My Style & a Project on my To-Do List

I've recently come to the realization that tutus aren't just for little girls and ballerinas anymore. My youngest daughter has several tutu skirts and wants to wear them at all times. She loves things that sparkle and twirl and blue jeans do not fall into either of those categories according to her. In fact, she won't be seen wearing any pants without a whole bunch of bribing and begging on my part. I, however, love a good pair of blue jeans, but I'm also keen on putting away the casual and donning the sparkly and twirly, too.

I recently found this tutorial on Pinterest by Cotton + Curls for how to make a big girl (lady's) tutu skirt and I am just dying to make one. It's on my project to-do list! Maybe I'll make one for Easter!

Here's a style board I made with my favorite {for now} classy and elegant look. Sparkly tutu skirt with a classic cowl neck short sleeve shirt and coordinating cardigan. Nude heels and gold accessories just add to the elegance. But notice the beautiful Brilliant Earth studs and diamond ring! They really finish off this gorgeous look without going overboard. Brilliant Earth prides themselves on ethically sourced diamonds and engagement rings. Go check out their fine selection here. They have styles that match any personality! You can even create your own!

What's on your project to-do list?

Making Goals for the New Year

I asked my daughters tonight at the dinner table if they knew what a resolution is. The two younger ones, 8 and 5, didn't know and didn't try to guess. My 10 year old said, "It's a promise people make every year and they never keep." My husband and I busted out laughing - because we know it's true. I've sworn off resolutions. I would much rather make myself goals that are actually possible to attain. So, I asked my girls what kind of goals they would like to make for this month for themselves and then we talked about some goals for our family. It was a great conversation. I have decided to make monthly goals for myself this year instead of yearly. It's much less intimidating and overwhelming and I'm less likely to fail at them with such a short time frame. I have categorized mine into 4 categories this month. Spiritual goals, personal goals, blogging goals and health goals. Here are some things I have found helpful in planning and keeping goals. Maybe they'll be helpful to you, too!

Get a good planner. This monthly planner is going to be close by my side everyday. Believe it or not I found this at the dollar store. And it's perfect. Great size, great color, and just what I need. It shows year at a glance for 2014 and 2015. It also shows month at a glance for 2014 and includes a section for notes and reminders. I love it! I've been very scatterbrained lately and forget things or get distracted by other things needing my attention, so this calendar is going to be very useful in helping me stay on track. 

Set a realistic time frame for your goals. If you want to lose 40 pounds, don't limit yourself to 6 weeks and expect to meet your goal. Calculate a reasonable time frame for your goal and then figure out how you will accomplish that goal. One of my goals is to declutter my entire house (I do this a couple times a year), but I'm pretty sure it won't get done in a two week time frame. It'll take me at least this whole month because of other obligations I have.

Make a step by step plan. In order to reach a goal like decluttering my whole house, I have a plan to go room by room, starting with drawers then closets and then the open, obvious things in each room. As I go along, each room will also be cleaned from top to bottom using cleaning plans like these. Everything will be split into 3 piles. 1) Give away, 2) Throw away 3) Sell. That way everything that stays has a purpose and has value. Anything else goes! {I can't wait!!}

Do you make resolutions or goals? Do you set a time frame or just hope it all gets done? I'm motivated by a new year! It's a clean slate. A chance to start all over. Another chance to succeed. It's exciting and I have high hopes for this new year!

Hope all of you have a wonderful new year!




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The Well Managed Home: Time Management

Home management involves a lot of things, not the least of which is time management. Now that my precious kids are all in school, I find that my need for organization and time management is at an all-time high. It's true that I do have more free time in the sense that I don't have anyone at home demanding my attention from 8am to 3pm. However, I have a lot of things on my to-do list that still will not get done if I'm not organized about it. Time is so very easily wasted. {And we can't always blame it on the kids.} I am learning that having a list to follow everyday of the things I need to accomplish is the best way for me to get it all done. I love checking things off of a list. There's a big sense of accomplishment from that. The older I get the more I need a list to follow because I cannot do it all from memory.
Do this little exercise in time management to see if you are using your valuable time wisely.

• Journal your day starting from when you wake up until you go to bed.
• Write down what you did that day in 15 minute increments. You may want to stop every hour for a second to write it down otherwise you may forget. We do SO MUCH everyday!
• At the end of the day, look over it and analyze how your time was spent.
• Did you find you had several sections of time that were not productive? I know that I do have some that I could be using to do those small things on my list. I'll give you some ideas below.
• Do you have too much on your to do list? It's possible you need to rethink your list and determine what things you need to remove or move to another day/time.

Now, if you have slots of time that are not productive, here are some things you can do in small amounts of time:

• Clean out a drawer.
• Fold a basket of clothes.
• Distribute clothes to a room.
• Wash windows in one room.
• Dust one room.
• Vacuum one room.
• Sweep the porch.
• Clean a half bath.
• Refill paper products - toilet paper, napkins, paper towels.
• Clean mirrors.
• Hang up clothes.
• Write a thank you note.
• Send a card or email or text to someone you need to connect with.
• Write a grocery list
• Pick up everything in one room that doesn't belong and put it away.
• Throw in a load of laundry.
• Switch clothes to dryer.
• Wipe down counters
• Wipe down kitchen sink.
• Clean out refrigerator.
• Empty dishwasher
• Load dishwasher
• ETC.

During this time, you can also make a phone call to return a call, make an appt., pay a bill, etc.

The goal is to multitask when you can and use every slot of time in the best possible way. Schedule some down time if you need it, by all means, but make sure you're not just wasting time when there are a million things to be done.

If there are things on your list that never get done, ask yourself:

• Is this item absolutely necessary?
• Does it benefit my family or cause me to neglect my family?
• Is doing this item causing frustration in me or in my family members? {Maybe from lack of planning, feeling rushed, doing too much...}

Sometimes we place unneeded stress on ourselves by taking on too many committments. I mean, school is demanding, family obligations can be demanding, ministry can be very demanding, sports, etc. We don't have to do it all or be involved in everything that is available to us. In fact, it's impossible to do it all and maintain a balanced family life. Sometimes, we just have to say no. Sometimes, we can say 'later' and even fewer times we can readily commit where the whole family benefits and doesn't suffer. You just have to take these things one at a time as they come because some seasons of life are busier than others and one month we may feel like taking on the world, but the next month be completely maxed out. Balance is the key. Life is a balancing act.

• Determine your priorities ahead of time. {Family, Church, Work, School, etc.}
• What are you willing to sacrifice and not sacrifice from time to time?
• What kind of demands fall into each of those categories?

Plan ahead and when opportunities/demands present themselves, you will already have a plan in place to determine whether or not you should commit.

How do you manage your time? Do you use a daily to-do list? Do you plan each item for a specific time? Or does it work for you to just fly by the seat of your pants? I'd love to hear your tips!

Here are some great day planners you can get for a good deal!
Plan Ahead Mom's 18 Months Planner, July 2013 - December 2014, Assorted Designs, Design May Vary, 1 Planner (85097)

Personal Organizer Notepad Jotter Planner w File Divider Cell Phone Pocket and Calculator

Plan Ahead Medium Home/Office 18 Months Planner, July 2013 - December 2014, Assorted Colors, Color May Vary, 1 Planner (85095)

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series. You can find the full list at the tab above {Home Economics}.

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