Organize your day with tips from Emilie Barnes!
101 Ways to Clean Out the Clutter
The Five-Minute Miracle
If you’re going to have time for the important things, then you need to have the five-minute principle well in place in your thinking. It means not letting those five-minute segments slip away just because you think they aren’t long enough to get anything important done.
Remember that most small chores can be accomplished in bits and pieces of time. In just five minutes, you can make an appointment, file your nails, water houseplants, make out a party guest list, order tickets for a ball game, or sew a button on.
If you have ten minutes, you can write a short letter or note, pick out a birthday card, repot a plant, straighten your desktop, or exercise.
You get the idea-do small chores that occupy little time.
But don’t overdo it. Leave some slack in your day for God’s little surprises. Who knows, maybe today the Lord will give you the opportunity to have a small talk with a neighbor, to enjoy a few minutes with a child over cookies and milk, or to make a quick visit to drop off a bouquet of flowers.
Let your life be full of five-minute miracles.
Simple Pleasures
Try putting a bunch of flowers in your refrigerator. Beautiful!
Purchase several birthday cards all at once so that you will be ready throughout the year!
Expressions of Love
As a child bride of 17, I began my decorating journey with almost nothing. In those days I was trying to create a beautiful home on no budget at all!
My husband, Bob, and I spray painted an old wrought-iron garden table for our kitchen. We rooted around behind charity shops for interesting discards, and we even moved our little plants from room to room, just for some variety.
Without knowing it, we were learning a lot about what we love, and how we can share ourselves by sharing our home.
We also fell more in love with each other as we spent time creating our home.
It wasn’t always easy, though. Sometimes we had to work a bit to marry Bob’s tastes with mine, but we kept working at it, and it’s been well worth it!
Even today, our home is an ongoing creation-an expression of our love.
You don’t know what the future may hold, so practice the art of contentment. What we have right now is this one day.
May God give us a peace of mind that lets us rest-right where He’s placed us!
Simple Pleasures
Embark on a spontaneous midnight walk and do some stargazing.
Take advantage of sales to add to your candle supply
Wake your spouse early and enjoy a moment of prayer together.
Talking about Storage
Today, let’s talk about storage! It’s an important word in organizing.
Storing things around the house is a real headache, so let’s get started.
A garage-sale wine rack or a wire bike basket attached to the wall are perfect for towels! You know the baskets you’ve been saving? Hang them on a wall for your napkins or table linens. An old set of drawers is great for holding videotapes or CDs.
Pick up an unfinished toy box and paint it in adult colors. It doubles as a lamp table and lots of storage!
I love to use cardboard boxes for everything and anything! Use spray adhesive to cover a cardboard box with fabric; add some trim and use it in any room of your house.
And while you’re busy around the house, tack up a few notecards with verses on them and do a little storing of God’s Word!
Simple Pleasures
Clip articles from magazines and create a reading file.
A pretty apron can make your evening chores a little more inviting.
The Sweet Savor
Why bother with any of those around-the-house tips?
Here’s why: Organization and efficiency can give us more time to pursue the things that really matter.
Try some of these ideas over the next few days. They really work!
Do you seem to never have enough lemon juice when you need it? Squeeze the juice of fresh lemons into ice cube trays. Then just defrost them and use them when you’re ready. It’s wonderful having fresh lemon juice at your fingertips!
Do you spend precious minutes scrubbing pots and pans with burned-on food? Drop one or two fabric-softener sheets into the water. Let it stand for an hour or so and the food will lift right off.
Keep your kitchen smelling fresh and sweet by washing your sink with a strong salt solution or even with laundry bleach.
Creating a home filled with order and cleanliness communicates a heart that is ordered and pure.
Take a moment today to make your home more simply organized and see how the sweet savor blesses those around you.
Simple Pleasures
Puttering is acceptable. Enjoy your home, and don’t always be on task.
A cup of hot broth is a comforting beverage this time of year.
Frame a card from a loved one-let it be a “grace note” in your home.
Men! Fathers! Listen up! Excellent Sermon!
“Being humble means recognizing everything good and beautiful in my life (my qualities, the good I can do, and so on), as a gift from God. There is more to life than negative things; sometimes we are happy with ourselves, with what we experience and have been able to achieve, and this is justifiable, provided we recognize God as the ultimate source of all those good things.” – Fr. Jacques Philippe, The Way of Trust and Love, Beautiful Book: http://amzn.to/2minNMv Painting by John William Waterhouse 1908 (afflink)
Beautiful Kanzashi Ribbon Flowers! Intricate and Classy Hand-Crafted Kanzashi Accessory Flower.. Hair, Scarf, Shirt etc…. These fetching ribbon flowers are a perfect accent to any special outfit and provides a sweet final touch! I like to wear these flowers in my hair, but they can be worn many ways! Available here.
Filled with inspiration, encouragement, and tried-and-true tips, this book is a must-have for every woman!
The good news is that a beautiful home doesn’t require too much money, too much energy, or too much time. Bestselling author and home-management expert Emilie Barnes shows readers how they can easily weave beauty and happiness into the fabric of their daily lives. With just a touch of inspiration, readers can
- turn their homes into havens of welcome and blessing
- build a lifestyle that beautifully reflects their unique personalities
- enrich their spirits with growing things (even if their thumbs are several shades shy of green)
- make mealtimes feasts of thanksgiving and kitchen duty fun
- establish traditions of celebration that allow joy to filter through to everyday life
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
Flowers, pretty flowers! Spring is coming… Almost. Good read, thank you!