Cozy Home

2012-07-10T14:34:00.002-07:00

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Arsenic in the apple juice!!!!!

2011-12-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

I have talked with a few parents lately who are very concerned about the fact that the FDA has allowed arsenic in something we give our precious children. In my years of research and study I found that most of the “food” that we are allowed to eat is not really food at all. It is mostly made up of toxic chemicals.

So what are you as a parent supposed to do? I say read. Read everything you can get your hands on about what we eat and what is in the products we use every day. You need to be an informed consumer. As you have just recently found out, you cannot really trust what the FDA says is safe.

I try to only buy whole foods such as organic eggs, fruits, and vegetables. When I do buy a special treat such as candy for the kids, I get the organic type because it does not have artificial dyes. (I could do a whole other post on the dangers of dye).

I also try to limit the amount of toxins my family gets by making my own cleaning supplies and sprays, and also buying organic shampoo, toothpaste, etc.

You will still get toxins in your body because they are everywhere; but, I hope by limiting the amount, it will better help our bodies filter out the rest.

What are your thought about the recent discovery?

Free Memories & Adventures

2011-12-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

We live in a small town. When I started homeschooling my boys, I was worried that since we did not live in a big city that there would not be many learning activities we could do outside of the home. I also worried that even if there occasionally was something fun to do, then we would have to pay a lot to participate.
Check out the rest of my guest post on Hip Homeschool Moms:

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Calm and Peaceful Days

2011-07-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

The alarm goes off at 8:00am. You jump out of bed.

You have to find the kids clothes to wear, feed them, and be out the door by 9:30.

Oh no! You forgot to get the library books together!

Now you have to hurry to get everything done so you can search for them -- and you still have to make a grocery list.

Your kids can’t find anything to eat because they ate the cereal yesterday. Now what are you going to do? ” Just find something!” you yell.

They end up eating Goldfish® crackers.

You tell them to get dressed so that you can find the library books and make your grocery list.

Your older child comes in wearing clothes that are too small. You tell him to change but he says that these are the only clothes that are clean.

Ugh! “I guess you will just have to wear them,” you say.

Your preschooler is running around half clothed with a Batman® cape.

You gently tell him to get dressed.

“NO! I want to wear my green shirt and purple pants!!!” he exclaims.

You tell him that he can’t because they are dirty.

“Then I will not go!” He sits in the middle of the floor refusing to budge.

You still have not found the library books that you need or made your grocery list.

You only have 10 minutes until you need to go. And this is just the morning.

Think of how off balance the rest of your day will be.

Now let’s look at a different day.

You wake up at 7:00am.

You read your Bible, pray, drink coffee, and daydream.

You make pancakes for breakfast.

You wake up the kids. They make their beds, eat breakfast, and put the clothes on that they picked out the night before.

You put the meat in the crock pot that you will have for supper tonight.

You get the library books that are by the door, grab your grocery list, and leave the house 15 minutes early. Everyone is calm, peaceful, and happy. They are ready to have a great day.

What is the difference in these two days?

In the second day you got ready for the next day the night before.

My mom always taught me that I should lay my clothes out the night before for the next day. This is something I have done since I was little.

It got me thinking. If it works with clothes, then why not with everything else?

Then I decided that I need to look at all my plans for the next day to see if there is anything I can do the night before to make my next day run more smoothly.

I have my kids follow this routine before they go to bed.

They are in charge of finding the clothes they want to wear the next day and showing them to me for my approval.

This is especially helpful with an opinionated preschooler.

They are also in charge of getting together anything else they might need for the next day. For example: if the next day is church,then they have to get their Bibles and put them by the door.

When they are tucked in bed I look over my plans and see what I need to prepare for the next day.

Do I need to get meat out to thaw for supper?

Do I need to make sure all library books are together and by the door?

What clothes will I wear the next day?

I also decide what I will make for breakfast the next morning and make sure that I have all the ingredients.

My grocery list is always ready to go because I keep a list on the refrigerator of the things I need. I put a mark by the product when I run out of it.

Another thing to ensure a smooth day is to try (notice I said try) to get up before everyone else.

I like to get up read the Bible, pray, eat breakfast, and day dream before the others get up. Having that time to charge up just seems to make the day go better.

I want to add that just because your day starts smoothly does not mean it will stay that way. There are always going to be unexpected events that happen; but, when they do it seems not to affect me as much if I have planned my day.

Warranties and Instruction Books and Receipts, Oh My!

2011-06-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

You know those warranties, instruction books and receipts you get with different products? I decided after the 100^th time of needing a warranty, or trying to figure out how we got the batteries in that toy train the first time that it might be a good idea to organize them so I could easily find them.

I bought three big notebooks, clear page protectors, and notebook dividers. I divided the notebook by rooms, alphabetized the rooms and wrote the room names on the dividers-for example: Bathrooms, Kitchen, Laundry Room, Outside, etc. Whatever room the product is located that is the section I placed it in. I put the instruction book, warranty and receipt in the page protectors.

Now I know exactly where they are when I need them. This also comes in handy when you want to give the product away or place it in a garage sale. You can have the instruction book to go with it and the person can see when it was bought and if it is still under warranty.

Daily Cleaning Routines

2011-06-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

Daily cleaning routines are a wonderful thing!!!

They help you keep your house clean with very little time or effort. You just decide when a task will be most convenient to do and in 5 minutes or less it is done!

This is easy to do even if you have a baby or work outside your home. I am going to give you an example of my daily routine so you can get an idea of how this works.

7:00- Wake up and take dirty laundry to laundry room, sort and start a load.

8:00- After fixing my hair and brushing my teeth I wipe down the mirror and counter. I quickly clean the toilets with a toilet brush (no cleaner).

8:15- I unload dishwasher and put clothes in the dryer.

8:30- After breakfast, I clear the dishes from table, rinse then put them in the dishwasher and wipe the table. (This is a good job for kids.)

10:00- During a school break the kids and I get clothes out of dryer, fold them and put them up. * I try to only do one load a day if possible and I don’t do laundry on weekends.

12:00- Following lunch, the kids and I clear dishes from the table, wipe table, rinse dishes and load.

4:00- Quick clean, At this time we run around the house (this makes it fun, J) to make sure everything is where it is supposed to be and we quickly vacuum with a rechargeable vacuum. (Kids beg to vacuum with this.)

6:30- We clear the dishes and wipe the table and counters. I have the kids vacuum the floor again with the rechargeable vacuum and I start the dishwasher.

7:30- During Keyton’s bath, I wipe down the kids’ bathroom counters and mirror.

8:00-During the kids’ bedtime snack , I clean out the sink and get the coffee ready for the next morning.

The best way to set up your routine up is to figure out what you want to get done in a day and place it where you can most logically get it accomplished with little effort. Even though my list may look like a lot, it is really not. You get to the point where you don’t even realize you are doing anything. Good luck setting up your routine. If you have any questions or need help please add a comment.

Upcominging Blog Posts:

DeCluttering, Kids Clean and Rules, DeCluttering From a 7 Year Olds Point of Veiw, and Once a Month Cleaning just to name a few.

Cozy Home?

2011-06-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

How does a quiet, cozy, clean home sound to you?
In this home the children are helpful, nice, and obedient and they enjoy learning.
In this home the mother has time for fun with her kids , quiet time with her husband and still has time for herself to do whatever she wishes.
Is this just a fairy tale? No, it is a very attainable goal.
And while my days are far from perfect, I have been able to achieve these goals. It took me some time to find the rhythm that was right for my family, but now that I have found it, I want to help you as well.
I have tried many different ideas over many years. The ideas that took a long time to implement or were hard to figure out I would not stick with. If it overwhelmed me, I usually would try it but get burned out.
Everything that I blog about will be things that are simple to do or things I will try out so you can see if they will work for your home. So grab a cup of tea or coffee and get ready to have a cozy home.

About

2011-06-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

About The Blog:
My reason for starting this blog is to help women be able to enjoy the time they have with their children while they are still in the home. I want you to be able to give your children lasting memories of their time spent at home.

About Me:
My name is Sharla Orren. I have a Sociology degree and currently work part time as a director and teacher of our church preschool. My favorite jobs are that of wife, mother, homeschool mom and homemaker. I love reading and learning about nutritional whole foods, making my own cleaning and beauty products and living a simple, intentional, God centered life.

My husband Robert is a very wonderful and supportive husband. I don’t think I would love homemaking or homeschooling as much if it were not for him. Robert is the Youth and Family Minister at our church.