Happy Monday

Hello friends.  I am asked all the time how I manage to have four kids and still work from home.  I am by no means an expert, but I will share some things that work for me, and our family.  I receive so much encouragement, advice, and inspiration from other bloggers who have large families.  One of my favorites is The Homespun Heart, and I am joining in this week on the "making your home a haven" week.  I consider myself very blessed to have my family, and I am constantly trying to make our home run more smoothly and efficiently.  Organization is definitely my key.

Monica is starting the week with tidying.  She always begins the day in prayer and with a plan.  That is the same for me!  Today was a homeschooling day for the oldest, and the two middle ones went to preschool from 9-1.  After nursing, an initial tidy-up, breakfast, driving the kids to school, and getting myself ready for the day, it was already 9:15!  My project today for tidying was my closet and our desk.  (In addition to 3 loads of laundry).  Here are my before and afters:

 

My closet floor before.  I am storing my Christmas presents in there (yes, I am done with my shopping).  Here is the after:

 

I tried to fit them in the storage container.  I also went through all my drawers and organized things.  I came up with a whole bag for donation.

Here is the before of our desk area:

 

Clutter drives me crazy!

Here is the after.  It took less than 10 minutes to tidy up this area.

 

We will finsih up the day with homeschooling, playing outside, and having dinner together as a family.  On Monday nights I usually go through all my coupons, sort through my pantry, and make my grocery list.  I try to use what we have, and buy on sale.  After keeping track of what we were spending at the grocery store, I have really tightened up here for our budget.  We were initially at about $800 a month for groceries.  I have easily budgeted down to $600, and I would like to get to $500. 

I know some of this is probably very boring to some of you, but if you are into creating a beautiful and peaceful home with a frugal mindset, come join me this week.  I'll share with you what I've learned, and I can't wait to see what everyone else does!:)

Comments

[Monica]

Great job today! Love the before and after pictures! I trust that your family is feeling blessed and encouraged for your efforts! Thanks for joining the challenge!

Monica

[Kyley Ochoa]

LOVE IT! :) You are one of my favorite BLOGGERS...SO in honor of you..I am going to CONTINUE my TIDYING....I am trying so hard to be more organized!!!! A VERY VERY VERY HARD task for me! I am the queen of CRAZY! SO I WILL work hard today and share with you! YOUR PICS ARE GREAT! GREAT JOB! :) You did really well!
:)
KYley