True confession: I’ve tried every configuration of laundry routine out there and never found one that made me stay on top of laundry. I can discover a good rhythm, but then something will change. It turns out that laundry is not evenly produced over time, so if by a “consistent” laundry routine we mean one…
We always want to know how we’re doing, but instead of looking to our responsibilities and honestly assessing ourselves, we look sideways and compare ourselves to others. Comparing ourselves is bad enough, but then we end up actually comparing ourselves to a false version of others: the version they present on social media. We scroll,…
It is easy and oh-so-common to feel unsuccessful as a homemaker and mother. We start out with such high hopes and grand plans, only to be crushed by the weight of the daily reality of mundane duties. This is all the more true if we’ve bought into the magazine version of a successful, beautiful, organized…
You hear about mindset a lot these days. Mindset is the golden ticket of self-improvement in many circles. Do you have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset? An abundance mindset or a scarcity mindset? Choose the right mindset, and everything good will come your way. Have the wrong one, and you’re doomed to stay…
Spring cleaning is a thing. When the sun shines a little longer and a little more brightly during the day, when the green things begin to show themselves again, when the cold is not quite so biting, we start to wake up a bit more. The light shines through our windows and reveals a layer…
Once a child hits 11 or so, the average homeschool mom starts to wonder where all his common sense, self-control, and good habits went. Just when she thought she was getting somewhere and things were going alright, he hits 11 and all momentum seems to be going backward, not forward. Although I’m no fan of…
Starting Spring of 2022 we will be building a custom home on 3 acres just outside Moscow, Idaho. We will be acting as our own general contractor, doing some of the work ourselves, and cash flowing it from the sale of our previous home. August 2021 – The decision to move is made as we…
Years ago, when I released Sweep and Smile – a six week program for figuring out and practicing your home routines – I worked hard at doing it myself along with everyone else. By the end, I had a set of routines I knew worked for me – if only I did them. Isn’t knowing what to…
We all know the feeling of getting to the end of the day and wondering where our time went. What did we do? What happened? We think that the right planner or a better plan will be the key to getting more out of our time. More than a better plan, however, we need a…
This year I am homeschooling only my youngest 3. My oldest graduated high school with his two-year degree from the community college last year and my second son is currently taking full time dual enrollment classes at the same community college. Ilse is 14, in 8th grade, and in Math-U-See Geometry, Antiquity from Compass Classroom…