One Easy Way to Strengthen Your Marriage (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)

Last week I talked about how you can strengthen your marriage by showing your husband that you love him.  It's important to keep the spark of romance alive in your marriage, even (especially!) when life is crazy busy.

One simple way to do that is to flirt with your husband.

Bringing up inside jokes, playing footsie under the table, flicking water at him as you're washing dishes — these are all subtle little ways to say “I love you; you're my best friend; and I enjoy being with you!”

We are a very frugal family, never (or hardly ever!) spending money unnecessarily and considering each purchase very carefully.  Because of that, I don't have a smartphone. (Yes, I confess.  My Instagram photos aren't always “instant”.  I wait until my husband comes home with his smartphone from work.)  For the longest time I did not have unlimited texting on my phone either.  Finally, after much consideration, we decided to pay a little extra each month for unlimited texts on my phone. That was mainly because we hadn't yet caught up to the rest of the world technologically and it was frustrating for people who's primary mode of communication was texting not to be able to text me.

But the unlimited texting came with an unexpected perk.

Now I've got all day access to my husband, and I can “spend time” with him much more often than I used to!

Whereas before I couldn't exactly call him at work, I can send him texts to let him know I'm thinking about him.  And let me tell you, the inside jokes and the flirting roll back and forth all day long!  To be honest, that new phone plan has strengthened our marriage due to our being able to connect with each other more often.

Today's Challenge: Flirt with your husband.  Maybe you'll want to send him a text or write him a love note.  Maybe you'll choose something else.  But do something!

Instagram challenge: Ya'll.  Please.  Let's keep this one private.  😉

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

Relishing the Ordinary (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)

It was an ordinary evening.  Nothing special was going on.  The kids were running around the back yard just being themselves.

The baby was playing with a ball.

E. was playing on the swingset with his green rainboots that he wears all day, every day.

K. was playing with her babies and snacking on a carrot stick.

And J. was practicing his soccer skills,

observing a caterpillar,

and taking his energy out on a tree with a stick, seemingly all at the same time.

I stopped to take it all in, and I realized I was having the time of my life!

It wasn’t a special holiday.  Everything that was going on was very ordinary, but I was enjoying myself immensely!

I could have this much joy every day if I would only choose to.

I don’t need to wait for something special to happen to enjoy  life.  I can choose to enjoy every moment.

When I’m cooking an “ordinary” supper, I can stop and thank the Lord that I have food to prepare for my family and a stove on which to prepare it.

When I’m doing an “ordinary” dishwasher unloading, I can be thankful I have the luxury of owning a dishwasher.

When I’m changing an “ordinary” diaper I can be thankful for these little ones God has entrusted to me.

If I stop and think about the blessings God has given me, the ordinary things seem so much more special.

Just since that evening a few days ago, I have tried to stop and think throughout the day about God’s blessings and to make a conscious choice to enjoy what He has given me – not just on the special days.

What will you enjoy today, my friend?  The smell of dinner cooking on the stove?  The sound of good music on the radio?  The love of your family on this ordinary day?  The pretty things God has given you to decorate your home?

Stop.  Look.  Listen.  Enjoy.

Everything we have is a gift from God.  He loves us, and has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).

So let’s enjoy what He’s given.

Today's Challenge: Take some time to observe what's going on around you and just enjoy your life!

 

 

Sometimes we get so busy trying to get everything done that life just passes us by without our even noticing.

Instagram Challenge: Snap a picture of an ordinary moment that you enjoyed today.  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community.  (Follow me here.)

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

Try Something New (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)

We all do it — we clip recipes from magazines or pin them on Pinterest and then let them just sit there collecting dust.

We see something that looks good and think “I should try that,” but we just never “get around to it.”

Well now is the time to get around to it!

You may find a new family favorite!

Today's Challenge: Make a new recipe.

If you don't have the ingredients on hand, add them to your shopping list right now so you don't forget.

Instagram challenge: Post a picture of something new that you made or of the recipe you're planning to try once you buy the ingredients.  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

Royal Berkey Giveaway!

My guess is that you are blessed with access to clean running water. We don't really worry about getting parasites or other waterborne diseases when we turn on our tap.

But while we are blessed with clean water coming through indoor plumbing, are you aware of some of the environmental contaminants that are frequently found in that water? Traces of heavy metals like mercury and aluminum, pesticide residues, and volatile organic compounds can be found in our drinking water!

This is why the bloggers of Positively Real Media are so excited to be teaming up to bring to you a Royal Berkey 3.25 Gallon Stainless Steel Water Purifier giveaway sponsored by United Environmental Solutions!

About The Berkey

Berkey water purifiers are truly unique water purifying systems. According to UES, they are able to remove red food coloring from water while still allowing beneficial minerals to remain!

As free-standing units that put the power of gravity to use, the Berkey systems don't use any electricity. This makes them excellent systems to have on hand while camping or during power outages.

Our family personally uses and loves the Berkey filter.  You can read about our experience and find out why we like it so much here.

While whole house filtration systems can be fantastic solutions to the problem of residual water contamination, they are simply out of the budget for most families. However, a Berkey system is a fraction of the cost and can filter 4 gallons of water per hour, making it a great fit for families!

If you want to ensure that your family's drinking and cooking water is as clean and pure as it can be, a Berkey may be just what you need!

Win A 3.25 Gallon Royal Berkey!

The bloggers of Positively Real Media, a network of naturally-minded Christian bloggers, are thrilled to be able to offer one of our readers a 3.25 Gallon Royal Berkey Stainless Steel Water Purifier, valued at $300! Many thanks to United Environmental Solutions for providing this fantastic prize to one blessed reader.

Just use the Rafflecopter form below to get your entries in!

Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to the USA only. This exact same giveaway form is displayed on several other blogs in the Positively Real Media Network. If you follow any of these other blogs, you don’t need to enter the giveaway again on their blogs. In fact, you’ll only be able to enter once.

You will be rewarded with extra entries for liking my blog’s Facebook page. Liking my page, or any of the other blog’s pages, is not mandatory for the giveaway, but it will increase your odds of winning. Feel free to like the pages that resonate with you and skip the rest. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open to USA only and ends on October 24, 2014. The winner will be notified by email. This giveaway was organized by Positively Real Media and sponsored by united Environmental Solutions. I was not compensated for this post, but this post does contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Imperfect Homemaker!

Throw it Away (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)

Is your clutter closing in on you?

I feel like I am constantly decluttering, but things just seem to breed themselves overnight!

I know I have strange ideas about homemaking that I am working hard to overcome.  Things like “I can't do any deep cleaning until all the ‘regular' cleaning is done.”

Sometimes I also forget that it's not a rule that I can't declutter unless everything else is clean.

You know what's even more crazy?  Sometimes I become blind to things that are absolute trash!

My house is constantly strewn with little bitty papers that my kids were using to make play money or art projects, or who-knows-what.  It all looks like trash even though it's special treasure to them.  So when a piece of real trash is lying around, sometimes I don't even notice it.

Wouldn't it be better to teach your kids not to leave their papers strewn around in the first place?

Yes. Yes it would.  But they are still little, and still learning.  Kids need lots of repetition.

Today's Challenge: Find 10 things to throw away.

Just by throwing away 10 things, your house will feel lighter and more manageable.

Instagram challenge: Post a picture of what you found to throw away.  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

Shop Ahead and Save (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)

One easy way to cut a lot of expense is to shop ahead for gifts.  I'm on the lookout all year for clearance items for those that I know will need Christmas and birthday gifts.  I also pick up other nice toys when I find them marked way down so that when we get a birthday invitation from some procrastinating person who invites us the day before I don't have to spend gas, time, and stress running to the store to to buy a full-priced present.

The imperfect homemaking way to handle all that is just to do it — see something cheap, buy it, stick it in the gift tub, and forget about it until you need to shop from your tub.

The not-so-imperfect homemaker way to do it is to actually write down what you got for who so that you don't buy the same person two gifts and end up actually spending more.

You can print the one pictured right here.

We imperfect homemakers don't always do the greatest job of planning ahead.  But it doesn't have to be hard.  You don't even have to keep track on the printable.  Next time you see something on clearance for an amazing price, think “To whom could I give that?”  If you can't think of anyone, don't buy it just because it's cheap.  If you can think of someone, buy it and stick it in your gift tub and you just saved yourself some money and a trip to the store when the next birthday rolls around.

It's easy!

Today's challenge: Get in the habit of taking a quick peek through the clearance racks every time you walk past them at the store.

Don't buy things just because they're cheap, buy them when you know who the recipient will be.

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.