Author: Emily

The best days of the week cleaning schedule to keep your house neat!

The best days of the week cleaning schedule to keep your house neat!

A cleaning schedule is a very daunting thing! Especially if you’re new to having a home of your own. Although a cleaning schedule and transform your life and reduce your stress! This isn’t a new idea, but taking a little time every day to clean 

What to do while you wait for your new construction home

What to do while you wait for your new construction home

This has to be the absolute worst part of the new construction home building process! This is the process that we are currently in as I am writing this. The builder will try to give you an expectation of when your home will be done. 

Laundry Schedule for a Family of 3

Laundry Schedule for a Family of 3

Keeping a Laundry Schedule can be a really difficult task. Especially if you have recently added a new family member. I will give you all the tips and tricks for starting and keeping a well-established laundry schedule!

This post is all about laundry schedules!

Is a laundry schedule a good idea?

You are probably coming to this post wondering if a laundry schedule is even a good idea.

You might even be asking if it will reduce your stress or make things any easier.

I am here to tell you that a few simple tips and tricks that I have tested and refined will help you loads! Pun intended 😉

Choose a set day or two

I personally choose two days of the week to do laundry. Mondays and Thursdays. This has allowed me to plan my day, morning, or evening around getting this done.

While I don’t often finish an entire load in a day I know that on Mondays and Thursdays at the very least it needs to get in the washer and into the dryer. That way it won’t smell too bad if it gets left in the dryer for a few days.

Also, this could mean on Mondays everything gets through the washer and it’s folded on Thursdays. You may have to go fishing for some random leggings that you always wear but who doesn’t.

Choose which days work for you and set it.

Personally, on Monday I start the laundry and my husband swaps it while I’m doing the Monday morning Costco trip.

Don’t forget to get the family involved!

Timers are your new best friend

Whether it’s on your watch, phone, or smart device set a timer! You will likely forget to swap the laundry from the washer to the dryer without it.

To be on the safe side set it for about 5 minutes after the laundry should finish. This way if there is added time or extra water to drip out it can do its thing.

At the least set one timer for getting things from the washer to the dryer then if you can set another for getting the laundry out of the dryer.

Yes, there likely is a timer already on the machine, but trust me. That jingle gets drowned out in the background of life and is probably just forgotten in the end.

Put the Laundry in the Night Before

This was a game-changer for our family! On the night before a laundry day, I get the first load to be washed in the washer with the soap but don’t turn it on quite yet!

This way you can round up all the laundry, and get it in the right place. The next morning all you have to do is press the start button and set a timer! All the heavy lifting is done!

An added bonus if you have more than one load of laundry. Get everything rounded up and in the laundry room for the next day most of the work is done!

Habit Pairing

Next is a tip that really transformed my laundry routine. They say that if you pair a new habit with an old one then you are more likely to keep the new habit.

This helps with keeping laundry going and washing the right items at the right time.

For us, we have forgotten to wash the sheets at a good time or at good intervals. So I matched up my monthly timer with our sheets.

After my period is over or mostly over, I wash all the sheets. This helps keep things clean and fresh.

And for everyone who is freaking out about dirty sheets, I shower every night right before bed so the sheets are never too dirty from the day.

The same could be said for events! You could match up payday or a holiday up with washing particular items in the house that do not need to be washed frequently.

The Laundry Power Hour

Another great tip I have is to pair the approximate hour that the laundry is in the washer with other tasks that you might be dreading.

While this might be difficult to do with babies or toddlers around you might try it during a nap time or after bedtime!

So put the laundry in the washer and start it. Then, for the next hour do some of the tasks you’ve been dreading to do until the laundry is in the dryer!

This could be paying bills, making appointments, scrubbing the floor, or organizing the tools or pantry.

The laundry will have to come out of the washer at some point and by then, you’ll have completed all the tasks you’ve been putting off!

Think of the relief!

Something about a timer always makes me clean faster.

CONCLUSION

I hope you found this list helpful!

These are some of the laundry schedule tips I have been working on over many years to make my home life as relaxing and as comfortable as possible!

Check out my pinterest here!

Check out more of our homemaking tips here!

11 Homemaking Skills Everyone Should know

11 Homemaking Skills Everyone Should know

It’s no surprise that in recent years homemaking skills have been revitalized and are being sought after to learn! These skills can save you loads of time and money. Learning and cultivating these skills will help you in running your home and personal life. While 

The Basics of 401ks

The Basics of 401ks

401ks are one of the easiest ways to save money for retirement. And before we get any farther I want to mention that little thing called compounding interest. So if you don’t take anything away from this blog post, just remember that the earlier you 

The Best Ways to Avoid Student Loans

The Best Ways to Avoid Student Loans

Hey there! Before we get too far I want to plug my video on this topic if that’s more your jam 🙂

There is a student loan crisis in this country. Look at any new source, any campaign promise, or talk to anyone with student loans. It can be incredibly crippling.

That’s why I avoided it like the plague, while still getting my degrees. Not going to like, I had to work extremely hard to do it. However, at 23 I was able to buy a house with my husband. It gives me a lot of freedom and I am set up for a really amazing future!

So if you are in the middle of school, beginning school, thinking about school. Please take these suggestions and run with them. It’s possible to do this, but there will be some sacrafices.

Start with a goal in mind

If you have to end goal in sight then you’re probably not ready. I am not saying that you need to know exactly what company and position you’re working for. However, know what you like and what you don’t like to do for work.

With that get some work experience. Do you like working with your hands? Do you like to sit at a computer? Do you like to help people? Do you want to show up and work or prepare before?

Of course, you can change your mind, but if you want to be a plumber, getting a fine arts degree will only dig you in the hole of debt and get you absolutely nowhere.

Work Through College

This is a great way to one save for tuition, but also to help you understand what you’d like to do in the future. If you are 18 and have never worked before or have never shadowed a job before then you don’t have much exposure to a job you may absolutely love!

Also, working can help you save for tuition, books, other college expenses. Each dollar that you pay for through working is oftentimes hundreds of dollars less than you’ll pay for in interest for decades after college.

This is how I paid for the majority of my associate’s degree and my bachelor’s degree.

Subsidies

Subsidies are the unsung hero of reducing student loan debt. There are loads of subsidies for students out there that aren’t being taken advantage of.

Let’s jump into a few that you may or may not heard of before. Also, subsidies are different from scholarships. They help to reduce the cost of tuition rather than pay for some of the tuition.

Religous Subsidies. This is the first type of subsidies and are most notable at the BYUs (Provo, Idaho, Hawaii, Pathways). Students who are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are eligible for subsidsed education though the church.

Other universities may offer these types of subsidies. However, you’ll need to check with the specific universities you’re going for.

The next type of subsidies that you can get are for marginalized groups or minority groups. This could also be a category for scholarships to look into. These subsides are geared towoards mostly native amercian colleges and universities, but could also be for those of other ethicities.

The third type of subsidies are for military colleges and universities. The ROTC programs will pay for your college if you commit to serve 5 years or so in the military.

The fourth and final type of subsidy is a major based subsidy. This is typically for majors that have a low workforce and high demand or have high turnover rates. So degrees like nursing and teaching will have loads of subisides and scholarships.

Scholarships

This brings us into the next category. Which is scholarships. Scholarships tend to be really underrated. However, if you play your cards right you will be able to pay for a ton using scholarships! ‘

My advice is to apply to scholarships like it’s your full time job. You’ll be really surprised about the amount of scholarships that are out there and how much you can get will a bit of work.

Also, you shouldn’t really be going for one scholarship to pay for everything. Try to get a bunch of little scholarships and hodge podge them together. Each dollar you get is hundereds of dollars you won’t have to pay in loans or interest later on.

You can get scholarships for the following reasons:

  • LGBTQIA+
  • Ethinicity
  • Being a decenant of historacal figure
  • Vegan or Vegetaian
  • Religion
  • Majors
  • Military spouse, child, grandchild, etc.

You could get a scholarship for some weird stuff! However, it will help in the long run!

Check out these databases: https://www.scholarships.com/

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search

Find a Cheaper School

I know this is a weird suggestion. However, if you don’t care where you go to school. Then find cheaper school. Utah is one of the cheapest places to go to school. You can find some really inexpenseive schools here for out of state tution.

Another option is finding an online school that you could stick with if that’s your jam.

This will really help with your student loan costs becasue the initail bill of tution can be FAR cheaper.

Work Programs

This is how I paid for my MBA. Often times your employeer will give you an education benefit if you work full-time. Many work programs are for tech workers who are going for Masters. Also, those working in public education as para-educators. You could get part or all of a bachelors or masters in education paid for.

This could also be for nurses in the health care field. Having part of school paid for to maybe go from a CNA to a LPN or RN.

My company paid for the MBA program in full partially because of the competency based system of Western Governers Universtiy as well as the low tuition cost.

So if you work full-time check to see if they have an education benefit.

Work your way up

Lets continue on with the nursing industry. They are really great at having different levels of nurses where you could spend one month in a program to get your feet wet as a certified nursing assistant. You could work as a CNA and save to get your LPN degree.

Once you have an LPN degree you can save to become a RN and from there get your FNP or DNP. You are able to work in the field and then go back to school to move up. This is really awesome and all of these degree as have programs that build upon each other!

Conclusion

Thanks for reading 🙂

Oh and if you’ve made it this far you’d love my youtube channel, go and subscribe! 🙂

Get 4 free Stonks with my webull: https://act.webull.com/ve/RRHICdoQbs6K/wd2/inviteUs/main

The Best Banana Bread EVER

The Best Banana Bread EVER

One of the best things you can do for living frugally is use up the food that you have that is going to go bad soon. In my case it’s always bananas. You can never get the correct amount of bananas. They are always eaten 

Structural Changes to a new construction home

Structural Changes to a new construction home

One of the best parts of your new construction home is being able to make it how you want (with in the limits of your builder)! Structural changes are ones that will be the biggest impact on your budget. I like to describe them as 

Picking a lot to build your home!

Picking a lot to build your home!

Picking your lot is probably one of the easier decisions to make in-home building/buying. It was for us when building our dream home. Generally, a new construction builder will have a set of lots that are zoned for their floor plans and they do this in sections.

Each section will be a couple of streets and have a set amount of homes they can build. The lot is the section of land that a home will be built on. They’ll have a map of the section and which streets have the permits and zoning.

Location

The first part you should think about is the location. This coincides with area and community, but make sure you like both! A few main points to cover from those other blog posts (linked below) are schools, stores, and services.

A little run down of those main points. Are the schools ones that you want to send your kids to? Don’t forget about extra curriculars! Is there any store you cannot live without? Costco, Walmart, or Starbucks. Services that you’ll need in the coming years? Most popular are medical, religious, and cell phone/internet.

With how the builder zones and permits the section you choose will already have the location picked.

Street

The next part is the individual street. Do you like the location of the street? The street may be busy, or it may be eerily quiet. If your home backs up to a street and has a street in front check both streets.

Corner homes can be nice, but if you want privacy that might not be the best option for you when picking a lot. Are you on a nice cul-de-sac? Does the street have a dead end? All things to think about.

Distance

Distance for your home also goes back to the three S’s. Schools, stores, and services. It might not be that you are too far, but that you might be too close. If you are too close then you would get some unwanted traffic.

Another point to consider is the distance between homes. Drive around previously built sections by your builder. Are they too close or too far for your liking? Many people dislike if their neighbors can see inside of their home.

Views

View are great! Not everyone wants to see just their neighbors home or another lot being built. Stand at your perspective lot and imagine seeing the views just about every day of your life for the next 10 years. If you are disgusted then its not the lot for you!

For us, we have 360 degree view of mountains and hills, farm land, an LDS Temple (always a beautiful building), and a lake. We know with the new construction some of these views will be taken away, but whatever we will keep is great!

Views also don’t just mean from your home, but also the neighborhood. We love walking as a family and our neighborhood has stunning views of all the things mentioned above. So we’ll never get bored.

Neighbors

With new construction, you don’t get to pick your neighbors or really know who they are until you move in and get to know them. When we picked our lot we tried to imagine how close the homes are and we were comfortable with that.

Another thing you can do is drive around the completed sections from the builder, that are close to your prospective lot. Do you see people that you wouldn’t mind spending time with or having your children play with their children. This is super indicative of who will be buying the lots next to you.

Finally, your builder may not let two of the same floor plans next to each other. Unless, you have two different faces on the home. For example, you may have the same floor plan but one home has rock sheeting on the front and the other home doesn’t.

Final Thoughts

Generally, picking the lot should be the easiest part of your build. Up to this point, you’ve done a lot of research on the area and the community and you are picking the exact location of your home.

If you’ve built or are going through the process of building a home, what do you think? Did I miss anything? Let me know down below!

Links and Things

Picking a floor plan for your home

Picking a floor plan for your home

When picking a floor plan it’s important to consider how you want to live your life. Where things are placed will drastically effect what makes your life easier or more difficult. Typically, each builder has a set of floor plans they will allow you to