Homemaking Challenged

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

31 Days of Creating Purpose In Your Home

Credi

Today is the last day, and I thought it would be fun to do a wrap-up post and re-share some of the more popular posts, as well as leave you with a few parting words of wisdom for this series. It has been a wonderful challenge, and I have enjoyed posting on the same topic for the whole month, but I am excited to get back into my normal, less rigorous blogging schedule. Here are some things I want you to take away with you from the last month

1. Keep Your Family First

Above everything that we do to make purpose for our homes, we are doing it for our family. Don't let them get lost in it.

2. Figure Out What You Want and How to Make it Work

We all want different things for our home, you want to figure out what it is that you want, and then how to make it happen. While it is easier said than done, we can all make it happen

3. Keep Going

No one is perfect, we are all in process, keep trying and working hard to get to where you want to be. Doing something, is always better than nothing!

Cheers!

Ashley

Monday, October 29, 2012

Motivation When Things Get Hard

Credit

Just as slip ups are a part of life so is loosing your motivation. It can be hard to stay motivated to do the mound of dishes and laundry that magically reappear seemingly seconds after you completely them. This is where you need to get to the heart of your purpose statement. You need to remember what you are aiming for. This is how you will stay motivated, it is the striving for your goal. If you are having a hard time staying motivated towards your goal, make sure your goal is worth fighting for.

In the middle of laundry and dishes, I know what I am fighting for and that makes fighting worth it.

What are you fighting for? Is it really worth it? Does it keep you motivated?

Keep fighting the fight it is worth it.

Cheers!

Ashley

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Guest Post: A Hubby's Perspective

Welcome to my 31 Days to Create Purpose in your home! During the month of October, I am posting every day about creating purpose in your home and joining all of these bloggers who are also posting for 31 days on a topic of their choice. I would love for you to follow me, and check out all of the other posts in the series and the introduction to it here.

Today is guest post from my husband. I apologize in advance for anything he has to say, as they are completely his words not mine. I asked him to write a post for me, as I am busy trying to finish the final touches on our halloween outfits. Enjoy his post, and I will return tomorrow.

Cheers!
Ashley

Hey Party Peoples,

The wife is overwhelmed with Halloween related preparations today and as far as what needs to get done her husband (me) is about as useful as a bag of sand at the beach. The only thing on her to do list that I could be actually helpful with was her blog post. So you get to deal with me today and not her, tough. The wife tells me that I should make my post be related to her months topic, which she said was something about having porpoises within your home. As much fun as having a wannabe dolphin to hang with would be, this seems entirely inconvenient, especially if you are like me and don't have a swimming pool. So instead I'm going on a mini rant.

Now while I don't read my wife's blog, I will advise you to listen and follow all of her advice, no matter how out there it might seem. That being said, when creating a plan for what you want everything to look like and be like in your home, I want you to remember something very important. THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE LIVING WITH YOU, AND IT IS THERE HOUSE TOO. Now you might think you know this, and you might think that what you do is reflective of you knowing this, but sometimes it doesn't. When women decorate, they put up candles and baskets and pictures and nick-knacks and other what have yous. Odds are your husband has no interest in these decorations, in fact he has no interest in any of those decorations, he may not and probably never will complain about them, but that is because men don't really about it that much.

Almost all men have some kind of hobby, whether its sports, video games, movies, music or some other more obscure interest. We therefore own any number of cool objects associated with our hobby that we are proud of and would like to display in some way shape or form. When other guys come over we like to show them our cool stuff. One of my friends is a Batman fanatic, he has a section of his house kept as a shrine to the Batman. For a music man, he might want to display posters, his CD collection, concert tees, or his autographed Guitar. Sports guys have jerseys and signed paraphernalia. For me its my painted miniatures that I want to display along with some of my book series and statuettes. All of those thing we think are cool. I may not share another man's hobby, but I appreciate his collection of cool stuff that he loves just slightly less than he loves his children, and slightly more than he loves his pets.

Those candles and such that you use to decorate your house with, you probably consider them shared things, your husband considers them your things. You might not want your friends seeing all your husbands stuff decorating your house, and I honestly don't blame you for that, but keep in mind that when you are decorating your house with your things and force your husband to keep all his things in a box in the attic, he is prone to being upset about that. Do what you can to give him a corner or room or garage to make his own, that he can bring the guy over to and say, "Look at all the cool crap that I payed too much for," and all his bros can look at and say, "Sweet!"  That's all for today, I don't know if or when I will post again but here's hoping I didn't just drive away all my wife's readership with this post.

Laterz,

The Matt