YouTubers I Watch

I'm so thankful to have a place to stay while I wait on my future home. My realtor says the current owners should be out of the house by the 23rd which is closing day, though it's unsure if the house will be move-in ready, since they have a cleaning crew scheduled to come in on the 24th. In the meantime I'm blessed to be staying with my daughter and son-in-law at their little villa. I spend my day making preparations, lists of things that I need to do or will have to do once we get to the new house. I prepare meals for myself and my son E (my daughter prefers to cook for herself and her husband), clean up the kitchen and the bathroom we're using, and...that's it. Oh, and I walk the dog. It's boring, y'all. I'm used to being busy around the house, but there's not a lot to do in my daughter's home. Instead, I watch way too much television.

Now, by "watch television" I'm not talking about network television. In my opinion there isn't anything on there that's worth watching. I also don't mean cable tv. I cut out cable years ago, and my son-in-law didn't have it before or after getting married. My daughter has Disney + which I can watch, and occasionally I do indulge in some of the classics: Cinderella, Snow White, Swiss Family Robinson, those sorts of oldies but goodies. I have Hulu and watch that as well: 20/20, or I'll watch one or two (or 12) episodes of House Hunters. But generally what I watch is YouTube. 

There are several different types of channels I enjoy on YouTube. There's the design channels like Kinwoven Home that teach a lot of the design basics. There's cleaning channels, those that show a typical home cleaning day and those that teach good cleaning techniques, like Clean My Space. Cooking channels are some of my favorites; you can watch the Food Network giants like Paula Deen, Alton Brown, even Rachael Ray, but I prefer to watch the typical housewife making her family's favorites or trying out new recipes and giving her honest opinion. Of course there's the beauty channels, but there's just the one that I still watch after all these years, Shelbey Wilson. No, wait, that's not true, I still watch KathleenLights because she's based in Miami and she's hilarious. But my favorite YouTubers aren't the big names. They're the ones that like the same things I like: simple, intentional living, on a budget, who try to honor God with their channels but also like to have fun while sharing their lives and their gifts. You don't get that on network television. 

So, here are some of my favorite YouTube channels, in no particular order (though my favorites will probably be listed first):

1. Karrie Lynn (second channel: Cleaning with Karrie) - Karrie Lynn is a young mama of two living in Central Florida. She started her YouTube channel whenever she was living in a single wide mobile home in Georgia. I started watching her whenever she was moving into her current home, around the same time I moved into my townhouse. What I love about Karrie is that she decorates her home beautifully on a tight budget. She buys used furniture that looks sad and turns it into a high end looking piece. She and her husband Dylan have built furniture even though she admits they'd never done anything like that before. She's extremely talented while still being down to earth. Hands down one of my very favorite YouTube channels. 

2. Moss Family TV (second channel: Heaven's Rhythm) - For anyone who likes down home Southern style cooking and hospitality, this is the channel to watch. Mrs. Falon takes care of her five kids (ranging in age from 1 to 16), her husband, her home, and even though she's got her hands full with homeschooling and posting on YouTube daily, she's always got the sunniest disposition. She's just as happy making pinto beans and cornbread as she is trying a complicated recipe, and she's not afraid to admit when supper doesn't turn out like she'd hoped. This is a family that loves Jesus and everyone around them. If you enjoy good old Southern gospel, they have a music channel called Heaven's Rhythm. It's a family band, led by dad Titus Moss. Totally worth listening to.

3. Till Vacuum Do Us Part (second channel: Ashley and Chase) - It's strange that I would like this channel so much, since Ashley's design style is so different from mine. I like more a more traditional while still rustic look (sprinkled with some farmhouse), and Ashley is all about glam. There's lots of crystal and shiny pieces that would not go with my decor style at all. The reason I like this channel so much is that, like Karrie Lynn, Ashley likes taking the old and making it new. I've seen her take an old dresser and glam it up so it looks like a showroom piece. She also has lots of cleaning hacks and great suggestions for both cleaning and decorating, regardless of your style. It goes to show we don't have to like all the same things to learn from each other.

4. The Minimal Mom - I'm not a minimalist. At least I never thought I was, until my townhouse sold the first day it was shown. My house prior to that also sold the day after it was listed. My realtor told me it was because I kept my decor to a minimum, which made the house look bigger and show better. I credit Dawn from The Minimal Mom for helping me declutter and live more intentionally. I realized that the more stuff I had, the more I had to clean, the more I had to organize, and the less time I had for other things I wanted to do. Granted, I enjoy cleaning and organizing (yes, I'm weird). But I don't want that to be the only thing in my life. For years I worked five days a week and cleaned all weekend long. I'm over that. For me, living intentionally means keeping only the things I use and love and getting rid of the rest. Dawn breaks it down simply and gives great tips. On Sundays she and her twin sister Diana do a devotional and talk about their faith. I call that a win-win.

5. Mandy In The Making - Here's another cooking channel that I absolutely love. I've tried a couple of Mandy's recipes, and they've been approved by my picky son E which says a lot. Mandy will usually test three recipes a week, two that she's researched and believes her family will like, and one Subbie Supper, in which her subscribers send in recipes and she selects one for her channel. She goes through the recipes step by step, gives her honest opinion, and if there's anything she changes or would change in the future she lets us know. Her husband Steven helps out in the kitchen and they are so fun to watch! 

There are many more YouTubers I could list, but I'm starting with my top five. I think I'll make this the first of several posts. There's great talent out there, and I want to give props where they're due. I'll be back with more soon!

The Week In Review

Years ago I kept a log of what had gone on during my week. I'd been thinking about whether or not I wanted to start it up again, and finally decided I'd give it a shot. Here's a snapshot of the past week.

My son E had his first full week of college. He graduated high school (homeschool) two years ago, but couldn't decide what he wanted to do. I know many kids go off to college and begin studying only to change majors several times or leave before finishing. I wanted E to be a bit more sure of what he wanted to do before starting. He finally decided he'd like to try digital arts so that eventually he can go into gaming. I like the idea that digital arts includes many different employment possibilities for the future so he doesn't have to feel stuck if he decides to try something else. He's doing mostly gen ed's now which he isn't thrilled about but it's part of school. All his classes are online - which is what he did all throughout high school so he's adapting well. So far, anyway. It's only been a week.

I ordered a couple of dresses off of Amazon. I usually prefer going to an actual store and trying things out, but that isn't possible right now with the pandemic. Since I've ordered dresses from them before I decided to go with styles and sizes I'd bought in the past, a style I like because it's comfortable while still pretty.

I wanted some fall color dresses now that we're coming into September, even though here in Florida it won't feel like fall for a couple of months yet. The dresses were both from Amazon but from two different companies. I was most excited and most disappointed with the one on the right. I love the burgundy color and the flowers, and the dress fits great, but it's missing one key component: it doesn't have pockets! I'd bought this style of dress before, though from a different company, and it has pockets. The dress on the left, black with those gorgeous shades of orange and rust flowers, also has pockets. I went back and looked at the description and it doesn't say that it has pockets, so it was just my assumption. I'm keeping the dress because it really is pretty. The fabric is 95% rayon and 5% spandex, giving it a t-shirt kind of feel, nice and light for our Florida weather. 

Before we moved to this new house I purged a lot of my decor because I was downsizing and I knew I wasn't going to need as much stuff (or have anywhere to put it). What I had was good enough for last fall, but now that I have the office/guest room completed, I knew I wanted to add a few items to my fall decor. I went to the Dollar Tree and TJ Maxx on Monday. TJ Maxx offers 10% off on Mondays to anyone 55 and older, and I love taking advantage of that deal.

Since there were two separate living spaces in our old house, a formal living room and a family room, I was able to have two different color schemes for my fall decorations. Both were in the modern farmhouse style, but the living room was done in cool tones of blues and greens while the family room had the traditional oranges and rusts. Whenever we found this house with its sage green accent walls I decided to keep the cool toned decor and declutter the traditional items. It looked really nice but I miss the traditional colors and wanted to incorporate some into my decor again. One of the easiest (and most inexpensive) ways to do this is with florals - Dollar Tree florals to be precise. I love that I can find gorgeous flowers in all different colors at the Dollar Tree without spending a whole lot of money. Here is what I picked up for $11.00:

This is more than just a cute little Hello Autumn sign. It's my color scheme. It does just what I wanted to do: mixed traditional orange with cool blues and greens. The orange is a little lighter than the traditional orange, perhaps, but it works. I used this as a jumping off point to pick my florals:

Light oranges and yellows are so beautiful this time of year! Our trees don't turn all the vibrant colors like they do up north; some do, but not till after Thanksgiving. This lets me bring those colors into the home, and they look so pretty against the cool blue of the blanket.

For the dining room I decided on a darker, richer, more formal color. These are even darker in person, more like a burgundy than dark rust color. I know they will stand out against the lighter colors in the house.

At TJ Maxx I scored some throw pillows that were $19.99 for the pair.

I had seen these in the store about a month ago. I'd even put them in my buggy, but then I put them back because it was an impulse buy and I'm trying not to purchase things that way. I knew the colors would be perfect, but I couldn't remember what I already had in my decor stash for fall. This time I went to TJ Maxx knowing that I wanted a couple more pillows either for the sectional in the living room or for the futon in the office. I was so glad I found these again - they were the last ones! These are great quality pillows, and the covers are removable so I can throw them in the wash if need be. They ended up being $9.99 each which is a steal, and the colors work with all my other decor.

On Thursday, after grocery shopping, I stopped by our local Dollar General. Believe it or not, I've never been in a Dollar General, but I saw Mrs. Falon from Moss Family TV on YouTube do a small decor haul of Dollar General items and I figured I'd go take a look. Our Dollar General had half an aisle's worth of fall decor that had already been picked over, so I was not impressed. I picked up these two little pumpkins...

...but I decided it's not worth going out of my way to go to Dollar General when Dollar Tree is closer and had a better selection. They were $2 each, one for my house and one for my daughter.

And those are this week's highlights. Off for some rest to prepare for the new week. God bless y'all.

2019 When God Closes A Door, He Opens A Window (Part 1)

So many of God's blessings are eternal. Salvation, forgiveness, life, are all promises of God that are unchanging. Some blessings, however, are for a season. Our children are babies, then they're toddlers, then school-aged kids, teenagers, and eventually they grow up, leaving the nest and starting families of their own. Each season is a treasure, even if the transition can be difficult and even painful (empty nesters know what I'm talking about). Other seasons of change are unexpected. That's the kind of change I experienced in 2019. Sort of...

When J and I divorced I was able to keep the house that had been my dream home for 16 years. He had purchased a house for himself, so he was able to keep his property and I got to keep the family home (though he was not happy about that). My lawyer was happy for me, but he warned me that I'd have to get a full-time job to be able to pay all the expenses of the house once child support ended. What came out of my mouth was unexpected, even to me: I told him if it got to be too heavy a burden, I would sell it. He looked at me a bit incredulously and stated that purchasing a new home would be just as expensive unless I downsized considerably. I left it at that and said no more.

At the time we were 4 people living in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home complete with formal and informal living spaces and a large backyard. It was comfortable, it was familiar, and it was right for us. But as I mentioned before, children grow up and start lives of their own. It's the natural progression of life. In 2017, when my son announced he was moving to Central Florida, I felt in my heart that the home I'd now lived in for 17 years wouldn't be my home for much longer, and I needed to prepare. I didn't know what God intended for me. I wasn't even 100% sure that I would be leaving my house. But I decided I could prepare for the possibility of a move in a way that, if it didn't happen, it would still benefit me and my family. And so the journey towards simplifying my home began.

It started in my closet. I had not one but two walk-in closets and there were clothes in both, clothes that didn't get worn for one reason or another: they didn't fit anymore; they weren't the most comfortable; I didn't particularly like them but I didn't want to get rid of them. I had decluttered some things before, but I realized I was asking myself the wrong questions. "Will I ever need this in the future?" was one question that made me keep a lot of "what ifs" in my wardrobe. I needed a mind shift. As I prayed and asked God for guidance, He showed me that a time was coming when my beloved home would be too big for me, too much space, too much work, too much of a financial burden. What I would need for the future was something easier to manage. Decluttering took on a new meaning, and I started to ask myself, "If I moved tomorrow, would I want to pack this up and find a place for it in a new home?" I reduced my wardrobe by more than half. Where I'd needed two closets for all my clothes before, now I didn't even fill one closet. Shoes, jewelry, accessories, all were trimmed down to what I needed, and when I was done I went in and decluttered some more.

Around this time I found some YouTube channels on minimalism and simplifying the home that intrigued me. Folks like Joshua Becker, Sarah at Abundantly Minimal, and Dawn from The Minimal Mom, taught me that I could not only survive with less, I could thrive with less. I learned a lot about gratitude and the trappings of excess. I was ready to make some drastic changes. Whether God moved me or kept me put, I would learn to live with less. I'd be thankful for what I had and intentional about what I brought into my house. With this new commitment, I went to work.

I slowly decluttered my kitchen, my linen closet, household cleaners, decor, even Christmas decorations. Some days were harder than others. I made regular trips to Goodwill and tried to remember them whenever I was at Target (which is one of my biggest temptations). As I reduced the inventory of my home, it felt lighter, brighter, cleaner, and more enjoyable. I started to question if God was really going to move me, or if the moving He was referring to was moving things out of my house that I didn't need so I could focus more on Him.  

There were things, however, that I couldn't change or get rid of. Regardless of how many things were in it, my house still had to be cleaned and maintained. Not only the inside of the house, but the outside needed plenty of attention. A 9,000 square foot lot may seem small to some, but in my neighborhood it's considered oversized. It would cost about $100 a month to have a lawn company come in to mow the grass, trim and cleanup, which was not in my budget. My oldest son had moved away, and my youngest son has severe allergies to grass and trees. My daughter was working and had no desire to be outside working in the yard all weekend, so it was left to me to do all the maintenance of the yard myself.

I will admit I liked doing yardwork sometimes. It's good exercise, and satisfying to see how pretty everything looks when you're done. But as time passed, it seemed like the work became harder. Picking up palm tree branches twice a week and cutting them up to put in the trash. Mowing the back and front yards twice a month during winter and every 10 days in summer. Doing all the trim around the house and the fence. Weeding the front yard. Each time I went out I'd work for anywhere between 1.5 to 3 hours. The day before my daughter's bridal shower, which we held at the house, I worked 4 hours on the backyard, front yard, driveway, entryway; I took out a dead bush from in front of the house (thankfully my neighbor saw me struggling and came to help). Every time I was done my allergies would be raging, and my body would ache for 2 days straight. It was too much. 

But it wasn't until the beginning of 2019 that I became convinced that my time at my home grew short. J was finished paying child support in June of the previous year, and my income took a hit. I was basically living paycheck to paycheck but still able to pay all my bills. Then 2019 came. My health insurance went up. Then my life insurance. Then my car insurance. Then my homeowner's insurance. Which meant my house payment also went up. I'd started at my new job in September and while the pay was a bit higher, it wasn't enough to cover all these expenses going up at the same time. God provides, of that I'm certain, and I knew He would provide now. Go time had come. Literally.  

2019 When God Closes A Door (Part 3)

Our kitchen was remodeled in 2006. We removed the builder grade cabinets that were cheap and not in the best condition, and replaced them with similar cabinets built by my then brother-in-law. My ex-husband didn't want to redo the kitchen because he thought it was a waste of money, even though the cabinet under the sink had gotten wet causing the Formica to warp. He grudgingly agreed but it would be done by his brother to save money. You know the old saying, You get what you pay for? Yeah, it's accurate.

When his brother came to ask what we wanted in the kitchen, I was surprised at how much J insisted on certain things when he spent no time in the kitchen other than to get a drink of water. I did all the cooking, all the cleaning, all the organizing. I was pretty clear on what I would like in the kitchen, and losing cabinet space was not one of the options. But he was adamant that he wanted one of the cabinets converted into a trash cabinet. I conceded, though I knew this meant I would lose both a cabinet and a drawer. I asked for glass doors on the cabinets where the dishes were kept; he insisted on glass doors on the mug cabinet as well. I got to pick the colors, and in my mind the cabinets would be wood. Unbeknownst to me, he told his brother to make laminate cabinets. In other words, we were switching cheap cabinets for cheap cabinets. The "upgrade" was Thermofoil cabinet doors. If you're not aware, Thermofoil (or RTF) is medium density fiberboard (MDF) covered in vinyl that is baked on. It's promoted as a rigid surface that doesn't scratch. My experience with them was not a good one. Not only is the surface NOT scratch resistant, the RTF began to peel after a few years. I should have been excited when the kitchen was done; I'd dreamt of redoing the kitchen for years. Instead I was disappointed and unable to protest because it was family and everyone else thought it was amazing and beautiful and to complain would be ungracious. So I decided to make the best of it. 

While I was married much of the decor were items J had brought from Nicaragua. It wasn't my taste but he lived in the house too and marriage is about compromise. Once we separated I packed up all his knick-knacks and simplified.

During the kitchen reno, we finished upgrading to all stainless steel appliances. After he left, I re-converted the trash cabinet into a regular storage cabinet and bought a stainless steel trash can from Costco. Above the cabinets, where all his chachkies had been, I put a few fake plants. I turned the mug cabinet into a spice cabinet and decluttered most of the mugs and glassware.

 

I also simplified the countertops. Other than a few necessary things I kept the decor to a minimum. A couple of vases with flowers, a bowl of fruit, some jars on the small shelves beside the cabinet, and the kitchen looked tidy and neat. 

The decluttering didn't stop in the kitchen. Throughout the house I was being ruthless. I streamlined my closet to only the clothes and shoes I actually wore. I got rid of decor I'd had for years but didn't care for anymore or felt it was excessive. I went through my DVD collection, CD collection, photographs, Christmas decor, linen closet, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, and I got rid of bags and bags of "stuff". It wasn't because I was embracing minimalism, though I have become more minimal in the past few years. No, this was a prompting of the Holy Spirit that I needed to prepare for a change. I didn't know when this change was going to happen, but I did know it was going to be big. And soon.