Amazingly, 80% of most people’s exposure to toxic substances occurs indoors!  A study conducted by the Environmental protection agency found that indoor air quality can be 5 times worse than outdoor air quality.  You see, the common cleaners and disinfectants that we use in our homes contain pesticides.  It’s the pesticides that kills the germs.  And ongoing exposure to these chemicals can result in damage to our liver, kidneys, endocrine and nervous system… and yes, pestidicides have been linked to cancer.  Formaldehyde is also very commonly found in household products.  Formaldehyde (in all its various forms – there are many names for it!) is a cheap preservative and extends the shelf life of various products.  However, it may have the opposite effect on our lives because it can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, respiratory issues, fatigue, skin rashes, severe allergic reactions and even cancer.  And yet this very toxic chemical is still a common ingredient in many of the products in our homes.   Bleach is another product that is commonly found in our cleaners, yet bleach aggravates the membranes of the lower respiratory system causing shortness of breath and wheezing.

(Photo Credit)

Do You Read Product Labels?

You would think that the most obvious way to protect yourself from toxic ingredients would be to simply read product labels!  Many give dire warnings of the possible consequences of using the products in our homes.  But incredibly, The USA Federal code of regulations exempts manufacturers from full labeling of products if used for personal, family or household care (USA FCR: Section 1910.1200C, Title 29, Section 1500.82 2Q1A)  (**hint:  That exclusion covers pretty much every product in the average American home**)

In her book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson said:

If we are going to live so intimately with these chemicals – eating and drinking them, taking them into the very marrow of our bones – we had better know something about their nature and their power.

But how can we make educated choices when manufacturers are not even required to disclose the potentially toxic ingredients in the products we use every single day?

How Dangerous Are These Chemicals?

Well… they’re dangerous enough that since 1938, Europe and Canada have banned thousands of toxic chemicals from being used in common household products.  In that same time frame the  FDA in the United States has banned 9 chemicals.  Just nine.  That means that thousands of toxic chemicals remain in the products being sold in the United States every day.  In fact, companies that export their products to Canada and Europe actually use a different manufacturing line with different ingredients so that their products will conform to the legal requirements in those countries.

We clearly cannot count on legislation to protect us from toxic chemicals.

According to a Consumer Product Comission Safety Study there are 150 chemicals found in the average home today that are directly connected to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders.  Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity or adverse effects.  Of the chemicals that have been tested, the majority of them have never been tested for long-term effects.

Many of the same chemicals found in our cleaning products are also in our personal care products.  The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health analyzed 2,983 chemicals used in personal care products.  Out of those chemicals, 884 were found to be toxic.  One hundred forty six chemicals cause tumors, 218 cause reproductive complications, 778 cause acute toxicity, 314 cause biological mutations, 376 cause skin and eye irritations.

With all these chemicals in our homes, it is not surprising that women who work in the home have a 54% greater chance of dying from cancer than women who work outside the home.  (Source:  17 –year EPA study)

What Effect Is This Having On Our Children?

According to the National Safety Council, more children under the age of 4 die of accidental household poisonings than are accidentally killed by guns at home.  In a state of California study examinging 2, 435 pesticide poisonings in a one-year period, over 40% were due to exposure to disinfectants and similar cleaning products in the home.  Liquid dish soap is the leading cause of accidental poisonings at home in children under the age of 6.  (Who would have guessed that 2.1 million children in American are accidentally poisoned this way each year. (Source:  Kay Heizer, Director of Non Profit organization “Healthy Choices”)

Even babies are not exempt.  CNN reported that studies on newborns show that the average American baby has been exposed to over 200 “potentially hazardous” chemicals while still in the womb.  There is so much poison in our homes that our babies are being born already toxic!

We Have Options!

It may feel overwhelming that so many of the products we use each day are toxic, but there is hope!  We don’t have to subject our bodies and our families to the harsh chemicals found in mainstream cleaning products, personal care products, skin care products or cosmetics.  As consumers we do have options!

When we first began farming our family learned how to make our own products.  I made everything from window cleaner and laundry detergent to toothpaste and hand cream.  The result was that we had some wonderful, high-quality, natural products, but they took so much time to make!  While we still enjoy making our own products as a hobby, we don’t have time to make everything.  Our family has found a responsible company that manufactures products that are safer for our home, our bodies and our environment.  Shopping there is not only convenient, but we’re actually spending less money than when we purchased grocery store brands and the best part is that we are using products that are free from toxins and much safer for our health!

If you’re interested in learning more about where our family shops for non-toxic products, I would love to tell you about it!  Click here to contact me or email me at info (at) GoodOldDaysFarm (dot) com and we can arrange a phone call and/or a webinar.  Include your phone number in your message and I will call you so that we chat!

If you live near our farm, we’ll be having a free presentation next Thursday May 23 at 7:00 pm on this same topic!  Click here to contact me and I will send you our address if you don’t already have it!

I am looking forward to helping you get the toxins out of your home, just like I’ve gotten the toxins out of our home!

Today I want to tell you about an organization called Free The Girls.

Free The Girls is a non-profit organization that collects gently used bras, then sends those bras to Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Mexico and El Salvador.  There, women who have been rescued from sex trafficking are able to sell the bras in the market and make up to six times minimum wage!  This allows these precious women to support their families without feeling the need to turn to prostitution.

It’s hard to imagine that sex slavery is really a big problem.  But according to Free the Girls, 27 million men, women and children are being held as slaves throughout the world.  Twenty Seven Million.  That means there are more slaves today than at any other time in history.  And approximately 80% of those people are women and girls… sometimes they are very little girls.  Girls as young as my FarmGirl.  When somebody buys a little girl as a slave, they generally don’t want that little girl to do the chores.  They have more sinister plans in mind.  It makes me sick to think about it.

But we can help!  Indeed, we MUST help!  Because if we don’t help, who will?

Click on this image above for more information

America is the land of excess.  Would you join me this week in decluttering your bra drawer?  I was surprised at just how many bras I still have that frankly, are not ever going to fit again.  But there’s still a lot of life left in them.  Through Free the Girls, those bras can give someone a new lease on life!

If you’re local – we’re going to have a drop-in day this Thursday.  Bring some bras and a picnic lunch to our farm and come fellowship with us and see our gardens and our baby animals!

If you live nearby, but can’t make it to our farm on Thursday, you can still donate!  Dr. Harrison is one of the doctors at The Eye Gallery in Plano, Tx.  You can drop bras off at his office and his wife will ship them to Free The Girls for you.  Dr. Harrison’s office staff is so sweet and they’ll be glad to meet you!

If you don’t live nearby, check the list on this page to see if there’s a drop off location near you!  If there’s not one, why not be the first to start one?

Or you can mail the bras directly to this location:

Free The Girls
1552 Pioneer Trail
Chesterton, IN  46304

Interested in learning more?  There is a fabulous documentary on the CNN website that tells the story of Free The Girls in more detail!  I was so blessed by watching this video!  Enjoy!

And I hope to see many of you on Thursday!

This post contains affiliate links.  If you choose to purchase something through my link, a portion of your purchase goes directly to supporting sustainable agriculture here at the Good Old Days Farm!  Your support means the world to us.  Thank you!  Also please note that the story below is simply my own experience.  It is not intended to diagnose or treat anyone in any way.  Please consult a health care provider when making decisions about your own health, pregnancy, or child’s health.

This is my favorite picture of my daughter Farm Girl.  To me, it represents my personal journey to motherhood and its coming full circle.  It represents HOPE.

You see, when I was pregnant with Farm Girl there was no doubt in my mind that natural birth was the way to go.  I dutifully signed up for Natural Childbirth classes.  Even though she was my first baby, I was confident that I would have a natural birth!  After all, God designed our bodies to give birth!  Even when the class instructor said, “1 in 3 women have c-sections” I just knew she was talking about one of those other women in the class.  Not me.  I had taken every step possible to achieve a natural birth.   I had hired a midwife.  I was planning a water birth in a birth-center!  I had dutifully avoided sugar, unhealthy fats and all medication throughout my pregnancy.  There was no way I was going to end this pregnancy with surgery!

The pregnancy went really well until the end.  I was feeling great, but  not showing any signs of going into labor.  Then it was discovered that my baby was breech.  Suddenly all my care givers went into panic mode!  ”If you don’t get that baby out today, she’ll DIE!”  they told me.  ”You must have a c-section.  No, a natural birth is not safe.  This baby is too big and your pelvis simply isn’t big enough to pass this baby.  Yes, there’s one midwife in the the city who delivers breech babies but that’s not safe.”  All I could hear them saying was, “She’ll DIE.  She’ll DIE.  She’ll DIE….”

And so I did something I had never imagined myself doing.  I laid down on an operating table and allowed them to cut me open and remove my baby from me.  I thought I was saving her life.

I was thankful for the technology that I thought was saving my baby’s life, but I was still devastated.  After the birth I was in an incredible amount of pain.  I was too sick to care for myself let alone my baby, so Papa the Farmer took over her care.  I felt so disconnected from my baby.  Even though I was nursing, Papa the Farmer did everything else.  She was well over a week old before I changed a diaper and a month old before I gave her a bath.  As a result, she seemed pretty sure that Papa the Farmer was her mother and this only added to my sadness.

When I came home from the hospital I started reading books like Henci Goer’s book The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth.  I discovered that there are ways that have a high success rate of turning breech babies! I had questions… Why hadn’t we tried harder to turn her?  Where was the medical evidence that her life was in danger?  Why was she breech in the first place?  Why was this happening to me?   When I asked my obstetrician, she only said, “I hate it when lay people write books.”  I got no answers.

And then the comments started coming.  ”I would never have allowed the doctors to cut me open,” disdainfully said one naturally-minded lady.  ”Really?  You’re going to be stubborn on that point if you’re told that your baby is dying and this is the only way to save her life?” I wondered.  ”What was wrong with you that you couldn’t have a baby the normal way” asked a child.  ”I can’t believe you’re so upset about this” said another lady.  And the worst comment of all… “Well, at least you have a healthy baby.  You should just be glad for that.”

Of course I was glad to have a healthy baby.  But I still felt violated.  (In what other circumstance is it ok to use scare tactics to bully a woman into allowing you to enter her body?  None.)  I was still grieving a loss.  I put on a happy face for the outside world, but in those first weeks and months after her birth I cried a lot.

Maybe you can relate?  The cesarean rate in America has never been higher than in the past few years and a lot of women are not happy about that.  If you find yourself in the same place where I was, I want you to know that you are not alone.  Lots and lots of women are unhappy with their birth experiences.  It’s ok to be sad/angry/depressed/[insert any other emotion] about a difficult and disappointing birth experience.  Yes, it’s even normal.

Friends, your baby is not your birth experience.

You can love your baby and still hate your birth experience.

You can love your baby and still need to grieve your birth experience.

You can be thankful for your baby and still be sad that your birth experience was a disappointment.

Having a disappointing birth experience doesn’t mean that the next birth will be awful.

In my case, I hired a different midwife for my second baby.  He was also breech, but he turned (at 41 weeks!) using a chiropractic technique called The Webster Technique and he was born at home in the water!  (Yes, I had a glorious VBAC at home!).  My third baby was also turned using the Webster Technique (at 38 weeks).  He too, was born at home.

After the boys were born I began to heal.  Ironically, my first baby was my smallest baby and my pregnancy with her had the fewest medical complications.  Of all my babies, her birth had the best chance of being a natural birth and yet that’s not how it turned out.  It didn’t happen right away, but I slowly began to see the truth in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

My c-section has made me much more empathetic to other women.  My c-section has taught me a lot about birth and the medical system that American women are giving birth in.  My c-section put my feet on the path that led to me becoming a certified doula and now I can help other women navigate the birth process.

Does that mean my c-section was ok?  No.

Does it mean that I am thankful for my c-section?  No.  But I am thankful for what I learned through the experience.

As for FarmGirl, that little c-sectioned baby of mine?  Well, I spent her toddlerhood pregnant with her brothers and reading everything I could about Natural Birth and VBAC’s (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean).  When she was 2, she came into the room moments after FarmBoy was born (while I was still in the birthpool)!  She was with me when FarmBaby was born.  In the picture above, she had been with me at a dear friend’s birth and got to stand right next the midwife!  She is holding the hour-old baby in this picture.  On the way home from that birth she told me, “I want to be a midwife.”  Whether she grows up to be a midwife or not, my heart is full!  This girl… my little c-section baby… has VISION for birth!  She is not going to be caught by surprise the way I was.

Sweet friend, perhaps your story has not come full circle yet.  If you are pregnant and still grieving a past birth experience, may I recommend a few resources?  These are three ebooks that are included in the 97 ebooks you will find in the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle that is for sale this week, and they are books that I wish I had had when I was having babies…

Redeeming Childbirth by Angie Tolpin is a Bible Study workbook that will help you know what the Word of God says about birth!  It incorporates over 100 verses of scripture to help you see your birth plan in light of the broader picture of God’s plan for your life.  You will be comforted to study about how God wants to be the Lord of our births and challenged to invite your Creator into every aspect of your birth… and your life!  This is a wonderful Bible Study tool!

Unbound Birth:  How to Have a Natural Birth in the Hospital is a big dose of encouragement for anyone wanting to have a baby naturally in a hospital setting.  Jenny points out important information that every expectant mother needs to be aware of when exploring her birth options by sharing her own stories of birthing naturally in a hospital setting.  She also walks you through the question of “What is a Doula and Should I Hire One?”  as well as other important issues surrounding birth…

A final must-have-accessory for the pregnant-still-healing mom (or any expectant mother!) is Mindy Harvey’s My pregnancy Journal!  I was so excited when I heard that Mindy had designed a printable pregnancy journal!  Anything with the name “Mindy Harvey” on it is going to be gorgeous!  She is to the blogging world what Laura Ashley is to interior design.  This download is 5 files long and includes everything from journalling pages, planning pages, food log, weight tracker, name brainstorming page, and calendars to printable stickers that you can stick on your belly to photo-document your pregnancy!  (And did I mention that it’s all very, very pretty?)  Fun, fun, fun!

Each of the above books are available for sale separately, but for this week only you can get them for less than 32 cents each when you buy them as part of the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle!  The bundle includes 92 ebooks, 5 ecourses and $140 in free bonus offers.  This is a deal that won’t come around again, so don’t miss it!  You can read more about the bundle here, or click here to buy it now!

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links.  If you choose to use our farm’s link to purchase this bundle, we receive a generous commission which we reinvest into our farm to make this a fun and sustainable place to be.  We appreciate your support more than you know!

There are about one hundred thousand things I would rather be doing than cleaning.  In fact, I wrote Easy Peasy Chores, not because I’ve got my house all pulled together and perfect, but because I needed a system to help me stay on top of day-to-day routines and conquer the law of the universe that says “children can mess a house up faster than an adult can clean it.”   If you feel that way, just know you’re not alone!  Look to your left… that’s me sitting next to you waving!

 Photo Credit

Apparently it’s not just you and I in the trenches.  I’d like to introduce you to a few of my blogging friends who have written some of my favorite ebooks about housekeeping!  These are my sweet sisters in Christ who are here in the trenches with you and I!  They are Mamas with a husband and children and dirt and clutter and….   You get the idea!  And they’ve all written the books that you see here… books that are included in the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle and are only 32 cents each if you purchase the bundle library!

Getting It Together – by Kayse Pratt

First meet Kayse!  In her book Getting It Together, Kayse walks you through the process of creating a home management binder.  Don’t have a home management binder yet?  This is the place to start!  I LOVE my home management binder!  I keep mine on a cookbook stand in my kitchen and it’s so handy to have everything you’ll need in one place!  In Getting It Together she gives you a full, step-by-step tutorial on how to make the binder, gives tips for making it extra pretty (because we all know we won’t use it if it’s not pretty!), teaches you how to use your Home management book and even includes 30 different printables to get you going!

Hand Made Walls – by Jamin & Ashley Mills

Ok, I gotta tell ya…  This book is FULL of photographs of home decorating that make me suspect Jamin & Ashley Mills are related to Laura Ashley… or maybe Martha Stewart.  The photographs are absolutely gorgeous.  Now, my natural artistic talent prompted my highschool art teacher to tell me that she’s seen better art created by kindergarten students (true story!) so I wouldn’t ever think of attempt projects like this on my own…  but the Mills gave fantastic directions and make the projects so do-able!

Pulling Yourself Together – by Becky from CleanMama.net

Pulling Yourself Together has lots of practical ideas for creating a cleaning routine that will get include all the areas of your home (even the ones you might forget about)!  And to keep track of everything that needs to be done and how often we need to do it, Becky has included 6 super-cute printables at the end of the book.

Clean Enough:  Simple Solutions for the Overwhelmed Homemaker – by Jenni Mullinix

Jenni’s book is a beautiful balance of practical cleaning tips and dealing with the heart issues and spiritual aspects of being a homemaker.  This book will teach you about everything from establishing a cleaning routine, to cleaning efficiently, to getting your children to help and keeping your house clean (because we’ve all said, “We’re going to clean this house and this time it’s going to stay that way!!!”  My favorite chapter in this book is the one at the end called “Biblical Encouragement for the Overwhelmed Homemaker.”

Organizing Life as Mom – by Jessica Fisher

This book includes inspirational chapters interspersed with all kinds of printables to help you think through your goals as a homemaker and plan accordingly. (After all, as the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!)  The planning pages are printable… But you can also type directly into the pdf if you’re going paperless (or, um… can’t always read your own handwriting like me!)

Simple Living – by Lorilee Lippincott

I haven’t actually read this book yet, but I am so excited to start it!  Simple Living is a complete crash course in decluttering your home and simplifying your life.  It includes 30 lessons to help you get on top of things.  I’m pretty sure Lorilee understands people like me because there are not one, but TWO chapters on dead plants.  Not that I have a problem with dead plants… if you come visit us you’ll notice that all our plants are outside in Papa the Farmer’s gardens…  There’s not a single houseplant!  (Because I killed them all.  Oops.)

One Bite At A Time - by Tsh Oxenreider

In One Bite At A Time, Tsh answers the question, “Why is it so hard to make life simple?”  Since we opened The Good Old Days Farm, Papa the Farmer and I have read a lot of self-help books!  (At least 100!)  We probably could have read just this one book and saved ourselves a lot of time!  There are 52 different baby-step projects and a handy chart to help you know which area of your life that particular project will help you to organize.  Some of the projects are challenges that are obvious and others not-so-much.  If you’re looking to get organized, I think you will enjoy this book!

10 Steps to Organized Paper – by Lisa Woodruff

In this book Lisa will help you to tame – no!  Capture and kill – the paper clutter monster!  She walks you through 10 steps to figuring out what we need to keep (and how long), what we can shred, and what to do with all the paper that falls between those two extremes.

31 Days To Clean – by Sarah Mae

31 Days to Clean is the book that coined the term “Motivotional”!  It is half daily-devotional and half Motivational!  There are 31 daily readings that offer a snippet of encouragement, then two daily challenges:  The “Martha” challenge is something practical (like go clean the junk drawer).  The “Mary” challenge is spiritual and encourages us to get our hearts right with God in this area of housekeeping.

Not a DIY Diva – by Melissa Michaels

If you have ever looked at something on Pinterest and thought to youself, “That is so gorgeous!  I could totally do that!”  and then tried it and it completely flopped…  This is the book for me (I mean, YOU!  **ahem**)  Melissa has packed so many ideas into this book of how to have a Pinterest-looking home by using simple decorating techniques that don’t require interior designer skills!

Easy Peasy Chores

This one is by yours truly!  It’s my printable card system that helps get the whole family involved in chore time… and loving it!  Not only are the printable cards included, but also games and activities to keep your children motivated to clean long after the “newness” of the system wears off!

28 Days To Hope For Your Home by Dana White

I bought 28 Days to Home For Your Home a few months ago… and was not disappointed!  Let’s just say that as I was reading it in bed Papa the Farmer asked me, “What on earth are you laughing about?”  This book makes cleaning fun!  I just love Dana’s sense of humor!  This book is subtitled “(Not for the Mildly Disorganized).”  This book is really a basic starting place for people who are overwhelmed.  Or maybe it’s a re-starting place for people who are in a season of being overwhelmed.  Either way, you will find grace in these pages as Dana (aka “Nony the Slob” from ASlobComesClean.com) walks you through the process of establishing 4 basic habits as a foundation for getting control of your home again.

This sale has now ended.

Did You Say These Books Are Only 32 Cents Each?!?!

Yes – when you purchase the  Ultimate Homemaking Bundle you get all 12 of these ebooks plus another 92 ebooks, 5 ecourses and $140 in bonus offers for only $29.97… and that works out to less than 32 cents each!   You can click here for details about all the other resources in this fantastic library, or you can click the button below to purchase a copy of this ebook library for yourself!

Disclaimer:  This post does contain affiliate links.  We appreciate your support!

Papa the Farmer and I have an ongoing disagreement.  He says I have a bit of a book problem.  (I have too many!)   Personally, I think I have a bookSHELF problem.  (We don’t have enough!)  Nah… You can never have too many books, right?

When ereaders came out, I thought to myself, “What a dumb thing.  Who would ever want one of those?”  They just seemed so bleak and electronic with no personality at all.  Who ever heard of curling up in the bathtub with a good… technological device?  For a lady with a blog you’d be surprised at just how not-techie I really am.  I’m probably the last person in my generation to not have a cell phone.  Come to think of it, I don’t even have a cordless phone.  We did however, recently get rid of our rotary phone.  (Applause, anyone?)  So I thought I’d be one of the last people holding out against ebooks, too.

But I did end up getting a Kindle and it has completely changed my reading experience!  Here’s a few things I love about it!

• It holds 3,500 books.  Three THOUSAND Five Hundred Books!  And you can keep it in your purse.  That’s right folks!  A whole library right in your purse!  No more taking stacks of books on vacation with me.  Papa the Farmer doesn’t have to complain about the pile of 15 books I am “currently reading” sitting on my nightstand.  It all fits on one device that is smaller and lighter than a paperback book.
• FREE Books!  Amazon offers so many Free books in the Kindle e-store!  I’ve discovered some wonderful books this way!
• I can read my pdf books (that are not available in Kindle format) simply by emailing them to my Kindle account.
• Free 3-G wireless means that I can order a book directly from my kindle and be reading it within 60 seconds!  No shipping and no taxes!
• You can lend Kindle books out – and you’ll automatically get them back 14 days later!  No more wondering who I lent that book to, or being frustrated that they didn’t return it.
• It will even read audiobooks to you!  (I haven’t tried that feature yet!)

I like to read my ebooks on my Kindle, but if you don’t own one, there are other ways to read them!

• PDF’s can be read on your computer using a pdf reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.  Kindle books can be read by installing the Free Kindle Reading App on your computer.
• If you don’t have a kindle, you can install the Free Kindle Reading App on any device – including your phone!  (YOUR phone.  Not MY phone.  My phone plugs into the wall, remember?  But if you’ve got a Smart Phone, you can read ebooks on it!)
• If the book is really great and you want to keep it handy, you can always print it out and place it in a binder or have it bound at your local print shop.

Now, why am I telling you this?

Because I am so excited to finally be able to tell you about a BIG SECRET I’ve been sitting on for a while now… Several Bloggers have come together to bring you The Ultimate Homemaking Ebook Bundle.  This is a complete library of ebooks about homemaking and child-raising.  Many topics are covered!  Cleaning, Organizing, Decor, Children’s Education, Character Training, Discipling, Budgeting, Health, Cookbooks, Pregnancy, Baby Care, Marriage, Romance, Motherhood, Parenting, Fitness, Beauty, Working At Home… ALL These topics are included in the 97 ebooks included in this library!  Plus, there are 5 e-courses included in this sale AND a whole bunch of AMAZING bonus offers!  

I am so, so excited to share the whole list of what’s included with you…  For now, take a look at that picture above.  Those are some of the book covers!  So come back on Monday and I’ll tell you all the details!

In case you missed it, yesterday was the launch of my ebook Easy Peasy Chores:  An Easy-to-use Chore System That Brings JOY Back Into Family Chores!  The ebook is still brand new, so you may be thinking to yourself, “I’ve tried so many chore systems before.  Does this one really work?”

(Note:  If you’ve tried a lot of systems before, I can totally relate!  That’s why I finally just developed my own system!  And because I can relate, I laughed and laughed when I read this review by a Mama who was convinced that the words “Easy Peasy” and “Chore System” don’t belong in the same sentence!  But we changed her mind!)

So, does it work?  YES, Easy Peasy Chores really does work!  This is our family’s chore system that has been tested and tweaked over the years.  I know it works.  The families who have been testing the chore system over the past 5 months know it works.  The reason it works is because it makes chore time pleasant and the whole family works together to maintain this place that we all share called “home.”

Today, Ginny from Progress via Regress posted this sweet picture of her children on Facebook:

(photo credit)

These are Ginny’s children, ages 3 1/2 and 2.  Below the picture she posted the following caption:  AlinaJoy Dubois’ Easy Peasy Chores at work! So far, the kids have picked up the living room & bedrooms, cleaned the schoolroom, helped with laundry, and are now sweeping the porch! Think it can’t be done? Think again!

I’m so excited that Ginny’s children are learning a good work ethic while they are young!

Ginny also wrote a full review of Easy Peasy Chores which you can find here on her blog.  Be sure to read to the end of the post, because at the end of the post you’ll find a Giveaway for Easy Peasy Chores!  Click here to enter!

“How Do You Find the Time???”

Just yesterday a friend sent me a message:  ”You sure have a full plate — running a farm, homeschooling your children, keeping up with the house, the meals, your church… volunteering, blogging, etc. WOW! Do you sleep?  Where do you find the time?”

We all have a lot to do each day!  Today I am going to share with you my system for getting it all done.  The honest truth is… it’s Easy Peasy!  I get my children to help me!  We work together as a family (yes, even the 3 year old!), we try to make work a game as much as possible and we work together towards rewards!  (One reward is simply living in a peaceful, clean home!)  Now I have put together our family’s system in an ebinder format that you can download and customize for your family!

This system is the result of years of me feeling overwhelmed and asking other mamas, “How do you do it all?”  It’s the result of years of trying systems, only to get distracted by life and fall off the bandwagon.  What I did was write down every single chore that needs to be done to keep a typical home running and then I made baseball-card size cards for each chore!  I printed the cards off and hung them in baseball card holders on my fridge.  Now we use the baseball cards as our checklist.  We declare war on dirt and clutter, then divide and conquer!  Each of us takes certain chores and within a few minutes we’ve gotten quite a lot of cleaning done!  And now that all my cards are in a downloadable pdf format, you can use the Easy Peasy Chores system, too!

Lest you think that this system was written by an expert, it wasn’t!  I’m a Mama in the trenches, right there with you.  Let me share this excerpt from Easy Peasy Chores with you:

I hate to clean. I mean I really, really hate cleaning. Seinfeld said that he loves a clean house, he just hates cleaning it…. He said when you add “i-n-g” to “c-l-e-a-n” it becomes a whole different experience. I quite agree.

When my husband and I bought our first house, I was not prepared to clean it. The house came with parts that I didn’t even know needed cleaning! Who knew that you have to wash baseboards and ceiling fans once in a while? I thought when you turn the fan on, the dust blows off. Turned out, I was wrong.

Over the years I’ve found some creative solutions to the cleaning-dilemma. When my husband was a software engineer I hired a lady to come do my spring cleaning every year. As babies started coming and finances began to stretch, I began bartering with other mamas. “I’ll give your child piano lessons if you come fold the laundry!” You don’t want to know how many women have folded my husband’s underwear… **sigh**

Want to know how I solved the dilemma?  Click here and download the free sample to read the rest of the story… (Scroll down to the blue banner in the middle of the page!)

(Oh…Don’t panic looking at all those chore cards on the fridge above!  That’s a full WEEK’s worth of chores!)

I even use the Easy Peasy Chores System to organize our Homeschool!  If you’re a homeschooler, you’ll be interested in the Homeschool edition of Easy Peasy Chores… Which includes everything the original edition includes and also has some additional cards for managing your school room and your school day!

 Celebrate With me?

To celebrate the launch of Easy Peasy Chores, I’m offering a Giveaway!  Enter the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win one of 3 copies of Easy Peasy Chores!  (The winners get to choose if they want the Original Edition or the Homeschool Edition)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My friend Trisha at IntoxicatedOnLife.com is offering two fun Giveaways that both include Easy Peasy Chores as well as a lot of other really neat things!

Coupon Codes for Everyone!!!

Or, if you’re excited and want to get started with Easy Peasy Chores right now, I’m offering some special coupon codes:

EASYPEASY – will give 50% off to the first 500 Customers who order the Easy Peasy Chore system!!!  This code is good today only!

After that code runs out, use the code EASYPEASYLAUNCH to get $5 off either version of Easy Peasy Chores!  This code will be good until Thursday!

Click Here to Order Now!