Making Dinner

Now that I have my daily schedule down, and am learning to be flexible in it, the house is starting to look better! I've been trying to keep my sink shining, and my floors picked up (of toys, clothes, and shoes!), so when I wake up, I'm not overwhelmed by the mess that is already there. That makes it easier for me to get a load of laundry started, and do some other things around the house. Yesterday, I mopped and rearranged my eat-in kitchen area. Today, I'm working on the master bedroom. Its also given me some time to think about dinner a bit more, and have things ready so that we can eat before 8 o'clock!

Recently we found a great deal on a new grill, as ours wasn't working, and we've been putting it to work. Last night, I grilled dinner. Every bit of it was cooked on the grill! We had barbecued pork chops and grill vegetables. I had some fresh veggies that I had purchased for multiple recipes, but they were going bad, so I knew they needed to be used. So I went searching on Kraft's website for a recipe. I just love their site. You can type in a few ingredients you want to use, along with what kind of dish, and a few other search options, and they give you recipes! Here's the skinny on how to do it....

Mixed Vegetable Grill with Feta Cheese
2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) zucchini slices
1 pkg. (4 oz.) ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
1 cup (1/2-inch-thick) green pepper strips
1 cup tomato wedges
1/2 cup (1/4-inch-thick) onion rings
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano, crushed
1 Tbsp. olive oil

MIX all ingredients.
WRAP mixture in double thickness of foil. Place on grill over medium coals.
GRILL 10 minutes. Turn packet over. Grill 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

These were delicious! And they grilled right alongside of the pork chops. I grilled the pork chops until they were about 2 minutes from being done, and then brushed barbecue sauce on each side.

This is one of my favorite grilled dinners! Share some of yours in the comments. We're on the hunt for some new recipes:)

June, '09 Disney

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Have you been completing your tasks this week? I didn't want to overload you with items to get done this week, so I slowed down on adding things to your list. I've also been overwhelmed by my hunt for a dryer, so that helped contribute to the slowing of tasks. I have a very lazy dryer right now. Its working, but you have to keep cracking the whip, or it will stop when you aren't looking! It is probably reaching retirement age, as it is at least 15 years old, so we've decided to shop around a bit and find a different one. Notice, I said different, not new. I guess we've taken the same approach to washer/dryers as we have to cars. A few years just takes the cost down a bit. It loses value as soon as you leave the showroom, right? So we've been stalking craigslist.com to find something. We've been interested in a few, but haven't been able to get to them first. So we're still looking. We've also been to a few different appliance outlets around town, but haven't found much there.

Enough about me! I want to hear what you've been doing this week! I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is reading this, or if I am talking to myself. A few people have told me on facebook and in person, but I love getting your comments here also. So, has this been helpful?? Are you getting some routines into place? Has the whining stopped?;)

Upcoming this week, we are going to slowly start assembling the control centers. If you are using a binder, make sure it has dividers in it and lined paper. If you are going the route of note cards, have those note cards and dividers ready. For dividers for the note cards, you'll need months and numbers (1-31). When completed, your control center will be your boss. It will tell you what tasks you have before you each day, so you aren't overwhelmed by making a list a mile long.

Try to keep up your tasks this weekend, but have some fun! Spend some time with the family you are loving.

Have you been keeping up with your tasks? I must admit, I went to bed last night without making sure my sink was clean, and I woke up feeling overwhelmed before I even ate breakfast! My kitchen has little counter space, they are covered, my sink is full of dirty dishes, and my dishwasher is full of clean dishes (that should have been put away last night!). But I am starting a new day, and can get that all accomplished today, right?

Today's task is to sweep the kitchen floor. This is my least favorite yet, but I dislike mopping the floor even more, and if I sweep, it makes mopping fewer and farther between. So, everyday (okay, almost!), I grab that broom and sweep up all those crumbs!

Here's your list for today:

1. Get dressed down to shoes.
2. Make your bed.
3. Shine that sink!
4. Swish the toilet.
5. Sweep the kitchen.
6. Spend 5 minutes decluttering.

Have fun! Try setting your timer and seeing if you can beat it. Make it a challenge and reward yourself when you finish. And have a GREAT day!

P.S. I got a new book yesterday that I can't wait to dig into! It has homemade cleaning recipes for almost everything you could ever need. I'm going to have to mail order some essential oils for this, but I can't wait to try them and share some with you!

Are you looking for your task for today?

Are you looking for your task for today?;) I thought you might be. Today we are going to start the daily task of swishing the toilet. Unless it has been a while since you cleaned the toilet, there's no need to use toilet bowl cleaner. Just give it a little swish. If there are some wipes around, wipe the seat and rest of the toilet off. Do this everyday and you'll always wake up to find a shining toilet!

I'm going to add one small task that you need to complete sometime this week. We are going to create a control center for your home. You can do this however you like. I prefer note cards, others prefer notebooks or binders. For note cards, you'll need white and multi-colored cards, along with dividers. To do a notebook or binder, you'll need paper and dividers in a notebook/binder. Just decide what will work best for you, and gather the supplies. They don't need to be fancy or new. Just a way to organize your tasks.

has the clutterbug attacked you yet?

Our major task this week is to start decluttering. I'm starting at my front door and working my way around. This means that I'll begin with the front hall closet. Its cluttered with winter coats, hats, gloves, electric candles, broken umbrellas, old shoes. You get the picture.

Do this for five minutes each day. Take out only what you can clean up in five minutes. Remember, we are starting small. The worst thing we can possibly do right now is take everything out of the closet, get completely overwhelmed, and throw everything back in! Five minutes! Set your timer, and see if you can beat it!

Also, for this week, we are going to start adding a new task each day. Don't worry, it will be small. For today, make your bed. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just walk in there and pull the blankets up to the top. If you are really motivated, you can make it pretty and fluff the pillows. This in addition to the habits we have already started.

So this is what your day looks like:

1. Get dressed down to shoes.
2. Make your bed.
3. Keep your sink shining!
4. Spend five minutes decluttering.

Can you see your reflection?

Okay, so I didn't get our first task posted when I said I would. Its our first lesson in perfectionism. So it didn't get done when I thought it would, but here it is! Just Because we don't start something when we intended doesn't mean we can't jump in where we are.

Our first task is two fold. First, we must prepare ourselves for work. Whether this is your first job, second, third, your calling in life, or just something you have to do, you wouldn't show up to your place of employment in your pajamas! The same goes here. Get dressed down to your shoes. Prepare yourself enough that you could leave the house by grabbing keys and a bag. I don't mean dressing up, or even putting on makeup necessarily, but make yourself presentable. Get some clean clothes that aren't stained or wrinkled. Put on some comfortable shoes. I find that when I put on shoes, I get SO much more done. It's hard to sit down and get comfortable with a good pair of tennis shoes on, so you will get more tasks accomplished not sitting!

Next, we are going to clean the sink. I know, this sounds very minimal to you. I can hear you now, "But I have all these messes around me, and you want me to clean my sink?!" Believe me, when you get the sink clean, it becomes contagious. Load those dishes into the dishwasher, or wash them. Get a sponge and scrub that sink until it shines. Oh, and stop whining! It takes work to get and keep a clean home, but we'll try to make it enjoyable!

Generally, for me, this includes soaking it in hot water and bleach for an hour. Rinse it out well. Next, I use Comet or Borax to scrub it with a sponge. Rinse again, and then use a clean kitchen towel to dry. If its still not gleaming, try polishing with car wax or CLR. I find CLR will take the really hard water spots off right away. Just be sure to rinse very, very well. Dry it with that towel again until it shines, and encourage your family to do the same should they use the sink. They may think you've gone crazy, but they'll think the same when they see you out of your jammies at 10 am!

(I am working on finding a natural solution to those hard water spots, as I hate using those chemicals so near to my cooking area. If anyone knows a good secret, let me know!)

These are your daily tasks for this week: Getting dressed, and keeping your sink sparkling! A shiny sink is hard to keep if it has dishes in it, so they will magically start being put in the dishwasher.

If you need more information about cleaning your sink, check out this site. FlyLady is where I started from. Sink Reflections is a good book, as is also Sidetracked Home Executives. Both are very similar, but Sink Reflections uses a notebook, while Sidetracked uses note cards in a file. As a perfectionist, I get caught up in what my notebook looks like, instead of the tasks inside!

Welcome!

Welcome to my online home! I hope you find it nice and comfy. A peaceful place where you can learn strategies for keeping up with your home in ways that love our family and our world. My goal is to share with you my routines for decluttering, cleaning, and organizing, and to keep myself accountable to you. I can't recommend cleaning to you without doing it myself! I'll include strategies, books, recipes, and websites to help you find what works for you. We are all created with different personalities, and what works for one doesn't always work for the next.
I want my home to be a peaceful place for my family to be able to rest, relax, and recover from the busyness of the world. A comfortable place where they can be themselves and discover how they are made in God's image. A welcoming place where they can feel free to invite their friends to spend time. A place where others feel at home away from home.
My home is not a model home. It is a lived-in home. I expect there to be things around that show my family is living in it. There are toys in the corner. Snacks on the counter. Papers on the fridge. These are the things that make it homey. I am not here to teach you how to have a spotless home, but rather how to make your home a place that shows your family your love for them.
I look forward to sharing ideas and resources with you, and can't wait to hear what you have to contribute! We'll start with cleaning up and decluttering on Monday, June 29th. Each day will be a small, new, accomplishable goal. Baby steps will get us there!