February Monthly Newsletter
www.enjoyrnr.com •
(484)903-9808
Can
you smell it? Breathe deep…ahh…I smell it. Love is in the air. With Valentine’s
Day around the corner, I see the gushing hearts and pink and red labels on
every package and it kind of makes me want to throw something across the
grocery aisle. It’s not the fact that I am a single mother that leads me to
clench my fist, but that we miss the whole point of such an important holiday.
The point is to love. Not just a romantic love, but a love for your neighbor,
your sister, your brother, your children and for the earth. This newsletter is
going to focus on just that, love, and maybe you can take one of these ideas,
run with it, and make a small difference in this loveless world.
Revitalize
with Rebekah is growing! As part of this growth, our website will be under
construction for the next month. If you would like to follow our progress and
see the exciting changes head over to www.enjoyrnr.com.
Also
in the next week we will be rolling out our new employee! So you just may be
able to catch a glimpse of her being trained and following us around!
Charity
of the Month
Thank
you for choosing Revitalize with Rebekah. Last month we made a donation of 5%
of our sales to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley
Organization
Idea of the Month
Memories – we all have them. We
have good ones, great ones and some we would like to forget. And for some,
those memories are daily items we push around the house. They could be in piles
in the corners, stacks of paper we set our coffee on, old shoe boxes in the
closet, or the child’s artwork that never ends like a dripping faucet. We can’t
forget these memories and we don’t want to let them go, but we just don’t have
enough room. So what is the solution?
Organize. Yes, that is the
solution. You then say to yourself, “Easy for you to say, you have that skill.”
Consider yourself blessed as I pass along the days, weeks, months and years
worth of experience with organizational trial and error for the most successful
ideas.
Totes. These boxes can change a
life. Now, how old are you? You don’t need to say it out loud if you fear
someone may hear, but let’s do some math. On average someone should fill a tote
for every 5 years they have been alive. So if you are a young 35, you are only
allowed 7 totes to fill your life in. I hear you trying to catch your breath.
Calm down, its okay, your children and partner count too and get their own
totes. Count how old they are and how many totes they are entitled to. Feel
better? BUT, if your husband only has one box from high school and one from
college, that doesn’t mean that you can claim his extra 5 totes! You get only
what you have. Now, let’s talk about what’s worth putting away.
Take
a step back out of your emotional whirlwind of “I remember…” or “But I had that
when I…” You need to view your items as if they aren’t yours. If it is broken,
toss it. If it doesn’t resemble what it once was, toss it. If you can’t
remember why you kept it, toss it. If it is something that is supposed to be
used and you have never used it, but keep it because “so and so” gave it to you
on that day you were stuck in bed….toss it. If it doesn’t fit…prioritize. It
would be ideal if you could label the boxes from year to year, or “college days”
or whatever time frame it was in your life, but sometimes, there is no label
other then “memories”. That’s okay.
Your
children. Now they are 5 and you open their closet full of baby shower items and
their toddler years of outfits and shoes that are just too cute to give to the
Salvation Army. This is when you need to call us. You may need to be talked out
of keeping that closet full of memories. It’s hard. I am going to give you
that. But if it doesn’t fit in a tote…it has to go. You don’t need it and you
are about to make a lifetime of more memories, and you need room for them. Pick
your favorite 5 outfits, one for each year. To see how they have grown is
priceless, but when you open that box in the future and you are pulling out
outfit after outfit, you will be upset you did so.
Art
work. Yes we all love our children’s scribble (when it ends up on paper), and
that glued macaroni sheet is adorable! But do you have 10 of the same thing? If
so, pick one. Are there dates on it? Ages? Is it the best of the pile? If no, toss. Now go get yourself a good
durable portable filer from Staples. Make cute labels on the dividers “Age 2”,
“Age 3” etc. Sort and place, accepting only the amount that would fit in a
typical 2 sided folder. If it’s more, you need to prioritize. This is easy to
keep around the house, and as the papers come home of good grades or a piece of
art that is actually too nice to keep on the fridge too long in fear of
splatters, you can quickly go to the portable filing box and insert where it
belongs! Treasured forever!
Now
take a few memories of your children, partner or family member, and just show
them in the spirit of love this month, but don’t forget to put it back!
Cleaning
Idea of the Month
Some
of you may just skip over this section in light of the fact that you have a
cleaning lady come every 2 weeks and you say to yourself, “I don’t need this”.
But oh you do! In the heart of love this month think of your child, or your
partner. Where do their fingers go? Where are their items being stacked? Is it
clean? Some ideas:
Partner:
v
Clean
out their car with a love note remaining that says, “You de-stress my life,” or
“I know you drive safer with a clean car”.
v
Clean
out their “change jar” by taking it to the bank and get bills instead and stuff
the bills back into their jar.
v
Clean
up their workshop with the saw dust and random tools thrown about, or their
sewing area full of string and cloth scraps. Leave it looking new.
Children:
v
Clean out under their beds and hang a note that
says, “No monsters under here I checked.”
v
Toss their old toothbrush and get a new one and
put a note that says, “Looking forward to your kiss.”
v
Clean their shoes with an old toothbrush and
detergent and leave a note on them that says. “Go get ‘em dirty.”
Craft of the Month
A “love” craft?!
The list can go on and on. However this one is the whipped cream and cherry on
the sundae. You will need:
v
Red/pink/white construction paper
v
Scissors
v
Tape and string
v
Markers
Let the children make a mess and expect to just sweep after the fact.
Let them cut out 2 hearts to each piece of paper and let their mind go. On each
heart have yourself, and your children write what they love about each other,
their parents, their teachers, their church, their school, their dog etc. and
just hang them. Put them on your windows, your cabinets, and maybe the ones
about their siblings or parent you can place them lovely in their bedrooms.
This is a great project to see what we are thankful for and also great
decorations to remind us of what really matters.
Healthy Idea of the Month
I love the fact
that this is the season that I get a beautiful box with all the sweetest treats
coated in my favorite indulgence, chocolate. However, I cringe after I realize
that I ate the whole box in an hour. How to avoid this? Simple, love without
thinking taste buds. I know it’s hard to not try to please your loved ones with
sweet treats and scrumptious meals, but let’s think outside the “V-day” box.
Does your loved one need new batteries in their watch? Toy truck? Doll car? Or
does your loved one use only a certain mug? Cup? Glass? Post a love note on it.
Do sweet small things you know they would appreciate and number the notes. And
have them wake up to a small Valentine’s card that says, “Life is like a box of
chocolates, you will never know what you’re going to get. P.S. There are 7 of
them.” And the excitement is better than chocolates, and these are memories
that will last forever.
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