New Every Morning...

I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:19-23

I saw quite a few comments on Facebook about people hoping for a better year in 2012 than what they experienced in 2011.  I understand!  I've had a few years where I hoped for the same thing in the new year.  It's very common to look back over the previous year and take inventory of your life.  It is also very natural to let difficult experiences become your focus and find yourself becoming melancholy, just as the author of the above verses did.

But, he didn't stay there!  He turned his mind to the Lord and the fact that we are not consumed by difficult circumstances in life because God loves us, is greatly faithful and has non-failing compassion that is new every morning.  My New Year's resolution is to open my Bible every morning, looking forward to discovering the new compassion (sensitive love) God has for me that day - even in the midst of life's difficulties!

Fly Lady

Speaking of new things, there will be a new segment on Nanna's Kitchen this year.  Several months ago, my oldest daughter called me to tell me about a website she had found that was extremely helpful in taking care of a home.  She was very excited about her shiny kitchen sink!  Hmmm...  So, I checked it out.  As I read more of the information, it sounded vaguely familiar.  Sure enough, Fly Lady got her initial information from Sidetracked Home Executives, a book written by two sisters I had read and used when my girls were small.  

However, Fly Lady has transformed the information into modern usage.  FlyLady.com is a wonderful website, full of useful information, that takes the guesswork out of taking care of your home.  The thing I like best about it - you can sign up for free daily emails that tell you what you need to do that day for 15 minutes (every day but Monday).  Um, yeah!  Anyone can clean or organize for 15 minutes!  And you don't have to clean your whole house to get started.  You just start on the item for that day.  After several months, your whole house will be clean and organized. And you can keep it that way just 15 minutes a day!  An extra bonus - you will Finally be Loving Yourself, too!  (That's where Fly Lady comes from - you know, that whole love your neighbor as yourself thing...)

Take an hour or so browsing her website and sign up for the emails because there is so much more information found in them.  It is easy to spend a lot of time reading all the great testimonials people send in telling how Fly Lady has changed their lives. What I will be doing is simply listing what the focus is for each day.  So, if you are crunched for time, you can get the daily focus here. 

Each month has a habit to work on and every Monday, there is a Home Blessing Hour.  Fly Lady also promotes a Before Bed Routine (that's where the shiny sink happens) and a Morning Routine. I don't want to overwhelm you, so those will all come later.  This week, let's just take care of the daily focus.

Today's focus - Home Blessing Hour

Set your timer for 10 minutes per item.  When the timer goes off, you are done with that item.  You will have extra time on some of them.  Some of them will require you to work quickly!  After one hour, you are done!  If you need to, split it up into two 30 minute segments or three 20 minute segments - whatever works best for you!  You are not working towards perfection.  Your goal is for your home to be clean enough to be healthy!

Home Blessing

1.  Toss old magazines and newspapers

2.  Change sheets ( I change sheets every two weeks unless we've been ill)

3.  Empty all trash cans (Take a large trash bag with you in which to empty all the smaller trash cans)

4.  Vacuum all rooms (Just the middles - don't move furniture)

5.  Mop kitchen and bath floors

6.  Shine mirrors and glass doors

7.  Dust furniture

If you need inspiration to get started, you can always watch the TV show, Hoarders, or help someone move.  Just sayin'...