This is the first post in a three post series all about what I’m calling “Ditch and Switch”. What exactly IS ditch and switch? Several years ago, my family and I became very aware of the harmful and toxic chemicals in so many of the products we were buying in the store. We learned about this firsthand because of the struggle we faced with my son, Eli, and his very sensitive skin. Very slowly, over the last few years, we have begun to gradually replace the toxic products in our home with cleaner, healthier options. And just so this whole idea of “Ditch and Switch” is not too overwhelming, I’m breaking it up into three parts: Bathroom, Laundry, and Kitchen.
Ditch and Switch: Laundry and Cleaning Edition
Slowly in our home, we have replaced things that are harmful or contain harmful or toxic chemicals. Over time, we’ve been able to do better! We don’t believe it has to be all or nothing. We believe gradual change is the kind that sticks! When you jump in and try to do something 100% whole hog – it’s too much!
Today, I want to focus on ditching and switching in the laundry room and cleaning closet.
[Read more…]Church Busy Bags
You may have heard me talk before about the busy bags we take to church. Each and every Saturday night, I fill our busy bag with all kinds of goodies to keep the kids occupied during church. I have a box full of crayons, markers, coloring books, sticker books, activity books, different small crafts and activities that I store in our basement and can choose fun things from.
Since I get asked all the time what’s inside those church busy bags (specifically), I did a quick video on Facebook showing a sneak peek. But I also wanted to share over here since some of you prefer to read instead of watch a video. So…what’s in the busy bags?
Memory-Making Mom: Book Review
I know famous people, y’all. Jessica Smartt is my friend, a fellow blogger, and now, she’s a published author too. She wrote a real live BOOK! So now I am basically friends with a famous celebrity. Well, I mean, not exactly a celebrity, but it’s still kind of a big deal, right?
Her book is called Memory-Making Mom: Building Traditions That Breathe Life Into Your Home.
Before you start going down a bad path…this book is not going to make you feel like a failure as mom. Nope! I’m not about mom guilt and neither is Jessica! Can I tell you something?
I really struggle at the mom thing most days.
[Read more…]What We Learned from KonMari
If you are a new follower of the blog, you might be wondering…what is KonMari? KonMari is another name for decluttering and it is actually not really a new thing. It originally became a trend when Marie Kondo published her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up in 2014. The idea of the KonMari style of decluttering has just resurfaced lately thanks mostly to the new TV show on Netflix. But Barry and I started our journey with KonMari over 4 years ago and we owe a lot of thanks to Marie Kondo and her book.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up really did change our lives. Let’s get into how.
Our Journey Buying a Foreclosure and Remodeling
If you’ve been following along for a while you’ve probably heard about our debt-free journey before, but you may not be familiar with our journey with buying a foreclosure and remodeling it. We haven’t always lived where we do now. Barry and I bought our first home about 15 years ago. It was a townhouse that we bought before construction had even begun! It took about 1,100 years for them to build it (not really, but it seemed like it took FOREVER). While we were waiting for it to be built, we lived in the apartment that Barry’s parents had at their home.
We lived in our townhouse for 8 years, and completely paid it off in after 7 years. That’s when we became debt free! We decided that we didn’t want to get another home mortgage loan EVER.
Easy Meals for Busy Seasons
We are in a very busy season of our life right now. We’re sometimes tired – and constantly have a lot going on. But the things that are keeping us busy are ALL good things! Being busy is not something that we don’t want to do. This is the good kind of busy. Hence the inspiration for this post on easy meals for busy seasons.
It’s really easy, when you’re busy, to compromise on food.
[Read more…]Our Top Ten Family Devotionals
As a family, we do Bible time together. We always have a time that our family comes together to do our family Bible reading and prayer time. Annie is 9, so she does have her own Bible time as do Barry and I. We alternate through the list below and have so many favorites. A good devotional book really can make a big difference for Family Bible Time! So here are ten of our favorites, plus a couple bonus books for moms.
How I Afford Essential Oils and Supplements
One of the questions I get asked the most often from readers who know I use essential oils and supplements is…
How in the world do you afford all those essential oils and supplements?
Lots of you have expressed interest, but are worried that there is no room in your budget for these pricey essential oils and supplements! We prioritize our health and wellness and are able order $300 or so worth of oils, supplements, etc. each month. How do we do this?? Here are four ways I can afford my essential oils and supplements.
Church and Extracurricular Activities with Small Kids
I’ve gotten asked before, Stacy, “How do you approach church involvement and extracurricular activities?” My take on this might be different than yours – but that’s okay! We can have different opinions and still be friends.
Before we had kids, Barry and I were very active in church.
We were at our church multiple days a week – I was volunteering and headed up one of the kitchens. I was very, very involved and so was Barry – because we had tons of time. But after kids, even thought we still wanted to be involved, it became much more difficult. Kids needing naps – trying to tote things around and contribute with our hands full most of the time – it was harder than we expected it to be!
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