"Most of all, someone has taken the trouble to make things nice. To fluff up the pillows, fill a vase with flowers, put down freshly laundered throw rugs,or set a pot of potpourri to simmer. These little grace notes of sight and scent do more to make a home feel gracious and expansive than all the expensive furniture in the world."
I read this quote on Copperswife last June, and it has stuck with me! (you can read it here) Sadly, it just stuck in my mind, and I didn't implement it. 2011 has been "The Year of the Sloth" around here, and my home has suffered the most. I have spent the year working very hard at not working! My 2011 goals are left 90% unmet. That is insane....it should be the other way around. Well, this year I am turning it around! My Home Management Binder is pulled back out, reworked a bit to fit my current schedules, and within a short couple of months, my home will back to ship shape!!!
I even made that quote my front page. 
I started today, right where the book says to begin....I didn't get my entire house in order BEFORE I started...I just dove right in as if I had been following it all along. I used a daily sheet and crossed off my tasks as they were finished. 
A little bit of deep cleaning was added. A couple of kitchen cupboards were cleaned out, but my scheduled focus cleaning will start after the New Year.
It is one of main goals for 2012...to get my house back in order!
Speaking of order, I LOVE that feeling when all the Christmas stuff comes down and things get put back into place. I always change a few things in the process....I am itching for some new placemats for the kitchen table. These look just a tad "Old Lady". I will look for just the perfect ones in the next couple of shopping trips.
The tree came down today and Sassy supervised from her spot on the couch. 
Cammy found Zachary's Merry-Go-Round amusing!!! She climbed in and out of it, batting at the sides as it went around! She is fully recovered from her bout with the tummy bug.
She is growing by leaps and bounds and LOVES Kyle. She will curl up with him and purr herself to sleep. She does not do that with most people.
The grand kids are here for the week. Such sweeties, and I enjoy every minute with them! It is close to bed time, so I am off to tuck them in. I will be back with more on my 2012 Goals, and I am sure some TJ and Emerson pictures!!
The grand kids are here for the week. Such sweeties, and I enjoy every minute with them! It is close to bed time, so I am off to tuck them in. I will be back with more on my 2012 Goals, and I am sure some TJ and Emerson pictures!!
11 comments:
Everything looks so fresh and clean and pretty! Hmmmm......I could go for a cup of that Chai Spice tea that I think I spied in your cupboard. ;-)
My quilting friend, why not make placemats for your table?
Hi Bren,
I used to follow your old blog and was so happy to find you again. Our lives are a bit different but I so enjoy following your blog and am so envious of your organizational skills as well as your craftiness.
Congrats on getting back to the home management binder and also on the kitchen cabinet.
My decorations won't come down until after New Year's but I also enjoy the neatness of the house once the decorations are all put away.
I look forward to reading your blog in 2012.
Best wishes to you and your family this Christmas Season.
Jeanna
Bren, I love your new header! I am getting organized too. Last year I was so focused on getting my homeschooled son into college and all the paperwork and then adjusting to him being far away. It's time to pull myself together! Charlotte's blanket is just beautiful!! Once you discover the joy of making beauty with your hands you're usually hooked!! So glad for her to find that joy in her young years!
Happy New Year!!
Lovingly in Christ
Karen T.
I too have a home management binder...and it works as well as I will let it!! I love my lists, they keep me on track! Here's to you and I keeping it going in our new year!
WHAT!! You are going to buy placemats?? I bet there is something in that stash you can use!! lol
I really wanted to get the grandkids to take down the tree today, but instead we played LIFE and one grandson helped RIch in the wooddshop..
I needed to read this today. It has motivated me to get my binder back out and start again. I found it hard to stick with it last year, but maybe we can motivate and encourage each other. Thanks for sharing!
I'm ready for the new year, too! I feel like 2010 and 2011 were pretty much a bust, with so many changes going on in our lives. I felt like I was just hanging on for the ride. My word for 2012 is "intention." I want each day to be lived on purpose. All that to say that homemaking is part of my plans to live on purpose, and I'm anxiously awaiting your posts on your home management!
Bren~ Good luck with all you have planned in 2012. I too will be getting my home in order and will think of you as I do. Loved all the Christmas pictures and of course those with the cats in them. I am sure missing having a cat in our home...maybe someday :)
Blessings,Joann
Wonderful photo of Kyle with Cammy. Love for 2012.XX
I always love reading about your home management binder and techniques. Like you, I thrive with a daily list, but mine's laminated and I use a dry erase marker. I like that I can reuse it and that I don't need to print off a new one every day!
Happy new year, Bren!!
Wow I'm so thrilled I found your blog. You have a beautiful home and a fabulous attitude. Looking forward to reading your blog.
hugs
-missy-
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