The Schedule...

Here's the tentative schedule that I worked out. It's not a strict schedule, but rather a guideline as to what I would LIKE to do. Totally not going to happen, but I can try to do the best I can and whatever gets done is just one step forward.

DAILY

Before 9 am
- Start Laundry
- Make Bed
- Have everyone Fed

Before 11 am
- Have Everyone dressed
- Living Room Straightened up
- Jacob down for a nap

Before 1 pm
- All errands done
- Kids' Room Straightened

Before 3 pm
- Lunch finished
- Both kids' naps
- Kitchen straightened

Before 5 pm
- Laundry folded and put away
- Bedroom straightened
- Daily project done
- Take out Garbage and get Mail
- Dinner started

Before 8 pm
- Dinner Cleaned up
- Straighten Living Room again
- Look over YW Lesson
- Start getting kids ready for bed



WEEKLY

These are the things that I will focus on each day. This way I don't get too overwhelmed and feel like I have to do it all in one day (which never happens). I'm able to focus on one thing, and master the task, instead of rushing through EVERYTHING.

Monday
- Kitchen
- coupons

Tuesday
- Floors (mop all and vacuum all)

Wednesday
- Bathroom
- Iron

Thursday
- Weekly Project/Crafts

Friday
- Bedrooms

Saturday
- Living Room

Back to Square One

After this last week of trying out my new "schedule" I realize that it's not attainable, at least not for me, at least not right now.

But....


It's still a good guidline to follow. It's great to have as a goal.


But...


I've decided that I'm not going to be super strict about it, at least not right now.

The good thing about this project is that I've been able to get back to square one. My house is still not perfectly spotless clean, but you know what? It's liveable. And, a work in progress. The great thing about living in an apartment and not owning your own house is that I don't feel pressured to have it perfect, mostly because it's not "mine." I will do my best, though. It's such a great feeling be be "back to square one" with the mess, though. It's much easier to handle the day-to-day messes when that's all you have to deal with, and not the months of mess surrounding you.

Getting Your House In Order

At the beginning of this year we moved into a new apartment. We used to live (believe it or not) in a mortuary. We were able to get free rent and utilities, but we definately had to work for it. So, after a couple years of being able to save money and pay off debt we moved around the corner into a small two bedroom apartment. Aside from being able to have more free-time and being less restricted, I was MOSTLY excited about moving into a new place and having a place for everything and everything being in it's place. I de-junked before moving and planned on de-junking more as I unpacked. In my mind I imagined going through the boxes and while emptying them I would be putting the contents directly into their spot. I was extremely excited for when I was finished I would have EVERYTHING in it's place. EVERYTHING would be clean for at least one minute. The idea behind this is that it is much easier to KEEP everything clean once it's clean to begin with.

Well...SIX MONTHS later....


It's a mess! This past holiday weekend was SO FRUSTRATING! I felt so unorganized. We kept forgetting things. We would be at the 4th of July Festivities and realize that we had forgotten sunscreen, or a change of clothes for the kids, or the baby food for lunch. We came back and forth the 2 1/2 miles to our house. In the meantime, during one of those trips, a set of keys were lost, and lots of time and gas was wasted. That was my breaking point. I NEED to find a place for everything. The easiest way to stay on top of things is to have everything in order to begin with. That is my main project these next two weeks.

I have plenty of excuses. But, I'm not going to focus on those. The important thing is that IT'S OVER! We are turning this around no matter what!!!!!

Here's the plan.....

Yesterday my focus was to recover from the long holiday weekend. We had plenty of piles by the door. We did the run 'n ditch. We would run in the house and throw things just to run back out again. So...yesterday I cleaned up from that mess. The living room got vacummed and the kitchen got cleaned. The piles were gone and everything was as it was before the weekend began, still a mess, but liveable. The bathroom was in desperate need. I only had a chance to do the worst of it, though...the tub and toilet. I also folded all of the laundry from the weekend that I didn't get around to, as well as do a few additional loads.

Next on the list...today...

I have some grocery shopping to do...but on the cleaning list is our BEDROOM. That is the dreaded place of the whole house. Well, actually both bedrooms are DISASTERS! My project for the day is to get the bedroom in order. There are clothes everywhere in piles. Are they clean or dirty? That will be the impossible question of the day. I bet I will ask myself that over 100 times. It's rediculous in there. I will really have to hold myself back. One of my excuses that we're not talking about is that I'm a perfectionist. If something isn't PERFECT, and in this case that means everything dusted and everything in order, including decorated, then I go CRAZY!! Well...today I am focusing on just getting it un-tornadoed. Yes...that's a word. My goal is to be able to walk and sit on the "moon chair" as I call it. Every piece of clothing either needs to be hung up, folded in the drawer, or in the hamper. I will also need to finish up the bathroom that I wasn't able to get to yesterday.

Tomorrow my task will be the kids' room. For that I will just have all of the toys will be in A place. I will go through them again later, but I just need them SOMEWHERE! Not the middle of the floor. And, the same rule applies to the clothes as did our bedroom. I also have a couple pictures still leaning against the hallway wall. Those will be hung up.

On Friday we are leaving for a camping trip. This will be our first camping trip together (the hubby and I), and even scarier...my first camping trip as a Mom! So, that day will have to be focused on getting that ready. It will be SO NICE to have everything in order prior to getting packed for the weekend.

I better get busy...I'm setting the bar pretty high for myself, but I really need these habits to stop and Get My House In Order!

The Essig Motif

Check out this cute website for fun baby accessories and things for mom, too. It's great! Laura is very talented and very creative.

http://theessigmotif.blogspot.com/

Huggies Rewards Points

Get 10 Huggies Rewards Points by using this code below:

DHJWW-NLGGB-WMMMB

You must use it by April 30.

Disney Rewards Points!

I love Disney Rewards Points. It is so fun to play their silly games and get free things to just messing around. I just got an e-amil from Disney and it sent me on a fun scavenger hunt. Both of the kids are sleeping, so I thought I could earn 100 points. Here are some codes that you can type in if you're interested in earning free Rewards.

Popular (10 points)
Partners (15 points)
wildflower (20 points)
online (25 points
green (30 points)

Go Disney!!

ps - if you want to do your own scavenger hunt (because you like it :)) you can go here.

Pamper's "Gifts to Grow" codes

If you have a Pamper's Gifts to Grow account I have two codes that will give you 10 point each.

3RNJJD9CD33WTX7
Apr2010Facebook

If you don't have a Gifts to Grow Account, you can go here to get one.

Sparkling Clean Microwave

Have you ever been disgusted by your microwave? You go to heat some yummy food up and lose your appetite by the smell and the food caked on? Mine usually smells like pizza or soup, or when it's really bad, both.

Here's what I do to solve the problem. Take a little bowl and put about 1/4-1/2 cup Lemon Juice in it, depending on how much of a disaster it is. Microwave for about a minute and a half. Then, take wet paper towl and wipe away the grease and food. This usually takes away all of the mess AND makes it smell super good. Lemonie-fresh!!

I used this technique today. It was so bad that I had to take the "scrubby-part" of the sponge and get some dish soap on it to help get the worst of the job done.

Not too bad, though. It took about 10 minutes and I was done!

Bountiful Kid 2 Kid

The Bountiful Kid 2 Kid at 273 W. 500 S. is having a "Fill the Bag" sale. It goes from Friday the 26th through Wednesday the 31st. A bag costs $8. Last time someone was able to fit 29 things in the bag, a total value of $80! Check it out! It'll be fun and we can grab some great deals. The items that we can grab are the Clearance Items. We'll probably want to get there as soon as we can as to get a good selection. I bet things get pretty picked over.

Walgreen's Easter Coupons

If you play a fun Memory Easter Game on Walgreen's Facebook page you can print out some great Easter Candy store coupons. Just go here. It's fun and easy. Couple these coupons with some Manufacturer coupons and you've got an EXCELLENT deal!

Coupon Conference -- Saturday

On Saturday I attended a Coupon Conference put on by Melea at freebies2deals.com. It was GREAT! It was her first Coupon Conference and she did SUCH a great job.

Some great things I learned that I didn't know before:

In Utah you don't have to buy beer to get the Beer Rebate. You can find a stack of them in the aisle where the beer is sold. Or, you can go to the Customer Service desk and ask for one. Right now Smith's has a beer rebate for $10 off when you buy $20 worth of shrimp or other seafood. That means 50 % off on something that you NEVER find coupons for. The rebate also includes some spices.

So -- CHECK IT OUT! Ask for beer rebates at the store if you can't find them. This is one of the great things about living in Utah. Might as well use it while we can!

Babies R Us

Okay, even though nobody is going to see this. I thought I would post an amazing deal that's going on this Saturday, March 20th. Babies R Us is having a 1-day deal. If you buy any 2 Pampers Value boxes of diapers (92-252 ct.) they will give you a $20 gift card. The best deal possible for that is if you buy the

96 ct. Pampers Sensitive Diaper box for $29.99, buy two for $59.98.

You get a $20 Gift Card.

Total Cost for 192 Diapers is $39.98, before tax

Total Cost per Diaper is $.20 each

The Beginning

I am starting this blog because I enjoy finding amazing deals. And, even more than finding them for myself, I love sharing what I learn with my family and friends. The past few months I have enjoyed searching for deals and learning more about ways to live on less and make our money stretch to the maximum value. I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing it. I will probably be the only one viewing it, but I will love it for myself. I hope that more people can follow these amazing deals and cash in on some fun life!