Overwhelmed!  This is how I am feeling.  I have just been on a 2 week vacation to see family in Tulsa.  We got back yesterday and I must tell you I was in the worst mood!  I felt fat…all we had done was eat for 2 weeks!  I had loads and loads of laundry.  The kids closets were a mess and really needed to be cleaned out.  The house felt dirty after being empty for 2 weeks.  I felt overwhelmed!

Today I got up with a new attitude and decided to tackle the laundry with a vengeance!  I am proud to tell you that I am completely caught up on laundry from our trip and my girls being at camp.  I was so inspired that I decided to tackle one closet. 

You may have noticed a new link on our website.  We are excited to be partnering with Just Between Friends.  JBF is a consignment sale that happens in your town twice a year.  You price your items, drop them off and then they mail you a check.  It is a much better pay out then what you would get from a resale shop.  You can take clothes, toys, books, etc.  LML and I will be attending the show in Pearland, but I’m sure you have a sale near you!

So, I started in one closet today by pulling out all of the things that don’t fit anymore.  Here is what I have so far:

I am going to sort through these to see what is in good enough shape to sell and what I need to donate.  As I get further along in the process I am actually going to show you how to tag items to get them ready for the sale. (If you can’t wait to start tagging go here!)  In the meantime, I know the start of the school year makes us all want to get organized.  Start going through your kids closets, but don’t toss it all.  Make some extra money so no one can call you a Lazy Mom!!!

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I need to get back into a routine. Routines are good. They help you get through your day, they  help you get stuff done! Do you have a routine? A housekeeping routine, that is. I need a housekeeping routine.

I’m not the best housekeeper. I get everything done that needs to get done, but I could be much more efficient and productive. Time just seems to get away from me. The day just flies by. I do have bouts of productiveness. Periods of time when I get into a routine and really get through the many things on my list. I just wish I could figure out a way to make this my norm. Actually a have figured out a way to make this my norm, I just haven’t consistently implemented the process.

After I had my second child, my husband had to travel quite a bit for work. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. I spent my day in a blur of diapers and breast feeding with a toddler running around my ankles. You’ve probably been there too! I just couldn’t focus on what needed to be done other than feeding and caring for my children. The house had to wait it’s turn.

Photo: FlyLady.net

Then I found Fly Lady. Have you heard of Fly Lady? Chances are you have. By following her routines I got control back of my housekeeping life. The Fly Lady starts you out with baby steps, one small step each day. She then leads you into daily routines. A Morning Routine and Bedtime Routine and one more in between. For me that is now the After School Routine.

By getting into a routine during my days I accomplished more than I had before my second baby came along. The kitchen was clean, the laundry was done, the beds were made AND I knew what we were having for dinner each night. Sound like a dream? It was! Especially for my husband! He loved my newfound interest in taking care of my home and family and I loved the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day!

If you are feeling overwhelmed with your housekeeping responsibilities and aren’t sure where to even start, I strongly suggest that you give The Fly Lady a try. She will help you get back on track and get your house in order. Even if you feel like you are beyond help she will show you the way, one small step at a time.

To this day, whenever I start to feel overwhelmed and that my home is out of control I go back to The Fly Lady and her routines. I take a “refresher course” and get myself back on track. What about you? Do you have your home under control? Do you feel organized and like you get it all done? Or do you need a little help? What works for you?

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Do you play The Grocery Game? The point of The Grocery Game is to purchase your non perishable items in bulk when they are on sale and stockpile them. I have never done this before. In fact, until recently, Lazy Dad Philip did most of the grocery shopping in our home. As you know, he is a great cook! It made perfect sense to me that the cook would do the grocery shopping. And he loved liked it!

Recently, thanks to our economy, I started to really try to clip coupons and use them. Like most men LDP could not be bothered with coupons. And who was I to complain? I had a husband happy and willing to do the grocery shopping. I could not bring myself to nag him about coupons as well!

So I started clipping the coupons. I started making our grocery list (that wasn’t new). I started planning our meals (which means I thought about what we would be eating for dinner before 5p.m. rolled around) and I started cooking more than I had in the past. Guess what? I noticed that I was saving $10-$15 a trip just in coupons. Wow! That was worth noticing!

I then remembered a post our friend Stephanie had done about The Grocery Game. Could I do it? If you knew me personally you would question that! I started saving my Sunday coupon circulars and keeping them in date order. After about two weeks I signed up on The Grocery Game site. Two weeks weeks after that I started looking at the list for my store and trying to play the game.

I think that this week was my first really successful week. I went to Kroger and came home with eight boxes of cereal. You read that right, eight! Kroger had most of their cereals on sale for 2 for $4. The Grocery Game told me where I could find my cereal coupons. $1 off 2 General Mills, $1 off 3 General Mills, $1 off one Raisin Bran, $1 off one Rice Krispies. After the sale and my coupons I ended up paying about $1 a box for cereal that usually goes for $3.60 or more a box. I only bought the kind I knew my family would eat. What’s the point of buying stuff your kids don’t like?

I also bought some steaks at a deep discount. I knew that the strawberries were a good deal. I got some great asparagus for dinner and a free package of cinnamon rolls. It was great!

Now some of you have probably heard of the The Grocery Game and have friends that play it. I say play because it really does feel like a game. Your friends may take things a little further than you think you would. They may go to several grocery stores each week and drive all over town all in the name of saving money. I am not that friend.

I am only willing to go to my Kroger that I normally shop at. I am only willing to go to the store the amount of times a week that I normally would (1-3). I am not willing to buy items just because they are cheap. I will only buy my normal brands and items that I know my family will eat.

After my cereal bonanza trip to Kroger this week I came home and realized that I did not have the space to store eight extra boxes of cereal, as well as the few extra items I have picked up along the way. So that led to me reorganizing my family room built ins so they could hold most of the items in my broom closet. My broom closet is extra deep with some built in shelves. It has now become my overflow pantry. I am planning on storing my extra non perishables. I’ll let you know how it all works out.

My big tip is to save at least a month’s worth of coupon inserts before you sign up. You can’t really use the shopping list The Grocery Game provides until you have several weeks of coupons saved.

So, do you clip coupons? Do you play The Grocery Game? What is your weekly/monthly grocery bill? What tips do you have to share with us? We’d love to hear from you! If you are interested in playing The Grocery Game I highly suggest you read Stephanie’s post about getting started. This girl knows what she’s talking about.

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Have I mentioned that I was at the beach last week? Oh, how I wish we were still there.  We went with my sister and her family and my parents.  It might have been the best vacation we have ever had.  My kids are at ages where they are self-sufficient.  I didn’t have to take anyone in for a nap.  I could actually nap on the beach.  No kid stuff to haul back and forth to the beach each day.  It was great. 

But, all good things must come to an end.  Sunday evening when we got home I immediately unpacked everyone.  I had done all of the laundry in Florida so everything was clean when we got home.  This is definitely one of my Lazy Mom tips.  It’s so much more pleasant to do laundry at a vacation house than at home.

The kids came in and went crazy playing in the game room.  Your kids probably do the same thing.  It’s like they missed the toys!  Well, the upstairs was a mess, but I didn’t really care.  I didn’t really care on Sunday, that is.  Monday morning rolled around and we had early morning swim team followed by an afternoon/evening swim meet that lasted for 6 hours.  I kept telling myself that I would deal with the upstairs on Tuesday.

But, last night as I was putting the kids to bed I flipped out.  Do you ever do this?  Okay, I know you do, but it would still make it easier on me if you would tell me you flip out every once in awhile.  The upstairs was a pig sty and it could wait no longer.  I lose my cool.  The kids spring into co-dependent action picking up as fast as they can.  Even Big D comes up to help.  If Mama ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy!!!

I feel bad about going nuts on my kids, but guess what??  I have a clean house to start the day today!  So, I guess the moral for me is that no matter how laid back I try to be I am just one of those moms that likes everything in its place.  I can’t sleep knowing the house is a mess so I should plan a little better in the future. 

What about you? Can you go to sleep with a messy upstairs?  Dishes in your sink?  Or are you high strung like I am and like everything put back together?

Don’t forget to submit your tips for housekeeping.  We have only received a couple and need more!!!  Send them in, girls.  We know you’ve got them!!!

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photo: http://www.labb.org/hass/button4.gif

I decided to sew a button on the corner of my fitted sheet so that I would always know where to start when makeing the bed. it can be SO frustrating to have to flip and guess to make your bed. submitted by April

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