commentary in a box

For the longest time, I was completely baffled about how to manage the growing pile of sermon notes I accumulated each Sunday at church.  These 1/2 sheets of paper, full of great biblical wisdom from our pastor, stayed in my bible until I cleaned it out, made their way into various piles around our house, fell out in the car, slipped into drawers, but they were never where I wanted them to be when I wanted to reference them.

Enter a new system which I have dubbed Commentary in a Box:

Bible commentaries can be expensive, especially when wanting a complete set.  If we are in church about 52 Sundays a year, those are basically free commentaries from our pastor!

Our pastor creates fill-in-the-blank notes for us each Sunday that are in our bulletin, so they have very practical information, but are not very practical for putting in a notebook to keep (unless you have a good idea to share with me).  I wanted an easy way to house my sermon notes, including lots that I took when we attended chapel three days a week in seminary.

Just a plain (brown because I love brown) photo box was the answer for me.  It just took a little time to round up my notes from piles around the house and then put them in order according to the Bible.  Now, when I'm studying a specific section in Scripture, I have this extra commentary easily accessible.  This works especially well because our pastor preaches mostly topigetically (somewhere between topically and exegetically for those who care).  I found this fun to say made-up word here!

(Here are the first few in my box!)

Sermon notes could also be kept topically, though that might be a little more work to organize.  Or they could possibly be ordered chronologically, especially if you write the date in your bible when your pastor preaches on a specific passage, like I have seen some people do.

I just wanted to share what I have found to work after years of keeping sermon notes but never fully utilizing them as an ongoing resource.  Do you have any differently sermon note systems that have worked for you?

Daily Magnets

Thanks for stopping by for the first day of K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Sister!  Check out the details below if you would like to join in on sharing your ideas for keeping things simple.

Today, we are focusing on keeping it simple in the home.

One of the things that helps me to keep things simple in my home is organizing tasks into daily, weekly, and monthly duties.  For so long I would keep this in a folder or on my computer to help keep me stay on track, but I found that I wouldn't look there to see what I wanted to get done each day, and tasks just went undone.

That's when I decided to keep the cleaning and organization of our home on track by making my own daily magnets to remind me. Basically, if I don't have a plan, cleaning just doesn't get done.  So here is my plan: I have 5 magnets that include tasks that I want to get done on Monday through Friday of each week.  The top portion of the magnet includes items that I want to be intentional about doing at least weekly and the bottom portion includes tasks that can be done on a monthly basis.

I made the lists into a decorative picture in Photoshop and then inserted them into magnetic photo holders that I found on the picture frame aisle in Wal-Mart.  Not too much time or money! 

I realize it may be too over-the-top and not simplified for some of you, but maybe, just maybe this will seem simple to someone.  To me, it's simple because it includes reminders like cleaning out my e-mail inbox once a month, organizing my photos, and cleaning out my refrigerator.  Doing these tasks "when the magnet says to" helps me to stay on top of the organizing and cleaning that I might not recognize until it gets so out of hand that it is overwhelming.

Take for instance, the pantry.  If I clean it out well just once a month (when the magnet says to), then I am able to better see what items I have on hand and be sure to use items that may be close to expiring.  And to me, that makes things in my home a little more simple.

The main thing is just doing it! When I complete the weekly and monthly tasks according to my magnetic schedule, then my home is so much more manageable and tasks are simpler.

What ideas do you have for keeping it simple in your home?

If you blog about a simple idea for your home, then feel free to link up your post below.  If you aren't a blogger, then leave a comment about a favorite simple idea in your home.  

And Keep It Simple, Sister!

Have extra time on your hands?

(Ha Ha!) ...I have fallen in LOVE with this blog.  And if you are looking for great things to do with your kids, then you just may fall in love too!

Also, I just found this blog that I think is going to be GREAT as well!

...They both cater to my non-existent creative side that wants to have cool things to do with Elijah!

and here is another...I've got to stop looking!

i heart cvs!

I haven't told many people, but I have definitely become the "Zippered-Folder-with-a-Ton-of-Coupons-Grocery-Shopping-Lady."  Yikes!  It's not that I'm ashamed of what I've become, I have just not quite mastered or figured out how to handle my new self.  There are days that I do revert and go back to my "No Menu Plan, No Shopping List" persona, but I honestly don't like her very much.  Then there are days that I become "No Menu Plan with a Shopping List" Woman and I think I get even more frustrated with her!

All that to say - I love coupons and the amount of money I can save, but the hassle is sometimes more that I am up to handling in a week!  When I do stay on top of couponing (cutting, filing, using), then I feel quite at peace with my new self.

One place that makes me completely fall in love again with my zippered folder is CVS.  I leave there feeling as if I am making money and that is just a good feeling!  I've tried to hang in there with Walgreens and Rite-Aid, but I just can't deal with them any longer.  CVS is where my heart is.

For example ...I have done so well there lately with coupons, ECB's (Extra Care Bucks) and sale prices, it's just incredible.  One week I got Justin 4 deodorants for free.  Then I got him 4 body washes for free.  Then a free razor.  This boy is seriously clean, good smelling, and smooth!  I have also made some pretty good getaways with cheap diapers on my CVS trips, which is a HUGE deal for a Mama who HATES to buy disposable diapers!  I don't feel like digging out past receipts to prove this or tallying up my savings over the last months, but just TRUST ME...you can do really well shopping at CVS.

We are stocked on deodorant, shampoo, body wash and razors for quite a while, so I can now put my energy into purchasing other things or things for other people.  If I am walking into CVS and there is a sale that will allow me to use a coupon and get back ECB's in order to get an item for free, then I will still buy it, even if we don't need it.  BECAUSE I have a bag filling up nicely to take to the local women's shelter - of stuff I got for free!  It feels really good to have an ever-growing stash of stuff that I may not use, but may bless another person.

Just when I thought I couldn't love CVS any more...I got sick.  You see, CVS sent me 2 coupons for a $25 gift card when I bring a new or transferred prescription to them.  Well, I usually NEVER have a prescription to fill, but just in case, I filed them away in my *Zippered Folder*.  And...I thought about them on my way to the doctor Saturday morning.  And... for the price of being sick and then having to fill 2 prescriptions at CVS, I walked away with $50 in gift cards Saturday afternoon.  It made me feel better already.

THAT is why I love CVS and feel as if I am making money when I shop with them.  I hope you can experience this someday too!  The reason I feel this way about CVS and couponing in general is mostly due to my ongoing relationship with southernsavers.com.  You can be kept up-to-date with the best online deals and the weekly sales at most of the grocery stores and drug stores around.  I don't have to look at a store ad, website, or even write down my own shopping list.  I do it all from this website, which also tells me the available coupons to make store deals even sweeter.  You can learn how to shop for name brand items and get them for next to nothing or free!  I don't think I'll ever go back to shopping my "old way" again.

I'm in love!

my paperless kitchen, optional title: Ode to Earth Day

I was inspired a few months ago, by my friend, Terra, to work toward a paperless kitchen.  I had been thinking about how much money we spend and how much waste we generate from napkins and paper towels and was wanting to make a change.  I have truly enjoyed using cloth diapers with Elijah, but I wasn't sure I was exactly up for extra laundry around here.  (And, fairly enough, Justin wasn't quite sure about me having an extra load of laundry either!)

I guess we have had a paperless kitchen for about 2 months now.  I already had a few cloth napkins on hand (for "special" occasions, which never seemed to call for cloth napkins anyway), so we started using those (now every day is a special occasion!) and I set out to find replacements for paper towels.  Wal-Mart was my store of choice, I guess, for finding some extra dish cloths, kitchen towels and reusable cloths.  I really didn't spend a lot of money to buy extra kitchen towels so I wouldn't easily feel the need to reach for a paper towel when all of my kitchen towels were dirty and I had yet to do laundry.  Also, I ran across a good deal on the Wal-Mart clearance aisle.  I bought several packages of reusable (6 count) Scott Scrub Cloths for 99 cents each.  These have been great.  They weren't what I expected, but were even better.  They actually have the feel of a thick paper towel, but have washed great and kept well so far.  I fold these and keep them in what used to be our (paper) napkin holder, right by the kitchen sink.

Honestly, the switch from paper has been easier and less of a change than I expected it to be.  It totally helped because Justin was completely on board from the beginning when I mentioned this possible change to him.  I just wash all the extra cloths with our towels, so I'm not actually doing any more laundry than I was before.  In fact, it's more of a full load now, so I feel like I'm not wasting any water on washing.  It does take a while to fold the extra cloths, but it's not too bad.  (Especially since we now have a TV in our living room, so I can be entertained while folding!)  We've kept the paper towels tucked away under the kitchen sink, only to be used for cleaning up after the dog or grease from cooking, etc.  Also, I added a bin under the sink that we already had so that I could just toss the dirty towels in there.

I would recommend going for a paperless kitchen!  As I'm typing this I did remember that tomorrow is Earth Day (duh - maybe these subliminal messages all day caused me to start writing this post!), so what better of a time to make a change!  The napkins were probably the easiest switch, but I would say that we save the most waste and money on switching from paper towels.

My next project...starting a compost bin.  Justin has been wanting to do this for a while and I wish we would have earlier so I could have some good compost for my garden.  Anyone already use a compost bin?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

blah...cleaning...blah

I don't know why, but April's been a blah blogging month. On a good note, many nights I have either been working out, focused on cleaning my house or spending time with Justin and Jazz. I must confess, I feel good on nights when I forget to check all my usual blogs, because too often I spend too much time checking out blogs instead of focusing on things that need to get done.

So...since I've been working out on a more regular basis, I really feel like I have more energy and drive to actually clean my house on the schedule that I like to keep. I try to be organized, but honestly, there are always so many lists going on in my head of things that need to get done, I often end up leaving some things undone.

I've decided to try out the Palm Pilot again. Justin's parents bought one for him a couple Christmas's ago, (I know his mom, like me, will forever try to get him organized!) but for a man who doesn't know how to write a to-do list or use a calendar...that's pretty much an obvious gift that was eventually coming my way. But, I'm not complaining, because it's a list-maker's dream. Also, it really works for me because I can make a list and then see things checked off, then deleted. Just the affirmation I need that I've gotten a job done!

So, I thought I'd share with you my cleaning schedule that (basically) works for me. I've had to start a real cleaning schedule because our house is just too big for us. Even though we really don't need all of these rooms, we still seem to somehow mess them all up each week! (Ironic, because the reason our house was never clean before was because it was too small and I didn't have a place for everything to go!...hmm...maybe it's my fought and not the house's....oh well!) I'm not real legalistic about the schedule or anything. It does feel good, though, when I stay on some sort of schedule and don't have to clean the entire house on my day off!

Monday: clean family room, guest room, light laundry load
Tuesday: dark laundry load, water plants, iron clothes
Wednesday: clean lower bathroom, kitchen, dining room, white laundry load, plan menu, sort coupons
Thursday: vaccumn, clean living room, wash towels, grocery shopping
Friday: water plants, pay bills, file papers, clean upstairs
Saturday: clean kitchen, cars, collect trash

Whew! That list is making me tired. I really have to logically think through everything I do...it's just the way my brain works. :) I guess I'll just keep trying to perfect my schedule until we have children and I know it will probably all be up in the air!

As you see, today was ironing day, which has been happening during American Idol at night. As I was ironing tonight, I thought of something very ironic (!?). And that was...why do I actually take precious time ironing Justin's sleeve's on his shirts when they're all too short anyway, and he's just going to roll them up as soon as he puts the shirt on...hmm...something to remember next Tuesday night...

Sorry...I know the last thing any of you want to read about tonight is cleaning, but there's my post anyway!

going green!

So...I have not always been the best at doing my part to preserve the great resources God has made us stewards of on earth, but now that we are settling into life again in a new place, I'm trying to make some changes.

One change I'm making is to use my own shopping bags when going to the grocery store. I had first seen some shopping bags for sale at Lowe's Foods the other week, but didn't really feel like buying them that day. I was in Target one day and their colorful, trendy shopping bags caught my attention and I decided (with a little push from my friend Sheila who happened to call while I was shopping) that I would set a new pattern in motion, hoping I would be more motivated with cool-looking bags.

Funny story...I got up to the checkout and the young cashier started putting my "Going Green Shopping Bags" in a Target plastic bag. She must not have got the new memo. I did tell her that I didn't need a bag and I could just place them all in one bag. Then, she started ringing up my other items and before I could even think to tell her differently, she put all my other stuff in a plastic bag!! So...I did walk out with one plastic bag that day, but I saved another one!

After being out of town last week, I needed to do some grocery shopping last night, so thankfully I remembered to take the bags with me to Food Lion. I was a little nervous about how I would be received with my own shopping bags, especially since FL doesn't sell their own bags as far as I know. All in all, I had a great first shopping experience with my new bags!! I even took the exact amount that I needed, I was proud of myself.

I think you can get a lot of reusable shopping bags for around $1 each. The ones I bought from Target were actually $1.50 each, but they are a great size and very sturdy. I only had to use 4 of them last night and they carried a good amount of groceries. It was really nice to come home and simply fold up four bags after I put the groceries up instead of trying to deal with lots of plastic bags.

I would definitely recommend this change in your shopping routine. It seems weird at first, but it really is a simple, even convenient change. You can even get a bag at Target that zips up to fit nicely in your purse for shorter trips to the store. (I bought one last week, but can't find it!...sorry, no picture for that).

recipe binder

I'll be the first to tell you I'm not the best cook (ok, maybe Justin would tell you first!), but I am more likely to try a new recipe if I am inspired by a picture accompanying it! I mean, church cookbooks are awesome and all, but I'm much more likely to pick a recipe from a magazine because my eyes seriously are bigger than my stomach!! (or so my mom always told me!)

I especially love checking out the Kraft Foods magazine, but I got tired of having to turn down the pages, then go find the right magazine later, or take the time to copy the recipe down and put it in my neat little recipe album. My good intentions in the recipe organization department were finally just that and I had to do something about it!

Thus, the recipe binder. This has become one of my favorite "reference books!" Now, anytime a Kraft magazine comes or I'm flipping through another magazine I'll go ahead (right then, not later, 'cause it won't get done) and cut or tear the recipe out, filing it away to be put in the recipe binder when I've got a few minutes to sit down with it.

Basically, I've become such a fan of anything in sheet protectors. Sheet protectors are perfect for the kitchen since foods will wipe right off, if (when) spilled. Also, if I'm running out of room on the counter I'll just take the page I need out of the binder and put it up on the range over the stove or on the fridge with a magnet. So simple and convenient!

With most of the recipes, I'll glue them to a colored sheet of paper or use some scrapbooking tape. With recipes that are double-sided from magazines, again, the sheet protectors are perfect! Just slip the whole page in there and you can still see both sides! Soon, I hope to expand my binders to have one for appetizers, one for desserts, one for entrees, etc.

I'm glad to post about this, because its a reminder that I need to catch up on keeping my recipe binder current! It's organized, but that doesn't mean I am!!

Check out more organization ideas at Lysa TeKeurst's blog:

u is for upromise

When we lived in Roxboro, I worked at Eckerd (now Rite-Aid) for a little while. I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I did learn a thing or two from that job. One of the things that I believe we have benefited from because of that job is our account at Upromise. When you work at a drugstore like that, you tend to block out the music or the product commercials you hear over the intercom. One commercial I heard again and again, however, was about Upromise and I would see the little Upromise stickers around the store, so I was curious. I mean, a company that promises to take a percentage of the money you spend and put it toward your child's education sounds pretty good! (Even if you don't have children!) So, I checked out their site over a year ago now and we have earned $36.00 towards "Baby Blakley's"* education.

*"Please note: "Baby Blakley" does not yet "exist"!!

I know $36.00 doesn't seem like much, but we haven't had to do anything to earn that money. And... we're atleast 18 years away from needing the money! (Just did the math...if we shopped this way for 18 more years, we would have $648.00) Not much...but, again...free money! Most of the money we earn is through online shopping (my favorite shopping method). Several of the online stores I frequent give a % through Upromise, some of them up to 8%! As I've learned more about different ways to save with Upromise, we've earned a lot more in the past months, so I hope we will be able to save a percentage of our child's money for college one day as the years go by.

Just wanted my blogging friends to have this info...do with it what you choose!