FLY LADY - Week 2 - Living room/ Dining Room & Meal Plan Monday

 Good morning!

Just when I was getting used to the fall temperatures, they say we'll be back in the 90s this week. Well, I guess we need the Indian Summer to finish clearing the gardens and outside chores before things go back to fall.  How's the weather where you are?

Sadly, I'm still on the same tasks as last month.

The sofa WILL get cleared this week and the floor a good cleaning. 

I'm determined to be on full cleaning routine by the end of the month and not just on catch-up.

I keep forgetting to post the link to my Monday YouTube video - #MealPlanMonday.  You'll find it by clicking HERE.

How's your cleaning coming? Anything you would like to change, or improve?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly 

FLY LADY - Week 1

 Good morning, friends.

Fall is definitely in the air and I'm so ready to start decorating. But first, the rooms must be clean!

I'm ready for this week. My replacement Black & Decker Steam Mop arrived Friday!

I also purchased fall-colored throw rugs from Menards to go under the litter box in the laundry room.

I'd love to use throw rungs in the kitchen, particularly in front of the sink and the stove but Bob can not pick up his feet and is always either tripping on the edges or turning them up into a bunch. 

Picture this in pumpkin orange and browns and no fringe.

This week, I'm going to focus on giving the laminate floor across the two rooms with the steam mop. We didn't think about the groove textures in the floor when we bought it, just the 'wood' grain texture. But the grain catches everything! So, I'm pulling everything I can out of the laundry room one day then doing the kitchen area another day. 

By the end of the month, I want to have cleaned the fan blades, wiped down all the shelves/ top of the freezer and brought in the fall decor. 

What is your cleaning task for this week?

September is Pantry Preparedness Month so I'll be posting pantry things on Tuesdays, beginning tomorrow.  I hope you'll come back.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 4 - Office

 Good morning, friends!

I'd love to say I'm diving hard into the office this week, but there's a slight change. The weather is finally cooling down here in the southern Ozarks and I can work on the 'warehouse' where the overflow of craft supplies as well as holiday decor is stored. I am sooo ready to dive in to see what can go to the thrift store, trashed or reorganized. Primarily the Christmas decor.

We've been in this house twenty years and have figured out the decor for each holiday in the various rooms that I am happy with. Everything else can get donated so maybe someone else can use the items.

Reorganizing the Christmas decor will also make room for the four big village tubs I have in the basement in our 'safe' corner. I'd love for Bob to be able to build a storage bench where they are now that we can put stuff to be protected in case of a tornado and that we can sit on. 

Over the course of forty-one years of marriage we've developed an amazing working relationship. Either I design something and he builds, we design and he builds, or we design and build together. This office desk I'm working on was an 8' kitchen island with storage I designed and he built over 35 years ago. Nothing fancy but served as a kitchen island initially that could seat 12 people if needed as well as store all of my baking pans. Then it served as an island against one wall in our first purchased home turning our narrow kitchen into a galley kitchen. In this house it was a crafting/ sewing table downstairs before we built the office/ studio almost 11 years ago. Here it remained a craft table until about 3 years ago when the cat took over my writing desk and I moved my 'office' space to this huge work table. I can move stuff easily enough if I need the 4'x8' space to cut fabric and one side still functions as space for my die-cutting machines when necessary. 

That's me for the week. Next week, I'll be back in the kitchen/ laundry with a bit more of a detailed list of what I do there.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 3 - Bedroom/ Bathroom

 Good morning!

After getting the bedroom temperature down to between 65*-67* (optimal sleeping temperature for diabetics) I finally got a really good night's sleep - the first in weeks! Poor Bob, I'm pretty sure he thinks he sleeps in an igloo. hehe

Speaking of the bedroom...

While I love naps, I don't think I'll need one today. Doesn't mean I won't WANT one. LOL Too much to do.

I'm still in sorting mode in the office. 

Last all, we had a split unit (heating ac) put in my office. That required moving everything out of my sewing corner. Guess where to. Yep.

I did the bedding on Saturday so that's done. We also did my shoe shelves last month to make room for Bob's shoes/ boots. I think I mentioned last month all of his were on five bake rack shelves in the closet. now that baker's rack holds all of the last three orders from Thrive Life. (I'll have freeze dried info coming Friday) 

So, my gal this week is goal this week is to get the sewing stuff out of the bedroom, back into the office, and my night stand tidied up. This whole sorting thing has been a process. Getting those two things done will be a major accomplishment. Getting my small roll top desk into the bedroom where my clay cart sits now will be a major improvement. 

I have a bonus item for you this week. 

I invite you to check out Clutterbug.com. Take their quiz to find out which friendly 'clutter' bug you are. Don't over-think the questions. Just go with your first instinctive answer. You may (or may not) be surprised but the results either way may help you on your journey to a 'company's coming and the house is suitable for visitors'  home.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY - Week 2 Living Room/ Dining Room

Good morning, friends.

Trying to get the day started when a nap sounds really good. LOL I had a long three days of late nights.

Friday night, I saw the Bellamy Brothers in concert at the Mountain Grove Heritage Festival. Not often you see these guys in a free show (though I always did as an entertainment journalist) The weather was 100* until about 7 p.m. when they took the stage. Then it was only in the 70s. LOL I got home after 10 p. m. (I normally find my pillow by 7:30)

Saturday Bob and I went to Poplar Bluff to Ollie's in search of some of the amazing craft deals people are finding. Me, not so much. That location didn't have hardly any of the stuff the East coast stores have. Apparently American Crafts is closing their doors and Ollie's bought ballets of everything from the AC warehouse. We went to dinner and got home after 9 p.m.

Then yesterday, I just spent all day on one project, not realizing until I started supper how time had flown by. I found my pillow at 8:30.

Today, I'm trying to get work done here in the office and just want a nap.

I'm on Living Room/ Dining room detail this week. I didn't get everything done in the kitchen last week but made a little progress. I managed to get some laundry done and unpacked eight boxes of Thrive Life and organized on the pantry shelf. I'm really going to miss Thrive Life Freeze Dried Foods. Sad that they are closing their doors in a couple of weeks.

With those boxes out of the way, my focus this week is to get the sofa cleared. I have boxes of spice mix bases to do up and get in jars and jar meal (think hamburger helper but healthier) to get made up and put in the cabinet. Neither of those will take long. 

For the dining room, it's time to clean out one side of the game cabinet. That side also has candles galore that need gone through. We'll see what I decide to keep to turn into wax melts and which ones go in the thrift store box. I'm trying to fill those boxes so I can take them with me on errands Friday.

That's it for me this week. What are you working on? Remember... even if you only spend fifteen minutes on an area, that's progress - Progress is all that is Required. Baby steps.  We got this!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

 

FLYLADY - Week 1

 Good morning, everyone!

Looks like I have one more 'cool' day to accomplish something. The cooler weather sure has made a difference in my energy level. I got a lot done in the office yesterday, prepping for my work week.

Temperatures are to start going back up this week after a very fall-like feel the past four days. I am so not ready. I have an outdoor concert on Friday to meet up with friends, The Bellamy Brothers. We're to be back in the 90s. Those temperatures and hot pavement are not a good pairing. Hoping most everyone crowds under the trees. LOL

As usual, I start the month out with the kitchen and laundry room.

Laundry room:

sweep/ mop floor

wipe down appliances

put away anything that's not been put away properly over the past few weeks.

The laundry room is pretty easy for the most part. I really go deep on the weeks I switch out the holiday decor, which comes up next month when the task list grows a bit.

Normally, this room would include taking recyclables in but Bob took care of that last week. I just need to temporarily move them out to the deck so I can do the floor. 

The kitchen is another matter. 

My main focus is to get the spice mixes done up so I can revamp that cabinet.

I also need to pull everything off the counters, give them a good clean then back again.

I can get the card table down this week, I think. I used it for sorting/ cleaning a couple of months ago. I wanted to leave it until I get the last of the Meals In A Jar put together. My second-to-last ThriveLife order should be here Wednesday. 

I had the last order still in their boxes sitting on the card table, waiting for this order so I could rotate the stock only one time. Bob got antsy and moved them to the bedroom closet where the ThriveLife pantry baker's rack is located. Cook, dry, dark.

The only non- kitchen thing I want to get done today (not later in the week) is to take HoneyB's kennel apart, wash/ air out his bedding and clean the floor good around there. 

What's on your cleaning agenda for this week? Are you following along? What is your main focus?

Until next time...

Be safe, Be prepared, Be blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY - Week 4 - The Office

 Good morning, friends!

I can't believe we are going in to week four of the month already! Where is the time going so quickly? The only bright spot is that we are moving closer to fall. I am sooo ready for the cooler temperatures.

While I've been doing a gradual pitch of things in the office, this week I'm diving in deep and doing a serious declutter of some areas. There are only three days left until the New Moon. The time between Full Moon and New Moon is the time to 'get rid of stuff', both physically and emotionally.  From the Full Moon to the New Moon, you work on things like want to attract or bring in to your life. So let the final four days of pitching begin!

I did get the work table cleared off to a large degree. Mostly what is on here now are the things I'm sorting through or using. 

My focus in the office this week is all about pitching junk journal items I've accumulated that I no longer need.  My thought process is in the following lists:

* Pitch things I might want to use but come in to the house on a regular basis or easy to acquire

* Keep only things that I can move to themed kits, such as pets, coffee, chocolate, etc. 

Following these two categories is going to help me get rid of a lot of items I thought might be good in a junk journal but I've since found either I'll never use them or I can replace them easily when the time comes.

The other project I hope to complete this week is the paint cabinet. At some point I pulled all the paints off, was going to add in more shelves & lay my paints on their sides, giving me more room for shelves. Then we couldn't find the glass shelves that went with the unit. Someone moved them from where I knew they were (could have been me lol) Then we couldn't find the shelf clips so I had to wait until I could purchase more. Basically, a 1-day project became a multi-month project. In the mean time, all of my paints are sitting in boxes/ bins on the floor in the studio. Time to get them put away!

What project are you hoping to tackle this week? Let me know in the comments below. If you have storage/ organization questions, post those as well and I'll try to help.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

#FREEZEDRIEDFRIDAY - Burritos & Thrive Life News

 Good morning, everyone.

I wanted to pop in here and post the recipe for today's video. Once the video is available in the morning, I'll link it here for all the details, tips.

Because the following products are on special this month, I used them to make my homemade burritos.

I used 1 serving give on each of the can directions. This was enough to make 4 Large tortilla burritos

Pulled Pork - 1 C of pork to 1/2 C of hot water. Stir every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes.

Instant Refried Beans - 1-1/3 C refried beans to 1-1/3 C of water... Simmer 4-6 min on low.

Tomato Dices - 1 C. tomato dices to 1/3 C. of water. Stir to moisten

Cheddar Cheese - 1 C. cheddar cheese to 3-1/2 Tablespoons water. Mix then refrigerate 35 minutes.

Now, for the Thrive Life news.

Thrive Live will be closing their doors Augusts 31, 2025.

This news saddens me. They are a great company, providing a much-needed service. We can all afford a freeze-dryer but they made it possible for the consumer to stock their pantry with quality products.

I had to miss the meeting as HoneyB had a vet appointment so I don't have all the details yet, but since hearing the news, I've assessed my pantry and placed an order to fill in gaps for WHAT WE EAT on a regular basis. 

If I can help you navigate what you might need in your pantry, please reach out. 

My direct email is: kellyscountry (at) missouri (dot) usa (dot) com

As always...

Be safe Be prepared Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 3 - Bedroom and Bathroom

 Good morning, everyone!

Well, I knew last week would be busy and it was. I'll update you about Honey B at the end of this post. 

Let's talk about the rooms we'll be working on this week.

While I do love my naps, the bedroom needs a serious deep clean!

One thing is to clear off a 5-shelf book case unit. Currently holds more clutter than needs to be there. Have I mentioned I've been in a pitching mode lately? Seriously! I'm so tired of the clutter. I'll be talking more about that next week.

For now, it's all about the bedroom/ bathroom.  

The bathroom just needs a basic clean for now. At some point I want to go through all the stuff in the cabinets - particularly my side - and pitch a lot of stuff! For now, just make sure it's sanitary and ready for use.

The bedroom is where I want to work on first. I mentioned the cluttered book case. We are clearing it all off, keeping just what we need on there.

Currently, all of Bob's shoes are on a bakers rack in the closet he purchased for the purpose. If you have a male in your house that wears a size 13EEE then you understand. One pair takes up as much room as three of mine. 

The GOAL is to clear off everything on those shelves, put his shoes/ boots on the bottom two, mine on the next two then the top shelf for my jewelry boxes.  That will clear off the bakers rack in the closet. 

We have a plan.

I've already given my side of the closet a good purge. I'm hoping I can encourage Bob to do the same this week. He has a lot of shirts that he doesn't/ or can't wear any more. 

When I began the stock up pantry process prior to Bob's retirement, I began looking for places in the house to store food in an organized fashion. I purged most of the top shelf on my side of the closet to store toilet paper. The pantry cabinet in the kitchen used hold baking supplies, now holds paper towels. the top shelf in the food cabinet holds napkins/ paper plates. 

The key is to find ways to store things in your home you truly NEED and pitch what you really don't. Make room for what's IMPORTANT.

Our basement is full of the pantry supplies - except all of my Thrive Life foods are still in boxes in the pantry room. I hate digging through the boxes to get what I want.

Freeze Dried Foods need to be stored in a Cool/ Dry place. Trust me, our bedroom qualifies. I can't make it cold enough to sleep comfortably for me. With the bakers rack in the closet, it's cool/ dark/ dry. So, since we use the foods on the main level of the house, we're going to stock the Thrive Life in the closet. Easy to access when we need to.  I've already rearranged the kitchen cabinets with one shelf holding the open cans we use regularly like the eggs, sausage, beef, chicken, onions, broccoli... etc. 

So that, and building my author website are on the board for this week. 

One quick thing. 

At some point I want to create google doc lists of what I do to deep clean each of these rooms on their weekly rotation. You'll be able to move it to your own google docs and modify, OR you can get a PDF from my etsy shop. 

That's it for me this week. Remember....

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY WEEK 2 - Living Room/ Dining Room

 Good morning!

Welcome to Week 2 on the cleaning agenda.

While I REALLY need to dig out the living room and dining room this week, I have a short span of time to accomplish anything. Let's talk about what I'd like to get done.

First, the sofa has the jar kits in boxes for Meals in a Jar and Homemade Spice Blends. I'd LOVE to get those take care of this week but I have a hiccup - or two. LOL There can NEVER be just one. 

HoneyB at 1 year old

1 - First thing this morning, I need to call the vet. I'm thinking HoneyB may have a UTI and I need to get that taken care of. As a human, I know first hand those are not comfortable to deal with. HoneyB

is a Beagle/ Bassett mix and about ten years old. He's spoiled. I try to keep his weight under control so he doesn't have to have hip surgery. He banged it once several years ago on a bedding bag of all things! He's struggled with it ever since but he's mostly a lazy dog so we keep the weight under control as best we can - though if you ask him, we are starving him! He loves to lick the kitchen floor so I've had to switch to a cleaner safe for the linoleum. I call him my Swiffer puppy. LOL

2 - This is bill pay week. I could send Bob but I'd still have to go into the bank since I've not had a chance to set up the cash envelope yet. I'd love to drop HB off for his appointment then run the errands and pick him up on my way back. We shall see.

Okay, so there's a third. LOL

3 - I have an on-line writer's conference Thursday - Saturday. I've known this one was coming up but the trip to Illinois last week put me behind the 8-ball a bit more than I would have liked. I've been spending all of my free time getting the blogs and videos set up to auto-run this week and mostly next so I can spend the evenings working on my book again. the first full week after the conference will be about FINALLY getting my website up and running. There are lots of parts to accomplishing that and the beginning stages will take all week.

So, yeah. Do you see a time slot when I'm going to get anything done in the living room this week? 

When life throws you things, let them go splat and move on.

I'll be back here on Thursday with the Thrive Life specials for July and hopefully, a video on Friday. Not one I'll record but I think I can share the ones from Thrive Life. 

So how's your summer going so far? Let me know in the comments below if you're ready for fall. ;-)

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY - Week 4 - Office

 Good morning, everyone!

I was so intent on setting up blog posts on my author account for the month of July yesterday I totally forgot to post here. 

I leave Thursday for a quick weekend trip to IL to see a dear friend so I've been trying to get a jump on July. That, and I'll be spending most of July in a Fast Draft Challenge to finish Book 2 in my Planned to Perfection Series. You'll find Book 1 HERE if you're in the mood for a Christmas read. 

This week is more about Office 'work' than cleaning. However, I have been pitching some stuff already. I have a sofa full of kit boxes for projects. I'll be doing up anything Christmas related in the month of July so the office is pretty much an on-going process.

The work table still needs cleared and that is being done little by little. If I need to find something and I have a general idea of where it is on the worktable, then I pitch/ organize/ put away whatever is in that spot as I look for what I need.

The idea is to work in small increments of time and space if you have a large project. Pick an area, set a timer for 25 minutes then go after it! At the end of 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break then start again. This is called the Pomodoro method. Be a tomato and squish out the task!

What projects have you been working on that need a little push? Please share in the comments. Let's help encourage one another.

Be safe, be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY WEEK 3 - Bedroom/ Bathroom

 Hi everyone!

Sorry I didn't get this post up yesterday. 

I missed last week because I was at a writer's retreat/ conference for six days. There wasn't a cleaning schedule. Bob was left to just pick up after himself. He does a really good job. 

I got home a week ago today. On Wednesday I started getting my travel laundry done up and popped a couple of ribs (an old injury) while reaching into the bottom of the washing machine. I managed to wedge the edge of the machine between two previously injured ribs (between 3 & 4 on the right side).

I heard them POP! I've been baying the issue ever since with pain meds, ice packs and lots of reclining against the pillows to keep the two ribs from locking up.

As I said this has been a recurring injury. Once you break something, it always becomes an issue. I'm easing myself back into things but no bending/ lifting or any cleaning really. I put what dishes away that don't require reaching into lower cabinets and I'm cooking. Bob's been doing everything else. This will be my life for another two to three weeks, which really bums me out. I was planning a short trip to IL next week to meet up with a dear friend I've not seen in twenty years. Not sure when she'll make the trip from her home in CO back to IL. 

I'll be back once I'm at least able to sit for periods of time and encourage you.

Be safe Be prepared Be Blessed

~ Kelly

FLYLADY WEEK 1 - Kitchen & Laundry

 Good afternoon, friends!

I'm still on a deep cleaning around here and trying to get stuff put in some semblance of order in the office. 

But it's also Week 1 of the cleaning process for the rest of the house.

This would normally be the week I deep clean the laundry room & kitchen but since I leave Wednesday for a writing retreat/ conference, I'm doing the quick pass-throughs.

Aside from clean sheets for the bed this week, I've tossed a cleaning bomb into the washer. I always wash the cat beds and dog sheets last thing so the cleaning cube for this washer is mandatory. I've also cleaned/ deodorized the kitchen sink drains (I have a dual sink).

To do the drains, I put a 1/2 C. of baking soda into each drain, followed by 1-1/2 C hot white vinegar. Once that's worked a bit then I follow with 3-4 C of hot water to flush the drain through.  I normally only do this once a month but if the drain seems sluggish later in the month, I follow the same process. Easy clean and no stinky drain or chemical tablets.

I also have the #MealPlanMonday series on my YouTube channel. Here's this week's video. It's not overly exciting but maybe a tidbit or two will catch your attention.

That's it for me this week. I have other things planned for this video but I'm really pushing to finish Book 2 of my Ozarks, Planned To Perfection series. An Ozarks Christmas has been out for several years. Time for Book 2 - An Ozarks Homecoming - just got away from me in much needed research and live in general.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

A FRESH START!

Hi, everyone!

Happy Wednesday.

This year just seems to fly buy. I'm slowly getting the house in order. 

For the past several months I've been focusing on our homestead projects, stocking the pantry ahead of Bob's retirement last December and finding  new places to clear out to make room for homestead storage. 

Now that I have that in line, I'm starting to focus on the monthly cleaning schedule again and trying to get my studio in order. I've been pitching, rearranging; all while getting back to the business of writing.

I still want to put stuff in Etsy but with the postal service not doing it's job, I'm afraid to ship anything unless I do it through UPS and I don't think people want to pay that price - even though I have. UPS is just more dependable. 

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and say posts will be more regular. I put them in my planner yesterday for the entire month of June as well as stickies on my production kanban board. I've missed the structure of my planners and the board. 

I hope you're still here and will hop back on the train. We're going places with new topics related to the homestead. I can't wait to share them with you.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

SEMI-KETO FRIENDLY BREAKFAST COOKIES

 Good morning, everyone!

I haven't been here in awhile but I have it scheduled to change that.

A writer friend of mine asked for my 'keto' breakfast cookie recipe so I thought it would be easier to share it with her here.

Three important notes:

I don't make these completely keto-friendly. First, I'm not on keto, just low-carb. To that end, I use real milk chocolate chips. There is about 1/4 C. in each batch and I only have 2 each morning. You CAN use Lilly's chocolate chips but I don't find them cost-effective on a limited income. 

Second, you need to refrigerate them They will mold quickly.

The other note is that almond flour seems to make things dry. To help this, I wrap two in a paper towel and microwave them at about 12 min. and they aren't as dry.

With that in mind, here's the recipe:

Preheat Oven to 350* F.

1-1/2 C. Almond Flour

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use the equate brand from Walmart but you can use your choice)

1/2 C. Melted Butter

2/3 C. Sweetener (I use Stevia)

1 tsp. Cinnamon (optional but good for blood sugar suppoprt)

2 Large eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp salt

chopped nuts (optional)

Sift dry ingredients together. Add butter to combine, then add eggs & vanilla

Scoop out onto parchment lined baking sheet (easier cleanup. - treat these as you would a choco. chip dough)

Flatten slightly.

Bake until edges are golden - about 10 minutes.

Remove to coolling rack. 

I cut strips of the parchment paper from the baking sheet into strips about the width of the cookie and wrap 2 cookies per strip then store in air-tight container in the refrigerator. 

Yields about 12 cookies.

Enjoy!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS WEEK - By State

 Hi everyone!

I'm trying to get back to business. My studio still isn't in shape but I'm getting there a little every day.

As I look around at all the stuff I have, I wonder if it's really worth keeping everything to potentially lose it at some point.

Memorial Day weekend of 2024 brought a realization, that just because I don't live in 'tornado alley' doesn't mean this part of the country can't be affected. In fact, I question whether or not that alley is widening. 

If you watch THIS video from Jordan Hall, you'll see just how close the tornado came to my house. In fact, at the 8:42 point you'll see the cyclone begin to hover over my house for several minutes before moving on, as if it were deciding whether or not to drop a tail and have some fun. 

I know I can't live with the 'what if' necessarily, but I can do everything possible to be prepared - all of us can AND SHOULD.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be back to regular posts. I have an editorial calendar set up but I don't work well in chaos. I should have this mess reigned in in that length of time. I have to. My grandgirls will be visiting this summer and we need space to play with artsy stuff. 

I'm also going to be talking Pantry, Menu Planning, Garden, Emergency Preparedness and back to my Fly Lady cleaning system so I hope you'll stay tuned. 

In the mean time, check out THIS PAGE from the NWS Preparedness Week by state. Missouri is this week so I'll hope to have something to share on Friday as to what I've been working on. 

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed

~ Kelly