Get to know your local thrift stores

Now that I am a housewife, I have need for different kinds of clothing. I have tons of work clothing but who wants to wear that when around the house? I was in need of additional clothing but when going from two incomes to one, going on a shopping spree the local mall does not seem like the best idea since we have gone from two incomes to one.

My recommendation is to get to know your local thrift stores. I have discovered a ton of great things at my local thrift stores. People donate things they have never used, great clothing they don’t fit in anymore, great things you could find out you need.

There is this great tool to find out what stores are near you. Go to several in the area because some stores may have different better things. For example, I found great Easter baskets at the store by my parents house, great clothing at another location and some yarn for crochet at another location. Look around and you may be surprised at what you find.

Figure out how to end/start your day

Being a housewife can be overwhelming…You think it will be easy, that you can get up and get so much done each day while meeting everyone’s needs. Usually it ends up being a day where you don’t get much done but play referee with your kids, get everyone fed and end the day with a list of to-dos undone. Learning that is ok is another blog but one thing I discovered is figuring out how to start and end your day can help.

There is this women, Fly Lady, who has beginner babysteps about how to deal with being overwhelmed at home. Day 1 is Go Shine Your Sink. Her list is full of a combination of action items and words of affirmation. As great as they looked, I did not complete the steps but I did clean my sink every day for a few days. I discovered that when I woke up to a clean kitchen, my day started better with more productivity then when I went to bed with things out.

Waking up to this mess – not so fun for me!

But waking up to this, wonderful!

The funny thing is that I do not have to put away the dishes that night, but I can leave them out to put away the next day.

This started a trend on me starting my day more. I was not spending the morning in my PJs dreaming of a shower while nothing got done. I got up, and took a shower as soon as I could, I made yummy breakfast and was ready to take on each day more. A lot still does not get done in each day but my attitude was different and that was what really mattered.

Now you do not need to do the same thing. Most of all, the lesson is to figure out what works for you. What makes your attitude better, what starts your day off right…everyone is so different so I can not tell you what works for you but cheer you on as your figure out what you need to make your day great.