Home Sweet Home

August 28, 2006 at 5:42 pm (Housekeeping)

A dear friend of mine, Briana, recently complimented me on the smell of my home and asked me to share any secrets I had for keeping it welcoming and inviting. Though she did label me as a “smell snob”, I was extremely touched by the compliment and found it rather gracious, considering I’m far from the world’s best housekeeper.  However, I did wrack my brain to find those things I do instinctively to help keep the house smelling “oh so fresh”.  As I did, I found that maintaining a fresh smell in a home can really be separated into two categeories: eliminating bad odors and establishing good ones.  So here it goes:

1.  Regular Cleaning~  Though I know this is obvious, and most of us stay on top of routine housework rather well, it only makes sense that the only way to have a clean house smell is to…clean!  In addition to my weekly chores, I tend to vacuum several times a week (something my mom instilled in me) and find that it really helps to cut down on smells that could linger in the carpets. 

2.  Empty the trash daily~ With only 3 of us in the house, it is unusal to have a completely full kitchen trashcan at the end of each day.  However, some of the worst and most potent odors come from the garbage we throw away…particularly in the kitchen.  And since the kitchen is in such a central location, those unwanted smells can quickly fill the whole house.  Therefore, I have found that emptying the trash daily, and placing items like chicken or beef packages (as well as anything that tends to create a strong and unplesent aroma) in grocery bags before placing them in my trashcan helps keep my home smelling a little more fresh.

3.  Beware of the kitchen sink~ I hate a dirty sink.  I hate the sight and I hate the smell.  So, apart from when we are practicing hospitality and have guests over, I make an effort to clean dirty dishes or load them in the dishwasher right after eating.  I also intentionally tend to put good smelling foods like lemon wedges in my garbage disposal on a regular basis to help avoid the “rotten food” smell disposals tend to generate.  Baking soda is good for eliminating odors as well. Believe it or not, I think this simple discipline of keeping the sink clean is one of the most significant things I do to help eliminate unwanted odors.

4.  Dryer Sheets~  One of my favorite smells in any house is clean laundry. What makes laundry smell so good??? Your detergent and dryer sheets, of course.  So, I try and use them all over the house…in dresser drawers, the bottoms of trash cans, under the cushions of furniture, inside pillowcases, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  We’ve even placed them in our vents and furnace filters so that when the air is on, it blows a fresh scent throughout the house. I know…we’re nuts!

5.  Candles~  The comforting scent of a favorite candle can make any house inviting, just as long as it is not overly strong.  I have several favorites for each season from Yankee Candle and tend to stick with them year after year.  For autumn, I like Sage and Citrus  or Cranberry Chutney; for winter, Mistletoe  or Balsam and Cedar; for spring, Lilac Blossom, Cut Grass or Tulip; and for summer, Clean Cotton or Midsummers Night.  I’ve found the key is to burn only one scent at a time and let it permeate the whole house.  Different candles on different levels, for example, can quickly give me a headache!

 6.  Home Fragrance Sprays by Bath and Bodyworks~  These concentrated fragrance sprays for the home are incredible.  Two sprays and you can make an entire room smell great!  They are especially good for in the bathrooms, but I often use them all over the house, especially to help with that “after dinner” smell.  And, since you need such a small amount, they seem to last forever!  

7.  Fresh air~  Again, another obvious one.   But, whenever possible I open up windows and doors and let the fresh air breeze through the house to help it smell better.  Doing this for just a few minutes after dinner, even in really cold weather, seems to make a big difference.   

8.  Fresh Flowers~  I saved my favorite for last.  I am a big fan of fresh cut flowers. From the garden, from the farmer’s market, from the grocery store…I don’t care.  I just love how much they seem to help make a house more of a “home”.  And since my husband is more of a romantic than he’d ever admit, I tend to have flowers A LOT!  It’s wonderful. 

There you have it! Good Smelling Home 101….What do you do to keep your house smelling great??????

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A Joyful Heart

August 21, 2006 at 6:29 pm (Lessons Learned, Random Ramblings)

“But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.”    Psalm 68:3

I recently stumbled across a journal of mine from college.  On the very back page I found a list that made me smile and feel as warm and fuzzy as it did numerous times throughout my college days.  It was nothing glamorous; just a simple list of the little things in life that brought me joy during those days when I felt bogged down and overwhelmed.  As I read through each item on the list, I was encouraged to draft a new one given the changes in season I have encountered since them.  Some ideas are the same…”oldies, but goodies” as I like to call them.  But, surprisingly many have changed since I transformed from a single college gal to a a wife, teacher, and mother.  Some how the idea of a ”white picket fence” I once cherished pales in comparison to the reality of a home that is far from perfect, but filled with more love than I ever thought possible.With that in mind, here goes the list…It is my prayer that God would never cease to remind me of the many gifts he has given us on this earth that reflect His love and care for us!  May my heart be always grateful.

Things That Bring Me Joy…the little things in life

  • slurpees
  • early evening strolls with my husband
  • the sound of my 3 month old’s giggle and the sight of his “gummy” smile
  • a good book and a cup of hot tea
  • Sovereign Grace worship music
  • the beaches of Northern Michigan
  • the first snowfall of the year
  • faithful friends
  • 2nd graders
  • icecream
  • bonfires in the fall…preferably with s’mores!
  • children’s books
  • travel/visiting family
  • wearing slippers
  • Sunday mornings at church, followed by lazy afternoons
  • the smell of clean sheets on my bed
  • the beach
  • picnics
  • elementary schools:  bulletin boards, freshy sharpened pencils, the sounds of little voices, the smell of chalk…I love it all!
  • autumn
  • manicures and pedicures
  • studying doctrine and theology
  • waking my son up in the morning
  • celebrating the Steelers Superbowl victory
  • fires in the fireplace
  • tulips

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Confessions of a Worrier

August 2, 2006 at 8:52 pm (Lessons Learned)

I am a worrier.  Plain and simple.  Though I frequently purpose myself to trade in my tendency to fret and fear for feelings of peace and contentment, I find that it does not take long for me to return to my old self again.  In fact, at times it seems like an obsession; as if I am not complete without at least one area in my life that evokes some level of anxiety.  And, if by chance there is not a situation in my own everyday happenings that provoke me to worry, I will take on the circumstances of those around me and worry on their behalf.  After all, isn’t that what it means to carry one another’s burdens?  Somehow I don’t think that is quite what the Lord had in mind.

Over the years I have tried to fool myself, and others, into believing that this little “secret” of mine was a rather comical, or even endearing part of my personality.  After all, it is humorous to think that the doctors who removed my wisdom teeth intentionally treated me just like their 5 year old patients so that I would be more at ease with the procedure.  (Do I dare mention I was 23 at the time?)  And, it is extremely kind of my friends and family to filter what information they share with me so as not to cause any additional opportunities for me to worry, despite the fact that I am now a grown married woman with a son of her own. 

As if I was not overly consumed with worry before I had children, motherhood has seemed to open a whole new meaning of the word.  Before my son was even two months old, I had already found myself looking through medical textbooks at 3 in the morning because I was convinced that the “stuffiness” I heard while he was nursing could quite possibly be RSV.  Though there were no other symptoms and I was well aware that my little boy wasn’t even born during the likely season for the virus, my mind quickly got the best (or worst!) of me.  It did not take long before I had worked myself into such a frenzy of fear, that I had to awaken my husband to help me assess the situation and our child’s health.  Though I would like to blame my little episode on lack of sleep, post-partum hormones, or even just a new mother’s legitimate concern for her child’s well-being, I know deep down that these excuses do not come close to justifying my behavior.  For in those wee hours of the night I had a choice.  And unfortunately, like many other times in my life, I made the wrong one.  I chose to let my mind walk down a road of fear that did not serve my son, my husband or myself.  I chose to let impulsivity outweigh rationality and reason.  I chose to turn off the voice in my mind that said “God is in control” and to turn on the voice that said “I need control”.  

I have often considered how it must hurt and upset the God of the Universe when we choose to forfeit His desire to bring us peace in order to live in a constant state of worry as we wrestle Him for control over the circumstances in our lives.  Due to the overwhelming amount of scripture devoted to teaching of his promises to take care of us and commanding us not to be anxious or fearful, I am convinced that resisting the truth in this area must be nothing short of devastating to Him.  For unlike others, this is not one which can be misinterpreted.  God’s word is extremely straight forward in how we are to deal with fear, worry, anxiety and the like…

“But now this is what the Lord says- He who created you-He who formed you:  ‘FEAR NOT for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name and you are mine…’” Is.43:1

“For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’”  Is. 41:13

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?…Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin…”  Matthew 6:25-34 

The point of this diatribe, one might ask?  Today I am making a choice.  Like many times before I am determined to choose to rest in God’s faithful promises and to cast all of my anxiety and fear at the foot of the cross in exchange for His peace and joy.  My hope is that by writing it, rather than just praying it, I will be more committed to obedience.  I do know it will not be easy.  It will require discipline and beginning each day approaching His throne of grace and pleading for His strength to fight the inner battles of my mind.   But, I trust that my Heavenly Father will protect me and keep me in perfect peace.  And for those days that prove to me more difficult than others, I need only to consider the lilies…  

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