BATH ESSENTIALS

I love taking a hot bath, especially this time of the year. The weather is starting to cool down, I can feel my skin getting dry and itchy, and our never ending busy schedule has me craving hot bubble baths and lots of lotion around this time of the year. Here are some of my favorite bath essentials and a few things I am adding to my wish list!

Stria Bath Towels

Waffle Knit Robe (the best robe I have ever owned!)

Bath Caddy (adding this to my Christmas wish list)

Luxury Spa Bath Pillow (this is also being added to my wish list)

Epsom Salt Soaking Solution (I seriously can't take a bath without this)

Foaming Bath

Pure White Cotton Candle

Lavender Vanilla Candle (smells amazing)

Aromatherapy Luxury Bath (my fav!)

Not only does this help me relax and feel refreshed, but it's great for my skin. I love taking a hot bath after dinner is over and a couple of hours before bed. I swear I always sleep better when I have had a hot bath a couple of hours before. 

So tonight after dinner is over and the dishes are put away, forget about any chores you need to be doing, light a candle and take a hot bath!

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BATH ESSENTIALS

HOW I DO IT: CLEANING SCHEDULE

Once we moved into our new house I knew I would need to create a cleaning schedule. I spent a good bit of time researching how often you should clean things and that's how I came up with this list. I'll be honest and say that I didn't even think of cleaning some of the things listed below as often as recommended...glad I did my research!

I just printed this out and posted it inside of my planner and in our laundry room so I can see it often.

• Honestly some of the weekly stuff doesn't get done each week. Things come up and plans change, and sometimes that is just out of our control.

If this is the case I get to it as soon as I can. One of my biggest pet peeves is having a dirty and cluttered bathroom counter, and about 99% of the mess comes from me. I get makeup on the counter and I leave hair products and styling tools out. I try my best to put stuff up when I'm finished, but if I'm in a rush it gets left out and I will put it up later, I try to not let the little things stress me out ;)

• My 15 minute power clean on the daily checklist...aka I like going to bed with everything straightened up and put in it's place. 

That means, remote controls put in their basket, coffee table straightened up (magazines, candles, etc.), kitchen counters cleaned off (mail sorted and put up, breakfast/lunchboxes laid out and ready for the next morning, etc.), our shoes and jackets put up in their place, any throw blankets folded and put back in the crates under our coffee table, and pillows straightened up and in their place. I love being able to come downstairs in the morning and seeing everything in it's place and organized! If you don't do this, try it a couple of times and see how much of a difference is makes the next morning! Also, please note: it does not take me 15 minutes each and every day. Some days it takes 2 minutes and sometimes it takes all 15. Either way, it's 15 minutes or less!

• As far as the monthly, quarterly section I just take a chore or two, depending on how much time I have, and work on it during the weekend, or if I'm feeling up to it and have time during the week.

For example, if I see the weather is going to be nice and I have some extra time I will clean the front and back door windows and outside windows. Other things can be done even when I'm not there, such as cleaning our pillows. Just throw them in the washer that morning when I wake up and then throw them in the dryer as soon as I get back home. 

• Bigger chores such as purging closets or organizing the garage will take a good chunk of time, so when I see we have weekend with no plans I will try to plan on doing a bigger chore then.

Like I said in my meal planning post,  I used to dread cleaning our home, but now I look at it as a way to serve my husband, respect and take care our home. It's all about what kind of attitude you have towards things, and when I think of cleaning our house in those ways I am able to enjoy it a little more now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not jumping for joy to clean, but thinking about these things makes the mundane tasks bearable. 

Here are some verses that I have read that help me keep a positive attitude on this:
Proverbs 31:27
She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 14:1
The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.


I also have a cleaning playlist on my Spotify that helps pass the time while I'm cleaning. There is a little bit of everything on that playlist...don't judge!

You can download the cleaning schedule here.

Other How I Do It posts:
How I Do It: Meal planning for 2
How I Do It: Grocery shopping (online)

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HOW I DO IT: CLEANING SCHEDULE

HOW I DO IT - GROCERY SHOPPING (ONLINE)

One night back in November we made a stop by Kroger close to our apartment to pick up some medicine and we saw this bright light in the corner of the parking lot. So naturally we drove over to it lol. And that's when our lives were forever changed, just kidding, but seriously. We saw a sign that said ClickList. Mathew googled it and we found out that it's an online method of grocery shopping, and you can just pull up and they will bring the groceries out to your car. See what I mean about life changing?!

So for our next grocery trip we decided to try it, and we loved it. You just pull up and call over the speaker phone to let them know you are there and they bring your groceries out to you. Although they encourage you to stay in your car and no tipping I usually get out and help load the groceries. I don't tip because I know most grocery stores don't allow it and I don't want to get anyone in trouble. I know some people view this as "lazy" and "ridiculous" believe me, I have heard different negative views on this, but we view it as time efficient and a great way to stay on budget! Once we moved we found out the Walmart in our new town offered it to! So we have been using Walmart since we moved. We loved Kroger but since Walmart is closer we use Walmart now. The only negative side to using Kroger is that after your 3rd pickup there is a fee of $4.95 (I believe), but even that didn't stop me from using this service. Walmart's grocery pickup doesn't have a fee, but a minimum of $30 and we easily hit $30 every grocery trip.

Like I explained the other day, I meal plan a week ahead for the following Monday-Sunday. I usually start on Thursday and then confirm my groceries by Friday afternoon/night for a Sunday pickup. Our grocery store is close to our church and home, so as soon as church is over we head to Walmart and pickup our groceries and then drop them off at home before we head to lunch. That way when we are finished with lunch we have the whole afternoon until church that night to do whatever we want to. We love our routine we have going on Sundays. If I need to meal prep for the week I'll do that we get home for lunch. So "grocery shopping" and meal prep now takes about an hour where as it used to take 2+ hours. 

One thing I love about being able to order groceries online is that I can go to Walmart's website any time of the week and add an item to my grocery cart and then close out of the website and when I go back it will still be there. So when I think of something I just hop (I bookmarked the page) on their website and add it to my cart and go about my day. No more 5+ sticky notes in my planner of something I need to remember to pick up or add to my list and for the most part, no more forgetting something.

I'm going to show you how I order groceries through Walmart because this is where we get our groceries now, but it's pretty much the same for Kroger.  I love that they keep track of previous items I have purchased in case I need to restock.

I just click "Add to cart" on the item and the adjust the quantity if needed.

Once I have everything in my cart that I need I check over my grocery list that I made and I also check each item in my cart and make sure I have the right quantity and the right portion. One time I accidentally bought a 24 pack of sting cheeses when I only needed a small amount lol. Oh well, I found use for them and we like string cheese so they didn't go to waste!

 I mentioned earlier that ordering groceries online is a great way to stay on budget...you see the amount each item costs and can watch your total change with each item you choose.

Next I reserve my pickup time.

They offer 2 hour slots, which I love! So I just book my time slot and then review my order!

You then get to review your order and make sure you have everything you want in there. You also have the option to choose if you want a substitution for an item if they are sold out, and they always give you the cheapest substitution option. So this last order I ordered Lipton's tea and the one that I ordered was out so they gave me the family size instead of the regular. For us that wasn't a problem. I usually take off the substitution options for any meat that I order and a few other things. If they do substitute something they mark it on the receipt, on the bag and they tell you. Which I love so I don't get home and think I have one thing but then open the bag and realize it's another.

They also mark any bags that have bread in it so it doesn't get smashed, and they give me the eggs last so that I can put them in the front seat.

One thing I just found last month, is that there is usually a $10 off coupon code per month for ordering groceries online through Walmart. Why YES, I would love to save $10 on groceries!

They also have a referral program to get $10 off when you refer a friend.

As much as this seems like a sponsored post, I promise it's not, but feel free to contact Walmart on my behalf and show them this post so I can get another $10 off coupon code ;) 

Also, don't think I never step foot in the grocery store anymore since I order my groceries online. There are plenty of times where I forget something or something comes up and I'll stop at the store on the way home from work. It's just not as often now as it used to be. Check the stores in your town to see if they offer this service, I promise you won't regret it! I have also heard of Publix delivering groceries in some area, but I don't think our Publix does that yet lol.

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HOW I DO IT - GROCERY SHOPPING (ONLINE)

HOW I DO IT: MEAL PLANNING FOR 2

I am going to start a new series called "How I Do It". I got the idea from one of my all time favorite bloggers, Sweet Southern Prep, who I have followed for years. She started her series of "How I Do It" back in 2012 and I have loved reading them, and I look forward to watching mine change over the years.

So today I am going to share how I meal plan for 2 (I am secretly excited to, Lord Willing, see what number this will eventually change to in the future once we have a full family!) I tried and loved the website Plan To Eat, but didn't want to pay for a service like that when I could spend an extra 5-10 minutes and do it on my own. They have a 30 day free trial, so give it a try to see if it works for you.

I just started meal planning this way back in December, and it really works for me, so I'm sticking to it. I used to dread meal planning, but now I look at it as a way to serve my husband, save us money, and try new things in the kitchen. It's all about what kind of attitude you have towards things, and when I think of meal planning in those ways I look forward to it and enjoy it now.
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First off, I start meal planning on Thursdays, usually, and finish up on Friday nights. I meal plan for the following Monday through Sunday (ie. 3/22/16 - 3/28/16).  I'll share in another post how I grocery shop. I meal plan through a spreadsheet. My husband is an accountant, so it only makes sense that I use Excel. ;) I just used a calendar template and edited it to my liking. Here is what one looks like before I go in and add meals/notes. I had some extra time on my hands one night so I edited each month color wise!

I love the extra space to add notes. So if we'll be out of town or have company coming over one night then I'll add it in the notes as a reminder. 

The sheets at the bottom are color coded each month as well. Each month has an extra sheet, and that is where I add each recipe.

I saved this spreadsheet on Google Drive for a few reasons:
1.) I can just pull it up on the app on my phone or tablet while I'm in the kitchen cooking. This saves me SO much time instead of searching for the recipe on Pinterest or flipping through cookbooks.
2.) I can pull this app up on my phone right before I go to sleep at night and check what I'm making for dinner the next night to see if I need to set anything out the next morning or start the crockpot before I leave for work.
3.) I also like having all of the recipes that I have tried in one place, so that if we liked it and I decided to make it again I know exactly where to find it.

This also helps with making my grocery list because I have everything in one place. So when I get ready to make out my list I just go through each recipe and mark off anything I already have. So easy, and only takes a few minutes. I mentioned that I start meal planning on Thursdays and finish on Friday nights...that is because I like to check my list with the stuff in my pantry to make sure I'm not buying something we already have. So usually by Friday nights I have confirmed that my list is ready to go.

Here is what February looked like with my meals and notes added. Not sure why the first week is blank, I think I forgot to save it after I finished meal planning that week....mental note: always save it before closing out lol.

Usually recipes I find online are for more than 2 people so I either freeze the leftovers we don't use, or I try to use it in another meal. That's not always easy and sometimes, as much as I hate it, plans change and I end up throwing the last little bit of leftovers out. If you look at Wednesday, February 17th you'll see that I made a meatball casserole, well that made a big dish, so I took leftovers for lunch on the 18th (it says "out" because Matthew went out with clients) and then on Saturday, the 20th we used the rest of the meatball casserole to make meatball subs. When we first got married I tried to be super wife and make a new meal every single night, not only was that expensive but we ended up throwing out so much food because we couldn't eat all of it before it went bad (insert palm to forehead.) I hate throwing out food, because you are basically throwing money in the trash.

I pull recipes from Pinterest, family recipes, cookbooks, and different blogs. There are SO many resources out there, so get online and explore them or get recipes from different family members! Recipes on my Pinterest can be found here, here, and here.


Please don't think that I have meal planning all figured out and that we follow it 100%. There are still times were I have everything planned and we only follow 3-4 days of our meal plan for that week. Like I said, plans change, we get sick, or we just aren't feeling what's on the menu that night and order pizza. My way of meal planning may not work for you, or you might think my way is complicated, but it works for me. If you have any question, feel free to contact me!

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HOW I DO IT: MEAL PLANNING FOR 2