I cleaned my refrigerator!

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On the 30th day of November I washed all the dirty dishes in the kitchen.

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Cut my losses. Do not cry over spilled milk. Learn and move on.

Do not be scared of criticism. Listen to it and think about it. If it is warranted, learn from it. If it is not warranted, dismiss it, do not waste energy getting upset about it.

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Be faithful in the small things.

Focus on what I can do, not what I can't. Overtime, I will be able to learn how to do more and more things, if I just start somewhere.

Slow down! Do not be so impatient with myself and others. I am not in a race with anyone, including myself.

Be willing to challege myself to do hard things and learn new things.

Take what I like and leave the rest. Not all frugality/DIY/whatever things are going to work for me. If it's not useful or makes me unhappy, leave it alone.

Small steady changes over a period of time are better than a big burst of activity followed by a long time of nothing.

Think of the benefits of change to myself, my family.  Always see the possibilities. Be positive. Do not succumb to negative self talk.

Do the things that are important. I say reading the Bible is important to me but I hardly ever do it. Commit to opening the Bible and reading one verse a day. Then move on to a chapter a day.

Reach out to the people around me.

Be aware of my surroundings. Be thankful for my "stuff". Commit to doing one thing each day that will make a difference in my home. For instance, find a home for an item that's been on the kitchen table or wherever for days/weeks/months.

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I think tying up loose ends is a good thing.

This morning I was picking up trash (lots to declutter around here) and picked up several old bills.  I called to see if they'd paid or not.  One hadn't.  I paid over the phone and that was that.  Good feeling.

I hate doing ebay feedback.  This morning I did four feedbacks.  Painless.

Those are just a couple of small things, which are motivations for bigger things!  Decluttering weekend, here I come!

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It helps for me to do what it takes to be prepared for the next 24 hours, or whatever.

For example,  make sure the kids have clean outfits for school for the next day or two.  It doesn't mean all the laundry has to be washed, folded, and put away.  Get the clothes ready then do the backed up laundry.

Same with meals.  Prepare the next meal and don't worry about washing and putting every dish away.  Get the food and necessary dishes read, they do the stacked up dishes. 

It is going to take time to catch up on all the piled up housework.  Taking care of first things first will help relieve some of the stress.

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I was just thinking that you really can't appreciate the big things in life unless you have first learned to enjoy and appreciate the little things. The more interested and involved I get in with the details of life the more I enjoy life.   It's just like almost any large task has many little steps. 

I think a lot of my problems in life happened because I didn't pay attention to the little details of life and only looked forward to the big things.  Then when those big things came my way I couldn't appreciate them. 

I think that is one of the joys of working at frugal living.  You are taking one thing at a time and trying to do it less expensively, less wastefully.  In short, it is living more thoughtfully.

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School lunch prices have gone WAY up this year.  No way can we afford them.  That makes for a good opportunity to make lunches and I appreciate the good ideas on this website for school lunches.

For kids school shopping, check what we have against their school supplies list before going to the store.  Make sure everyone has shoes that fit and buy their new gym shoes before school starts.

For me, buy jeans second hand, also blouses.  Don't wear t-shirts every day just because I can!  Watch clearance and sales for shoes.

Made homework boxes for boys.  Fill with pens, pencils, erasers, rulers.  MAKE SURE they know where the extra lined paper is kept.

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