Making Your Home a Haven Challenge - Day One

First, I wanted to thank Gina (Everyday is a Precious Gift) for posting this on her blog. I have felt that our home and life is chaos lately...well, not even lately, since the pregnancy and birth of the triplets. I am so ready to get into a schedule in my life and feel more in control of things. Gina is a true blessing and her posts couldn't have come at a better time! So, for the next while, I will be doing the challenge with Gina and the women at Biblical Womanhood (www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm). Here goes!

(All italics are Biblical Womanhood's words.)

Day One of the Challenge

Refresh Your Spirit (5 minutes)

Take five minutes, brew a cup of tea or coffee, and sit down and be still before the Lord. Pray, read a Psalm, thank the Lord for His goodness and blessing in your life.

Not that this is an excuse, but I didn't start the challenge until a few days late, so I unfortunately did not do this.

Take Time to Plan (5 minutes)

Today's planning project is centered on a morning routine. Write down five things you want to do in the same order every morning. Keep it simple and only stick to five things. If five things seem overwhelming, start with three. Starting somewhere is better than not starting at all!

My Morning Routine:

1. Take a shower!

2. Coffee and spend time with the Lord.

3. Breakfast for Aidan and the babies.

4. Get supper planned and meat out to defrost, if needed.

5. Put in a load of laundry; fold and put away everything in the dryer.

Do Something! (5 -15 minutes)

Each day I'm going to be giving you a simple organizational task to complete in your home. And today we're going to start at the very beginning - a very good place to start! Then go to your front door and pretend you are a first-time visitor to your home. Walk in and take a look around. What is your immediate impression of your home? Is it calm and clean or cluttered and chaotic? Take five to fifteen minutes to clean, de-clutter, and beautify your entry area.

This is the view as you walk in looking straight ahead.

Before:

After:

The view to the right of the door.

Before: After:

This is the view to the left of the front door.

Before:

After:

It is bad enough posting the before pictures, but it really does make me feel better and feel like I actually accomplished something. That's rare these days.