First of all, I am excited to be contributing to a wonderful community called The Intentional Lifestyle.  The site is chock full of resources, ideas and support to live a healthy life, in all aspects of your life.  I am the Healthy Home “Expert” over there and my first vlog, talking about the four things that clutter steals from you, is live today.  I am humbled and thrilled to be in the company of such a talented team! Please go check it out!

Secondly, I contributed to a brand new eBook called From Mom’s Failure to God’s Grace: Stories of Raising Boys from the MOB Society Writers.  All the proceeds from the book go to spread God’s Word in the DCR through the Seed Company.  I am so excited about this- imagine the impact a little book can have all over the world.  Amazing!  The book is available through Amazon for your Kindle {and if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle reader free to your PC} for just $2.99.  I would love to know what you think after you read it {cause y’all are gonna go buy it and read it, right???}     

So, do you have anything exciting going on in your life?  I would love to hear about it!!!

Today I am over there talking about clutter and how it takes over (and what you can do about it).

Here is an excerpt from the article:

The new year is an excellent time to re-evaluate the things and objects that clutter up your environment.  Ask yourself some key questions:

• Does this item bring me joy?
• Is it useful?
• Do I have something else that serves the same purpose?
• Would I notice if this item were not in my home?

Join me here to read the rest.

AND, if you subscribe to the Homemaker’s Challenge posts (which is free to do), you will receive this awesome ebook, full of recipes from many of the contributing writers, as our gift to you.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go visit Homemaker’s Challenge.

This has been a crazy with a capital C kind of week.

We had our YoungLives Christmas party last night with 41 teen moms and their babies in attendance.  It was amazing to see God show up!

Image via Wikipedia

I have been very preoccupied getting ready for that, preparing for the holidays and getting ready to welcome our two oldest home for a few weeks.  Shayla will be home from school today for 17 days!! Can’t wait to see her!  Then, Jason comes home on the 21st for a week and a half break from basic and AIT training for the Army.  I am going to be posting lightly and sporadically until the New Year as I soak up every minute with my kids.

I did want to let you know that my first post as a contributor at Homemakers Challenge is up and I am talking about simplifying the holiday season.  You can read the post here.

I pray that each of you has a blessed and restful Christmas!

Try to designate an area in your home for gift wrapping. Keep everything you need including scissors, gift wrap, gift bags, tissue paper, gift tags, pens and ribbons in one place.  Many stores, including www.containerstore.com, have storage solutions for all your gift wrapping needs.

Image via Wikipedia

Happy Holiday Organizing!!

More Paula Deen and less fend for yourself ’cause this multitasking mama is tired.

More organized and less the girl that gets the call “did you forget your appointment at 9:30?” on a regular basis.

I want to be more, do more and feel like more.

I fully intended to write for 31 days about presenting a clean heart before God this month.  I fully intended to mail the care package to Shayla that has been sitting on my backseat for the last three days.  I fully intended to _______________.

But, today, I feel Jesus calling me to His feet {thanks to the reminder from a friend}.  Sit here and be renewed, He beckons.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ~II Corinthians 4:18

The laundry will get done {and put away} and my kids will not go hungry and I will write here when I can.

Right now, I need more of Him, less of me.  More being, less doing.  More abiding, less striving.

Less Martha, more Mary. Or better yet, I need to just be Melissa {the one He created me to be}.

The one with the messy house and hectic life who loves her family, teen moms and Jesus more than anything.

Just Melissa.

1. A lifetime pipe dream of mine has been to own a little boutique (where I would sell an eclectic blend of products that I love)…OpenSky provides the opportunity for this to become a reality right here on my little ‘ole blog.
2. The opportunity to provide my readers with products that I use and like!
3. I attended an OpenSky presentation at BlogHer and fell in love with their vision and focus.
4. All my friends are doing it (Makeover Momma, OrgJunkie, Amy and more)
5. The ability to raise money for a cause dear to my heart- all the proceeds from my OpenSky shop will be donated to YoungLives, the organization I work with that provides mentoring and support to teen moms.

So, here are the inaugural items I am offering (with many more to come):

Above, you will find the link to purchase this paper organizer for busy (multi-tasking) mama’s!  I know there are many electronic options for keeping your calendar under control but I am still a paper planner type of gal.

Using under the bed storage space is a great way to maximize the space in your home.  These under the bed storage bags are also chic and cute (always a plus).

I came home from BlogHer with some whole coffee beans and no way to grind them. Problem solved!

Shop away, and keep an eye out for weekly posts featuring my new, hand picked just for you, favorite things!

As a special bonus, use coupon code EXCITE25 before August 20 to receive a 25% discount!

Organizing the Fridge My weekly post on onlineorganizing.com

Organizing the Bathroom My weekly column at Pink Lemonade Magazine

Dealing with Paper This is part 3 of a 3 part series I did for Home Ever After. You can get to the other two articles from the link above. I write weekly for this site as well.

And of course, I write all the time here and on my social network. Let me know what you think and what else you would like to see me write about (or tell me if I should just shut up LOL)

In today’s economy saving anywhere and everywhere you can is important. As a professional organizer and a woman living with chronic illness, I have tips and strategies to save you money and keep your family’s medical information organized and accessible!

Spread the word!

I don’t know about you but I do not enjoy hunting around in the bottom of my purse for the ringing cell phone. I do however loooover purses. You can ask anyone that sleeps in my guest room (because they have to stare at them on the back of the door. I have a really cool purse hangy organizer thing on the back of the guestroom door) Anyway, as usual I digress. The real story here is that I discovered a way to not have to grope around in the bottom of my purse like a kid looking for the lost cheerio in their diaper. And it is the Purseket!

If you are interested in looking at one, click on the picture above.

It’s time for the second question of the blog party and we want to hear from YOU again: What are some of your time saving tips?

We could all use a little extra mom time, so share with us please! The tips can be anything from simple recipes for busy moms or advice on how to get out the door quicker every morning. Anything that you feel will help another mom out!

As a professional organizer, I love tips that can save time and make life easier for busy moms. And, I have accumulated some great tips through the 12 1/2 years I have been a mama.

*When you are in a hurry, make breakfast for dinner. My kids love it when I get out the frozen waffles, scramble up some eggs and fry up some sausage patties. They consider it a treat and it saves me a lot of time on those nights we are in a hurry.

*While we are talking about meals, the Crock-Pot is your friend! I love being able to put something in the crockpot in the morning and dinner is ready come evening.

*DVR is a fabulous invention. It saves so much time to be able to watch your favorite shows when you want and save time by fast forwarding through the commercials. This is a time saving invention for sure!

*To make our life easier in the morning, we set the breakfast table the night before and lay out the kids clothes the night before. Papers that need signed for school, etc- take care of it the night before to save time during the morning rush.

*I keep a check list on the door so that we can make sure we have everything we need- nothing worse than forgetting your umbrella on a rainy day, change for the meter, etc.

Do you have any time saving tips? Feel free to share!