Home & Garden Archives | The Sparrow's Home

You don’t have to emerge from the quarantines as a beautiful butterfly, but what a waste to come out the other side the same old caterpillar you were before

April 2, 2020 by Susan 10 Comments

However it’s coming to us, we’re all being given cocoon time here. Don’t look back after this experience, and wish that you had done more with the time you’ve been given.

They say the five stages of Spring, 2020 are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

That’s a little joke.

But it has been a wild ride, hasn’t it? While I wouldn’t go so far as to call the required self-isolation a gift, I do believe that we should try to learn something from difficult experiences.

I should pause here to tell you that this is not a guilt-trip to make you feel badly that you are staying in the bathroom extra long to get away from your kids or using chocolate as a coping mechanism. Both are valid responses to what we’re going through, in my opinion.

All I hope to do is be a little encouraging bird on your shoulder reminding you of what you already know:

You may look back after this experience, and wish that you had done more with the time you’ve been given.

Organize your pantry in one day on the cheap

August 19, 2019 by Susan Leave a Comment

A neat, clean and organized pantry for around $100 in supplies done in an evening! Doesn’t your whole world just feel better when you put things in order?

I’m not a perfectionist, and my house is no museum. But sometimes, enough is enough. You know? Over the years my closet kitchen pantry has been a source of frustration for me.

Here was the pattern:

Feel frustrated by messy and not-very-user-friendly pantry.
Take everything out and clean pantry.
Put everything back in.
Feel frustrated by clean and not-very-user-friendly pantry.

The only thing you need to know to be productive and get more done.

January 21, 2019 by Susan 5 Comments

Before you can find a productivity method that works for you, you need to know yourself. Being productive is more than just trying what everyone else is doing and crossing your fingers that something works.

Are you a master of excuses of why you don’t get enough done? Have you got a slew of reasons and justifications packed away to pull out at a moment’s notice? Friend, you are sabotaging yourself. All of that self-soothing is nothing more than avoidance techniques.

Ask yourself honestly, “Am I using these excuses to avoid making a change?”

There are so many methods and helps available to us that there’s really no good excuse to be unproductive, is there? So then why is it something that so many of us struggle with?

Ultimate Bundle of Homemaking Goodies (And Yes, That’s the Real Price!)

April 9, 2018 by Susan Leave a Comment

Ultimate bundle for the ultimate career…sounds about right to me!

I rarely use blog posts to share deals or sales, but this one is too good not to tell you about. I know you are going to love this as much as I do.

It’s a digital resource library, and it includes products like eBooks, online courses, printables and planners, audio files, membership sites and more, crammed into one unbelievable collection, for a ridiculously low price. Ultimate Bundles creates a lot of different bundles, but this particular one has been running for 6 years (with brand new products each year!), it’s their most popular bundle EVER and over 100,000 women have picked one up since 2013.

Starting a Website for the Non-Tech Savvy: 6 Don’ts You Need to Know About

October 16, 2017 by Susan 6 Comments

I think I am every tech support guy’s worst nightmare.

Literally every email I send to any tech help begins with “I apologize in advance because I am not tech savvy.”

And more than once when calling support I’ve had to say, “I’m really sorry I’m crying.”

Yeah, they have got to hate me. But, I get it done. Let the lesson here be: If Susan can do it, I can do it!

I’ve had a number of people ask me about the tech side of the blog, so I thought I’d put together a post for anyone who might be interested in starting a website of your own, or to share with someone who’s thinking of it.

Prepare with Simple Food Storage

August 24, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

Ben Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

I have no bomb shelter. I have no prepper storage facility. But I do have a healthy respect for the fact that a little bit of time now could make all the difference in the event of a future emergency. And much in the same way that we put money in savings and make freezer meals to have on hand for busy nights, preparing for a potential emergency is a wise step.

Have you had storms in your area that have taken out the power? How about floods or hurricanes? There are so many things that could cause you to have to venture out of your normal routine.