Mandi Ehman's Blog, page 140

The One Word That Will Save You Hundreds (Maybe Thousands) This Year

The following post is from Tiffany of Mommy Goes Green:

source: andrewarchy

When I look through the closets in my house, I see items that haven’t been worn more than one or two times. A bread maker still in the box that I swore would save us money on bread. Coupons printed for items I don’t really use.

Oh, you too?

Honestly, I’m not someone who believes every purchase has to be a need but I do find that spending hard earned money on items that we value brings us more long term joy than the impulse purchases that were “such a great deal”.

A few months ago, I found the common theme amongst my overspending: I didn’t even know most of these deals existed until I checked my Inbox or mailbox.

Wanting to save more money in 2013,  I employed a simple trick to eliminate much of my unplanned spending and it can be summed up in one word: UNSUBSCRIBE.

I’ve shared my tips for unsubscribing in the five areas that impacted me most:

Retail Stores

Are you subscribed to emails from retailers such as Old Navy, Sears or Target? Take a few minutes this week and unsubscribe from every one of them.

If you feel like you can’t survive without one or two, try this: create a (free) gmail account for your subscriptions.  Send all of your retail emails there and only access the account when you need to.  I only check mine when I need to make a purchase and am looking for a coupon or discount code.

Blogs

Do you subscribe to deal and coupon blogs? Unsubscribe from all but one or two that really provide you with the savings you need. I like those that post grocery and household deals but try to avoid those that constantly list the ‘hot’ sales on clothing and junk I really don’t need (even if it’s really cheap).

Daily Deals

I can’t tell you how many Daily Deals I’ve purchased that I didn’t use before the expiration date or had to spend more money just to use it. It’s not a good deal if I go out to dinner just to use my voucher.

I use to get 10 of these daily deal emails every day. I now subscribe to 2 local ones that offer discounts on things I already spend money on.  I’ve found that if there is a really great deal on useful items such as movie tickets or discounted gift cards, the deal and coupon blogs I follow will post them.

Catalogs

Another area of impulse spending for me is catalogs. I never knew my daughter needed a pink gingham dress until I saw it in a catalog, never mind the dozen dresses she already owns.  Head over to Catalog Choice and unsubscribe from every catalog you no longer need. Most retailers have everything they sell on their website so really, do you need any catalogs?

While you are at Catalog Choice, unsubscribe from credit card offers, donation requests and coupons that you don’t need. Less paper waste is a good thing.

Magazines

If you get the latest issue of People Magazine and feel the need to own a green handbag, you might want to cancel the subscription. You can get celebrity news online for free and trade the handbag for the vacation you’d rather have.

I hope you are feeling inspired to save more money this year with this simple tip. Join me as I’m off to a good start:  I’ve already cut my spending on clothing by 70%.

How do you keep yourself from spending impulsively? Where are your weak spots?

Tiffany is a wife and mom of two, living simply to indulge her family’s love of outdoor recreation and travel. You can find her contributing at Simple Homemade, The Creative Mama and her personal home on the web, Mommy Goes Green.

The One Word That Will Save You Hundreds (Maybe Thousands) This Year is a post from Life Your Way

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Breaking the Law of Gravity

Typically what goes up must come down, but the law of gravity doesn’t always work when it comes to picking up and decluttering. 

I’ve found that putting a couple organizing tricks in to play can help make it run a little more smoothly.  One of my favorites is to keep a basket or two around for quick clean ups.  Instead of running up and down the steps or from one end of the house to the other putting things away constantly, put a couple baskets or bins in the mix.  This trick will ensure that tidying up and putting away is a quicker process.

For my home, there are socks and toys strewn about the family room nightly.  A quick toss in the basket is so much easier than nagging kids to bring this and that up to their rooms.  It’s a great trick and much easier for my little ones to get on board with.

Here are a couple ways you can implement this trick in your own home:

Breaking the Law of Gravity is a post from Life Your Way

© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Life Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

Breaking the Law of Gravity

The following post is from Becky of Clean Mama:

source: clean mama

Typically what goes up must come down, but the law of gravity doesn’t always work when it comes to picking up and decluttering. 

I’ve found that putting a couple organizing tricks in to play can help make it run a little more smoothly.  One of my favorites is to keep a basket or two around for quick clean ups.  Instead of running up and down the steps or from one end of the house to the other putting things away constantly, put a couple baskets or bins in the mix.  This trick will ensure that tidying up and putting away is a quicker process.

For my home, there are socks and toys strewn about the family room nightly.  A quick toss in the basket is so much easier than nagging kids to bring this and that up to their rooms.  It’s a great trick and much easier for my little ones to get on board with.

Here are a couple ways you can implement this trick in your own home:

laundry basket – if you’re folding laundry downstairs (or in another part of your home) look around the room and see if there are other items that can be tossed in the basket and brought upstairs at the same time as the folded laundry.  Laundry baskets aren’t always for laundry in my home, I use them for decluttering and quickly sorting items to be relocated to other places as well.
bags – use reusable shopping bags or small fabric bags and keep them in the room that gets the most cluttered (maybe your family room or play room) – put items that need to be put in bedrooms in the bag and send the bag to the bedroom.  No dropping toys on the way upstairs or leaving little pieces behind.  You can assign a bag to each family member or child, and once bed time or clean up time approaches, send the bag to the room with your child to its drop-off point.
baskets – find a cute basket or two and keep them on your steps (if you have older kids).   When the basket is full or before pajama time, the basket and the stuff gets put away.  As a clean up tactic, you can also give the basket to your littles and see how quickly they can fill it up and bring it to its proper destination.

So this anti-gravity trick works in my home – what trick works in yours?

Becky is a self-proclaimed clean freak and list maker. She is a work-at-home mom to three little ones, and in her spare time she enjoys sharing her cleaning and organizing tricks and tips on her blog, Clean Mama and through her Etsy Shop, Clean Mama Printables.

Breaking the Law of Gravity is a post from Life Your Way

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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and “Healthier” Baking Tip

The following post is from Kate of Modern Alternative Mama:

source: Modern Alternative Mama

I love lemon poppy seed anything.  I don’t make it too often because some other family members are not a fan, but when I am out at a coffee shop, it is the lemon poppy seed cakes which tempt me.

This is a basic recipe I have used many times now for many different types of muffins — coffee cake/cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, and now lemon poppy seed.  It never fails.  I’ve even made a few healthier “upgrades” to it, and I think it’s even better!  Really you could make just about any type of muffin with this (adding fruit or nuts or whatever else you like), and it should come out perfect every time.  It has for me!

The muffins are light, tender, and fluffy — really more like a cake than muffins, but much lower in sugar.  They basically melt in your mouth.  It is the flour combination that makes them this way…my new favorite thing, and my baking tip to you!

Healthier Baking Tip: Combine blanched almond flour and unbleached flour in equal amounts (sub for all unbleached in any recipe).  The result is a protein-packed, lower-carb treat; and it also makes the treat lighter, fluffier, and softer.  Your family won’t even know you made the change!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, melted
3/4 c. sucanat (could sub organic sugar)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon (leave out if making a different flavor)
1 tbsp. poppy seeds (leave out if making a different flavor)
1 tsp. vanilla (I left this out of the lemon version but it’s great in the others)
3/4 c. unbleached flour
3/4 c. almond flour
1/4 c. milk

Directions:

Melt the butter in a saucepan.

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Add the sucanat and stir until it dissolves.  Sucanat is harder to melt than white sugar, so this may take awhile!

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Add the egg.

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Add the baking soda and sea salt.

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Add the lemon juice and zest (if using).  The acidic lemon juice will react with the baking soda and make it fluff and foam a lot.  It will go back down after adding the flour.

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Add the poppy seeds (and/or vanilla).

source: Modern Alternative

Add the flours.

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Add the milk.

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Stir this all together until smooth.  Then, scoop the batter into a lined muffin tin.  It will make about 9 – 12 muffins.  I got 10 in this batch.  It can also be baked as an 8×8 or 8″ round cake, if you prefer.

source: Modern Alternative Momma

Bake at 350 for 20 – 30 minutes (longer for a cake pan, shorter for muffins) until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serve immediately.

What’s your favorite type of muffin?

Kate is a wife and mommy to 3 and is passionate about God, health and food. She has written 7 cookbooks and is planning to release more in 2012. When she’s not blogging, she’s in the kitchen, sewing, or home schooling her children. You can find her at Modern Alternative Mama or contributing to Keeper of the Home.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and “Healthier” Baking Tip is a post from Life Your Way

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Pandora {iOS App of the Week}

We’re huge fans of music around here, and while Spotify is gaining popularity among many music enthusiasts (my husband included), I still prefer Pandora and almost always have it playing on my computer or phone.

Basically, Pandora creates custom radio stations just for you. Simply enter your favorite song, artist or genre, and the Music Genome Project quickly scans its huge database of music — new and old, well known and completely obscure — to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice. It’s a great way to listen to your current favorites and discover new favorites, and as you rate songs with a thumbs up or thumbs down, it learns your tastes and customizes your station.

My current favorite station is a combination of JJ Heller, Needtobreathe and Gungor for an eclectic rock/folk station featuring a lot of indie Christian music that’s perfect while I work or drive.

Pandora is free with commercials, or upgrade for $36/year for commercial-free listening, which is the option we prefer. I love that we can listen in multiple places at once as well, so I can have music on while I work, my hubby can listen in the car to something different and our girls can listen to one of their stations during their afternoon quiet time…all at the same time!

Which brings me to the iPhone app itself. With Pandora on our phones and a tape deck adapter, we’re able to enjoy Pandora on the road as well as at home. Newer vehicles offer various apps for Bluetooth streaming, but the low-tech option works for our van! At home, we stick it on our iHome speaker dock to charge and play music.

Download for your iPhone, iPad or iPhone: Pandora (FREE)

P.S. This app is available for Android or your computer as well!

See all of our featured apps here.

Pandora {iOS App of the Week} is a post from Life Your Way

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10 Questions to Help You Declutter

source: Eleaf

Editor’s note: There are a lot of great posts in the archives here at Life Your Way that don’t get much attention anymore, so I’ll be sharing a couple of my favorites each week. This post was originally published in 2010, but these questions can help you no matter where you’re at in your decluttering journey!

One aspect of having a simple home is to keep it free from clutter. While there are varying degrees of this and not everyone chooses to live a minimalist lifestyle, there’s no way to get around the need to declutter regularly as part of your simplifying goal.

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself as you evaluate the items in your home and make tough decluttering decisions:

1. Is this item something I use regularly?

A lot of times we keep gadgets, tools, toys, art supplies, et cetera around because they seem useful. However, it’s important to consider how often you actually use each item when deciding whether it’s worth keeping or should be given away. If you haven’t touched it in three to six months (or more), despite your best intentions, it is a good candidate for decluttering.

2. If not, is it something I love?

Of course, there are obviously exceptions to this rule (including seasonal items that you usually regularly in season). One exception I would always encourage you to make is for items you love. Keeping a painting from your grandmother that you love even if it doesn’t have a place in your current home is much different than keeping a snowcone maker that you have been meaning to use for two summers but never seem to have the motivation to actually pull out.

3. Am I keeping this out of obligation or expectation?

Chances are there is at least one thing in your home that you’re keeping not because it’s useful or you love it but because it was a gift from someone and you feel obligated to keep it. While I completely understand the desire not to hurt someone’s feelings, I think it is also important to remember that this is your home and if it is affecting your life, it’s okay to declutter gifts as well as the things that you’ve bought for yourself.

4. Am I holding onto this because I think I should love it?

Maybe you have a piece of artwork or a trendy outfit you picked up because they were popular and you felt like you should love them, even though you really don’t. Maybe your craft area is stocked with supplies for a hobby that no longer interests you. In all of these cases, it’s important to consider how you really feel and make your decisions based on those feelings rather than the ones you think you should have!

5. Am I saving this just in case?

One of the most common causes of clutter is a fear of needing something that you’ve given or thrown away. The reality is that if you commit to simplifying and decluttering, chances are that this will happen at some point. But for those of us who take the plunge to get rid of the unnecessary, the benefit of a clutter-free home is almost always worth the tiny bit of regret in these situations.

6. Do I have multiples of the same thing?

How many spoons or spatulas do you really need in your kitchen? Obviously your answer will depend on the type of cook you are, but ask yourself this question whenever you have multiples of any item. There’s a difference between being prepared and more efficient and just creating clutter!

7. Could something else I own do the same job?

I think this is a fun question! As you’re decluttering, look at any specialized tools or items you have and ask yourself if you could do the same job with another item, thereby cutting down on the number of different things you keep. To use another kitchen example, I decided to simplify our entertaining by giving away a bunch of our serving bowls once I bought a set of beautiful stainless steel mixing bowls from Ikea. I use these every day for cooking, but they also make great bowls for chips, dip, ice, et cetera.

8. Am I holding onto a broken item to fix one day?

This is another classic cause of clutter. Perhaps you have a piece of broken furniture or a broken electronic that you’re just sure you will have the time and desire to fix at some point. But ask yourself how long it’s been sitting in storage waiting for that day to come and whether you’re really ever going to get to it as you make the tough decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of.

9. Is this item worth the time I spend cleaning/storing it?

It’s important to remember that both your time and the space in your home have value. Think about how much time you spend cleaning knickknacks that you don’t really love. Or how about the time you spend sorting through the things in storage time and again to either find something you do need or want or to try to declutter once more. Would your life have less stress and busyness without those items?

10. Could I use this space for something else?

Think of the possibilities of what you could do with a closet or storage area in your home if you weren’t holding onto everything that currently fills it. What about a shelf full of knickknacks or books that don’t really interest anyone in your home? Your space has value too, and it’s important to look at the cost of everything you keep in terms of the space it occupies as well.

Be sure to download and print this decluttering questions printable to keep these questions handy as you make decluttering decisions!

Which of these questions is the most challenging for you? Are there items in your home that you need to give yourself permission to give or throw away?

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

10 Questions to Help You Declutter is a post from Life Your Way

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Day in the Life of a Homeschooling, Work-at-Home Mom

I recently shared a pictorial “day in the life” on Instagram and thought I’d share it here as well with some extra explanations about what our daily schedule/routine looks like. Although we don’t follow it perfectly, we’ve found that keeping a pretty consistent routine makes things run much smoother and helps everybody know what to expect during the day, which also leads to less arguing and complaining over school, chores, etc.

Here’s a look at a semi-typical day in our home:

I usually set my alarm for 6-6:30am, depending on what time I make it to bed, but it seems like something — the dog, a kid, something — wakes me up before my alarm goes off almost every time. I’d like those extra 15 minutes to sleep, thankyouverymuch!

Most mornings, I lay in bed and check my email, Facebook and Instagram while I wake up. Once I’m fully awake, I get out of bed, put on some warm clothes (it’s 62 degrees in our house in the morning!) and get the day started.

One of the best habits I’ve developed is folding at least one load of laundry every morning as soon as my feet hit the floor. I no longer have to worry about trying to juggle the folding while I’m cooking dinner, and it’s a lot easier to just knock it out first thing in the morning than it is later in the day. We keep the girls’ clothes in the laundry room, so I put those away as I fold. I stack Sean and my clothes plus the towels on the kitchen counter, and Sean usually puts them away at some point during the morning. {Yes, I’m a lucky girl!}

I then grab a glass of ACV water and sit down to tackle email, my posts for the day and anything else on my to-do list. I try really hard not to get distracted by news stories, Facebook or other social media sites during this time (although I’m not always successful!).

My favorite part of being up early, besides the hours of uninterrupted work time, is catching the sunrise. Definitely worth getting up for!

At 7:30am, the girls come down for Bible time. I do my devotions/Bible study while they read in their Bibles (they’re following the children’s reading plan from Biblein90Days.com). Sadly, this is the part of our routine we’re least consistent about because it’s hard for me to enforce a wake up time, especially when they are already awake but happily playing together in their room!

After Bible, the girls begin their “independent” work time. It has taken us months to get this to the point where it runs smoothly, but now they work pretty independently through the following subjects, which lets me get a little more work in in the meantime:

reading: Explode the Code (3 pages)
math: Teaching Textbooks on the computer
handwriting: Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive
copywork: choose a book and copy a sentence or paragraph into their language arts journal
journal: Q&A a Day for Kids
memory work: Classical Conversations
piano: as assigned by their teacher

I’d like to add typing to their independent school work as well, but I haven’t taken the time to get them set up with Dance Mat Typing yet.

Sean oversees their independent schoolwork and also makes, serves and then cleans up breakfast, puts the laundry away, helps our 5-year-old with her school work and works on whatever house project he’s currently working on.

I head up to ride the exercise bike between 9:30-10am, although — if I’m honest — I went 10 days without riding at the beginning of February, so I’m not sure I can say I do this consistently. I am back on track this week, though, and working toward my #1000 miles in 2013.

After a quick shower, I sit down with the girls for a little more school, which usually consists of:

math: Life of Fred
language arts: First Language Lessons and Logic of English Essentials
history: Story of the World

Sometimes we try to fit a learning game into this time too!

We’ve recently decided to do a 3 weeks on / 1 week off schedule with these subjects so that I can focus on work projects one week out of every month. Because we school year-round and the girls are still getting their reading, writing and arithmetic in through independent work, this schedule will hopefully help us (ahem, me!) juggle schoolwork and work-work a little better.

I grab a quick lunch after school and then make myself a latte, which I sit and savor while I read for a little bit before getting back to work!

Sean feeds the girls lunch and then sends them off for their afternoon quiet time. He uses this time to exercise or work on house projects.

I’ve been trying to head up to my office in the afternoons because it’s easier for me to focus up there than it is on the couch in the middle of everything. This is my longest “focused” period of work, from 1-5pm or so, so I try to make the most of it!

The girls get up at 3pm to do a little more of their Classical Conversations memory work before (or while — ha!) grabbing a snack and heading outside to play. They spend the afternoon playing and will usually get a little computer time in there as well.

If I’m smart, I’ll start dinner right after lunch in my crockpot (I can’t do all day; the smell makes me so hungry!). Otherwise I usually get dinner started around 5pm.

After dinner, the girls watch TV or we’ll play a game or snuggle up to read a book together. We’ll also take time to clean up from dinner and any toys from the day so that it’s relatively clean by bedtime. At 7:15pm, they brush their hair and teeth and then head upstairs to read or craft in bed until 8pm or so. (Although this often turns into giggling and mischief making!)

Once the girls are in bed, Sean and I relax. Sometimes we watch a show together, sometimes he watches something while I read and occasionally I work, although lately I just don’t have the energy for it!

Then we head to bed (ideally by 10pm!) before it starts over again the next morning!

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Day in the Life of a Homeschooling, Work-at-Home Mom is a post from Life Your Way

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Free Kindle Books {2/14/13}

One of the most popular features of our sister site, Jungle Deals & Steals, are our free Kindle book lists. With 15-20 free ebooks every day, these are a great way to load up your Kindle without breaking the bank, and Kindle books can also be read on smartphones, computers and tablets with the Kindle app from Amazon.

Here’s a quick list of some of the freebies that are currently available, but be sure to head over to Jungle Deals & Steals for new freebies today…or subscribe to our daily freebies email so you don’t miss a single book!

Fiction

Let Them Eat Cake: A Novel (French Twist) by Sandra Byrd


Genre: Christian


Reviews: (46 reviews)

Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) by Susan Kaye Quinn


Genre: Science Fiction


Reviews: (160 reviews)

Straight From The Heart by Janelle Taylor


Genre: Historical Romance


Reviews: (3 reviews)

Curse of the Kingsmans by Ethan Somerville & Emma Daniels


Genre: Historical


Reviews: (13 reviews)

Nonfiction

How to Publish a Best Seller on Amazon – Understanding the KDP program, Free Downloads, Free Marketing, How to Price your Ebook, Formatting to Kindle, … and more… (Nicholas Black’s How-to Series) by Nicholas Black


Genre: Marketing


Reviews: (53 reviews)

Why Holiness Matters: We’ve Lost Our Way–But We Can Find it Again by Tyler Braun


Genre: Spiritual Growth


Reviews: (55 reviews)

The Provident Housekeeper A Beginners Guide to Making Home Cleanersby Jennifer Ludy


Genre: Home & Garden


Reviews: No Reviews Yet!

Valentine’s Day On A Dime by Jill Cooper & Tawra Kellam


Genre: Relationships


Reviews: (1 review)

The Best Life Stories: 150 Real-life Tales of Resilience, Joy, and Hope-all 150 Words or Less! by Editors of Reader’s Digest


Genre: Personal Growth & Inspiration


Reviews: (1 review)

How To Quickly Get Started As A Personal Coach: Get Paid Big Money To Change People’s Lives by Christian Mickelsen


Genre: Entrepreneurship


Reviews: (4 reviews)

Children’s Books

Jane and Her Friends (Five Children’s Picture Stories) by Betty Palatin


Genre: Activities & Toys


Reviews: (2 reviews)

Incredible Lizards: Fun Animal Books for Kids With Facts & Incredible Photos (Exploring Our Incredible World Children’s Book Series) by Mark Smith


Genre: Reptiles


Reviews: No Reviews Yet!

Kool Kats for Kids by Dave Worthen


Genre: Child Development


Reviews: (2 reviews)

Baby Birds : Smart Kids Count by G. Gallon


Genre: Birds


Reviews: (1 review)

See more Kindle freebies here.

Free Kindle Books {2/14/13} is a post from Life Your Way

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Three Neat Tricks to Tame Your Time Today

Time management {or the lack of it} is one of the biggest challenges that people face. Whether you work-at-home, out of it or are a stay-at-home parent, chances are you want to have more control over your time.

You’re tired of running ragged by the end of the day and crave just a few minutes to simply sit and do nothing.

Well, I have help.

Three simple but powerful and very cool ways to tame your time today.

1. Do something.

It doesn’t matter if it is a big task or a small part of a big task, do it. Complete it. Knock it off. Act. Taming your time means making it work for you. If sleep is a priority for you, make sure you do it. If getting healthy is important for you, use your time to go for that walk. Know what you need your time for and then, use it. Wisely.

Three Neat Tricks to Tame Your Time Today is a post from Life Your Way

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An Updated Virtual Home Tour

This post is a bit overdue. A few people have noticed the changes we’ve made to the main living area of our home on Instagram and in pictures here on the blog, and I keep promising an updated home tour!

After months of promising, I finally took some pictures today to share with you! For the rest of our home, be sure to check out the full first level tour, the girls room and guest room and my office. (Or see all of our home tour posts here.)

source: Mandi Ehman

The biggest change in our home recently has been the “big” wall in our family room. When we first moved in, our couch was on the opposite wall, against the stairs, and our TV was on this big wall, but even with the wooden squares we had behind the entertainment center (see the original pictures here) that huge wall looked so plain and unfinished.

Last year we decided to move the couch to the big wall, finish it with some white-washed wood and build a mantle across the wall. My talented hubby then built the beautiful tree motif, and we added the big clock and lantern from Hobby Lobby as well as a few other special knick knacks.

At Christmas, we hung our stockings underneath the mantle and set up our Christmas village in place of the “RELAX” sign and books, which was pretty much perfection!

source: Mandi Ehman

Here’s another look at the seating underneath the mantle. My spot’s on the chaise, and whether I’m working on the laptop, curled up with a good book or surrounded by four snuggly girls, it’s my favorite place to be!

I intended to add letters to the banner in the window to say “Happy Valentine’s Day!”, but I just haven’t gotten to it. I kind of like the banner just the way it is anyway!

source: Mandi Ehman

When we moved the couch to the big wall, we also moved the entertainment center to the stair wall and added rock behind it, which makes it feel so cozy and “finished” as opposed to a blank wall.

Having the TV on that wall prevents the sound from disappearing into the rest of the first level and also keeps the girls from sneaking to the top of the steps at night while we’re watching TV!

source: Mandi Ehman

We also updated the faux fireplace in our entryway with a painting that we were given after Sean’s grandmother passed away. It doesn’t really match the minimalist modern style of the rest of our home, but I think that makes me love it that much more.

Much to Sean’s chagrin, I decided that the fireplace opening shouldn’t go unused, so I added our family’s antique button box (which has been passed down from generation to generation) as well as the books from the library and our own collection that I want to make available for the girls each week, usually coinciding with what we’re studying at the time.

source: Mandi Ehman

Finally, we also inherited the piano that my grandmother practiced on when she was a little girl, but because our home isn’t huge, there’s no great place for it downstairs. The upstairs office might be a good place for it eventually, we aren’t quite ready to hire someone to get it up there for us!

Instead, it ended up in the kitchen, where it sits beautifully against the windows but makes things feel just a little bit crowded next to our picnic table. If nothing else, it’s easy to make sure they’re practicing each morning!

The piano looked beautiful at Christmastime, with our advent wreath, poinsettia and a few additional candles on top, but I’ve found that keeping our current homeschool stuff accessible and in plain site makes it easier for us to get everything done, so that’s what we do. Not quite the stuff that a model home is made of, but it’s real life!

(And yes, my poinsettia is still there; I just can’t bring myself to kill a perfectly good plant on purpose since it’s lived through all of my accidental neglect!)

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

An Updated Virtual Home Tour is a post from Life Your Way

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