a little tip: Stair Bucket

Okay..so, I have made no bones about the fact that I love LOVE my Car Bucket.

I have loved how my Car Bucket has helped me to keep my car clutter down and even non existent! I have been using mine since the original post, and I have to say it has helped me in huge ways to keep my out of the house stuff in order, as well as the in the house stuff out of the car when the trip is over.

I have instituted another "bucket" in my life that I wanted to share ...as I shared with you in my post about my Steedly entryway, I have stairs separating the living part of the house and the bedrooms. My laundry room is downstairs, which means there is alot of lugging up and down those stairs on a daily basis.

There is also a ton of clutter on the stairs ALL the time. This is my unimpressive attempt at reminding myself to lug things up or down the stairs "next time" I am going the direction the stuff belongs.  Usually, I walk right over it because it is too many things to grab and I will just get it next time. 

Since my CB worked so well, I have been working on instituting my "Stair Bucket"  ..which is a cute basket that sits either at the top, or the bottom of the stairs that works the same way I use the CB. I put everything in there that needs to go up the stairs, or down them..the key to making it happen is that instead of it being set all over the stairs, it is ordered into one container that I can grab on my way up/downstairs

Also, like my CB, it has to be emptied when I get to where I am going, but it seems like that hasnt been too much of a problem because I am not letting it get to be a ton of stuff before taking care of it.

I have to admit that since starting school a three weeks ago, clutter has become a HUGE issue around here! I dont have as many productive moments to declutter, so any time I can cut the clutter down on my way to do other things is a huge bonus!

So, what do you think? Are their other areas of your house that you can use a "bucket"? 

Do you have stairs, and use a different method of keeping them clear of clutter?

I would love to hear if this idea works for you..it does work for me!

On Your Mark ...

I worked a shift at the ICU this past weekend ...that means some disarray this morning!

I am in disaster relief mode, which is not good since we started week #3 of Steedly School this morning. We are lagging behind, supposed to be starting in about 10 minutes ..its not gonna happen.

But, I am determining this minute that my use of time resource to get my head together is WORTHY use of those resources! We will start school late, which will make us have to do school a bit after lunch. I will have to postpone my shower til later, and my cup of coffee will not be a leisurely one this day! I will be overwhelmed with laundry for a bit this morning, but it will be better by this afternoon ..

Ultimately, I will feel better because I took the time now to get those things done that will help all the rest of it run smoother.

Do you have those things that need to be done in order for your head to be fully engaged on the most important things in your day?

* is the the dishes done?
* is it your face washed, or your shower taken?
* that cup of coffee, or two?
* your bible reading done? prayer time in?

I have found that sometimes it is worthy of my effort to do what needs to be done to clear my head.

Its not stress, exactly. I dont feel stressed right now, but I can tell that if I dont get a couple of things taken care of before embarking on our day, that I will feel stressed later. I will be irritable if our school table is cluttered, we cant find lunch dishes because the dishwasher hasnt ran, we have to stop school to clean the school room floor enough to play our learning games ...yeah.

So, I need to go do some dishes, start a load of laundry, clean off the school table, straighten the school room and get our home more STRESS LESS!

What can you do right this minute to clear your head?!

Not sure?  ..dont forget to use your Stress List to help you figure it out. Assign some Stress Strategies and get you a great day ready for you! :)

And, most importantly ..dont forget to get your day to God and let Him give your peace in your spirit as you put your hands to the things that are the most important for the tasks He has given you!

Our Steedly House: Bedrooms

This week for the 4 Moms Open House tour, we are in the bedrooms!  ..I will confess that these pics are from a post I put on our family blog aobut 6 months ago, after I had finished all the painting and while things were still dust free and somewhat ordered :) ...right this minute, not so much.

First, the boys room ..these are more snapshots of the decorations we have in there. They boys are in bunk beds and, other than the dresser the rest is just open space for them to play. Their boys are in bins under their bed, when they are not scattered all over the floor! :)

Above our little monkeys beds ...

We havent added Joshua's name yet, but we will when it is time for him to move in with his brothers.

Then, the master bedroom ..again, more just snapshots of the room. ...

We have a vanity that opens into our bedroom, which I love...almost as much as I love how I have my OWN sink :)

We have a guest room as well, which is doubling as Joshua's room while he is between mommy's room and brothers' room. Hopefully, we wont traumatize him by not giving him his own nursery ..I dont plan on telling him :)  ..that picture though is not gonna happen, as I dont want the mess that in there on any type of recording device that can be referred to in the future :)  I think that the 4 moms are doing a second part for bedrooms next week, so maybe I will feel motivated to do that :)

So ...that is the Steedly House so far..feel free to go back and visit the entryway, dining room/kitchen, living room and schoolroom. And thanks to the 4 Moms for hosting the open house! :)

Peace is Good

I posted this last summer, as part of a 12 week bible class study I did with my girlfriends at church ...this lesson was one of my favorites and I have been pondering many of its promises ...I have done some editing to include a couple different posts.

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Peace is something that everyone wants, and those in Christ are promised to have in abundance. Through the Spirit we are able to fill the hole in our spirits that desires peace more than anything. We have peace at our disposal through the God we serve, and the Son who died for us.

Peace is mentioned 247 times in scripture. Of the gifts of the Holy Spirit it is mentioned second only to love. It is referred to in all but one of the books of the New Testament, and all of the letters of Paul. It is an ongoing theme throughout the entire Word of God, mentioned in all but 14 of the 66 books of the Bible. God and Jesus are referred to as the God of Peace, and the Prince of Peace.

One way to learn about peace, is to learn what it is not ...

• Peace is not pretending that everything is "fine" ...because things dont have to be "fine" to be at peace.
  
• Peace is not something we can achieve on our own ..its a gift of the Holy Spirit. Its a result of having Christ in our heart, not what we do or dont do
• Peace is not "having it all together" ..because you can be at peace even when things around you are going crazy

Peace is...a reflection of God's character in us. "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through." I Thess 5:23

Peace is ...the message we speak to those around us. "You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” Acts 10:36

Peace is...the result of our eternal perspective. "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

Peace is ...what happens when we allow our minds to be of Christ and the Spirit. "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:6

Peace is ...the way of the righteous. "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” Isaiah 32:17

Peace is... a blessing from God. Psalms 29:11 ..."The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace."

Peace is ...a beautiful prayer for another believer. "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" Hebrews 13:20

Peace is ...to give all our oppressive thoughts and emotions to him.”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6

Peace is ...God's desire for His church. …”If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18

When we are full of anxiety, fret and stress we prevent this wonderful experience from filling us to its full potential. Not that its not available to us, but when we are using up our senses with those light and momentary things, they arent available to be filled with the calm that comes from our experiencing Christ, the Prince of Peace in us.
Calm, rest, safe, trust ...peace.

Welcome, Ifellowshippers ..I am so glad you are here ..have a very blessed day!

a little tip: Showing off Kids Art

Having little ones in school now, we have some serious art work and such things that are most worthy of displaying in our house!

Part of our schoolroom is our "TA DA!" wall ..where we have several ways that we celebrate their paper accomplishments: 

* The Art Frame - a frame I stole from my sisters garage. I took some cork board sheeting and some spray adhesive. I needed several more layers than I actually put on there in order to use push pins. I didnt figure this out until after I had put the frame back together, so we tape everything to it for now.

* The Wire Line - the wire curtain rod, is from Ikea for $15, the clips are $10 for way more clips than you will ever use :) We keep ours up high because our little men like to try to hang their own art work, which doesnt work so much :)

* Clipboards - the clipboards are just boring old $1.50 clipboards from the office supply store. They have little metal loops on the back that allow them to hang on the wall.  We keep them nice and boring, BUT ..if I had girls I would tie cute ribbons to the clip part. AND, if I had several little artists I would add a name tag for each kid too.

We have these in their bedroom also ...they can change the art out so their current favorites are displayed per their choice :)

Right now, we also have our art prints for current art lessons on the wire line and our Steedly Schedule posted on a clipboard.

This allows for several ways to show off our little man's talents ...it works for us!  ....WFMW'ers, remember to refresh the site for the most current posts! ..thanks for being here!