Cleaning · Home making · refreshment at home

Four Areas Of My House I Clean, Tidy or Straighten Every Day

This spring I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to do some deep cleaning.  That means that I got out the hand-held vacuum and cleaned behind furniture, I dusted the walls, I straightened out closets.  All that feels good, but it’s important to me to be able to walk into any room in my home on any given day and see that it looks presentable.  To accomplish that I take care of four major cleaning spots every single day, and they take very little time!

  1. The Bed.  I make the bed every day within 15 minutes after I get up.  It’s the major portion of the room, so it makes sense that if it’s all tidied, the room feels cleaner, even if there’s dust on the dresser!
    img_7113
  2. The Bathrooms. After we’re done showering and such in the morning, I clean the sinks, the tub, shower and toilet.  I change out the hand towels and clean off the mirror.  In literally ten minutes our bathroom is done.  (I do give it a deeper clean regularly, but this is the daily routine.)
    bcb5af5a-31de-4853-b82b-e1a8fd307fd1
  3. The laundry and laundry room.  I do a load of laundry every day except Sunday.  That way I can do one load, and it’s done first thing in the morning.  The baskets don’t pile up and it doesn’t take long to do one load!  I also clean the laundry room because that’s where my kitty’s litter box and food dishes are.  It’s also done first thing in the morning.
  4. The kitchen.  After every meal I wipe down the counters, the stove and the appliances.  A quick going over whenever it’s used keeps the clean up an easy job!  The dishes are always either loaded into the dishwasher or are hand washed.

By doing these four areas, I always feel like the majority of the house is in order and clean.  Once a routine is established, you never really feel like you’re working, but are just doing the daily schedule.  I listen to podcasts or my Bible app while I do each task and it makes it go even faster!

What areas of your home do you feel daily need attention to make your home inviting?

Refresh your home by creating quick, tidying tactics!

denise a

Chicken · main dish · Sunday Dinner

Roasted Chicken with Cabbage

I absolutely love roasted chicken and this one is my family’s go-to recipe.  I’ve been making it for years.  However, I recently stumbled across a recipe that used two main things – chicken and cabbage, which I had and needed to use, so I put it on my menu. I’m not particularly fond of cabbage, but the way this is cooked completely transforms the cabbage!

img_6950
Look at the glazing of the cabbage leaves from the chicken juices and the butter! It’s crispy and delicious!!

Wow!  Am I ever glad I made this!  This was amazing! Continue reading “Roasted Chicken with Cabbage”

Encouragement · gratitude · Refreshment

(Some of) The Best Parts of My Week

I have tried really hard to keep a good attitude during these days at home.  I LOVE home and enjoy being here…but I must admit that the rainy, cold days have tried me.  One day I almost sent a text complaining about the rain, but then as the Spirit of God reminded me that it was sent from God’s hand, I wrote, “These rainy days are making me really thankful for the days when the sun shines!”

To help with keeping a right attitude, I have kept a list in my Happy Planner every day for the last several weeks of the blessings in the day.  They’re not big things, but just things that encouraged me or made me smile!  I’ll share some of the pictures of those things with you today as I did last Friday.

The sweetest gift – My husband has brought home two bouquets of flowers this week when he’s dashed into Kroger for cream or produce.  We love to check out their marked down bouquets.  Let’s face it, a bunch of fresh flowers just perk up an otherwise dreary day! He’s quite a guy to be so thoughtful.  Continue reading “(Some of) The Best Parts of My Week”

Christian growth · Coronavirus · obedience · Spiritual Refreshment

(Don’t) Follow Your Heart!

Don't Follow Your Heart - A Christian Webcomic
Photo Credit

As our world continues its restrictions and we all find our daily life in a new routine, I wonder if you’re feeling a bit lost?  I’ve been getting up and asking,

“What should I do today? How should I spend my time?”

My flesh (my heart) tells me one thing, the Spirit of God another.  Sadly, I haven’t always listened and obeyed God’s voice.  Why?  The pull of the flesh is strong!  My heart wants me to be lazy, comfortable, at ease, and not pushed into hard things!

It’s so easy to believe that ~

  • I deserve a little extra sleep!
  • I’m too busy to stop and pray.
  • It doesn’t matter if I don’t get to _____ or ______.  No one is going to see it but my family!
  • I’m too exhausted to even think about working on a Bible study.
  • I never was good at memorizing things; forget trying to memorize Scripture!

Continue reading “(Don’t) Follow Your Heart!”

Coronavirus · Prayer

How To Pray During the Coronavirus

c21fb-prayer2bjournal2b001

Good evening, Friends!  I am posting totally out of my normal routine just to let you know that I’ve posted a new video to You Tube this evening.

As I’m sure you’ll hear in my voice on this video, I have a true burden about using the remainder of this during the Coronavirus with our ear leaning in towards the Lord to hear from Him, and also knelt before Him in prayer. If we don’t take advantage of this time to seek the Lord, how can we expect things to be different when it’s lifted?

The video is just under ten minutes long.  I’d love for you to listen and then ask God to help you to apply these simple truths to your own prayer life.

One man in I Kings made a difference because he prayed.  We can be just as effective…but we must pray.

Let’s refresh the world around us by having a heart for prayer.

Lovingly,

denise a