Since you’ve had kids, has your home become progressively messier and messier? Or, were you always a tad on the messy side, and this busy season of life has made the state of your home worse? If so, you’re not alone.

If you dream of having a clean home that is company ready on a regular basis, 31 Days to an Everyday Clean Home: One Month to Calm the Chaos and Simplify Your Life by Amy Clark Scheren may be just the book for you.

About 31 Days to an Everyday Clean Home

Each chapter is one day, and Scheren does not forget one area of your home where you may be dealing with messiness and clutter:

Introduction

Day 1: Getting Started
Day 2: Morning Routine
Day 3: Afternoon and Evening Routine
Day 4: Laundry
Day 5: Dishes
Day 6: Kitchen Counters
Day 7: Refrigerator
Day 8: Pantry
Day 9: Clean Kitchen
Day 10: Menu Planning
Day 11: Entrances
Day 12: Hallways & Stairs
Day 13: Bathroom Surfaces
Day 14: Bathroom Storage
Day 15: Clean Bathroom
Day 16: Living Room Furniture
Day 17: Living Room Floor
Day 18: Dining Room Table
Day 19: Dining Room Furniture & Floor
Day 20: Clean Living Room & Dining Room
Day 21: Master Bedroom Furniture
Day 22: Master Bedroom Floor
Day 23: Master Bedroom Closets & Doors
Day 24: Clean Master Bedroom
Day 25: Kids’ Closets & Drawers
Day 26: Kids’ Room
Day 27: Clean Purse
Day 28: Weekly To Do List
Day 29: Calendar & Planning
Day 30: Mail & Bills
Day 31: Keeping Up

One More Thing

Scheren starts by introducing the topic that it’s harder to clean up than catch up. So, for each day, after she introduces the topic and gives suggestions for organizing and cleaning up, she lists three stages of your work:

Set Up: This is the time when you look at your current system, analyze how well it’s working for you, and then decide on a new system, if need be.

Catch-Up: This is usually the largest section and offers step-by-step advice on cleaning up the area that you’re working on.

Keep-Up: Once you’ve worked hard on cleaning up the mess, this section helps you maintain the new level of clean so that you don’t have a messy area again.

How You Could Use This eBook

If you follow this book, step-by-step, you will undoubtedly have a cleaner home in one month. So, it’s valuable as is.

But, once you have your home in tip top shape, you can use all of the steps in each section to create your own detailed daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning chore chart, perfect for keeping you on track, but also good for developing a chore chart for your children.

Final Thoughts

If you’re not naturally a tidy person, this ebook will help you step-by-step to organize and clean your home. Once you’re there, this ebook helps you learn how to keep up your clean home because keeping up is much easier than cleaning up.

It's so cold here in Nebraska!  Our 30-degree days are turning into 10-degree nights, which are perfect for simmering a big pot of something in the slow cooker!  I adapted a quick version of Teriyaki Chicken for this dish, made tangy and sweet (but not too sweet) from the addition of strawberry jam.  It was gobbled down quickly by the family, and freed me up to clean my kitchen!

You'll need (for 6-8 servings):

• 6-8 chicken thighs (skin removed, but you can leave in the bones)
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup strawberry jam
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1 shake red pepper flakes

Mix all the ingredients except for the chicken thighs and onions in a bowl.  Place the thighs and onions in the bottom of a slow cooker and pour the sauce mixture over.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or -- if you are short on time -- cook on high for 4 hours.  Let the edges of the chicken get brown (as in the photos above), but not burnt.

Pull the chicken out, piece by piece and remove the bones before serving.


I like to cook up a big batch of Ramen noodles without the flavor packet and add them (drained) to the juice in the slow cooker.  Let them sit about 5 minutes so they soak up the flavor.  Serve the noodles with the chicken on top!

Have extra time and want more flavor? Put the chicken in a Tupperware container with the sauce poured over them.  Keep them in the fridge over night before cooking in the slow cooker!

It's a hot summer, which means my kids like to be inside enjoying books, videos or audio CD's. This past month, my family has had the chance to enjoy listening to Beric the Briton from Heirloom Audio Productions. As this wasn't our first experience with the Heirloom Audio products, we knew that we were in for some high-quality entertainment!

If you haven't tried any of their productions, I'll give you some background. These are feature-length audio stories, narrated and voiced by big name actors that you've probably seen or heard in other productions. My boys really like that they can identify many of the voice actors in the productions; it keeps their interest! This particular production, Beric the Briton, featured the voices of Brian Blessed (Tarzan, Star Wars, Robin Hood), Brian Cox (The Bourne Identity, Braveheart), Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Honeysuckle Weeks (Foyle's War), Cathy Sara (Downton Abbey), and our favorite -- John Ryhs-Davies (The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones.) All of the strong acting really help make this story come alive!



Based on a book by G.A. Henty, Beric the Briton is a tale of high adventure. While I usually think of Henty's stories as perfect for boys, they really can be a family affair. I'm just usually pretty impressed that I can take my squirrely group of 5 boys and have them sit still for 2.5 hours to listen. (We do pause between discs, usually breaking them up between two days.) Unlike other "school" products we've reviewed, this really feels morel like pure entertainment, although I know that there is historical and moral learning happening when the kids listen.

The story of the Roman invasion of ancient Britannia is a favorite topic for my history-crazed boys, and Henty's telling is truly superb. I don't know of anyone who won't be fascinated by the story of being enslaved, raised up to be a Gladiator, and then placed into service under Emperor Nero. The story further tells the rumor or Christ and how people of that day must have reacted to a new way of life and the promise of forgiveness and love. The Christian themes are powerful, but they add to the story, unlike some tales that switch the focus from history to morality.

Once you are done listening, there are ample opportunities to continue the discussion and "teachable" moments with your family. Downloads are included with the disc that include a 40+ page study guide, The guide takes you scene by scene through the story, giving kids and grownups a chance to dig in further into the history of the narration, but more importantly -- helps you dive into Scripture to see how God's teachings reinforce the main themes of the story. I find the study guides from Heirloom Audio Productions to be some of the best on the market. They really give kids credit to be able to use critical thinking to apply God's truth in all things, including history. We actually paused our home Bible study for a bit and used the Study Guide as our lesson plan for the time. It has everything needed to engage family members of all ages and challenge you to grow.

There are other digital bonuses included in the purchase of this product, including audio files, soundtrack, ebook, and behind the scenes bonuses. It's a very good value and something you can use for years to come!

Learn more about the amazing folks at Heirloom Audio Productions on their social media accounts. They are always cooking up new things, and you can be the first to hear about their next production! See them at the Beric the Briton Facebook, G.A. Henty's series page on Facebook, Heirloom Audio's Facebook, Heirloom Audio on Twitter, Heirloom Audio on G+, and Heirloom Audio on IG!