Give me the basics

How did you ring in the New Year?  Did you make a resolution?  Have you kept it?  Did you make a list of things that you hope to accomplish in 2014?  Truth be told, I haven't done any of those things.  Coming home in the new year after a long trip abroad with a cold snap that kept us inside for 3 days was both a welcome sight and one that has caused me to be a little stir crazy.  Why you might ask?

Well the post holiday clutter and tripping over toys gets to me after awhile, but I'm grateful to be able to say, "No we can't go anywhere today, its too cold" The holidays are such a blessing, our family was given so many thoughtful, useful and fun gifts.  But despite the blessing I struggle to focus on what's important and keep my heart and mind straight amongst the sea of "things" that are strewn about the house because of the newness of them and excitement.  

For me when things have a place and they are in them I have a weird sense of peace. (God is really working on me to find my sense of peace ONLY in HIM-a Frosted Grace post to come I'm sure) 

Finding new ways to get organized comes to the top of the list for me in 2014. I like to have a place for things.  But it is also helping me to realize we have too much stuff and the need to simplify. After the kids were in bed one night, in about 5 minutes, I filled up a garbage bag full of toys and things that we have multiples of or the bin that they belong in was overflowing.  The bins get dumped everyday in hopes of finding a lost treasure (truth be told I think most of the treasures tend to stay buried).  I also am desiring toys of high quality and multi-purpose for the kids....my friend Sara at Egg & Twig just posted a really fun one about her new Quatro toy from Germany.....I was so in love with all the toys, furniture and surroundings of Switzerland (close to Germany).

What does all this have to do with the basics...well its what I desire and what I'm trying to implement in our home.  I'm slowly combing blogs, asking for advice, and trying to implement the simplicity of life that I so desire.  I come across so many ideas, but its taking time to implement them.  We purged toys before Christmas, now we are purging again.  We ask for gifts that will allow the kids to enjoy something outside of our home (zoo & museum memberships, college fund gifts, books).  

  I'm thankful that Norwex is offering this month its Clean & Polish pack special  These two cloths(enviro&polish) can replace MANY of your household cleaners (cut the clutter under your sink by 3/4).  I no longer make any of my vinegar and baking soda combinations to spend 20 minutes trying to get my stovetop sparkling clean....or trying to figure out just the right mixture of things to make a streak-free glass cleaner for my kitchen table.  Norwex makes it easy with Clean & Polish...just a wet enviro cloth followed up with a dry polish cloth to clean EVERY surface in my kitchen to a sparkling streak free, chemical free shine.  

PS. I want to give a little prop to the Bubble Bath/Bathtime Fun package....why?  Because its made with only 3 ingredients and helps me to feel good about being able to give my sweet little ones a bubble tubby every once in awhile.  It has this very lovely cherry scent and the kids really enjoy the bubbles!  

Takeaways from this post: get rid of your kitchen cleaners, save time and don't make special concoctions, order the clean and polish, and if you need some extra time to fold laundry while sitting in the bathrooms supervising bathtime, the bubble bath is the perfect playmate :)

Thankful for Your Inspiration

November is loaded with Thankful posts everywhere...so I'll just add one more to the mix. (oh yeh, I already did the thankful turkey post)

I am overwhelmed (in a good way) with the response to Norwex®.  I knew it was a good opportunity, a great company, and high quality products when it came my way this past August....but I didn't really know how others would respond, you worry about what people will think.   But every week, I am encouraged to keep going...I'll admit being a Stay at Home Mom, homeschooling, running 2 businesses and trying to run a home is a lot of juggling.  I just keep hearing God say, "I'll give you what you need, you just need to obey".  Maybe you don't hear God talk to you like that, maybe you don't even have a relationship with Him, but apart from Him I can do nothing and it all seems in vain.  So walking with God, I'm so thankful for the customers and friends that I've been given.  Here are just a few of the notes, texts, messages and phone calls I've received:

"I love my Norwex® Mop...kitchen floor clean" ~Jaime

"Thank you for opening up the conversation about stuff that we all do everyday, it can seem so monotonous and difficult at times, something that we do alone.  It's great to be able to share things that can make cleaning a home and keeping up with the housework easier" ~Lisa

"My family thinks I'm crazy, but I just love how many things I can clean with these cloths and how easy it is" ~Carol

"Enviro cloth on our cooler, looks bran-spankin' new" & "Enviro Cloth use # nasty yellow mesh on a baby packnplay....clean" ~Christa

Another reason that I'm so thankful is that in 2 short months we've been able to donate over $600 to various people/organizations directly because of what I am sharing through Norwex®.   

Thank you for coming to a new type of home party, trusting me, making the investment 

and encouraging me.  I hope that I can continue to encourage each of you through this business and seeking to Live Simply and Love Fully.

Want to join me on this journey?  Consider hosting a show or joining my team.

Thankful Turkey

There I was, my husband made the offer to take 2 of the 3 children out so I could get some "work" done.  You know how it goes stay at home/half crazed mom....where do I start and the list starts to whirl through your head!?  Well it started with a phone call...and my mind starts racing...really I'm on hold for 15 minutes so that you can find out if you can email me a form instead of snail mail it, don't you know I have this this and this to do I don't have time to be on hold!!!!...more crazy thoughts, that I will spare you of, mostly because I keep hearing in my mind, "But what are you thankful for?" "How are these thoughts keeping you trapped instead of thankful!?"  You see we started, thank you Pinterest, hiding a little turkey around our house this month, having the kids find it each day and tell us what they are thankful for.  And while on days when I'm so tired b/c I was up every 2 hours with a child and all I want to do is nap and things seem dismal, I must CHOOSE gratitude, these are the days when its really hard, grey days.  Ann Voskamp taught me this two years ago through One Thousand Gifts.  And here I am again, grumbling because I don't have enough time to do all things that I want to do and get that nap that I'm longing for.  SO here I am. Thankful...choosing to be Thankful.  And remembering, this life is not just about me.

This picture is truly worth 1000 words, but I'll keep it brief.  

I have 3 kids and a dog and life gets messy!

I am thankful because I am able to blog about everyday things that need to get done....like the dishes.

I don't LOVE doing the dishes!  But I do love sharing great products...

And sharing ways to better steward our precious time and resources.

This is my kitchen sink: 

left side $3.99 lovely lavender scented brand 10 pumps of soap. 

 Right side-Norwex dishwashing liquid 2 small squirts and I only filled my sinks about 

1/4 way up with hot water.

After said dishes were done. 

How I did the experiment?

I split up the dinner dished trying to keep what I could equal.  I'm not sure if you can tell but after the first round of dinner dishes the Norwex side has a lot more bubbles. I then decided I'm going to really put it to the test.  I had extra dishes from our crockpot chicken dinner and bowl of mashed potatoes.  So I kept washing in the Norwex side. 

I continued and did 3 times the amount of dishes in the Norwex side and then let both sit for 20 minutes.....Norwex side still had more suds.

The bottle of Norwex claims to have longer lasting suds and using 40% less product..I definitely saw MORE and longer lasting bubbles.  I used 2 small squirts of the Norwex soap and 10 pumps of the other soap into my sink.  You tell me what the better value is!!!???  

that is not a halloween decoration, that is my netted dish cloth,

 no stink no smell like your ordinary sponges

Done dishes, drying on my dish mat!

You can check out my website to see what other great tools Norwex has to help you in the kitchen.

Now its off to do the laundry....I'll write about that another time.