DIY
The Ultimate Self-Care Routine for Busy Moms
Finding a rhythm and routine that keeps you sane as a mom is of top priority. Read along as I share with you my ultimate self-care routine for busy moms.
Recognize the season
Being a mom is one of the toughest jobs on the planet. You will never be able to convince me otherwise. So before I launch into this ultimate self-care routine, please note that each mom has various seasons in motherhood. Some seasons are way more time consuming than others. With that being said, use this self-care routine simply as a suggestion and uses it to fit your needs. Hang in there, mama! You are doing great!
My Ultimate Self-Care Routine for Busy Moms
- Walk and/or run
- Devotions
- Wash face twice daily
- End the day with a book
Sleep
No matter the season of motherhood, adequate sleep has always been an issue. When my children were infants, sleep was hard to come by because I was meeting their needs (feedings, diaper changes, as they got older – chase away the boogie man). Older ages brought late night sports activities or waiting up for them to return home from dates. Now, in my mid-forties, lovely perimenopause is reeking havoc on my sleep schedule.
For the past few months, I have been attempting to go to bed earlier because I am getting up early in order to exercise. While the activity is good for me, it has also been good for me to attempt to go to sleep earlier. Now, if I can just sleep through the entire night!
Knowing that I will be waking up at 5:00 a.m. forces me to put aside the mindless scrolling and get to bed at a decent hour. First thing in the morning, I wake up, have a cup of coffee, then meet a couple of friends for a 3 mile walk.
Devotions
In a previous post, I’ve shared the importance of a quiet time. Why does this make the ultimate self-care routine for busy moms? Because a few moments of solitude to pray and meditate on what is most important in life gives me a purpose to my day-to-day.
Wash Face Daily
Why is this simple task so important? I’ve found as I age, the condition of my skin impacts my mood. When my skin is dry and the eye bags are heavy, I feel a little down. A little moisturizer goes a long way to boost my mood! And your skin care routine doesn’t have to break the bank. Recently, I discovered @lorafied on Instagram and she has some great tips for finding good skincare hacks. Below is some of her ideas for Dollar Tree Dupes.
End the Day with a Book
Reading did not become a hobby for me until adulthood. Now, ending the day with a book is a sweet treat for me. Reading allows me to unwind from the day and getting ready for sleep. Reading actually makes me sleepy and I look forward to becoming too tired to read. This habit is a part of my self-care routine because it helps my mind and body to slow down. Check out my Goodreads link at the top of my blog page!
Please share with me your ultimate self-care routine or feel free to copy mine!
Home Organization: Hacks for Every Room!
That title might be a bit deceptive. Not sure I have a hack for EVERY room but I will share the knowledge that I do have. Keeping a house running smoothly will require some home organization hacks along the way!
Functional Bathrooms
Having a double vanity sink would make one think there is enough space for all one’s bathroom products. One would be wrong. Having a proper organization hack will help utilize the small spaces underneath bathroom sinks. I’ve utilized double tiered shelving as well as hair appliance storage. You can check out my hair appliance organizer here. (As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission from any viable link.)
Smart Tips for an Organized Kitchen
No matter the size of the kitchen, there are plenty of items to fill it! For a small kitchen especially, there are organizational tips and tricks. For example, a lazy Susan is a wonderful hack for organizing spices. Upper cabinets that extend all the way to the ceiling are also a nice addition of space.
Snapware glass containers are great for food storage and stack nicely in the cabinets when unused.
Hacks for a Clutter-Free Bedroom
Under the bed storage organizers are a brilliant hack for saving space in the bedroom. I use a couple of zip-up storage containers.
In our youngest son’s bedroom, canvas storage totes are used to hold not only clothing but toys and books as well. You can read about our recent update to our son’s room, here.
Creative under-the-bed storage solutions. Any quick Google search can generate a wealth of home organization hack resources. An account I discovered on Instagram that has amazing home organization hacks is @lelaburris She also has a beautiful blog that highlights some great organization tips. You can read about it here.
Using these hacks, think of ways to create space-saving storage solutions and organization in your own home! Let me know what other home organization hacks you incorporate at your house. I’d love to hear from you!
Essential Tips for Setting Up My Son’s Dorm Room: A Parent’s Guide to College Living
What an experience to move our son into college. Getting his dorm room ready was a fun and a little bit frenzied time. The following are essential tips for setting up my son’s dorm room: a parent’s guide to college living.
1. Planning the Layout.
Consider the layout of the space when planning dorm room purchases. Seek out the appliance guidelines of your college/university of choice. Before our move-in day, I looked up dorm room pictures that other parents had supplied in Facebook groups. Having a visual idea of how we wanted the layout of the room to be made moving items in much easier.
A snapshot of our starting space. This picture makes the dorm room look so small. I am so pleased with the “after”. 2. Dorm Room Must-haves: Essentials for Comfort and Convenience
This is the area rug we purchased for my son’s dorm room. It is extremely soft AND washable. *As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any viable links. My family and I created a list of must-haves for our son’s dorm room. Now that he is moved in, here are my top 5 must-haves: 1. XL moving bags WITH straps that wrap all the way around the bags. 2. Woo Zoo fan. (We purchased ours at Costco) 3. Multiple sizes of Command Hooks. Unfortunately, we did not get the right sizes for our son’s wall art but we did get the correct, heavy-duty size for his curtains. For his dorm, absolutely no holes can be made in the walls so Command Hooks are a must. 4. A toaster oven/air fryer combo. (My husband found a unit that can: air fry, broil, bake, toast, and one more I cannot remember – ha!) 5. An area rug. And I’ll add a bonus – a rolling laundry hamper. The wheels make it easy to roll back and forth from the laundry room.
These XL Moving Bags were a HUGE help on move-in day. *As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any viable links. 3. Decorating on a Budget
Shopping Amazon Prime Day deals in July was a HUGE help in securing some great deals for my son’s dorm room. My husband likes checking out local overstock/discount stores for deals – places like Ollie’s or DirtCheap.
For all the curtains in my son’s dorm, I sewed them. My mother and aunt provided the fabric and I provided the labor. My son has curtains in his living room, bedroom, and bathroom. This is a big budget helper.
College parent groups and Facebook Marketplace are also great spots to grab some budget-friendly dorm room items.
The Collar Find is a wonderful account for college tips and tricks! 4. Preparing for Move-In Day: Tips for a Smooth Transition
For the actual move-in day, try to remember a few tips: 1. Not everything is going to go as planned – the earlier you can come to terms with this fact, the better. Lists upon lists were made and we still forgot some things. 2. Set your Woozoo fan up immediately. The air circulation will cool you down as you are unloading boxes. A friend shared this tip with me and it was a big help. We even brought a second portable fan to simply have running during move-in then we took it home at completion. 3. Try to keep conversations light and positive. Even if your son does not act like the move-in bothers him, he is still processing a lot of emotions. 4. Place all that you can into the XL moving bags. These bags are a game changer and save so much space. I picked up this tip from @thecollarfind on Instagram. 5. Have conversations BEFORE move-in day about your expectations of goodbye. Having at least a loose idea of leaving expectations helps prepare the mind slightly for the transition.
Moving is not always an easy nor smooth task. In fact, sometimes it is downright horrifying. You can read some of my cautionary advice related to moving here. My hope is that you have a great college move-in experience with your child! Let me know if you use any of my tips and tricks in this parent’s guide to college living.
The “after” of our son’s dorm room. Sizzling Summer: A Peak Into My Summer Routine
No doubt about it, my summer has definitely been sizzling! Read along to sneak a peak into my summer routine.
Summer with Kids
This by far has been our busiest summer. It is the end of a season in our lives, our second son graduated in May and will head off to college at the end of the summer. I was not prepared for how busy his last summer at home would be. He has participated in many wonderful opportunities this summer and I am just sad to see it come to an end. With that being said, much of our summer routine revolves around the kids’ activities.
My summer routine included many drop offs and pick ups from various camps: church camp, choir tour, Boy Scouts camp, and student leadership retreat. Add in our fabulous trip to Greece – which you can read about here – and there is a bulk of my summer routine. When the kids were younger, we kept a much more structured weekly summer schedule similar to the one I will post below; however, as the kids have grown and have more functions through various organizations, we have less time to devote to a daily summer schedule.
Many summers we followed a similar schedule. Daily Rituals
My daily rituals in the summer include: sleeping in, enjoying a peaceful devotional time with a hot cup of coffee, and getting ready for the day. Most Thursdays this summer, I attend an online Professional Development course to maintain my teaching certification. Also, I participated in a brief, six week Bible Study of the book of Philippians.
Now that my kids are older and sports, activities, and church events guide our routines, I think back to the days of the summer schedule similar to the one shown above. That schedule helped keep three littles on track and me sane. I appreciate this mom’s post of how she structured her summer routines, “just enough”.
Relaxing Vibes
While I personally believe there is always plenty to do at home, relaxing vibes are always my goal. Summer routines serve the best relaxing vibes. We are seldom stressed to get out the door at an early time during the summer. Maybe the extra time at home this summer afforded me the opportunity to online shop a little too much – ha! I have enjoyed ordering some of my favorite travel outfits from Amazon.
This dress has been an absolute favorite all summer long! *As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any eligible links. Special Treasures
Part of what makes summer so awesome are the special treasures tucked in throughout the summer months. We have enjoyed so many sweet treasures this summer: trip to Greece, a wedding for my nephew, and camp trips.
How has your summer been? Would you call it, sizzling? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear from you!
Kids Bedroom Design Ideas
My youngest son’s bedroom is the last to receive an overhaul with a decluttered look and a fresh coat of paint. His room went from blah to a personal haven. Kids bedroom design ideas keep the heart of the home interesting.
Where We Started
At the end of 2021, we moved into a Spanish mission style turned cottage home that was built in 1939. The entire home was in need of some tender loving care. That is just what we have been doing over the last two and a half years. You can read up on our daughter’s room renovation, here. Slowly, we have put our touch on almost every inch of this home. Our youngest’s bedroom is the last bedroom to receive some love.
Here is our son’s room when we moved in. This room is admittedly a challenge due its small size and my son’s desire to keep everything he owns – ha! The bedroom is approximately 8′ x 14′. Finding inspiration for a small space can be tricky. Thankfully Instagram and Pinterest provide some beautiful ideas.
Fun features in a small space! What We Have Done in Kids Bedroom Design
Almost immediately after we moved in, an updated light pendant was purchased as well as an area rug. Alas, the room has not received much else over the last two years, then these past two weeks, I have painted this room. Before painting, my son and I went through ALL of his belongings and weeded out what is no longer important.
For paint colors, I am using Azores from Benjamin Moore on the back wall and White Dove by Benjamin Moore on the other three walls. I feel like the pop of color helps elongate the room and create a larger feeling space.
The back wall of my son’s room is, Azores, by Benjamin Moore. I will be the first to admit that finding a home for every item my kid feels is necessary to keep is hard! Here are some cute fabric bins and ordered them for my son’s possessions.
These storage bins can be ordered from Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any viable links. Where We Are in Our Kids Bedroom Design
Now for the results of a couple of weeks worth of painting. In addition to decluttering and painting, I created two roll-up Roman Shades for my son’s room in order to create a variety of texture in this space.
This most definitely feels like a kids bedroom design space we will enjoy! What are your thoughts about this room?
Top Graduation Gift Ideas to Celebrate His Big Achievement
May is the time for celebrations! And graduations are one of the main reasons to celebrate. This year our second son is graduating high school and I wanted to curate a list of top graduation gift ideas to celebrate his big achievement.
It seems like all of our first day of school pictures accumulated way too quickly. You can read about our first day of school preparations and traditions here. Now that we are at the end of our son’s senior year, I am thinking of his fun celebrations and not only him, but other graduates. What makes great graduation gifts?
Practical gifts
Entering a new, independent chapter of life requires a few practical gifts to ensure success and comfort. For Father’s Day, I had given my husband a classic weekender duffle bag that he could use for quick, overnight trips. My son’s girlfriend saw my son’s dilapidated duffle bag and asked me for the link to the one I had recently purchased. She made the purchase for my son’s graduation gift and I felt it was a wonderful gift for him!
Another area to consider in practical gift ideas are: items for future dorm or apartment rooms. Hanger organizers, collapsible laundry baskets, closet organizers, bath towels, hand towels, and kitchen towels all are useful gifts.
You can shop for this travel duffel bag, here.
As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any viable links.Fun gifts
Of course, everyone loves a fun gift! For guys, think of what they love. Do they love sports? Maybe an indoor Nerf basketball goal is a good idea. Even 18 year old Lego fans still love a Lego set. Try to think of hobbies and/or sports your graduate enjoys and buy a gift accordingly. If all else fails, everyone can use an Amazon gift card.
Memorable gift
Oh the Places You Will Go! is a fan favorite. Personally, I think you cannot go wrong with this book. Another graduation gift idea is to give a book that meant a lot to you. Are you a C.S. Lewis fan? His books are amazing.
One gift my son received this year that he and I both loved was a set of monogrammed cufflinks. This gift immediately upgrades a dress shirt and makes one feel special.
I’ve created a Guy Grad Gift guide on my Liketoknow.it page. You can check it out here. For more of my blog posts, check out the carousel below.
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Essential Tips for Setting Up My Son’s Dorm Room: A Parent’s Guide to College Living
Moving our son into college was a fun yet frenzied experience. We focused on planning…DIY Home Decor: Creating an Accent Wall
The older I get and the more Instagram reels I view, the more I believe I am capable of my own DIY home decor. We are two years into our home remodel and still have about 6-12 months left of work to do. If I’m being real honest, I feel as long as you own a home, you have work to do. In this blog post I will share our latest DIY Home Decor: Creating an Accent Wall. An accent wall is a great focal feature of any room.
Measure, measure, then measure some more
Our room of choice for the accent wall is our daughter’s bedroom. We wanted to have 1×2’s spanning vertically across one wall. Our challenge was that the ceiling is at a slant and all but two of the slats of wood had to be cut to the appropriate length then also cut an angle to fit the roof line.
Sight of future accent wall. I may or may not have miscalculated the length of three boards. Thankfully, Lowe’s allowed us to return three of the untouched boards and purchase the correct length. I cannot stress enough how often to measure then measure some more!
To achieve the look we desired, we set the 1×2 boards every 17 inches along the wall. We have a total of eight 1×2’s going across the room.
1×2’s create the board and batten look for the accent wall. Focus on the outcome for the space.
Our current home is smaller than our previous home and my desire is to create a space that feels as large as possible. In our children’s rooms, the ceilings slant so I want to focus on decor that brings the eye up. For our daughter’s room, she desired an accent wall and we both liked the look of board and batten slats.
We have slowly been updating our daughter’s room. We have removed extra shelving, painted the dark gray walls a bright white, added a new area rug, and also expanded the closet door to double doors. You can read about the closet update, here.
An accent wall can create such an eye-pleasing view of a room. Select paint that will connect the entire room.
Originally, I thought we would keep the wall color White Dove to match the rest of the walls; however, after my daughter selected a lovely bedding set that had some pretty blues that would match her current rug, we chose to paint the accent wall a lovely shade of blue.
We purchased this rug from Boutique Rugs. 
Here is the bedding we will order. This bedding will tie in the blue of the wall and her rug. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission from any viable links. While we have not received the updated bedding as of yet, I still feel the outcome of the accent wall has made a significant impact on the overall space. What are your thoughts? Do you like the accent wall? I would love to hear from you.
How to Start a Blog: Tips to Make it Happen
In today’s fast paced culture, one would think a blog is antiquated. However, blogs are a thriving mode for communicating with a mass audience covering any topic of interest. Read along as I share how to start a blog: tips to make it happen.
Family photo at Rosemary Beach 1. Select a niche.
I almost hate using this phrase for a subheading. If you spend any time at all online, you will hear the buzzword, “niche”. Honestly, sometimes it is stressful when I hear, “select a niche” or “niche down”. Take a deep breath and do not fear, selecting a niche might be easier than you think. What is it that you want to share? What perspective do you have that you want the world to know? For me, I like sharing about my home and family – our lifestyle. I have selected the niche of “Lifestyle Blogger”. When creating your own blog, select a niche ideal for you.
Much of my blog inspiration comes from what I share on my Instagram account. 2. Utilize a host site.
It is almost comical that I have a blog when being tech savvy is not my forte. The good news is, there are YouTube tutorials that can walk you through a step-by-step process for setting up your blog. These tutorials do a great job of helping you understand the ways to begin to monetize your blog. I decided to use WordPress to create my blog. WordPress has a wide range of templates to use when designing your blog.
Over and over again as I started my blogging journey, I saw information about bluehost.com. This is my host site for my blog. It allows me to own the name of my blog and its place on the internet. I pay an annual fee for the website name and site upkeep.
3. Determine a schedule.
Once you have hammered out the nitty gritty of a niche and have taken the time to set up and create the look of your blog, it is time to determine a schedule. Admittedly, this last one has been my weakness. For the 2024 year, one of my two goals for the year was to write 52 blog posts. I wanted to consistently show up on my blog in a way I had not previously done. Notice, I did not say I would post once a week – ha! I know myself too well and wanted to give myself grace in the event that something happened one week and I could not generate a blog post on a specific day of the week. Currently I am targeting releasing a new blog every week. A bulk of my blog posts have been released on Wednesdays with few exceptions. Determine a schedule that works for you and stick to it!
My hope is that these tips are just the motivation you need to start your own blog! Please let me know in the comments if you have a blog and what its name is. I would love to check it out!
Maximizing Space: What Changing a Closet Door Can Do
Where to start
When we moved into our house two years ago, the room we had chosen for our teenage daughter had dark walls and a hole where a closet door used to be. From the look of the hole in the wall, one would think the closet was extremely small; however, we discovered the closet ran the length of the wall. Reaching the back of the closet was a challenge with the single existing opening. Maximizing space through adding double doors allowed us to utilize all of our daughter’s closet area.
A starting hole in the wall. Gathering material
In order to maximize the available space we needed to brainstorm ways to expand this space. Adding double doors seemed to meet our needs. Our upstairs has slanted ceilings. The slant of the ceilings impacted the height of standard closet doors. We determined that a height of six feet would allow our daughter to access the top shelf of her closet as well as the rack that holds her clothes.
In order to accommodate the height of the closet doors, we purchased solid wooden doors that could be cut down to the correct size. In addition to the wooden doors, we needed to purchase the appropriate trim for the door. To save on material costs, we shopped for these doors at Southeastern Salvage. When trying to budget for a remodel project, look for local supply stores that are not your typical box store. ReStore is a store created by Habitat for Humanity that carries overstocks or materials leftover from large construction sites. Stores such as Southeastern Salvage or ReStore could save you money. Just remember, you may have to be patient when shopping for your materials.
We used wooden doors for the expansion. Finishing touches
We used the same paint colors we have used throughout the house to finish the doors: White Dove for the interior walls and Simply White for the trim. Both colors are from Benjamin Moore.
I love Purdy paint brushes. (as an Amazon Associate, I am eligible to earn commission on any viable links) Adding double doors to this space allows our daughter to access all the items within her closet. She is able to see what clothing options she has on hand instead of being regulated to half a visual. Maximizing space lends help to organization and decluttering habits as well. Visually, I feel the double doors are a more appealing feature. Let me know in the comments what you think!
You can check out other DIY projects in our current home, here. I would love for you to follow along with us on this home remodel journey.
The finished product Decluttering: Tips for Removing Excess
Any casual viewing of Storage Wars or Hoarders reveals that many of us have an issue with clutter. Decluttering can be an effective way to remove excess from our lives. Removing the excess just may help clear our minds and bring peace. Below are a few of my decluttering tips for removing excess.
A bedroom shows off its beauty when kept clean through decluttering. 1. Designate zones in your house.
A Bowl Full of Lemons really helped me designate specific areas or “zones” of my home. Having listed and designated spaces in your home allows you to tackle one area at a time for decluttering. Sometimes getting rid of all clutter feels overwhelming. Focusing only on one zone feels more manageable.
In addition to decluttering one zone at a time, Go Clean Co. taught me to work an area from left to right. I have 18 zones in my home (front porch, hallways, living room, kid 1 room, kitchen, half bath, commons area, pantry, primary bedroom, primary bathroom, kid 2 room, kid 3 room, dining room, back porch, stairwell, laundry, kids’ bathroom, and garage). As I go through a zone to declutter, I can work in that space from left to right, pulling all items out to see if they are still needed or wanted.
Go Clean Co is an educational follow. 2. Kon Mari it.
If you have never heard of the Kon Mari method, check this article out. I am not gonna lie, for me, tackling the entire Kon Mari method is overwhelming; however, I have taken her advice of touching an item and seeing how your spirit responds as a guide for eliminating clutter. At first, that advice may seem odd but give it a try. When you are decluttering a space, handle each item. Your body has some type of response whether it is negative, meh, or a joyful response. Keep only what sparks joy.
As your pile of decluttered items grows, determine if you will throw them away or donate them. I place my donated items in large bags with handles in order to set them in my car to drop off at my charity of choice.
3. Create a challenge for yourself.
I have created a challenge for myself (I first learned of it from Instagram) on decluttering that I have been working on for six months! The challenge was only supposed to last for one month – ha! For each day of the month, get rid of the corresponding number of items. For example, on day 1, you get rid of 1 item and on day 31, you get rid of 31 items. When you have gone through days 1-31, a total of 497 items will be eliminated from your home. I am currently on day 30 and have 7 of the 30 needed items to throw out. This has definitely been a challenge for me! I thought it would be much easier than it has been but I can tell a big difference in my home when there are close to 500 items of clutter no longer clogging up my home!
For other tips or insight into keeping your home clean, you can read a related previous post here. Have fun decluttering!
