Home Sanctuary

Join the Company Girls! And no, it's not too late!

Welcome to Home Sanctuary, where my theme for 2008 is "Sanctuary is in the Small Things!"  Each weekday, I am posting one simple activity you can do along with me and a few hundred Company Girls to help you make your home a sanctuary for your family.  Just click on the Company Girl button in my left sidebar and you'll find all the information you need to join in the fun!  There's even a cute Tally Sheet Download TallyJuly to help you keep track of points you earn. And check out our prizes this month.

We aren't working too hard, but we are making just a little bit of progress every day to make something wonderful happen at home! 

Whatcha waitin' for??  C'Mon!  Be a Company Girl!!

Rachel Anne Ridge

This invitation will stay at the top of my site...just scroll down to see new posts!

Summer Treat

Well, I am out of town (back in west Texas to finish installing graphics)  and thought I had set this to post early this morning.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  I am bootlegging some internet on my lunch break and am disappointed that my best laid plans did not go as hoped.  So, hopefully better late than never, here is today's post:

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Nothing says "summer" like a cool treat.  Sno-Cones, Dairy Queen, slushes, root beer floats, iced tea, watermelon....these are all things that bring back memories from my own summers as a kid.  Ice cream was still considered a treat back then, especially with fresh berries or peaches.

Today's Small Thing is to let yourself have a summer treat.  It doesn't have to be a sweet, calorie-laden frappuccino (although that DOES sound mighty good!), it could be some frozen grapes or a glass of kool-aid if you'd like.

In my opinion, Summer Treats are best when shared with a child.  If you happen to have a child handy, today would be a great day to stop down for a special delight of some kind.  Seeing their face light up at the mention of a Sno-Cone is worth the drippy mess.  If you don't have a little one around, a friend or spouse is the next best thing.

Go ahead!  Enjoy yourself!  You'll have to decide what treat to have, but the points are on me.

POINTS: 30 for treating yourself to summer goodness

Happy Anniversary, Elle and Rob!

This is one of my favorite sentimental posts, written last year when these two celebrated their first anniversary.  I hope they have a wonderful day.

Painting Murals Really Takes Me Places

My life is so glamorous.  If I had only known when I painted that first bird house that my career path would take me to a thousand bathrooms I might have hesitated.

 

Have I mentioned that guest bathrooms are one of the most highly decorated rooms in houses today? And rightfully so.  They are generally smaller (therefore cost less) than other areas, and it's the one place you know most guests will visit.  They SHOULD look nice.

I'm always appreciative of a clean bathroom when I've come to paint it.  I've had a few that made me gag as I've had to reach back around the potty to complete the job.  It's like hugging a toilet and it's not that pleasant.

Fortunately, the fuzzy tank covers of years past are no longer much in vogue.  If you think about it, why would we want to trap every bathroom germ on the toilet couture?  Sure, it might look cuddly, but it's not the brightest decorating idea around.  I'm down to just one lid cover and the small rugs at the base. Other than that, my potties go au naturale, and they seem to enjoy their freedom.

Today's Small Thing is something that I am loathe to do.  That is to wash the bathroom rugs and tank/lid covers.  I dislike this job, but it is a necessary evil in the fight against bathroom germs.  I KNOW mine need it, and I'd be willing to bet that a good number of you are right with me on this one.

POINTS: 40 for laundering the bathroom fuzzy things.

Awkward Moments in my Painting Career

I am often asked to traipse through my clients' homes to "just take a look" at their areas of decorating dilemmas that have nothing to do with the actual project I am there to work on. 

One day I found myself in the master suite with the lady of the house, being asked about painting a sky in a dome above the massive bed.  There was a man working on the gas fireplace as we walked in.

It was a very Las Vegas-style bedroom and bathroom, complete with a baby grand piano, black and gold accents everywhere and very um, "sensual" art on the walls. 

I had no words.

She spoke to the fireplace man for a few moments and then turned all of our attention to the sitting area where the piano was.  And there, in front of the piano, was a pole-dancing pole with a spotlight on it.

"....and I had THAT baby installed while my husband was away on a business trip as a little surprise for him."  She gave me a conspiratorial look.  "Oh, honey.  I keep my husband at HOME, if you know what I mean!"  Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

I dared not glance at the fireplace man, who suddenly seemed very busy with the gas lever.  I gave a pitifully small laugh, as if to say, oh, ha ha ha, I know just what you mean, my bedroom pole works wonders too.

Now that Mr. Fireplace Man and I both knew she was a hot pole dancer, there seemed little left to talk about in that bedroom built for entertainment. 

AWK-ward. (insert cricket chirp here)

Today's Small Thing is a bit awkward as well.  But it's so easy that you won't have to feel embarrassed for long.  It's about the feminine products you have in your home.

I don't know about you, but I'm so NOT IN to my monthly visitor that I often ignore the mess of empty boxes and wrappers that accumulate in the bathroom cabinet.  Not to mention the torpedoes that fall out of the boxes in my hurry to deal with them.  It always seems like I have a huge cache of supplies on hand, but I'm often horrified to find that it's just a huge cache of emtpies that take up space in there.  Darn!

Today's Small Thing is to organize your stash of womanly items and straighten them up.  Perhaps they could be stored in a more discreet manner or given a place of honor in their very own cabinet.  Throw out the five empty boxes and instruction pamphlets and consolidate those pads and packages into a neat little homage to fertility.

POINTS: 30 for tackling such an awkward subject

You'll have to pause the music playlist in order to watch this clip.

Go, Go, Go!

Fortunately, today you'll get 48 hours to complete your Small Thing.  Call it a weekend Small Thing.

Unfortunately, you'll have to pick just one task you've been putting off.

I say "just one" because at my house there are so many, it's hard to choose.  But I think I'm up to the challenge.

Last night I hung two framed prints that my daughter Elle gave us FOR CHRISTMAS!  They've been sitting there for nearly 7 months....and it took me all of 10 minutes to hang them.  I love how they look on the wall, and I LOVE how good it feels to do such a simple task.  Now why didn't I do that sooner??

Go with me here, Company Girls.

• Do you have a bag of items sitting by the back door or in your closet that needs to be taken to a donation center?  How long has it been there?

• Do you have something that is almost completely painted, but because of interruptions, is not quite done?

• Do you have picture frames sitting around with no pictures in them because you can't choose which cute photos to put in?

• Do you have an article of clothing that needs a little, tiny stitch to be good as new, but just sits in the "fix it" pile?

• Do you have flowers in their 4 inch pots from the nursery that you fell in love with at the time, but now are wilting away because you haven't put them in the ground yet?

• Do you really need to clean out the pet area but just hate to invest that much energy on animals when there are people who need your attention?

• Do you have an item that needs to be returned to the store, but because you don't want to stand in the Customer Service line, just sits in its bag...waiting?

OK, only ONE of the above items is NOT on my list of things I am procrastinating.  Can you guess which one??

Today's Small Thing is to do ONE thing that you've been putting off.  It doesn't have to be a big thing, like painting all the trim on your house (although, again, it's on my list), it can be as simple as hanging two framed prints on the wall.

I often find I procrastinate doing things that will give me pleasure.  In an odd way, it's a form of delayed gratification.  Or maybe even a way of putting others first.  Tasks like working in the flower bed, fixing a blouse, or painting a piece of furniture seem to benefit ME and are thus, easy to put off because I'm a bit of a martyr.  But in the end, those tasks really benefit EVERYONE and will give your spirits a wonderful lift when you are through.

POINTS: 50 for the weekend challenge

BONUS: 10 for celebrating your job completion by telling a friend, blogging about it, doing a happy dance, leaving a comment or showing a family member.  Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back!

Minimum Maintenance

There is a great discussion going on over at my sister Katherine's blog, Raising Five.  She's talking about ways to cope with children (particularly young ones) and the messiness of life.  Look for today's post as well, because I know she'll have something good to share.

It got me to thinking about my own coping strategies, and how I've struggled with organization over the years.  Between finding some things that really worked for me, learning to let other things go, and continually looking for ways to improve, I've managed to survive and even enjoy the process.  I still don't enjoy cleaning, but I do like for things to look nice.

I shared few of my tips in Katherine's comments:

1) Have a friend/sister to talk to.

2) Bonnie's Household Organizer: much more manageable than the Flylady, it provided simple ways to get control of my days.  The weekly schedule saved my life, and I made mine FAR simpler than Bonnie's.  Here's a Working Mom's Weekly Schedule, too.

3) CHUCK.  I have baskets/containers/cabinets in every room that clutter can be chucked into at a moment's notice.  The baskets might be a mess, but the ROOM is clean and it feels wonderful.  I can live with that.

The one thing I didn't mention was Minimum Maintenance.  I have talked about it before and I hope you'll take a moment to read about it.  Realizing that there is a true minimum amount of work that each day requires was a revelation for me.  Accepting this fact helps me deal with the monotonous daily pick-ups and dishes (most of the time), and helps me do it quickly without hours of anguish and bitterness (most of the time).  I like the mindset of "taking care of business" and then being able to move on to fun things, like playing with my kids.  Who wants to work all day??

Today's Small Thing is to do some Minimum Maintenance.  It is a quick (5 minutes per room) pick-up and straighten routine that hits the high spots and whips things into "presentable" shape.  It is not a thorough, deep cleaning and you should not get distracted by things that require elbow grease and cleaning products.  You can spend 20 minutes in the kitchen, because really, who can spend just 5 in there?

If you have never set a timer for yourself, I encourage you to try it!  You will NOT BELIEVE how much you can accomplish in 5 minutes!  Get your children involved if you can, and see how a ticking timer can motivate those little ones.  Just like us, they are daunted by big tasks.  But anyone can focus for 5 small minutes.  Even moms.

POINTS: 50!  You may already do Minimum Maintenance of some sort at your house and this could be your lucky day for points.  If it is new to you, just dive in and see what happens!  Take your 50 Rockin' points and enjoy the feeling of empowerment that MM can give you. 

Contain Yourself

Last week I was seeing spots everywhere and now this week I'm seeing lids.

No, not the backside of my eyelids, silly.

Although.  I do love a good nap as often as possible.  (sshhh)

Now I'm seeing lids to containers and containers for lids...but none of them fit each other!

Back in the day, when Tupperware had a monopoly on plastic storage, lids were interchangeable.  Of course, you had to take out a bank loan to buy a set of them at a home party, but Tupperware was an investment in the family food budget and came in all those great 70's colors.  My mom had some avacado green and harvest gold containers.

Nowadays, I like the disposable storage containers that I won't feel guilty about tossing when the contents start morphing into fuzzy creatures with alien colonies.  I don't even bother to open them...just a casual flick of the wrist and they're gone.  If only all problems were so easy to solve...

Only thing is that when I go to replace them I can never remember which brand I like, so I now have a conglomeration of similar containers and similar lids....yet few of them fit together.  It's so frustrating to have to rummage through every bowl and every top to find the one set that works.

Today's Small Thing is to check out your kitchen storage containers.  Are they all thrown in disarray in a drawer or cabinet?  Do you have a bunch of lids waiting to be matched with their container, only to realize that no container will ever come to them?  Put them out of their misery by tossing them out and making room for the pairs that actually work.   I've got a whole bin full of single lids taking up precious space that I can get rid of today.

POINTS: 40 for organizing containers and lids.  If this job scares you because it seems too big, set a timer and give yourself 10-15 minutes MAX and then stop.  

BONUS: 10 for showing off!  Post "Before and After" pictures on your blog, drag a family member over to see your handiwork, tell a friend what you did, or leave a comment!  Enjoy the rush of container excitement when you see how organized you are!

July's Verse

I like to start each month with a verse to meditate on together and just like everything else, it's taken me longer to pull it together this month.  Who would think that the summer would be so packed?

This is one of my favorites:

 
Spend a few minutes thinking about the words of this scripture with me.

"Taste and see" is an invitation to a sumptuous buffet.  It's like looking at a long table, spread with the most delicious array of delectable food....glistening fruit, sizzling savory dishes, cheeses,  you name it.  It's piled up and spilling over, a feast for the eyes to behold.   But it's not just there to look at, it's there for you to taste, to enjoy, to eat until you are full.

You see, you will never experience the goodness of the living God until you stop being a spectator and become a participator in the spiritual "feast" he has laid out before you.  He's handing you a big plate and saying, "Go ahead!  Dish up!"  Find out for yourself that he is an amazing chef, concocting experiences in grace and love for you that are piled up and spilling over, just waiting to be tasted and enjoyed.

"Taste and see" reminds me to take action.  I will have to "taste" of his goodness by deepening my walk with him.  That means spending time in meditative study of his word and in prayer.  It means finding Christian friends who encourage me in my faith, and making lifestyle choices that bring me closer to him.  And then I need to LOOK for how he is working in my life!  I want to be actively aware of his power, his presence and his goodness each day.  He IS working and I don't want to miss it.

The last part of the verse speaks of refuge.

So often I find refuge from my worries and anxieties in things like movies, entertainment, food, people....all nice diversions, but not the true strong tower.  The Psalms describe the Lord as a fortress, a deliverer, a tower and a refuge because David (the main psalmist) knew all about hiding from his enemies.  He sought shelter in caves and cliffs, but he knew that his real refuge was his mighty God.  Only God can shield and deliver us from satanic attack, addiction, financial ruin, family crises, depression, discouragement, illness, fear....name your struggle and he is the answer.  He is your refuge.

Today's Small Thing is to print out this scripture and put it somewhere where you will see it each day.  I always put mine on my fridge, but some of you use it as a screen saver (great idea) or a framed reminder somewhere in the house.  There is power in God's word, so let these simple words go deep into your heart and stir your faith. 

POINTS: 40 for putting July's verse somewhere to remind you of God's goodness and faithfulness.

 Download July ps34

Please let me know if you have trouble downloading the picture or file and I will email it to you.

Put a Lid on It.

Are you sleepy today?  Is it hard to get motivated around the house? 

I feel your pain.

That's why today's Small Thing is so easy.  Even those of us who are sluggishly looking around at the house and wondering where on earth to start can accomplish this one.

Next to the Salt and Pepper shakers, the lids of things like jelly and mayonnaise jars can get pretty gross.  A quick glance at my pantry and fridge tells me that there are at least 5 lids that are sticky and oozing their contents around the openings.

The jelly jar.

The peanut butter jar.

The ketchup bottle.

The mayo jar.

The Hershey chocolate syrup bottle.

The Ranch dressing squeeze bottle.

Eeew.  It's like we just scoop out what we need and slob it all over the sides like we have maids to follow along and clean things up!  The squeeze bottles that are "upside down" are some of the worst, because they tend to explode as soon as you open the cap.  I'm talkin about you, Mr. Mustard squeeze bottle.

This job will only take a few minutes and then you can take a break.  Take a damp paper towel and gently wipe around the tops of jars and bottles of the condiments and other things in your kitchen.  The next time you make a sandwich, it will feel so good to open your pristine jars that you may be tempted to eat on the good china.  Wow!  Company Girls are so classy.

POINTS: 10 for each jar or bottle you clean up....NO LIMIT!  Go crazy if you want, because it's Monday.

Finally, July Prizes

Now that we're halfway through the month, it's about time I announce what our prizes will be for this month!  I've posted a new Download TallyJuly for July, so if you've been keeping track of your points you will now have an updated design to scribble them on!

For the Company Girl who gets the Most Points, she will receive something very pretty, and oh so necessary.   Have you ever counted up how many gifts you give in the course of a year?  They really add up, and I love having nice wrapping papers and cards on hand.  But I hate to spend money on them.   This set is by wrapables.com.

These printed wrapping papers are perfect for wrapping every day gifts or for the holiday season. Each gift wrap kit includes 20 sheets of wrapping paper in four designs, 20 gift tags, 2 rolls of ribbon (2 colors, 9 fee each), 2 rolls of string (2 colors, 9 feet each), 30-40 stickers, and instructions for basic bow-tying and wrapping.

For the Random Company Girl drawing (in which you don't have to keep track of points but you participate in at least 5 Small Things and have the Company Girl button on your blog (if you blog)), you will receive not one, but TWO signed books from Dee Brestin.


Dee's style is a refreshing teaching ministry that touches on every topic imaginable.  She brings scripture alive and does it in a way that encourages and uplifts.  I like that.  I need that.  These two books are on topics that I want to go deeper with: friendships with women and more importantly, my love for Jesus.  I know you'll enjoy these.

Thank you sweet girls for playing along with the Small Things this month, even without knowing the prizes!  I know that the best prize of all is what happens at home regardless of "winning" anything, but it's fun to have a little incentive to keep those points going!

Good luck!

Rachel Anne