Gardening System

It is this time of year that I start dreaming of spring and...gardening. This makes me laugh because I used to think I would NEVER garden. I wasn't any good at it. Then I found a system. I HEART SYSTEMS! Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. (p.s. so many of you like my Speed Cleaning post that I am going to make demo videos. stay tuned for those...) So here is a tour of my gardens...



Boxes made of untreated 2X8 wood. Outsides painted white to appease the HOA - ugh. Wish I would have done the boards that aren't wood and need no maintenance. Oh well... On this side (sunny side) we have 3 of the 4'x4' then 2 3'x3' for the DDs. They each have their own box to take care of. On the shady side of the house we have two more for cool weather crops.

Last year we installed the trellis system. Growing vertically totally increased the amount of things you can grow. This year we are going to try melons. Hopefully it works...

Mel, has many other variations on this so that people in all stages and places can garden. You should check it out!

A closer look at how we set the netting up. This stuff is so strong. Just make sure it is secure in the ground so it won't tip.

Speed Cleanin'

Happy Valentines Day to all of you. I did a special post with LOTS of pics...enjoy!

A few years back I came across a cleaning system that cuts cleaning time in half. I'm a sucker for systems so I gave it a try...It is amazing! It really does what it says. Here are some before and after pics along with my times....

The afters came before sorry (technical difficulties). The next ones are better

Living room/music room:

Details: Picked up, dusted, blinds and curtains dusted, all furniture pulled out and vacuumed under, couch chushions cleaned above and under.

Time: 19:04

Dining Room:

Details: Picked up, everything dusted (chandelier, chairs wiped, blinds, swings, etc.), table wiped, etc. However no floor work (that comes later)

Time: 8:39

Entry:

Details: Picked up, blinds, shoe tray cleaned, rug shaken, even security boxes dusted, and door. (No floor work)

Time: 4:30

Kitchen:

Details: picked up/decluttered, 1/2 of fridge cleaned out, cabinet fronts wiped, microwave inside/out, oven inside/out, blinds, paper shredder emptied, pencil sharpener too, dishwasher inside/out. No floors yet...

Time: 34 min

Hardwood floors throughout and sink:

Details: vacuumed (including all baseboards), mopped, and above kitchen cabinets vacuumed as well. Sink scrubbed and shined.

Time: 29:27

If you add all that up it comes to 95 minutes. Yep, 1 hour and 35 minutes to do all that. I can clean my entire house (minus the girls bedroom and bathroom) in 2 1/2 hours and it is a detailed cleaning. With what I was paying my cleaner I am saving/making about $35/hour. Love it!

*I use the Speed Cleaning method by Jeff Campbell. Visit his website http://www.thecleanteam.com/ for more info. Happy cleaning!

FLYing Update

FLY Lady says to start with the kitchen sink if you want to keep your house organized. I have tried this time and time again, but it just wasn't jiving. There are days I don't even see the kitchen until 10 am. Plus I have to let the dishes pile up during the day if the DDs don't empty the dishwasher in the morning.

The place I have been focusing on is my laundry room - and it is working. If I don't let my laundry pile up my whole house stays so much cleaner! It only takes a few minutes, literally, to fold the laundry when it comes out of the dryer, and another few minutes to put it away. But consistently doing it makes such a HUGE difference.

Try it, look around your house at a place that seems to spill out into other places. Then work on keeping it clutter free and clean. Remember, "By small and simple things, shall great things come to pass."

Emergency Preparedness - Water Complete

Last month we focused on getting our water needs taken care of for our 72 hour kits. These are the things that we have:

Seychelle water filter bottles for each pack
Katadyn backpack water filter (for cooking water, etc. Put in family portion of kit.)
Iodine tablets
Collapsible 5 gallon water container with spigot
Case of water for each car
Four water bottles for each person's backpack

This month I am focusing on shelter. Stay tuned...

Poor Man's Snow Shoes

I came up with this in a moment of desperation. My newly planted trees were so bent with snow I was afraid they would break. However, I don't own snow gear and I didn't want to go truding through the deep snow. These sleds were on the porch and whala! I had snow shoes.

I step on top of them and use the strings to help place them in the snow before I take each step. They work wonderfully! I can stand fully on one while I use the other one to whack the snow off of the trees as well.

The orange one is actually a boogie board I snagged out of my neighbor's garbage, the green a sled that I got at a yard sale for $1. Not a bad price for snow shoes! Just hang on if you come upon a hill!! :)

Super Shopping

I finally have a post with pics..Yeah!! My grocery shopping has morphed again since the twins. I thought you might like to see how I shop when they are with me.

They (the twins) take up all of the grocery cart, so my groceries have to go around on one edge and the front and back. I have special clips that are made to hold grocery bags (got them at Wegmans) but you can also use heavy-duty S clips from the hardware store. I prefer the bags from Superfresh because they are actually woven, but the other non-woven ones held two gallons of milk just fine.

I have to say this worked out great. It is amazing what inspiration God gives during times of need.

Meet My Mood

You may know this feeling...You've asked about 6 times - calmly - for something to be done. And NOTHING happens. Then on the seventh time your blood starts to boil, you explode, and start screaming at your kids. They then look at you like they don't understand what is wrong.

It was after doing this one too many times that my "Mood" walked into my life. I LOVE this thing! It is so simple to use, but it give me huge results - and I hardly have to scream anymore. I use it as a warning, a threat, and a joke.

Warning: When I feel myself starting to boil I say, "Girls, I have been patient and now I'm starting to get in a mood" or "I feel a mood coming on". It is at this point they know I am about to become a micro managing monster. They usually start to move.

Threat: "Girls, do you need a mood to get this done?"

Joke: When one of the girls gets sassy, I say to them, "are you in a mood?" They say yes. I say, "as long as you label it and warn people." They usually laugh at this and the mood dissapears.

Now what does a Mood look like? I get an edge in my voice and raise it, but not to screaming level. I spurt out warnings like, "If you don't clean this stuff up I will, and you'll have pay me." I tell them every little thing they need to do and ride them like crazy to keep moving. They HATE this and so do I. But I usually don't have to do this very often because the warnings are enough. That is a beautiful thing.