A Weekend Seminar Just for YOU!

            I have been in secret squirrel negotiations with my favorite Bama Mama, Cindy Rushton, about putting together a Talk A Latte seminar for all of you regarding getting out of debt and some of my best kept “secrets” on how to make it all work in the most simple way. In the mean time, the emails for more seminars kept rolling in! I have tried to answer some of your personal questions through email, but the larger and more common questions lead me to pray about a more open answering forum to help as many as possible. SO, Cindy and I are partnering up to offer the BEST and BIGGEST weekend seminar we could put on!

I am SOOOOO excited to offer this seminar! A Simple Journey to Debt Free Living will have 8 full sessions spanning over two days. Well, I could tell you all about it, but instead, I will give you a link to the page Cindy put together for me…cuz I think she may know I am not so good at the techie stuff…hee hee hee!

A Simple Journey to Debt Free Living Weekend Talk a Latte Seminar!

Get your ticket NOW, because there will be so much info provided you are going to want to listen to these audios over and over again. J

Want to bring a friend? Great! Check the bottom of the page linked above and see the bring a friend discount!

Of course there are freebies in abundance! But check it out for yourself. The seminar is this coming weekend, Friday & Saturday, September 12 & 13!

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Mom, I’m Bored!

Leaf Crafts PART I

Autumn is fast approaching. Much of the country will be experiencing the beautiful painting of the leaves, which will eventually fall upon the ground. Over the next few weeks, I will post a few crafts that we have enjoyed, and are not your typical projects. Gather these up and watch the leaves. When the time is right you will be prepared with lots of FUN for the kids!

This week I want to focus on using leaves to decorate paper plate masks. We have used them to create lion manes, bears, Einstein hair, hats, & ears in their whole form. We have also used dried and crumbled leaves for freckles, facial hair (including eyebrows and stubble), and fur.

Let your children dream of what they can do with natures beautiful leaves when making masks. Then let them put on a play! It really IS a LOT of FUN!

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Simply Frugal

Car Care Products

I am not a fan of car cleaning. I DO LIKE a clean vehicle, but it is one of those things that I let go in lieu of other more important tasks. However, it has been awfully rainy here lately. Unfortunately, our town has not kept the residential roads up as well as needed, so there are a lot of potholes etc. Pair that with a large amount of cleared land and nothing to handle the water that was once absorbed by plant and tree roots and you have a recipe for a lot of muck on your vehicle.

When I went to wash the vehicle, I realized we were out of almost everything, including tire cleaner! UGH! There was a bit of wax, but that wouldn’t do me any good if I couldn’t wash the van. SO, I came inside and headed to the internet to see what I could find about homemade car care products. I really didn’t want to spend any money (I don’t know why I never looked for these categories of homemade products before…) and I wanted something simple. However, it would be terrible if I tried one of my homemade household cleaners on the vehicle, only to do damage to the paint, tires, or interior.

I found this webpage on About.com that contained recipes, that were not only simple, and frugal, but some of them are the same as recipes I use for household cleaners. So they are GREEN cleaners as well. Check out the webpage and start saving on car care products today! The interior cleaner was especially good!

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

I Can’t Live Simply Until…

Candles Provide a Simple Light

I have offered many posts recently regarding saving money on electricity. While Wednesday’s posts are typically reserved for ideas and tips on obtaining a simple life, today they cross paths. One thing that I have always enjoyed is candles. Many women use scented candles in their homes, most typically in jars. However a really nice touch to a home is to use pillar candles for a light source.

I particularly like candles as a light source for dinner. But it would be nice and frugal to read by candlelight as well. Many have thought of bathing by candlelight, but I also shower by candlelight as well. Candlelight just offers a simple ambience that is peaceful regardless of what you are doing. So, don’t save the candles for something special, use them anytime as a regular practice.

One way to help your taper candles last longer is to put them in the refrigerator for a day or two before use. This helps the candle to burn more evenly and will help to prevent drippage, even if you have a slight draft.

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Keep It Together Girl!

Optimal Organization

Organization is such a tricky feat for most of us. Finding the right container with the right niche for items is always a challenge. There is something you can do that will help you immensely; look to others.

We all have friends who are organized, if not all around, organized in some specific area. Talk with them. I have a special friend, who is can take a small area and PACK it with items and yet you never feel cramped in the space. April has a gift. She is also creative. She has a home that truly doesn’t have enough room for all her school and crafting supplies. So she turned a shed into her school/craft room. Yes, I said a shed. It is a wonderful addition to her world.

Although I do not have the ability to have a shed, I have learned a lot about space efficient storage, that offers a cozy space that is comfortable, not cramped. I have expounded on this idea in various areas of my home. Often times when I have to organize an area, especially a smaller one, I think about April’s shed. I consider some of the ways she has been able to store so much in such a tiny space. I think about containers she has used, how she has used her shelf space and creative ideas for storing those hard to store items. The best part, is that she uses frugal practices to accomplish all of her needs.

Seek a friend who you know has a gift for creative storage. If you need some options for kitchen or pantry storage, asks a friend who you have seen utilizes her kitchen or pantry space well. Perhaps you could have her come to your home as a second pair of eyes, and a creative consultant. Let her know what you are struggling to organize and ask for suggestions. Organization solutions need not be yours alone. Reach out to a friend. Why re-invent the wheel when you have wisdom around you?

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Can I Have Some More, Please?

Frugal Freezer Food

How many times I have mentioned that if you throw food away due to spoilage there was no savings in the item to begin with. This is never truer than in your freezer, especially a second freezer. Using a freezer inventory is a wonderful way to keep track of contents and dates by which the items must be consumed, thus helping you with your menu planning. However there is another little trick that I recommend for those with a chest freezer.

In order to reach those items stored at the bottom of the freezer and for simple maneuvering and organizing of your chest freezer, consider using milk crates. You can store like items in a crate and layer the crates in your freezer. So all meats might be placed in one, pre-cooked dinners in another, vegetables in another, and so on. In this way when you are searching for an item, you can easily remove the crates to find what you are looking for and you will know exactly which crate the item would be located in. Saves time AND food!

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Mom, I’m Bored!

Encourage Your Children to Express their Creative Side

Oh how I love art and crafting. Although all my kids have their own favorite activities, I am a watercolor fan. I truly wish I had a bit more time to develop my drawing and painting skills. When I lived up north I would take the littletons to art museums often. The true beginning of this activity began for me the first time I was taken to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This is my most fond museum memory, and will likely always be my favorite museum for that reason. However, living close to the city, I had the ability to visit museums often. There are so many in and outside of NYC. As I grew into adulthood and moved to the Ohio Valley, I found respite in the resources in Pittsburgh, Pa. You could have found me, pushing a stroller, nursing a babe, and talking about what we were seeing; always a marvel to me.

Here, there is not much museum hopping to be had. Certainly nothing as what I had been accustomed to. I have been to several museums, but it seemed that as the littletons grew to be eldertons, they did not have the same interest and thus time took hold. Imagine my surprise when a littleton told me the other day that she was going to have her art displayed in a museum one day. It wasn’t astonishing that she wanted to showcase her art, but that at four, she even knew museums existed. She has not been to one and we don’t discuss them…at least that I can recall. At any rate, you can tell she is the most art oriented of the group.

Although she comes up with the most amazing ideas on her own, left to a room filled with art supplies this girl will astound you with her creativity and vision, I often research a wide variety of art ideas with an even wider variety of mediums. I have wanted to share this wonderful site, but today is the day I introduce it. I have been pondering through this site for the last several weeks and am truly finding so much held within, that a mere post cannot possibly encompass all it has to offer.

However, I want to share this GREAT page on frugal and recycled craft ideas. You can find that page by clicking here. While the page will likely give you a lot of ideas for your home art, I recommend you bookmark the site (Creativity Portal) and spend time when permitted perusing all it has to offer. This isn’t just for kids!

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Simply Frugal

Frugal Tea

Tea lovers abound everywhere. People love their java and coffee houses are all the rage! I myself like to treat myself to a mocha java, decaf, skinny, no whip from time to time. Not that I cannot make it from scratch in the same amount of time, but just for a fun treat. However, I have noticed that tea I enjoy more at home. There is something so calming about a simple cup of herbal tea.

However, in the last few years tea has become an in icon as well. There are so many varieties to choose from, that when there is a sale, I find it hard to resist. In my home I have a LARGE box in my pantry that contains about 2 dozen different types of tea at any given time. It allows me to choose my tea with the moment, and gives company a wide variety to choose from as well. However, without a good sale, and even with it, tea is no longer inexpensive as it once was.

For those pricier herbal teas, that I so enjoy, I make them last longer. A tea bag of good quality tea can last longer than one cup. Simply store the tea bag in a plastic bag in the fridge. When you use it for the second cup, let steep 2-3 minutes longer. I have found some tea bags, depending on the herbs, can be used three times. This truly allows me to spend a bit on the teas I so enjoy, while still keeping within my budget.

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

I Can’t Live Simply Until…

Simplicity for Your Community

 Schedules are a major issue for those seeking a more simple life. How to balance what is needed and what is wanted. We are all looking for the perfect balance for our lives. One thing we often overlook when we are finding that balance is others. We are so busy trying to figure out how to keep it all level and workable, we put giving back in last position.

For fear of sounding like a guilt trip, I will avoid the phrase “should” in this post. What I want to express is that I have found that giving time in my community has contributed to my life of simplicity. There is something satisfying and simplistic about giving time to others outside my normal life. There is a peace and a reward that is not found in life in other ways and other paths of life. I enjoy giving of my time. There are seasons when the time is limited. How do I use the little bit of time I may have? I make it count!

It can be rewarding to give to others. But when your life is full in other ways, you have to truly pray and weigh for guidance as to what God wants of you. There is a simple but overflowing feeling inside that is indescribable with words when you follow God’s desire for you to give to others, especially in the smallest of ways. Anyone can write a check, but time is something not many choose to give.

These are my thoughts.

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Keep It Together Girl!

Everyday School Organization

One thing that everyone tries to do at the beginning of each school year is to make a system that will work for keeping things organized. We all dream of mornings that are non-chaotic with never a spinny, spin, spin for that one needed item that seems to be hiding somewhere. I know I put that pencil somewhere, but where? Here is a system that can put those mornings behind you forever!

Consider a simple cubbie system. Yup, just like they have at schools, but maybe not quite so elaborate. I looked high and low and we priced lumber for the exact size cubbies we needed for our family. Unfortunately I was NOT willing to pay the prices available for this organization. BUT then I found a way to do it for a mere $13!

I took into account what items I needed for the kids to have at their ready every day. This included a rather large school box (which are color coded for each child: one child is blue, one is green, etc), an oversized art box, that seems to be designed for 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, and space for a bag or backpack.

Wally World had this little build it yourself plastic storage shelves in different sizes. I found the one that had the dimensions I needed, taking into account the space I had to place the cubbie system. Since I don’t have a lot of room, I had to find a corner and it had to be tall, rather than wide. It cost $13.

I brought it home and put it together in seven minutes. To each shelf I placed a color coded name label. Then the boxes went on. Every morning the kids grab their boxes and we are ready for the day. When the school day is over, it is their responsibility to replace the items in the box and back on the shelf. Each Friday I have a box check. I count how many glues sticks, pencils, markers, crayons, sharpeners, papers, folders, etc. If a box is missing an item, the child has 10 minutes to locate it. If it cannot be located the child must purchase the item him/herself…even my four year old must use her own money to replace items that have not been cared for properly.

If there is an activity on any given day that requires an item not on the shelf such as a particular notebook, backpack, or book, the child will put it on the shelf the night before when he/she is laying out his/her clothes. On co-op and art days the children get up, dress (clothes laid out the night before), grab their boxes, have breakfast and we are out the door! No hassle, nothing forgotten, no scurrying about! One thing about leaving the house with items, there is a rule that the boxes must be carried directly from the vehicle and returned to the shelf immediately. This eliminates car build up and running around grabbing the box the next day. The boxes must be on the shelf before lights out.

One note about color coding: I have found this to be VERY effective in our home. I keep to the simple colors that I KNOW I can find for items such as ruler, pencils, boxes, erasers, scissors, folders, etc. In this way, if I find an item lying about or the children are putting their school items away, there is never confusion about to whom the item belongs.

We have cut down on our morning prep time by about 20 minutes. Try this system; it’s simple, frugal, AND effective!

These are my thoughts.