Learning to Crochet
For quite some time now, I’ve wanted to learn to crochet. My mother-in-law crochets and tried to teach me once but I wasn’t getting it and I wasn’t really interested in it. But now, I’m ready! I want to learn. Mostly I want to make cool gifts for Christmas and save us some money. Oh, and I want to make my own dishcloths. And one day I’d like to make a rug like this one.
I talked with a lady at my church who said she could teach me since I don’t see my mother-in-law that often. She said she has tons of yarn and we would get together one day and she would show me how it’s done. The problem is, I don’t see this lady outside of church functions and I wanted to learn yesterday! I’m really impatient like that.
Yesterday afternoon, I scoured the internet for how-to videos for learning to crochet. Let me just tell you, there are a ton of them! Most of them are on YouTube. The one that helped me the most was this one. I have saved it in my bookmarks so I can go back to it and learn the more advanced stitches.
I ran right out last night and bought a couple of things of yard and a crochet hook and thought I’d be able to crochet this scarf right away. Wrong! I couldn’t quite get the hang of it and hubby was calling me to come to bed so I quit for the night. This morning, after I worked my lists, I sat down at the computer with my yarn and hook and worked my way through the first few lessons and now I am comfortably doing the single and double crochet! I am so excited!
My first project or two will be some dishcloths for myself and then I will move on to bigger projects for Christmas gifts, like this scarf! I will be sure to post some pictures of my finished projects as I go along so you can see what I’ve learned.
Putting forth the effort
This past weekend, my husband and the boys were planning a camping trip together. My hubby said that if I wanted to go and take the baby, they would camp at a campground instead of just out in the mountains somewhere. I really didn’t want to go but I could tell he really wanted to include me. I mean, I love camping but I’m not sure I love camping with a 9 month-old, ya know? But I really wanted to spend the time with my family all together so I decided to go.
I spent much of Friday night packing up everything we would need so that we could just get up and toss it all in the truck and head out early on Saturday morning. Wouldn’t you know, we woke up to rain on Saturday. We were tempted to cancel the trip but waited for the rain to stop instead. After all, the campground we were going to is 2 hours away so we didn’t know if it would be raining there too.
We had a great time on the trip. Granted, it was a short trip – only 1 night – but we had a blast! We went on hikes (I wore the baby in her sling, whew!) and cooked supper in the dutch oven and roasted marshmallows. The campground had a special “tree program” for the kids where they learned about different trees and made a craft.
It rained, but only a bit. Actually, it rained most of the night, but it was while we were sleeping – or not sleeping in my case because the baby didn’t enjoy sleeping next to me in a tent! It only rained a little on Sunday morning after breakfast.
When we got home, we had a huge mess. Everything was either muddy or smelled like campfire. Naturally, I had a ton of laundry to do! All the “camping dishes” had to be washed before they could be packed away. There was so much stuff to unpack and dry out and clean up and put away. After a sleepless night at the campground I wanted nothing more than to sit on my butt and do nothing.
My husband is one of those “do it now”-types. He sees something that needs to be done and he does it. Not me. I see something that needs to be done and I figure I’ll get to it later ’cause I’m tired. He came right in and started unpacking the truck and making piles in the driveway for me to bring inside. He set up the tent so it could dry out and spread out the sleeping bags so they could air out.
I decided that I should get to work too. I started laundry and loaded up the dishwasher with the camp dishes. I started putting away the groceries. I cleaned up the kitchen and mopped the floor (we had tracked in a lot of mess) and vacuumed the den. I folded the clothes and put the majority of them away. I gave the baby a bath. I got the coffee pot ready for this morning. I worked steady for most of the evening. Since I had everything from our trip clean, my husband could pack it all away!
When I got up this morning to a mostly clean house, I was glad I had put forth the effort. Normally it would take me days to get things back in order after a camping trip. And the best part is that since I put forth the effort last night, I’ve been able to concentrate on my cleaning lists today!
Let’s Talk Laundry
What does your laundry area look like these days? If you’re like me, your dirty laundry tends to outweigh the clean laundry. The hamper is overflowing. Or maybe, like me, you have dirty laundry that gets piled up here and there – the corner in the bedroom, behind the bathroom door, all over the kids’ bedroom floor.
When you finally get around to doing the laundry, does it take you all day? Do you even get it caught up then? Or do you wash and dry all day and end up with a heap of clean clothes that you didn’t fold? I’ve found myself in that situation more than once. The dirty laundry piles up for a week and then I spend all day washing and drying and then we live out of the basket for a few days before I get around to folding it all. Everybody’s clothes are wrinkled and have to be ironed before they can be worn. Want to know my dirty little secret? I have actually put clothes back through the wash before simply because they are so wrinkled from sitting in the bottom of the laundry basket for a week! I know, I know. That’s pretty bad! I have also had towels that smell awful because I didn’t take the time to put them in the dryer after they had been washed and they soured. Oh, yuck! Who wants to dry off with a smelly old towel?
Well, I say NO MORE! I will not let my laundry get out of hand again. How am I going to do this? For the past week, I have done at least one load of laundry each day. Now when I “do” a load of laundry, I not only wash and dry it but I fold it and usually put it away. Okay, another confession? The boys’ laundry sat (folded) in a basket for three or four days this past week before I put it away yesterday. I am making it my new goal to only wash and dry the clothes I will also have (or take) the time to fold and put away.
Do you have a laundry tip to share?
A Note About My Routines
Yesterday I posted about my daily, weekly, and (soon-to-be) monthly routines. I just thought I should come back and add that when I do my weekly routines, it is in addition to my daily routine. I always do my daily routine first each day and then I work on that day’s list from the weekly routine. I just didn’t want there to be any confusion.
Do you have a routine tip to share?
Cleaning with Routines
A few months ago I started FlyLady. I was all gung-ho and doing really well….for about three days! I found that my in box was flooded with email tips and tricks and cleaning routines and I didn’t really care to follow any of the stuff so I deleted it all and eventually removed myself from their mailing list.
Two weeks ago, I was at the library and ran across Sink Reflections, a book by Marla Cilley (aka FlyLady). I checked it out and started reading it. It really is a great book to help you get your life and home back on track. She gives great tips for getting out of the CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) that has overtaken your home. I haven’t finished the book yet, but I’ve been able to implement some of her tips into my daily life. The most important one for me (so far) is to develop a routine.
FlyLady gives her routines in the book and on her website. Check them out, maybe they will help you. I haven’t used FlyLady’s routines as my own, though, because they do not fit my life. Instead of following her routines, I made a list of everything that needs to be done in my house daily to keep it in order. Then I made a list of more detailed cleaning that needs to be done weekly and monthly and so on.
My daily routines consist of things like loading/unloading the dishwasher, sweeping the floors, making the beds, emptying the trash, running a feather duster over the furniture, and vacuuming the main areas of the rooms with carpet. Your daily routines may be different from mine. The point is that your routine has to fit you and your home. That’s what makes it yours, right?
I took a look at the list of things that need to be done on a weekly basis and separated it by room. I then scheduled a room (or two) each day. For instance, on Mondays I clean the kitchen really well by cleaning out the fridge, mopping the floor, straightening the cabinets, taking off the recycling, and dusting the china hutch. Monday is also the day that everyone’s bed gets clean sheets. Since these things don’t take a lot of time, I also polish the furniture in the den on Monday as well. On Tuesdays, I scrub both of the bathrooms really well. That’s enough scrubbing to do me for one day so that’s all that I put on Tuesday’s list. You get the picture?
Each of my lists is in a clear page protector in a three-ring binder. This was another tip from FlyLady. This way, you can use a dry erase marker to mark items off your list as they are completed and then wipe it clean for the next day! I don’t know about you but I love being able to see things marked off of my list. My husband likes seeing what I’ve marked off too!
FlyLady also does what she calls “Zone Cleaning”. Each week, you concentrate on a different zone of your house. I haven’t gotten this far yet. Right now, I’m just happy trying to get stuff in order. FlyLady also recommends that you don’t worry about all that zone cleaning until you’ve been able to conquer the clutter in your home first. We’ll discuss decluttering in another post.
My Journey: The Journey Begins
“Home is where the heart is.”
How many times have you heard that? I know I’ve heard it probably a hundred times in my life. It never meant anything to me until now. See, home is not where my heart has been. To be quite honest, I don’t know where my heart has been. I just know it’s not been in taking care of my home and my family. I don’t really know how it happened either.
“Love makes a house a home.”
Have you heard that one too? This one has had the most impact on me lately. My eyes have been opened to the fact that our home is not the house in which we live. Home is where memories are made. Home is a refuge for my family. Home is where my children learn and grow. My family needs more than a house, they need (and deserve) a home.
When I first became a stay-at-home mom more than six years ago, I felt that I needed to prove myself worthy of staying home to care for my home and my children. My boys were ages one year and three years at that time. I kept a very clean house. I mopped the floors three times a week and vacuumed daily. I kept up with the laundry. I dusted the furniture and changed the sheets each week. I baked bread. I got up each morning and made breakfast for my husband and I had dinner ready when he got home in the evenings. Life was good.
The next year, we moved to a new town and a larger, much older house. My boys were more active, making housework harder. The house seemed to be in a constant state of remodeling (and, therefore, a mess). I lost interest in cleaning house. I sometimes made breakfast for my husband in the mornings and usually had dinner ready when he got home in the evenings. Life was getting harder.
Two and a half years after our first move, we moved to another town into a newer house. I just knew that I was going to be able to keep this house clean. I was determined that I wasn’t going to let it get dirty. My boys were older and I knew it wouldn’t be as much of a hassle anymore. Besides, this house didn’t need to be repaired or remodeled – or so I thought. The bifold doors in the laundry area broke first. Then the shower wall caved in and had to be replaced which prompted an entire bathroom remodel to take place. Then there were the termites. And the grout cracking in the kitchen tile. After a while, I lost interest in housework again. With the boys being involved in sports and Cub Scouts, dinner was rushed and usually something quick so we could get out the door. I gave birth to our daughter. I was stressed out about everything. I rarely made breakfast for my husband and usually had dinner nearly ready in the evenings. Life was hard.
I am tired of the constant mess. I am tired of the disorganization. I am tired of the clutter. I am tired, period. Something has to change. I need to have a heart for my home. I need my home to be filled with love. My family deserves a place to relax. They deserve a nice home. They deserve the best mother and wife that I can be. See, I’ve realized that it’s not about me anymore. It’s all about them. They deserve for me to be my best.
This is my journey to being the best I can be for my family and finding a heart for home.
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