What I've Learned in My Two Weeks of Line Drying Clothes

When making the decision to line dry laundry, one should consider the following:

1. That fitted tank top that always shrunk down to the perfect fit in the dryer can be donated as its days of cute fittedness have passed.

2. There is a circumstance in this world where jeans do, in fact, need to be ironed.

3. Purchase an iron and ironing board as the clothes line does not come with a wrinkle free setting.

4. Towels will certainly resemble a combination of cardboard and sandpaper and will now make the perfect exfoliator.

5. Items that could in any way resemble the color of a flower will certainly be investigated by a bumble bee or two. Blue, pink, red, yellow, orange, purple, and white items resemble flowers. Consider purchasing a black wardrobe, or steak out your getaway path before hanging items of these colors.

6. Collecting clothing from the line after dark may be hazardous. Tread carefully.

7. That sun-dried scent may not be all it's talked up to be. Although it may not smell awful, prepare yourself for confusion and disappointment after taking a whiff of freshly dried clothing.

8. Smile, cross your fingers, and pray that a lower electric bill comes to make all the insanity worthwhile!

DIY Treasure

While searching for a way to display our house number at the end of our driveway, I stumbled across a Fantastic Blog Find! I'm a do-it-myselfer at heart, and I fully intend to start all the projects floating around in my mind as soon as our house construction is complete.

Within minutes of visiting...

DIY Home Decorating Ideas

I added several good intentions to my DIY list.

The article that I originally found offered plenty of options for displaying house numbers. THIS was my favorite.

I'd love to find a DIY meme to kick my sorry tush into DIY gear... I'm sure there's one out there! For now, I'm enjoying being inspired by the ideas and tips offered at the newest addition to my blog roll!

Dreaming

I think that, should I ever find myself financially comfortable, I would like to hire a cleaning service- not to pick up or do dishes or laundry- to scrub my house down once a month or so.  I'm not trying to shirk my SAHM responsibilities, rather I would love to hire out for the deep cleaning and instead spend my time on other house chores- like gardening, cooking real meals regularly, and learning to do minor repairs and fix-its.  

With three kids, the thought of being that super mom who has a garden (veggie and flower), washes her curtains frequently, taxis her kids to seventeen events each week, packs the best lunches and provides the favorite hang out for her kids' friend (and hers!) seems a tad improbable.  I consider myself successful if there are clean clothes in the closets and drawers, the bathroom, kitchen and floors are clean, the bills are paid, and the kids are fed some fruits and vegetables each day- even if it's from a can.  

BUT- how nice will it be someday when my kids are all old enough to entertain themselves without painting with my nail polish on the walls?  I'm pretty certain that, should the day come when I can think about spending a little on a cleaning service, my kids will be old enough that I won't long so much for one, but oh, if I had a million dollars today...

Tackle It Tuesday: June 30th

Our future ballet bedroom- back when it was just a skeleton.  

Since then, our sheetrock was hung, mudded, taped, and sanded.  

THEN I took over.  

Step 1: clean dust from every nook and cranny.  

Step 2: wipe down the ceiling and walls.  

Step 3: Prime closet, ceiling, and walls.

Step 4: Paint ceiling.  

Step 5: Paint lavender base coat on walls.  

And here's where we are on this Tackle It Tuesday!  Still a work in progress.  

Next step: Paint brushed pearl finish over base coat.  In my dreams, this room will feel like a Lisa Jane print when we're all finished... In my dreams...

See more Tackles here!

Tackle It Tuesday: May 26th

The TUB. It can be such a relaxing, peaceful corner of the house. It holds the 

potential for repulsion. Thankfully, mine had not come to that, but the soap scum and rust from our drain plug were enough to make me crazy!

Before: Yuck- the soap scum and hard water that build up in my shower!

After: Squeaky clean and ready for candles and a good read!

War Wounds

6 hours, 42 dollars, and 14 loads later, I'm free from the shackles that bind me!  On the war field (laundry mat) the warriors paid a price for sure!  The enemies plowed through the smallest fighter, leaving a cut on her eyebrow that sent Grandma speeding with Neosporin and Band-Aids.  Her fight was brave; her reward was a nap at Grandma's.  Her attacker was punished with the same-- a nap at Grandma's.  And the struggle against grass stains, dirt and smelly clothes waged on, long into the afternoon.  In the end, the troops were victorious!  The wounded were released from the infirmary; the prisoners were freed.  The hallways that were once invaded by dirty shirts and smelly socks had been reclaimed, and the bright gleam of the wood floors of the kingdom shone once again!

Refocus

I've been very prayerfully seeking direction about our family planning.  My Catholic faith believes that you should not avoid pregnancy unless you are financially or emotionally incapable of adding to your family.  Our marriage vows included a promise to accept children willingly and lovingly from God, and while some may believe that they've accepted their 2.5 children lovingly, I'm a bit convicted about the idea of having more children.  On one hand, I'm blessed with super strength fertility (seriously, if it were a qualifying trait of superheroines, I'd have my own comic series), my pregnancies have been flawless (unless you count gaining way too much weight with my second), and my babies have been healthy.  On the other hand, I am constantly behind on laundry, more often than not it looks like a toy box exploded in my living room, and my children are a bit on the unruly side.  Obviously the emotional capability is in question! 

In the midst of my prayer and reflection, it dawned on me (ok, fine.  He hit me over the head with it) that my lazy tendencies, inconsistent organization, and lack of firm discipline are NOT reasons to avoid more babies!  I plan to spend the next two or three months weaning off my one child lifestyle that I've been naive enough to think I could keep with three running around.  My firm discipline is already evident in my son, though we have far to go.  The next step will be to simplify my life in order to make time to create the haven that I, as a mommy and wife, am obligated to create!  Once that it accomplished, I'm sure God will let me know what my next assignment is!

Re: Just Wondering

Ok, one day last week I asked how often you all cleaned under your fridges.  I just found out that moving a refrigerator is not as hard or dangerous as it seems to be.  I hadn't dared try to move the thing by myself in all the years in this house, but I finally decided I'd put it off long enough.  Guess what?  The entire stocked fridge moved as if it were on wheels!  No longer do I believe that my strapping husband needs to move it aside for me to keep the dust out or retrieve a toy that rolled under never to return!  Now I can put his muscles to use elsewhere-- maybe push mowing the lawn???