Cleaning · home · refreshment at home

Three Rules That Keep My Home Presentable (not perfect)

summer mantle 3

I’m one of those women that has to have things in order at home to be able to think straight.  I feel so unorganized and discombobulated when my house is messy!  Are you like that?  But life is busy and it’s easy for things to get out of whack in a flash! Here’s what I try to do to keep things presentable at my house.

#1 Have a routine. simple-to-do-list-pic1

My best friend in relation to keeping things presentable is one word – Routine.  It’s not so much that I clean the floor on this day and dust on that one (though I try to do that), my greatest routine is with the daily things that happen.  Let me explain. Every day when I get up, I have a routine that goes like this:

  1. Feed the cat then sweep the laundry room floor (where Liza’s things are)
  2. Empty the litter box
  3. Throw in one load of laundry – On the days when there aren’t enough clothes for a load, I try to wash kitchen towels and pot holders or the throw rugs.  This is another way to keep things presentable! In the spring it will also include one room of curtains.
  4. Make the bed – Let me just stop here and say that this is HUGE to me.  The bed takes up so much of the room.  If it gets completely made with the comforter smoothed out and straightened up, pillows in place, and accent pillows arranged, the whole room takes on the look of being clean!
    bedroom-rearrangement
  5. Clean the bathroom.  I do this as I’m finishing up getting ready.  I actually have a little way that I challenge myself to get it done quickly each day.  Other days I’ll deep clean it, but it generally takes me about three or four minutes to wash out the two sinks, the tub, shower and toilet.  Everything is shiny and smelling clean when I walk out!
  6. Empty the waste baskets.  When I bring the dirty litter out of the laundry room, I immediately empty the trash in the rooms upstairs and set the bag at the top of the steps to go down to the trash can.
  7. Put away any clothes or items that are in the bedroom or bathroom.

With all these things done, when I go downstairs and start my day, the upstairs has been touched and cleaned so that it’s all presentable.  It might be dusty or need a vacuuming, but it’s straightened up and clean!  I love that.

I have another rule of thumb that I say to myself often:

#2 Don’t put it down, put it away. 

This little rule keeps my morning routine much easier.  That way there isn’t a lot of things that are lying here and there that need attention.  That means I immediately put away

  • my jewelry when I take it off
  • my shoes
  • any paper items
  • mail
  • devotional books/prayer journal
  • make up
  • coat

#3 Have a place for everything. bedroom table

I keep all like things together and have a place where they are stored when purchased or not in use.  For instance:

  • Cleaning products
  • Paper products
  • Books
  • Shoes
  • Coats
  • Medicines
  • Extra toiletries
  • Purse

Which of these three rules are the most difficult for you?  Make one little change at a time, if necessary, until you get your house to a place that makes you feel rested.  That’s when you know it’s also presentable, because no one else matters but you and your family!

Refresh your home with three little rules!

denise a

 

 

Easy recipe · Valentine's Day

My Husband Cooked Valentine’s Day Dinner!

I married a guy who has learned to handle himself in the kitchen at breakfast time with great variety and expertise. I’ve been the recipient many times of his French toast, scrambled eggs or egg sandwiches, but to expect that he could make a supper beyond grilled hamburgers was beyond wishful thinking!

However, this past Monday night I got a text early in the morning,

Valentine’s Dinner will be served tonight at 5:00 in front of the fire place.  I will be wearing jeans and a jacket.

What?!  I could hardly wait for suppertime!!  I went out in the afternoon to run some errands, and when I came home, this is what I found waiting for me ~

Valentines 2019 3

His menu came from Food Network and were Ree Drummond’s recipes.

Steak with Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Frites with Easy Hollandaise
Blue Cheese Wedge Salad
Toasted Bread

You can find the whole list of menu items and the recipes he used here.

I’m telling you, a restaurant meal couldn’t have touched what my husband made!  The steak, the potatoes, the salad…it was all absolutely delicious!   Be sure to check out the simple recipe for Hollandaise Sauce.  It made those potatoes out of this world (and I even dipped my steak bites in it!).  Wow.  So good!

 

Valentines 2019

 

The pitcher below was full of that delectable Hollandaise Sauce!! (There was lots left over!!)Valentines 2019 2

What steakhouse could do better than this Wedge salad?

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These cute salt and pepper shakers were a gift to me from Dale several years ago.  I thought it was so sweet that he put them on the table.

Valentines 2019 6

 

The chef himself…

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After supper we played a game of Take 2 – a shortened version of Scrabble.

Valentines 2019 7

Valentine’s Dinner at home is the best! Why?

  • You get that “good table” by the fireplace
  • It’s quiet
  • It’s cost effective!
  • You get to pick the music that’s played
  • You can sit and relax at the table as long as you want without being glared at by a waitress who’s ready for you to leave!
  • You get to eat the leftovers the next day!
  • You get to spend time together unhurried and reflectively to play a game and just chat.
  • You get to see that your husband is an outstanding chef AND that there are great sites out there to help any fledgling cook!

This guy sure surprised me!  Who knows?  He might start a recipe page on his blog!  Just kidding, but I’m sure proud of his loving efforts.  It’s just proof that if you really want to learn to cook, you can!  He said the Food Network instructions were easy to follow and helped him make a successful supper!

I just had to brag on my sweet husband.  Thanks for letting me share our special time together. What’s keeping you from learning some new tricks in the kitchen?

With love from his country kitchen,

denise a

Crock Pot · How-to Video

Make Good Use Of a Leftover Chicken Carcass

I just hate to see good food go to waste!  That’s one reason I’m the Queen of the Freezer!  Leftover baked potatoes get scooped out and frozen for future pots of Potato Soup.  Leftover Chicken Carcasses get cooked in pots of herbed water so we can enjoy homemade chicken stock.

Last week when I used five chickens to feed a group of people, the Lord brought a spiritual truth to my mind. Even greater than wasting good food that can be used for a future meal, how tragic it is when I waste a lesson He has taught me.  It’s so crucial to journal the truths that I’ve learned by means of a trial, sickness, or difficulty so I won’t forget them – this would be the boiling of the chicken bones!  I need to get down to the bottom of what I’ve learned.  That takes prayer, quiet and then time to write in a journal.

The next step is pulling it back out and reminding myself of the Truth on days when I need it.  Preaching to myself is something that happens frequently because my mind likes to dwell on things other than truth (ever been there?).  I’ll flip back to my journal and reread what God did in my life, what He taught me or how He answered a prayer request and provided a need and I have food to go on for that day!  This is the freezing process of the stock making lesson.  I can pull that frozen stock out and make a meal with it such as Chicken enchiladas, pot pies or Golden Winter Soup . I’m always so thankful that I took the time to make the stock!  I’m doubly glad to have that truth hidden away to encourage my heart.

Sometimes I also get to make a meal for someone else with that stock!  I love to give other people good food.  The spiritual application here is that sometimes I get to take the lessons God has taught me and share them with others.  When I do that, I’m giving them Divine view point rather than my human view point.  That will help them so much more than my feeble words ever could!

If I threw that chicken carcass in the trash I would be wasting something good.  If I finish a time of trial and simply breathe a sigh that it’s over, I’ll be wasting those precious lessons God has graciously given to me.  It wasn’t a waste of time in my life, so I should value it enough to hold fast to it so I can benefit from it in the future!

Here’s a simple video and pictures of the process I go through to make my own stock.  It helps you make good use of the whole chicken, plus it’s a real money saver, considering that a can of broth is a dollar or more and you get less than two cups in each can!

Do you ever make your own stock?  

What spiritual lesson has the Lord recently taught you that you could share with others or remind your own self of in the days ahead?

Don’t waste it!

denise a

Dates · Dinner · Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day Pizza At Home

Since Thursday is Valentine’s Day, I know most are thinking about recipes for all things chocolate, right?  If you want a yummy treat to bake up for your sweetheart, you can go here to find some yummy treats, a couple that do indeed include chocolate!

But there’s more to any special day than just the sweet things! I’m talking about recipes for savory dishes you could indeed serve for Valentine’s Day, or any supper meal when Continue reading “Valentine’s Day Pizza At Home”