bonus products are items I was already planning to purchase anyway, and would have cost me at least $29.97! So I'll get the stuff I was going to purchase, plus I will get 97 awesome ebooks and ecourses FREE! Happy Mother's Day to me!

Here is a list of just the bonuses:

A FREE Two-Month Membership to Fit2B Studio, where their wholesome workouts for the whole family are tummy safe and particularly target Diastasis Recti (split abs). ($19.98 value. No shipping restrictions.)

A $15 store credit to TruKid. With products like their award-winning sun care, they are dedicated to providing all natural skin and hair care for kids, babies, and now pets. ($15.00 value. Standard shipping applies. International shipping available.)

Your choice of incredible natural products like sea salt and clay for FREE. Choose from the Redmond Trading Earthpaste Bundle ($24.90 value) or the Facial Mud Bundle ($26.90 value). (Standard shipping applies. Continental US only.)

Your choice of a FREE heirloom sourdough starter or FREE yogurt starter from Cultures for Health, the leading supplier of starter cultures and supplies for making cultured and fermented foods ($12.95 value. US & CAN addresses only. Standard shipping applies.)

Your choice of: a FREE 3-Month Subscription (for new accounts) or 30% off a One Year Subscription. Plan to Eat is an online menu planner that uses your recipes, scheduled for the days you want them. ($15.00 value. No shipping restrictions.)

A FREE Culinary Herbs Assorted Seed Pack Check just in time for spring planting from www.wheatgrasskits.com, a living whole foods company. ($11.95 value. Standard shipping applies to all US states and territories- no international shipping for seeds.)

Get $10 off their original “my husband rocks” tee. Their marriage apparel lets you celebrate your spouse in style. ($10.00 value. Standard shipping rates apply. International shipping available, but free shipping only available within USA.)

A $10 store credit plus 1 FREE lip balm from Bee All Natural. Their whole body products nourish and heal, and are made using only the highest quality, food grade, organic ingredients. ($13.49 value. Standard shipping applies. International shipping available.)

A FREE 2 oz. bottle of your choice of liquid herbal formula from TriLight Health. They specialize in fast acting, great tasting natural herbal remedies. ($12.95 value or more. Standard shipping applies, within the USA only.)

Your choice of 3 FREE ePlanners OR a 3-Month FREE Membership to ListPlanIt, whose mobile lists will help to organize your life. ($15.00 value. No shipping restrictions.)

This would be a hugely long post if I listed all 97 books that will be included in the bundle, so I'll just highlight a few that I'm excited about. You can check out the entire list here.

Real Food Kids: In the Kitchen plus 1 month access to select Real Food Kids eCourse videos by Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS and Jami @ Eat Nourishing ($20.00)

Spiritual Growth

God’s Word in my Heart: A Scripture Memory Learning Guide with Verses {all 4 versions} by Jenn @ The Purposeful Mom ($3.99)

Marriage & Romance

31 Days to Great Sex by Sheila @ To Love, Honor and Vacuum ($4.99) – A topic no one wants to talk about, but Sheila has done it in such a respectful way!

Health & Fitness

Healthy Homemaking by Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home ($12.95)

Working from Home & Blogging

The Bootstrap VA by Lisa @ The Home Life {and Me} ($12.99)

Simple Blogging: Less Computer Time, Better Blogging by Rachel @ Small Notebook ($8.00)

Ecourses

You Can Do This! The First Five Steps to a Real Food Kitchen by Laura @ Heavenly Homemakers ($5.00)

The fine print:

Bonus Offers

Each bonus offer can be redeemed once only per eBook Bundle purchase.
For each bonus offer, transaction numbers or proof of purchase may be required at the time of redemption.
All bonus offers are free gifts from the bonus sponsors, are their sole responsibility to provide, and are subject to availability.
All bonus offers expire at midnight on May 25th, 2013 (3 weeks from the last day of this sale).

General

It is your responsibility to download and back-up your purchase within the 1-month download time-frame. With proof of purchase, we can renew download links up until August 1st, 2013. After this date we will no longer have access to the books and will not be able to provide any new links to download.
Due to the nature of this sale, there will be no refunds available. However, we would invite you to read our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more about the file types, the download process, how the bonus offers work, etc.

Please note: This collection is only available from 9 a.m. EST on April 29th to 11:59 p.m. EST on May 4th. There will be no late sales offered, so make sure that you get your bundle right away!

Particularly for those wanting to read these ebooks on their mobile devices (iPhones or iPads, Android, Kindle, etc.) you will want to learn more about the file types, how to download them correctly, and how to transfer them to your device.

I will remind you about that sale next week, but I wanted to give you a heads up in case you want to think it over, come up with the money, etc.

One Simple Thing That Will Make a Big Difference in Your Day

Do you struggle with keeping things neat and tidy and home? I have always struggled in this area, ever since I was a little girl. I have learned a lot since I've been married, and I feel like I surely must have improved some. My house looks just as clean now with three small children as it did when I was first married. Surely that must be an improvement, right? (I'm not saying it looks perfect; it just hasn't gotten worse as I've added children!)

There is something I do every morning that takes 5 minutes or less, but makes an incredible difference in how my day goes.

When I do this, I get myself in gear right away to keep things tidy. I see a visual difference right away, and it helps me realize that things aren't as messy as they look.

Would you like to know what it is?

Making my bed.

I'm talking about first thing. If I allow room for the smallest excuse to wait, somehow it never gets done. Whether my bed is made or not sets the tone for the whole day.

If it doesn't get made, I feel like I'm behind on all the housework, and I spend the day frustrated.

When the bed is made (and clothes put away if they weren't the night before), I have a peaceful sanctuary where I can go if I'm feeling the stress of the day.

I'm going to show you the view from the rocking chair in my room.

When you're stressed and need a minute to relax, would you rather look at this?

Or this?

That's what I thought.

Now, if you're not already in the habit of making your bed first thing every day, I challenge you to consciously work on that habit for a month. I can almost guarantee that you will automatically start working on the rest of your housework because it will put you right in gear! Then, if your day isn't going like you planned, you'll have a refreshing place where everything is tidy where you can go to think, pray, and regroup.

Don’t Miss This: 90% Off Healthy Living E-Books!

There's an awesome deal available that you'll want to get in on if you're interested in healthy living!

(My e-books are downloading as I type this! Can't wait to read them!)

This week only, April 17-23, you can purchase a bundle of 30 healthy living ebooks for $39.

These ebooks have a combined value of $479!

Here are a few that caught my eye:

DIY Natural Household Cleaners

Matt & Betsy Jabs of DIY Natural

Learn how to make all your own homemade cleaning products using simple, natural ingredients. These green cleaning recipes take the guesswork out of using essential oils so you can finally utilize their beneficial cleaning properties. Over 60 natural cleaning recipes for every room in your home!

Diet Recovery 2 (Completely Revised)

Matt Stone of 180 Degree Health

Can “eating healthy” make you sick? Diet Recovery 2 is the completely revised guide to breaking free from the empty hunt for the perfect diet and the counterproductive pursuit of losing weight. Learn how to ditch dieting, relax and “eat the food” — and balance your metabolism and get healthy.

Note: Have any of you heard of this guy? He says a lot of things that are completely opposite of what we're used to hearing about health. Is he crazy or is he right? I'm anxious to read this and see what I think!

Real Food For Real Life

Emily Benfit of Butter Believer

If you're feeling overwhelmed by all the “food rules” out there, you'll love this brand new book about eating healthy, without letting food take over your life. Real food is supposed to be simple! Get back to the basics and check perfectionism at the door, while learning the hows and whys of feeding yourself and your family healthy, whole nutritious foods.

Toxic Free: 70 Recipes for a
Toxic-free Home

Robin Konie of Thank Your Body

Many of the ingredients found in commercial cleaning and personal care products have been linked to health problems. From infertility to cancer, the toxic chemicals that threaten our health are some of the most common things we put directly on our skin! Are you ready to ditch the toxic garbage for good?

There are several book about living grain-free that of course caught my eye as well, but I need to quit or I'll end up listing every book they have!

There is so much here to learn, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal, so head over and check it out!

One final note: I'll be writing an entire post on this subject soon, but I want to make it clear that I do not believe we can control our own health by how perfectly we eat or how many toxins we remove from our homes. Sickness and disease is a result of the curse of sin on this world. While we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our bodies and take care of them the best we can, we can still get sick even if we do everything “right”. Good health is given by God, and he can take it away if he so desires. We must trust him with our lives and not be so prideful as to think we can control what happens to our health because we make “right” choices. Many of these ebooks may convey that type of an attitude, and I try to take the good information from them and leave the attitude behind. I hope you'll do the same.

28 Random Things About Me

In honor of my 28th birthday, I thought I would give you a list of 28 random things about me. I've seen others bloggers do something similar, and I always enjoy getting to know the person behind the blog a little better. I have written these in no particular order; I just wrote whatever I happened to think of at the moment.

My hubby and I

1. I am the youngest of 4 children, and the only girl in my family.

2. My favorite pastime is playing the piano; I started learning when I was 4 years old.

3. I once had a dog named named Buster whose favorite food was corn on the cob. (I told you these were random!)

4. I consider chocolate to be its own food group.

5. I am left-handed.

6. I am very, very, very un-artistic and uncoordinated. Successful crafts definitely have to posted to my blog because they are such a huge accomplishment.

7. My least favorite chore is cleaning the kitchen.

8. I can't stand the feel of cotton balls (think fingernails on chalkboard.)

9. My favorite food is chocolate.

10. I think coffee is disgusting.

11. During the warmer months, I usually wear a comfy top with a skirt and flip flops.

12. During the winter I wear my PJ's all day and don't go anywhere unless I have to.

13. I like jewelry, but I only wear it a couple times a year. I'm just that forgetful.

14. Have I mentioned yet that I love chocolate?

15. I'm typically a tough-it-out kind of girl when I have a headache. Medicine is a very last resort.

16. I choose practicality over beauty nearly every time.

17. I have owned (and worn regularly) several articles of clothing for over 15 years. I do not wear 15-year-old clothing in public; I only wear things in public that are 10 years old or newer! 🙂

18. I do not like to cook.

19. A lot of people think I'm snobby when they first meet me. They don't realize that I'm really just shy and don't know what to say when I don't know someone.

20. Once I get to know you, you'll probably wish I would quit talking so much!

21. I have three kids – ages 1, 3, and 5.

22. I'm in my first year of homeschooling my 5-year-old, and it's harder than I thought it would be.

23. I grew up near Atlanta, GA.

24. I currently live in North Carolina.

25. My husband and I both grew up in Christian homes. (What a blessing!)

26. Besides the piano, I have also learned to play clarinet and a tiny bit of violin, but they have both been in the closet since I graduated from college.

27. Blogging is my very favorite hobby, and hearing from my readers brings a huge smile to my face!

28. If you ever want to make my day, just bring me some chocolate.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me, and I hope you all have a great weekend with your families!

15 Minute Tasks for the Week

This week we'll work on disinfecting the living room.

Monday

Take down and wash curtains and other linens.

Tuesday

Clean the ceiling fan and knock down any cobwebs from the ceiling.

*Helpful tips for cleaning ceiling fans*

Use an old pillowcase to clean the fan blades. Just slip it over the blade, grip it tightly, and slide it back off of the blade. The dust will be contained inside the pillowcase instead of floating around in the air.
Clean the rest of the fan with a swiffer duster or a damp rag.
Keep a spray bottle of water handy, and spray the air around the fan as you dust. The mist will help the dust particles fall to the floor instead of floating around in your face and making you sneeze. (I tried this for the first time this week, and was amazed that I had no problems with sneezing, itchy eyes, sore throat, etc. like I almost always do when I’m around dust.)

Wednesday

Mist walls with a non-toxic disinfectant. Scrub any smudges, crayon drawings, etc. off with a rag.

Thursday

Move furniture out from the wall. Dust the baseboards and spray with disinfectant. Vacuum the entire floor, including underneath of the furniture. If you have a wood floor, sweep and spray the entire floor with disinfectant.

Friday

Spray all furniture with a non-toxic disinfectant and wipe down with a rag.

Saturday

Remove any items that do not belong there. Place them in the correct places in the house, throw away trash, and get rid of things you no longer use.

Be sure to subscribe to free email updates or follow me on Facebook or Pinterest if you’re interested in more cleaning and organizing inspiration!

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