Healthy Lifestyle

Ditching Homeschool Mom Guilt

I don’t think we are doing enough in our homeschool. I think we are doing too much. I think we need to skip taking a week off. Do any of those sound familiar? Homeschool mom guilt is strong, it is overwhelming at times.

Ditching Homeschool Mom Guilt

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

It can also sound like: my child isn’t read yet, or writing cursive, or play piano, etc. Maybe your homeschool mom guilt isn’t focused on homeschooling but are about your child being potty-trained, sleeping through the night, etc. The guilt is always there in the back of your mind.

I am deep in the homeschool mom guilt rut. We aren’t going crazy with lessons, they are learning, and I’m not afraid of them falling behind, but the guilt is still there. Why? Because we aren’t doing more, we’re not doing a lot of hands-on learning right now. Because I have a lot on my plate right now, and we’re just living life and then adding school.

Homeschool mom guilt is often caused by a feeling of failure. As though we are failing our children. Comparison can be a large factor as well. Whether you are comparing to homeschool families you know, or those you see online. Please don’t compare yourself to others, especially those online.

Science Experiment E-Book

Shop now

How to Resolve Mom Guilt

There are many ways to that you can bring yourself back to feeling like the great mom that you are. You will most likely know what works best for you more than anyone else. But just to refresh your list and maybe give you some new ideas, please refer to the fun ideas below:

Ways to get a little TLC:

watch either some TV or a movie, something light funny perhaps
talk to someone – your partner, a friend or family member
Read a book
Take a nap or go to bed early
Take a relaxing bath
Listen to music, dance around
Have a cup of tea or a glass of wine

Self care isn’t about just taking a bath, it’s about caring about yourself. But maybe that bath is what it takes to relax you for a bit, for your stress level to come down, and for you to see the whole picture. The whole of your homeschool not just the moment that you are living right now, this day, this week, or this month.

Take a Step Back

I find it helpful to keep a periodic log of what we do in our homeschool each month. This gives me something tangible to look at when I feel like we aren’t doing enough. I also take a look through my Instagram to see what we have been doing. You might not think of a trip to the Zoo as doing homeschool, but that trip leads to them picking up different animal books from the library, which has them learning even more. Or the documentary on XYZ that you watched together.

It’s ok, great even, to take a break from formal lessons, especially if your homeschool lessons are what is causing you to feel guilt, whether you are fighting to get through them, or to just get started. It could be a sign that these are not for you and/or your kids.

Have a homeschool movie day and watch documentaries on the topics your learning about or your kids are interested in. We have been watching a lot of YouTube videos on what it is like to work in a zoo and what you can use a degree in zoology for.

Eco-Friendly Alternatives for Your Home

by Ashley Mullen

We often don’t take the time to think about where our products come from and the impact they have on our planet. Things like everyday kitchen gadgets, cleaning supplies, and health care tools all have eco-friendly alternatives that can help reduce or eliminate waste in your daily life.

Eco-Friendly Alternatives for Your Home

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

I have been thinking more about reusable and more eco-friendly products for in our home. I want to share the things that we have been using, and the ways that we have been saving money by being more eco-friendly.

In the Kitchen

These are things we do, with the exception of the coffee filters. I would love to try the reusable coffee filters but at least here they are compostable.

Silicone Muffin Liners – my favorite thing to bake muffins and cupcakes in
Silicone baking mats
K-cup Filter
Tea Infuser – all we use here
Coffee Filter

Cleaning

I have been using dryer balls for too many years to count. I got my first set of wool dryer balls as a giveaway that I won if my memory is correct.

Dryer balls
Dish scrubbies – I had no idea about these, I love my set.

Sign up to join my Resource Library mailing list and you’ll be among the first to know about new items in the FREE resource library, new posts, and more!

Bathroom

I love my make up remover pads. I crocheted mine a few years ago, and I always feel like my make up actually came off compared to commercial make-up remover clothes.

Baby Stuff

I used and loved these with my last two babies. Fluffy (cloth diaper) bums are just so cute, plus there are as many awesome prints.

Be Eco-Friendly On the Go

I use all of these. I love my multiple coffee mugs. I love the coffee cozies that I have crocheted as well though I don’t use them that often anymore.

My rule when grocery shopping is that if I forgot my bags in the vehicle then we carry them out. I am good at returning my bags to the truck so 90% of the time I have bags.

Fun Herbs for Kids to Grow in Their Garden

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

This year, we’re planting a fun herb garden together that I know my kids will love. Because they love pizza. When we bought our house, my girls were so excited to be able to have a garden to grow our own food. While the excitement didn’t translate too well to weeding our garden last summer, for any of us, we still got a bit of food out of it, lots of green onion which we love.

Fun Herbs for Kids to Grow in Their Garden

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

My biggest and best idea if I do say so myself is to plant a pizza garden. In a family of pizza lovers, you know this is going to be a hit.

I have been growing herbs in pots for a few years now, and they are, in reality, really easy to grow. They just need to be water regularly, like everyday. A little water everyday, and you get beautiful, flavorful herbs.

Different Way to Plant

We usually start ours from seeds inside, but you can also pick them up at your local garden centre.

You could choose to grow each of your herbs in different small pots. These could be moved inside once fall comes to continue your growing season.

You could grow them all together in a larger pot.

Or.

You could grow them in the ground in a circle garden. Grow your pizza herb garden in the shape of a pizza. Divide your herbs into sections, or slices of pizza, making them fun herbs to grow for your pizza.

Different Fun Herbs to Grow

Basil – for the fullest flavor, add fresh basil to dishes within the last 5 or 10 minutes of cooking time. Use fresh basil in tomato dishes, soups, salads, sauces, and pasta.

Oregano – the leaves of oregano are the most commonly used part of the plant, but strangely, the aroma and flavor of the leaves is far greater when the herb is dried than when the leaves are fresh.

Parsley – I like having this one growing all year long, it makes a beautiful garnish.

Thyme – an evergreen herb with culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses.

Chives – These are growing wild in my yard, can’t kill it off by mowing it, and my kids grab pieces of it while out playing just to “snack”. We also dug up two flower pots worth and have it on our walkway. It is beautiful with the green of the chives and the purple flowers.

Rosemary – perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle

Bonus

Grow some tomatoes. With your own tomatoes and herbs you have everything to make your own homemade pizza sauce.

Plus when they flower, your children can pick them off, which helps to produce more leaves.

Little Girls Hair Elastic Roped

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

While we are a homeschooling family now, I still worry about lice (ewww!) especially in my oldest, her hair is so thick, thicker than mine or anyone else’s in our home. Girls hair tend to end up in their face, flying every which way, and all of that.

Now instead of school hair we have gymnastic hair, more of a keeping it out of their face rather than avoiding lice.

Little Girls Hair Elastic Roped

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Start by getting you hair elastics ready… don’t wait until you have hair in one hand and you are trying to get elastics out of a container or bag.

The one type of elastics I use are the rubber ones, they work for both girls and I’m not worried about them breaking or getting lost, in fact, I’ll cut them sometimes if the girls have gone to bed with them in their hair.

It is always easier to work with wet or damp hair, so we spray it down with plain ol’tap water in a spray bottle and brush through.

Divide hair down the middle and start sectioning off hair.

The sections of hair can be smaller than we have here, she chose how many she wanted, and she isn’t a huge fan of Momm doing her hair.

Do one side completely before moving to do the other. Simply try to match the other side to your first.

This can be done with medium length hair Austin’s is just to her shoulders but would easily be able to be done with longer hair. Trying to do this on shorter hair might be more challenging.

Clutter: 130+ Things to Toss Out Now

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

New year, new you, right? Get started by cleaning up, and gather together these things to toss out now, have less clutter in your home, feel great about making some donations, and maybe have a little extra cash in your pocket from things you might sell.

Think you can keep your home this tidy all year long? Or will the clutter build up again. It always builds up around here.

Clutter: 130+ Things to Toss Out Now

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Receipts you no longer need
Puzzles with missing pieces
Old nail files
Broken jewelry
Dictionaries – when was the last time you looked at a dictionary?
Phone books – if you have them, we don’t get them here
Bridesmaid dresses
Cookbooks you’ve never used
Vacuum cleaner attachments that you don’t even know what purpose they serve
Wire hangers and/or bags from the dry cleaner
Hair ties that are too stretched out to use
Worn out flip flops
Old sunglasses that you don’t wear or are scratched
Old remote controls that you don’t think control anything in your house anymore
Prescription eyeglasses that are no longer your prescription
Incomplete decks of playing cards
Allen wrenches from assembling furniture
Take out menus (these are all online now)
Free promotional items you’ll never use (tshirts, pens, random knick knacks)
Unmatched gloves
Chargers for old electronics
Old business cards
Magnets (unless you currently use them)
Broken Christmas lights
Chopsticks and sauce packets from take out food
Clothes that haven’t fit you in years
Carpet remnants
Filled coloring books
Unmatched socks
Scratched nonstick pans
Dried up nail polish
Duplicate or bad photos
Umbrellas that are bent or broken
Cosmetic bags you got for free but don’t use
Old textbooks from school
Old papers or notebooks that you won’t need again
Anything you hate to wear
Books you’ll never read again – consider donating to a library!
Musical instruments you no longer play
Flower vases you never use
Anything your kids have outgrown that you don’t intend to save for your grand kids
Junk mail
Expired coupons
Old computers – wipe the data first
Old cell phones and their accessories
Random knick knacks
Old party supplies you won’t use again
Old bills or paperwork that you no longer need
Old makeup – you should only use one mascara for 6 months I believe
Expired sunscreen
Key chains you don’t use
Old name tags or badges
Excess pens and pencils – if they are are low on ink, toss them!
Pieces of chalk that are so small you can barely use them
Hair products you never use – old hair sprays or products you bought to try once but never liked
Old cleaning supplies
Extra shoe laces
Combination locks that you can’t remember the combo to
Travel mugs that leak or you never use
Extra buttons when you don’t even know how to sew
Broken ear buds or headphones
Ticket stubs from movies or concerts
Markers that are dried out or no longer have caps
Old phone covers or screen protectors
Bookmarks – the paper ones that often come in books and never use them
Cookie cutters that you haven’t used in 3+ years
Extra organizers that you don’t use
Unexpired food you don’t intend to eat – consider donating non-expired pantry items to your local food pantry
CDs you’ll never listen to again – consider donating to your local library
Expired medication
Old sneakers
Board games with missing pieces that make it impossible to play
Anything that no longer works
Unloved stuffed animals – consider donating
Worn out underwear and bras
Old teeth whitening trays or strips
DVDs you’ll never watch again – consider donating to your local library
Curling irons or hair straighteners that you don’t use
Old lip balm
Belts that are worn out or no longer fit
Extra measuring tapes
Plastic cutlery
Recalled baby items
Miscellaneous ribbons or strings
Old hard candy (if you don’t even know where it came from, it probably won’t be that yummy anymore)
Video games you’ll never play again – consider donating to your library
Stretched out bobby pins
Wall posters you’ll never display again
Old greeting cards
Frayed or stained towels and washcloths – consider donating to a local animal shelter
Old magazines
Gift cards with a $0 balance
Extra cups or mugs when your cabinets are always busting full with them
Empty boxes
Old perfume
Duplicate kitchen utensils
Wrapping paper scraps that have been sitting with your gift wrapping supplies for years now
Used candles or new candles that you won’t burn
Accessories you never wear
Old stereos or boom boxes
Old lotions and moisturizers
Any decorative item you don’t love
Store reward cards you don’t use
Old sheets that are past their prime – consider donating to a local animal shelter
Old blankets that haven’t been removed from your linen closet in 5 years – consider donating to a local animal shelter
Broken hangers
Hotel soap you brought home from a trip 5 years ago
Tupperware with lost lids
Anything that you are keeping because you feel guilty about spending money on it
Crafting supplies you haven’t used in a year or more – consider donating to daycare or school
Old and flattened pillows
Flashlights that don’t properly work anymore
Any kind of craft project you’ve never finished – sewing, scrap booking, etc.
Memorabilia items that don’t really mean much to you
Old information packets you no longer need
Suitcases you haven’t used in 10 years
Expired food
Broken or unused kids’ toys
Candle holders you don’t love or use
Broken appliances
Product samples you won’t use
Exercise equipment you don’t use
Furniture you never use
Broken or unused pet toys
Hats, scarves, or gloves you don’t wear – consider donating
Gifts you don’t want or need
Stockings with runs in them
Old batteries
An orphan earring that you can’t find the mate to
Outdated electronics
Dried up glue
Used ink cartridges
Old calendars and personal planners
Fabric scraps you haven’t used
Extra twisty ties in your kitchen drawers
Anything broken that you don’t intend to fix

What is the one thing you need to get rid of to reduce the clutter?

Remember, one persons clutter can be another treasure, such as non-profit organizations.

Healthy Lifestyle

Ditching Homeschool Mom Guilt

Ditching Homeschool Mom Guilt