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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Review - Guiding the House

Do you need encouragement in organizing your home?

Am I the only one frantically waving my hand? Organization appears a goal that I will never fully meet.


Recently I had the privilege of reviewing Guiding the House, A Homemaker's Organizer of Days and Duties by Dianna Overholt. Designed as a tool to give a busy homemaker a place to record the practical details of her home, Guiding the House contains six tabbed sections and over a 180 pages of charts, forms, and inspiration.

Though I've never met Dianna Overholt, I feel like I know her from the pages of Keepers At Home magazine. Every issue, I flip through the pages to find Dianna's organization articles. Not only is Dianna full of practical advice but she humorously shares her own failures (like the mushroom found growing in her bathroom!) I was thrilled to hear that Dianna was designing an organizer for homemakers. At the beginning of each section of Guiding the House, Dianna shares encouragement and practical ideas.

I have a three-ring binder that has served as my homemaker binder for years. But it has become stuffed with all sorts of everything and is no longer useful. How refreshing to find a beautiful, well-designed planner all ready to fill out.



Though many of the pages in Guiding the House are specific (garden planning sheets, clothing inventory  menu planning, freezer inventory,  cleaning charts, etc) many of the pages are designed to be flexible. Dianna gives suggestions on how to use the pages but allows you to adapt them to work for you.



I even love the dandelion theme of the book, which reminds me to cheerfully serve where God has placed me.



Guiding the House also includes monthly and weekly pages dated for 2013 to be used as a planner or family diary.

Guiding the House is 10.5 by 8.5. The cost is $16.95 plus $4 shipping.

Dianna  is giving a $3 discount for orders placed before October 15th. Email her at ozarkfamilybooks@gmail.com

Guiding the House is also available from Amazon,  Living Waters in Canada, and Christian Light Publications. But you'll have to purchase from Dianna directly for the special discount.

Thanks, Dianna for allowing me to review your lovely organizer and introduce it to other homemakers!

Now if only there was an organizer that could clean out my freezer...
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8 comments:

  1. Bevy @ Treasured Up and PonderedSeptember 27, 2012 at 4:11 PM

    I laughed out loud at the "mushroom growing in the bathroom" line.

    That would be me.

    Yikes.

    I might just have to get this book. Doing a more thorough, "consistent" cleaning of my home is a MUST... and one I've decided to work on. ASAP!
    No more mushrooms...

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  2. RachelSeptember 28, 2012 at 9:35 AM

    I'm happy to see you highlighting this book. :) Dianna's mom (who is my next door neighbor and Andy's aunt) was just telling me about this. I thought of you and your blog right away. I will share this post to spread the word a little further. :)

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2012 at 11:17 AM

    I had to laugh along with Bevy about the mushroom. I DID have a mushroom growing in our bathroom some years ago when our children were still home! You can be sure they never let me forget about it!

    The topic of home organization is such an important one. I think your entries will be an encouragement to many young mothers. I have a huge stack of books on home management, which has always been a source of amusement for my family. (They are definitely helpful, but reading doesn't get the work done!) Guiding the House looks like it will be a very helpful tool.

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    Replies
    1. Bevy @ Treasured Up and PonderedSeptember 29, 2012 at 7:52 AM

      Clarification... I DID have a mushroom,too (or several),not once, but a couple of times. Growing in the same spot. (which I think is due to a leak somewhere...) but anyway.

      Thank you, Anonymous, for your encouragement in saying...my mess of "how-to books" are helpful but reading them doesn't get the job done.

      It's true.

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  4. April BoulwareSeptember 3, 2015 at 1:35 PM

    I know this is an old post, but could you tell me who publishes this planner? I'm trying to find info on when it will be available for 2016. Thanks!
    April

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    Replies
    1. GinaSeptember 3, 2015 at 2:33 PM

      I'm not sure about the publisher but I got mine from Christian Light Publications. I can't see it on their website www.clp.org but you can call them and see if they will be carrying it for 2016. Also, Amazon had the 2015 version so they might carry the 2016 version also.
      Gina

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 3, 2015 at 9:59 PM

    I'm the same Anonymous from 2012...the one with the mushroom in her bathroom! I've used Guiding the House each year since then, and it has worked really well for me. Here's the address listed in the planner: Ozark Family Books, 2592 Hazelwood Road, Seymour, Missouri 65746

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  6. April BoulwareSeptember 4, 2015 at 1:14 PM

    Thanks for the info! I'll have to check CLP. And anonymous, its great to hear this planner has worked for you for several years. I've tried two or three planners since my husband and I married last year, but with a baby on the way now, i want a planner that I can count on year after year - one I won't get to like September and be running out of places to keep track of everything that happens and changes season to season. I was so excited when I saw this planner! I can't wait to order mine. :)

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