Homeschool Classroom Tour...

My friend Gretchen has a wonderful homeschool classroom!!  She is GREAT with organization and she offers some great tips.  Thank you, Gretchen!

A Fun Giveaway!

 A new website called Your Home. Well Done. has some GREAT ideas to encourage the homemaker AND the homeschooling mom!  Gretchen, the owner of Your Home. Well Done. says,

"Do you find yourself getting overwhelmed by the how’s? How will I find the time to get all my tasks accomplished? How do I manage my family’s schedule? How do I home educate my children when I don’t even remember grammar rules, the presidents, who did what when, etc? How do I sneak some “me time” in when I can’t even catch my breath?!

Do you find yourself wanting help but don’t even know where to start? Are you ready to roll up your sleeves, take action, and see lasting results? You are not alone. Let’s do this!"

And guess what?  Gretchen is having a giveaway to celebrate!!!  Here's how to enter!!

Your Home. Well Done. is celebrating "Back to School" week. This week on my website I will be posting activities, projects, tour of our school room, and will be having a prize giveaway! It is for a year subscription to FamilyFun Magazine. The deadline is Tuesday, August 16th EST 12:00 and the winner will be announced on Wed. August 17th. In order to participate in the drawing become a fan on my Facebook page- Your Home. Well Done. If they don't have a Facebook account then they can email me their name at yourhomewelldone@gmail.com

Be sure and visit Your Home. Well Done. on Facebook and enter to win!!!

Cleaning tips from all of you...

 On this post, I asked for cleaning tips and WOW did I get some great ones!!  Listed below are all the tips that y'all shared.  Thank you so much, ladies, for sharing all of these!!  I know many of us will benefit greatly from them!!

-Oh boy, cleaning tips...keep it natural (store bought or homemade cleaners) and I love baking soda and vinegar! They have so many uses. Oh, and I like to put half lemons in the garbage disposer to freshen up about once a week :-)

-My tip is to make a cleaning check list for my non-readers. I took pictures of the things that needed cleaning and then used the pictures to make a check list for the room they were responsible for.

-I really love Barkeeper's Friend for stubborn countertop stains and for cleaning the sink and stove.

-Cleaning tips? Get rid of what isn't used and declutter every nook and cranny every 6 months. and those wet / dry covered swiffer heads work great to pick up dog hair that sweeping leaves behind.

-As far as a cleaning tip, one thing I found is that while you are waiting for something, talking on the phone, watching the kids in the tub, do cleaning the in room you are in. If you are on the phone, cleaning goes by fast and it is amazing how nice it looks and you got a visit with a friend. While the kids are in the tub, shine the sink, wash the toilet (crack the window if you are worried about fumes) and sweep the floor, wiping around the toilet too. Give the kids a wash rag and some baking soda and have them clean the tub. The baking soda won't hurt them and it will get the tub cleaner!

-I think one of my best cleaning tips is getting the children involved! When they help so much more can be done! And with things like Norwex microfiber cloths being available they can do so much more to help!

-Tip: Train your young ones to help, and when they get older, they can take over most of the cleaning/laundry/yardwork

-Hmm, a cleaning tip from me is one I've often gone back to that I learned from Fly Lady: Do something everyday. Start with the kitchen sink. Even when it seems overwhelming, just keeping ONE thing sparkly (the kitchen sink) and it will spur you on.

-My one cleaning tip: wipe something up or off EVERY time you are in the bathroom. If you are drinking enough water you will be in there lots. This really does KEEP the bathroom clean!!

-Tip: I clean the bathroom while my girls are in the tub. I can be right there and keep an eye on them, but get some cleaning done. I use Trader Joe's multi-purpose cleaner so no worries about fumes.

  I also have my 3 & 4 year olds help with the laundry. They fold the towels and their clothes and are getting really good at it. They also sort the laundry for me. We make a game of it and they LOVE laundry time. You would think I was giving them a huge reward.

  OxiClean is wonderful for getting stains out of the carpet and I put a half of scoop in with each load of laundry (placed in the tub with the clothes) and it keeps the whites so white and pretty and they come out so fresh and clean smelling.

-Cleaning tip: Using a couple of drops of liquid dishwasher soap and a scotchbrite pad makes stainless steel sinks sparkle and removes stains. Just be sure to rinse it well.

-I'm not sure this is the best cleaning tip...but we like clean kitchen floors. When we have company coming, of course we scrub and clean. After everyone leaves (usually it's a large family) I feel the floor is dirtier than it was before they came! So my option is to just spot clean any major dirt quickly before the company visit and do a good scrub after they leave! Like I said...maybe not the best cleaning tip, but it works for us. :)

-White Vinegar and Baking Soda make a wonderful cleaning paste!
We even washed our clear vinyl shower curtain in this - came out looking like new!

-My cleaning tip is: to make a chart and list things to do daily in blue and then have one or two weekly chores added as well in red.

-My cleaning tip would be to establish a schedule to maintain cleanliness and prevent you from having to pull out the super harsh chemical products.

-One of my favourite cleaning tips is to spread the cleaning tasks and laundry over the week instead of doing a whole house clean or all the laundry once a week. I prefer this to the giant clean-a-thons.

-Cleaning tip: we are in the process of selling and relocating and so in order to put our house on the market and keep it clean, I had to declutter, declutter and declutter some more. :-) Now that I've gone through things to prepare for my move, I realized how much stuff I didn't really need. I think setting aside time to declutter (even if your not moving) can really motivate you and encourage you to do the next thing on your list.

And the winner is....

 

Congratulations, Deb!!  You are the winner!!  I will contact you and get your email information.

And by the way, if y'all have never been to Deb's blog before, please stop by!!  She is talented, loves the Lord and seems so warm and friendly!
 

Do YOU like to have a clean home? A GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you read 31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae? Were you wanting more challenges?? If so, you are in luck!!
 
Jennifer Ross of Renewing Housewives has written a follow up entitled Encouraging Challenges- The Month After 31 Days to Clean. Jennifer said she enjoyed Sarah Mae's ebook so much that she wanted MORE!! So Sarah Mae encouraged Jennifer to write the follow up. And she did just that!!

Even if you did not read 31 Days to Clean, Jennifer's ebook, Encouraging Challenges, is STILL a must have!  SO many inspiring words and helpful hints! 

Encouraging Challenges is chock full of more encouragement and more cleaning challenges for you!! And the great thing is, I get to host a giveaway!!!


Here's how to enter....


1)Be sure and leave a comment below and I'll enter you in the drawing for this FABULOUS ebook!!


2)Share a cleaning tip that's been helpful for you and I'll enter your name twice!!!


3) Go visit Jennifer's blog to see all the wonderful ideas she has to spur us homemakers on in our roles!!  Be sure and let me know that you have visited her!!


BUT WAIT!!! IT GETS EVEN BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jennifer's husband, Jason Ross, also has a new ebook out. It's entitled Nurturing a Godly Wife. Jason has included tips and analogies to help our husbands understand us wives a little better. Always a WONDERFUL thing!!  And you can win THIS, too!!

Don't forget to enter! And be sure and tell your friends!! Both of these ebooks are certain to encourage and grow you and your family!  And even if your name isn't drawn, you can still purchase both of these ebooks through the links I've provided- Encouraging Challenges and Nurturing a Godly Wife.

The deadline to enter will be 12:00 midnight EST this Thursday, August  4th, EST.  I will announce the winner on Fruiday, August 5th.