So Sew Organized

So far in our series on Time Management we’ve talked about the first step to take , setting priorities and goals and how to set a manageable schedule , and things that rob us of our time. We’ve skimmed over a lot of thoughts in this mini-series. Today I’d like to wrap it all up with some random final thoughts to help us on our journey. 1. Don’t put things down, put them away. Ten minutes a day spent looking for lost or misplaced items adds up to over 60 hours a year. Think of all that could be done in 60 hours! Break your procrastination habits in this and other areas: instead of thinking, “I’ll do that later,” stop and do it now! MaryEllen over at Imperfect Homemaker is on a year-long anti-procrastination journey. She has some great thoughts as to why we procrastinate and what can be done to stop that habit! 2. Set goals, then tell others about your goals so that you’ll be motivated and held accountable. You know I set weekly and monthly goals, which I was inspired to do after r...

I hyped you up a couple of weeks ago about a Craft Fair I planned on attending. And then I never updated you after the fact! I intended to all last week and never got around to it, so here it is! I’ll let you in on a secret: when I announced that Monday that I planned to attend a craft fair, I actually hadn’t even reserved my table yet. :) I know, nothing like waiting until the last minute, right? A friend and I had both been planning on going, but I was sort of non-committal, wondering if I really wanted to “put myself out there” like that! I mean, its one thing to post stuff online to sell...in a way, it doesn’t seem as “real” because I’m not face to face with people, trying to sell my products. But to actually sell stuff to real people , now, that seemed like a different story! So, I finally called to reserve us tables on Tuesday of that week. And guess what...they were full. Bummer! I know, it was totally my own fault! The nice lady on the phone said she’d go over and measure and s...

I'm joining in the fun over at Money Saving Mom and Simply Rebekah ! Every Friday during October these gals are sharing pictures of ways they save money in certain areas. So far the topics have been Bath and Beauty and Food and Fun , and Home and Decor. Today, we get to choose our own topic! Here is my frugal picture: I'm not really sure how to label this frugal tip. Floral? They aren't flowers. Greenery? Nope, they aren't green, either. Weeds? That's closer! :) Anyway, I couldn't decide on what frugal photo to share with you, so I chose a frugal decision I made this week: use what ya got. In this case, I brought a little fall color into my room with these beautiful, but admittedly, weeds . I have not idea what they are, but they are growing wild in our field in all kinds of shades of red and orange. So pretty! I just clipped a few and stuck them in these vases. They add the perfect pop of autumn! I especially love them next to these nice textured balls th...

So far in our series on Time Management we’ve talked about the first step to take , setting priorities and goals and how to set a manageable schedule . Today lets talk about the things that seemingly rob us of our time. There are time takers, and there are time wasters. Two different things. First, lets talk about the time takers. A trip to the grocery store is a time taker, for sure. Depending on your circumstances, it could take a whole lotta time. We are blessed to be able to do all our shopping just 15 minutes away. (We don’t have a lot of things to choose from here, which is wonderful, but thats for another time) So we can feasibly do our shopping without taking up too much time. I know of others, however, that have to drive an hour to get to Walmart, so every situation is different. Putting the baby to sleep is a time taker. Trust me. Just this morning I spent a good 45 minutes rocking him and trying to get him back to sleep. I had planned to blog during that time, but Judah is ...

Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has done it again...released an eBook that is applicable and beneficial to us all! 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life came about after a blog series on that same subject. This book contains more than just blog posts, however! For 21 days, Crystal highlights several areas of discipline in our daily lives - from setting goals, taking tiny baby steps, allowing discipline to be a process in your life, the dangers of comparison, and many more! This is not another self-help book. It is intended to be a guide and help to you as you get back on track in certain areas of self-discipline. I’ve not yet read the entire book, but the chunk I did read has motivated me to get going and do something in the area of personal discipline in my life. In fact, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of this new eBook, knowing that there are areas in my life where I am lacking in personal disciple, and eager to apply Crystal’s steps in my own life! Here is my favorite qu...

Besides the pumpkin and apples I showed you in yesterday's post, there was one more DIY project I wanted to complete for this Harvest Supper. This project ended up solving a big headache! Our church fellowship hall is in our unfinished basement. That means the walls are just cold, hard cement. In previous years, we try to stick posters, banners, pictures, etc. on the large expanse of wall, only to have them fall off before the event ever happens. The walls are just too cold for anything to stick to it for very long! This year, I had an idea to try a pendant banner that I could string from the ceiling. It worked so much better! I just tied a long piece of string (like a twine-y type of string) across the back wall. For sake of time, I printed off large letters on colored paper. I also printed off a light triangle shape, which you can see in the yellow page below: That gave me nice, even triangles without much hassle. I just cut out the printed triangle, and boom. Done. The font I ...

I'm joining in the fun over at Money Saving Mom and Simply Rebekah! Every Friday during October these gals are sharing pictures of ways they save money in certain areas. So far the topics have been Bath and Beauty and Food and Fun . Today's frugal photo is of the Home and Decor! Here is my frugal picture: Decor does not have to be expensive. Sure, we'd all love for our homes to look like they came out of a magazine, but they we wouldn't be able to live in them, would we?! Instead, we can take everyday things or just those *things* that seem to accumulate and use them as decor. For example, in the left side of my frugal picture is some art I made with foreign coins. Nothing fancy, but it is an interesting piece that blends in well with the rest of my room.  Beside that is my college graduation tassel. Still farther to the right is my name in wood letters, something my Uncle made me when I was a little girl. I love that I can bring sentimental things into the decor of...

I helped decorate for our Harvest Supper last Saturday, and knew that some fun seasonal stuff was in order. I decided to try my hand at carving pumpkins and apples. Yup, even apples. I turned to Pinterest for most of my inspiration, so you could call this my Pinterest-inspired project for October as well. There are lots of different pins floating around that show pumpkins with the skin carved off into different things, so I decided to try my hand at it. I totally just did my own thing and made it up as I went along. I started by writing the word "THANKS" on my pumpkin with a Sharpie. Then I turned it into nice big block letters that I could carve. Now, if you have really nice writing or are fancy-pants crafty, you could make nice calligraphic letters and make it all beautiful. But fancy-pants I am not, so block letters was the way to go. I ever-so-carefully cut in to the skin with a razor blade, and then peeled the skin away in little chunks. It turned out to be very easy! Th...

So far in our series on Time Management we’ve talked about the first step to take and setting priorities and goals. Today, lets get in the nuts and bolts topic of actually scheduling and managing our days! With our list of priorities in hand, we’re making a plan of action for the day, based on what needs to be done. Remember, we have 24 hours...no more and no less! Make time for the most important things first. Eating, grooming, sleep...these things and others are essential for you and your family every day. Don’t take time from these vital things in order to accomplish the non-essentials. Remember the priorities? Even the basics may look different for everyone. For me, the essentials looks something like this: Sleeping, showering, grooming, eating, room cleaned, dishes washed, and of course a daily coffee. :) But the list might have some variations for you. For instance, you may have a person in your home with health needs. Part of your essentials list will include administering me...

After enjoying 3 Thanksgiving dinners last week (wow, I'm a pig!) I have a decided opinion about what my favourite foods are at this time of year! Some things seems decidedly "Thanksgiving-ish" while some just seem to fit the weather and mood of fall. Here are 10 of my favourite fall foods: 1. Sweet potato casserole (I'll take this any day of the year, but it seems like I only get it at Thanksgiving. Thankfully a sweet lady in the church knows how much I love it and sent me home with the leftovers. Yum!) 2. Turkey - duh 3. Cranberry sauce 4. Cherry pie 5. Pumpkin pie 6. Squash 7. Pretty much anything pumpkin 8. Hot apple cider (oh wait, this was supposed to be a food list) 9. Apple pie or crisp 10. Sweet potato casserole...in case you missed that. :) What are your favourite fall foods? Last Top Ten: Thankfulness