Spring Cleaning Your House/Your Mind
Spring has sprung. This immediately will throw many of us into Spring cleaning mode. We have all kinds of cleaning tips on the blog and website to help you but they are of no use if we aren’t in the right frame of mind so here are some things to think about as you get started.
Often we feel our homes are out of control with piles of things all over and so much stuff. We need to remember God doesn’t give us things for them to control us but for us to control them. I want you to really think about what I just said. Are your things controlling you? If you aren’t sure here are some things to help you decide if they are.
Do you wake up every morning feeling as if things are out of control before your feet even hit the floor?
Everything in your home should be there for your pleasure, enjoyment and to help you in your daily living. If it doesn’t you need to get rid of it (no not your husband, I’m afraid you must keep him : ) 
Notice in the things I listed I didn’t say sentimental value. A good portion of what what people save is saved because it has sentimental value and that is a major thing people need to come to grips with.
You can keep a few things of course but not a room or two full. People have bemoaned the fact their closets are packed and they have no more room and don’t know what to do.
I have helped them clean it out and a lot of the time 1/2 of what we got rid of were “memories” they forgot they even had. I have pulled down large boxes of their children’s school papers they have saved. I’m talking every single math, English etc. homework page they ever did. One small file folder is enough for each year and by the time they graduate you should be able to fit all 12 years of important school papers in one folder.
Then there are boxes of stuffed animals and favorite blankies. One or two is fine but not boxes full. I have seen people who have been so busy dealing and taking care of their children’s “memories” and things like it they haven’t had time to enjoy their kids. Is there something wrong with this picture?
This is just one example of how we need to really to get a grip and let it go.
Are you at the mercy of your things? Are you continually finding yourself washing, polishing, dusting, moving, storing and cleaning things which really have no purpose and aren’t useful to you. Next time you pick up something to move, clean, polish etc. really look at it and think why am I keeping this and what does it do for me. How much pleasure does that ugly vase from Aunt Mable ( who died 25 years ago and you only meant once in your life) really give you?
Sell these things or give them away to someone who might get pleasure out of them or could use them. Really pay attention to what you have sitting every where. I once laid a stack of things on my fireplace mantle and forgot about them. I got so use to them laying there it was weeks before I noticed they were out of place. We tend to get “use to” or so comfortable with the things around us we don’t realize we really don’t need a lot of these things.
Just start looking at your things but most of all take control don’t let them control you any more. You will be amazed at how free you will feel and what a burden will be lifted. We don’t always realize how much responsibility we feel for these “things” and what a relief it is to have these responsibilites lifted from our shoulders.
Spring is here so let’s dust off those cobwebs that have been choking us all winter long and make our homes start working for us instead of the other way around. : )
Jill
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From Living On A Dime Blog » Living On A Dime Blog.
The (updated) Michigan blogroll
I’ve been “meeting” a lot of Michigan bloggers this week via links and referrals from other bloggers.
Therefore, I have done a major overhaul on my Blog Michigan blogroll on the right side of Monroe on a Budget’s home page. My list now features personal finance, budgeting, bargain-picking, and a few other random topics from [...]
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From Monroe on a Budget.
AD’s 75 frugality blogs that will change your life
The AccountingDegree.com bloggers have been researching and assembling some very good lists of personal finance blogs.
The posts are not just a list of links, but include a quick description of each blog’s specialty or personality. I’m familiar with a lot of the listed bloggers, and you’ll want to learn from their expertise too.
One of the [...]
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From Monroe on a Budget.
Whose inheritance is it anyway?
A recent CNN Money article about inheritance issues is getting some discussion in the blogosphere.
You’ll find lots of comments on these two blog posts:
Frugal Zeitgeist: Say What?
I pick up pennies: Should you even WANT to inherit?
I linked to the CNN Money article too. I liked the fact he pointed out one should spend time with [...]
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From Monroe on a Budget.
For My Readers
As many of you know, I shut down this blog, as it was no longer fun for me.
Upon request, I am putting it back up as an archive so that people can find recipes and whatever other information they were looking to implement.
I will no longer be posting here.
I will be writing at my old blog, A Fine Collection of Lint and Fuzz, about once per week and am the Wednesday contributor to Frugal Hacks. You are all welcome to continue to follow me at both of those blogs.
I enjoyed this blog for a long time, and I thank you all for that.
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Copyright Under $1000 Per Month, 2009-2010
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From Under $1000 Per Month.
Michigan jobless get another benefits extension
The Michigan unemployment benefits extension that was waiting on action from Congress has been cleared. News headlines and details:
Continue reading Michigan jobless get another benefits extension …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Michigan jobless get another benefits extension
The Michigan unemployment benefits extension that was waiting on action from Congress has been cleared. News headlines and details:
Continue reading Michigan jobless get another benefits extension …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Michigan jobless get another benefits extension
The Michigan unemployment benefits extension that was waiting on action from Congress has been cleared. News headlines and details:
Continue reading Michigan jobless get another benefits extension …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Take A Break From Your To-Do List – Fuzzy Wuzzy Wednesday
Unrelenting to-do lists can cause stress hormones to weaken your brain’s ability to make endorphins – the happy hormones.
Who knew? You and I already understand that stress causes a host of physical problems.
But did you know that if you have those unending to-do lists nagging at you day in and day out, your brain is actually going to have trouble making any of those happy little endorphins we love?
And, what happens when our brain quits making happy hormones? We quit feeling happy. In other words, the blues, or worse, sets in.
According to Pamela Peeke, M.D., author of Body for Life for Women, we need to give our brain a rest. More importantly, we need to give our brain something other than unrelenting tasks to focus on.
Please click on the graphics below to take a look at Body for Life for Women in either book form or Kindle form:
Let’s say that, in the morning, the first thing you do is check your mile long to do list. You are now on task. The day BEGINS with stress hormones on high alert.
Instead of checking your to do list first, what if you would sit outside, soak up some daylight, gaze into the sky, and sip your cup of tea or coffee? Now your day begins with happy hormones! What a difference it makes to give your brain a break!
If you focus on something pleasant, something other than your tasks and your worries, your brain will take that pleasant time and use it to produce endorphins. Your brain will like those endorphins so much that it will want to keep producing them, which in turn will make your days a little brighter.
Today, take some time to lift your mood by giving your brain a refreshing break. Find a pleasant place, think some pleasant thoughts, enjoy some pleasant sounds, write some pleasant words, and you’ll find out just how pleasant your day can be.
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From Hillbilly Housewife Blog.
How did you meet your husband?
This is part of FAQ Friday. If you have a question you would like for me to answer, please submit them on the FAQ page.
Question
How did you meet your husband?
Answer
First, I’d like to say, I love FAQ Friday. A lot of times, it is a fun excuse for me to spout my religious views in a blog where they otherwise do not fit. Other times, it allows me to touch upon something truly personal and fun, like how I met my husband.
After high school, Dan went to state college for a few classes each semester. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. After one year of that, his mother got very sick, planning-the-funeral kind of sick. Praise God, she’s still with us now, but has never fully recovered. Dan put his life on hold for a few years to help take care of her, but finally went to Bible college.
I took a year off school after high school, then found the Bible college where I felt God wanted me.
I was a freshman and he was senior.
We went to a college where everything was structured. There was a strict dress code and rules about when you could hang out with people of the opposite gender. There was also a “No PC” rule. That is, “No Physical Contact” with people of the opposite gender. No hugs, hand-holding or even pokes were allowed.
Dan remembers first seeing me during freshman orientation, called the “Get to Know You Session.”
I first remember seeing him at the supper table. Supper was the only meal where we had free seating, as opposed to assigned seating. Dan and I struck up a conversation about what brought us to the college and what the will of God was for our lives. He clearly remembers that conversation ended with me asserting, “Well, I know that the will of God for me right now is to clean dishes.”
We ran into each other quite a bit around the campus. Sometimes we sat together during chapel, or at supper or at softball games. (We both played.) We both vividly remember on a Saturday night there was a bonfire at the home of one of the married students. He sat with me and we talked for hours- until curfew- about family, theology, and dreams.
He impressed me, but I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I went to Bible college to grow closer to God, not to find a husband. I was thinking I needed to somehow distance myself from him, and even hid from him in a coat closet once. Finally I had a long reflection period with God while I was avoiding him. I saw that I was closer to God when I was around Dan and that God was blessing our budding friendship.
Dan’s best friend’s fiance was in charge of the seating chart. She was also my Resident Assistant in the dorm. She arranged for Dan and I to have assigned seating next to each other at meals. At our college there was a bit of a divide between couples and singles. No body liked it that way, but it was how it was. Some of the other students at our table griped about a couple getting to sit together.
He asked me what I thought of others referring to us as a couple, knowing that I wasn’t quite ready. I answered honestly that I liked it. It wasn’t long after that that we became an official couple, meaning he called my mom and asked for permission. (My Dad didn’t want to be called; he’s a bit of a feminist.)
So, that is how we met and fell in love. I am lucky to have him, and am thankful that he feels the same way about me.
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Copyright Under $1000 Per Month, 2009-2010
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From Under $1000 Per Month.