16 Creative Ways to Earn Money at Home

Dear Darlene,

I want to ask you a question and I hope you can offer some advice/counsel. I've been enjoying your website, and appreciate your love for being a stay-at-home mom in these days when many women are going to work to simply "escape" being at home.


I was a stay-at-home mom until October when I took a full-time job to help pay for the Christian school tuition of our youngest 3 children. I did try homeschooling, but for many reasons it wasn't a good fit for our family. Our children have a FANTASTIC Christian school, which is 30 minutes from our home, and also 30 minutes from the office where I now work. I LOVED BEING AT HOME, but admittedly wasn't the greatest homemaker (and I'm still not) but trying. I LONG to be back at home, and especially fear for this summer when my boy/girl twins (will be 13 in May) will be home for several weeks by themselves. I do not want this, and neither does my husband, but with our oldest son in college and the next one going in two years, plus Christian school tuition, it's very difficult. My husband has been doing the food shopping for us as he has a GIFT for matching coupons with store ads and saving 20% - 40% every shopping trip. We also have a great amount of stocked-up items so we don't run out to the store unnecessarily.

My question is, can you offer advice on ways I could earn money at home so I can still be involved in the kids' school, their sports, volunteering (local hospital and at church), visiting our aging parents, etc? I cannot tell you how my heart aches to be back home and I want to give homemaking another try! I think I can do a better job now, and appreciate so much more what I USED to have! I just don't want to get involved in the "work-at-home scams" out there. I have secretarial skills, and I'm currently an Administrative Assistant (before our kids were born, I was an Executive Secretary). My husband said if I could figure out a way to bring in $10,000 a year, I could quit my job. I've been praying about this for months. However, if my working allows the kids to have THEIR need for their school met, then I will do it.

I hope you can offer some advice for this grieving Mom/Wife. I miss my kids, I literally HATE being gone from the house 11 hours a day, and I want to be able to meet the needs of EVERYONE in the family, including my husband, and not be semi-comatose by 7pm every night.

Thank you so much for any loving help you can give!

Sincerely,

Love Being at Home

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." ~ James 1:5

Dear Love Being at Home,

You've come to the right person, because I have found several creative ways to earn money from home over the past 17 years. If I wanted to, I could definitely make a good wage from home, but since I started online ministry I stepped back from a few things so I could write.

I'll offer you a list of things that you could do, however, some of these things might take a little studying on your part. If you want to work from home, you'll have train yourself as you would any other job so that you are qualified to do so.

I have studied several books on each of these subjects: Photoshop, page layout, web design, grammar and punctuation, and bookkeeping. Each one of them were for the purpose of developing my skills and preparing myself for work at home jobs. In our world of modern technology there are endless opportunities at your fingertips. Preparing for any one of these jobs would require minimal training. However, while you are building your clientele, you may have to supplement your income by combining a few of these jobs.

Before you decide on anything, I urge you to take it to prayer. If you lay your desire at His feet God will equip you in ways you could never imagine and He will lead you each step of the way. For example, I struggled through school with dyslexia and ADHD, failed grade 12 English and didn't finish reading a book until I was about 30-years-old. I would have never dreamed in a million years that I'd be a writer, but God had other plans and to my surprise I'm not just a writer, I'm a New York Times best-selling author. He is the potter, just be the clay.

With that said, here are some of the jobs that will either keep you busy at home or make your life flexible enough to work around your kid's schedules:

1. Blog Design - I used to own a little web design company, and there wasn't a day that went by when I wasn't approached for work. I'd charge $90.00/job and could easily get one done in an eight hour day. Designing blogs is fairly easy, entire websites take more experience, but the pay is better.
2. Blogging - If you build a blog, over time you can collect advertising revenue, but it takes time to grow and time to keep up. 
3. Proof Reading - There are so many self publishing authors out there today looking for proof readers. 
4. Typing - Again this is an asset for self-published authors. There are still A LOT of people who have their books handwritten or want to transcribe their journals.
5. Baby Sitting - Not my favorite--shhhh... don't tell anyone! 
6. Pet Sitting - One could either pet sit full time days or go to a persons house around lunch time to let the dog out and feed it. Take in a few pets and you have increase your income.
7. Shopping for the Elderly - There are a lot of seniors today who need someone to look in on them and pick up groceries. 
8. Digital Elements - If you are at all creative, learn Photoshop and sell digital scrapbooking kits online. 
9. Book Cover Design - I did this for about five years before giving it up to write full time. I studied page layout, Photoshop and Adobe InDesign prior to stepping into it. There are a lot of authors that are looking for eBook cover designs. *This would also require some artistic ability. 
10. Real Estate Assistant - I worked in Real Estate offices for about five years before staying at home with my kids. During that time I noticed that many of the top agents hire assistants. I think that this one would be perfect for you because of your background. The top agents need help with every area of running a small business from bookkeeping to typing brochures. Re/Max is a good place to find top agents. Maybe drop off a few resumes?
11. Book Keeping for Small Companies - A few years ago I met a woman who was going into this business on her own. About a year later, my husband hired her to do his books. The pay is good and small companies normally can't afford a full-time book keeper. Offering to work 16 hours/month for each company is an asset for both of you. Take on a few and you have a nice part-time job.
12. Income Tax Preparation - With the right program and a short course on the subject, you could be very busy during income tax season. 
13. Page Layout - Advertise yourself to do page layout including resumes, book interior, pamphlets, etc. This would also require some study. 
14. Housekeeping/Home Organization - This isn't a work-at-home job, but I know that it allows you to have a flexible schedule, pays fairly well and you can supplement part-time income by working one day/week or two half days. Aside from cleaning, home organization is something that few people offer, and I know that a lot of working women would appreciate having someone come in and do it for them. 
15. Short Videos - I haven't seriously tried this, but if I had a lot of time on my hands I would. Learn to create videos for small businesses, authors (book trailers), and bloggers. 
16. Computer Apps - Learn how to make computer apps and start selling them. They are in high demand right now and few people know how to make them. Again these are an asset to small businesses, authors, and bloggers. 

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

If you have any creative ideas to add to this post I'd love to hear about it on facebook: Click here

If you would like to have Time-Warp Wife delivered to your inbox daily, simply click here: Subscribe to Time-Warp Wife

How To Boost Self Discipline

Weekly Contributor, Kim Brenneman

Have you made your list of New Year’s resolutions? Or did you give up on that tradition years ago? When you make your resolution list, do you promptly lose it? Does your preschooler find it and use it for handwriting practice?

A classic New Year’s resolution is to be more organized. Everyone recognizes that being organized and efficient improves productivity and makes life more pleasant. But while it's one thing to make the resolution it's another to accomplish it.


Some say that people are either born organized or they're not. I agree to a point; I have seen in my own children how their brains work differently and make them better at certain tasks than others. I do believe though that everyone can become better organized and disciplined in their personal habits. I certainly have room for improvement. I have had years when I was very organized and efficient and other years where I felt as if I were drowning in mess and so tired that the thought of where to start was overwhelming. I can easily blame it on workload, babies, hormones, too many outside-the-home activities, and more. Whether you are on top of things right now or not, there’s always room for improvement.

Why do you want to be more organized? What are your goals? Who are you aiming to please? Write the answers to these question on the paper that you have been writing your New Year’s resolutions on. We want to know why we’re doing what we’re doing to help motivate us to follow through.

Work on putting life in line with God’s Word. Use Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 as a reference point in making your goals. 

Once you’ve motivated yourself with getting to the underlying reasons, let’s move forward to how we’re going to be more organized. It’s not enough to just make a goal or a resolution; we need to make a plan to reach it. We’ll work on the basics of planning the work of being organized. Sometimes planning the work can be so much fun but takes so much time that we don’t get any real work done! Keep the planning simple. Maybe you are one that hates to plan and just wants to get it done so you dive in and make a bigger mess in the process and “oops!” you forgot that people need to eat? Planning your work helps avoid those kind of “oops” moments.

While you have your pencil and resolution paper out, let’s make some simple plans. Divide your home management into different areas. Mine is divided into six:

• Cleaning
• Kitchen
• Home Office
• Laundry
• Town (shopping and errands)
• Gardening

Your life might look slightly different. Give each area of home management a day that you will focus on. For instance, Monday is Laundry Day and Tuesday is Kitchen Day at my house [you could also use the daily housekeeping schedule Darlene has posted on this site]. On the assigned day, do all the chores associated with that work on that day. This improves efficiency in dramatic way.

This is not new--I did not invent this idea. It is how our grandmothers and great-grandmothers worked. We’re recovering the lost art of home-management and we’ll teach it to our daughters. Where are your daughters by the way? Set them beside you and make these home organization plans together. Do you think they are too little? They aren't. Maybe they will only do art work beside you or practice writing their name but tell them what you are doing. Watching is learning. If you have an older daughter, let her plan the management of an area. Work on this together.

Once you have assigned each day of the week to an area of home management, make a big list of every single task in that area. This is your new organized life. You will need discipline to stick to it. That’s a huge part of establishing new habits, reaching goals, and changing your life. What are your habits now? When are you doing the lists of tasks that you made? If you aren’t doing those tasks, what are you doing instead? Identify time wasters by watching yourself and writing down every single little thing that you do. You need to replace each bad time wasting habit with one of the things on the task list for the day. Match a time wasting habit with work task and every time you start to do that old habit, do the work instead. This is called "The Put-Off, Put-On Principle" which is found in Ephesians 4.

To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ~ Ephesians 4:22-24

A big boost to self-discipline is in changing our attitudes! How is your attitude towards your home? This is a choice we make every day. Do you love your home? Do you love the people that live there? Do you love God who gave you your life, your home, and your family?

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ~ Galatians 5:13 

It doesn’t say “through bitterness serve one another” or “through manipulation serve one another” it is through love that we serve one another. It is through God’s love in us that we can do this with joy. The things that are before us to do are His calling for us today. We are serving Him when we serve others. The Holy Spirit will help us in our calling.

God wants us to be full of His joy that comes from knowing Him (John 15). When we live in His will, when we put off our old self, when we serve Him with gladness, then we understand that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Serve the Lord with gladness! ~ Psalm 100:2

The best way to keep your attitude right is to spend time in God’s Word every day. We learn to know Him and love Him and how to better serve Him through His Word.

As you go about your day, pray without ceasing. He knows how many hairs are on your head, He sees the sparrow fall, and so of course He cares for every nuance of your day. Pray for strength, pray for wisdom, pray for understanding, and pray that the fruit of the Spirit will flow out of your life.

Your Christian ministry is your home! It is at the center of everything you do! Make time reading God’s Word a priority in your morning. It is your bread and water, it is your strength. Feed your spirit and in turn your attitude will be right with God. When your attitude is right, it becomes easier to put off bad habits and put on Godly habits. Our New Year’s Resolutions for being more organized are easier to achieve because we have Godly attitudes towards the ministry of our homes to others.

May the Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth, bless you with strength and help you with your efforts to bring glory to Him in organizing your home!


Blessings,

Kim Brenneman

Kim is the joyful wife of Matt and the blessed mother of nine children.

When not busy homeschooling and farmschooling, she enjoys writing, gardening, cooking, reading, sewing, and crafting.

Kim lives on a farm in Iowa where her family grows beef cattle, corn and beans, and operates a micro-dairy selling cheese at farmer’s markets. She loves to write and speak about her passion for home and family. She is the author of Large Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family. She blogs about the same subject at:
http://largefamilylogistics.blogspot.com.

If you'd like to leave a comment, visit Time-Warp Wife on facebook: Click here

And you can also find Kim on facebook too: Large Family Logistics

If you would like to have Time-Warp Wife delivered to your inbox daily, simply click here: Subscribe to Time-Warp Wife

7 Thieves that Rob You of Time

Weekly Contributor, Kim Brenneman

Before exposing the time thieves let’s look at what the scriptures say about time and how we are to use it.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ~ Ephesians 5:15&16

We understand God's will for our time when we study the scriptures. It’s certainly not found in this common thought, “I just listened to my heart.” This phrase is often used to explain a questionable decision. What guides every little decision you make from the moment you rise up until the moment you fall asleep?

Jeremiah 17:9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,to give every man according to his ways,according to the fruit of his deeds.

It is natural but wrong to trust our hearts to lead us in our use of time. And so it takes deliberate thought and effort on our part to seek God’s priorities.


The verses preceding Ephesians 5:15-16 teach us many things about living the Christian life. A short list includes:

• Be imitators of God
• Walk in love
• Be moral
• Be pure
• Let there be thanksgiving
• Do not associate with the sons of disobedience
• Walk as children of light
• Discern what is pleasing to the Lord
• Take no part in and expose unfruitful works of darkness

Another short list from the verses following 15-16:

• Do not get drunk but be controlled by the Spirit
• Address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
• Give thanks always and for everything
• Submit to one another
• Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
• Let the wife see that she respects her husband
• Honor your father and mother

Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 further guide women. The Proverbs 31 lady embodies everything listed above in a practical way. She is strong and dignified, trustworthy and excellent; she’s not idle and laughs at the days to come. In Titus 2 we are specifically instructed:

• To be reverent in behavior
• To be not slanderers or slaves to too much wine
• To teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children
• To be self-controlled
• To be pure
• To work at home
• To be kind
• To be submissive to our husbands

When we don’t keep our priorities in line with scripture we rob God of His best use of time in our lives. Are we running from God’s will? The reason we run from God’s will is the heart (Jeremiah 17:9). We need to put off the old woman and put on the new by the renewing our minds (Ephesians 4:22). We need God to perfect our hearts everyday through prayerful repentance.

In no particular order here is a list of seven thieves that rob us of time.

1. Television and Books - When I stopped watching daytime television as a young mom, I taped Philippians 4:8 to the front of the idiot box which reads, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
   
   That verse also led me to avoid certain genres of books. Both television and books can be means of escapism. We don’t need to be caught up in someone else’s imaginary world. God gave us a life to live! What we are to be is controlled by the Holy Spirit. We can relax and have down time without offending Him.
2. Computer - We need fellowship with other believers but often we exchange relationships with real people in our physical community for relationships with people in a narrow little band of online people that believe every little thing exactly like we do. The Proverbs 31 lady was in her community, her husband was honored at the city gates because of her renown, she extended her hand to the poor, and more.
   
   Online communities can be a venue of encouragement and relation to others, but spend more time getting to know your neighbors. Be salt and light!
   
   Computer rabbit trails also steal time from our first priorities. Be careful, be wise, make a plan for the time you spend online and use a timer.
3. Poor Planning  - Do you wonder what you’re supposed to be doing when you look around at a big mess? Do you drive like crazy and never accomplish anything of real purpose? Do you stare into the cupboard and wonder what you’re supposed to make for supper? You’re wasting time. Plan your work and work your plan. Work on being efficient and you will accomplish so much more.
4. Health and Sleep - When we don’t take care of our health we get slow and sleepy. When we take care to eat and drink right, take supplements, get exercise and sunshine, we have energy to be our best.
   
   Women are often sleepy and sluggish when they need to take better care of their health. Rise up and go for a walk! Maybe you need to walk on over to the doctor to have a chat about it, or to the health food store for B vitamins, or to the pantry to throw out all the junk. Get healthy!
5. Over Committed - Are you over committed? Start prioritizing and making your allotted hours in the week fit God’s top priorities. Who or what is getting the best of your time? When we try to do everything we do nothing well. Focus on your first priorities and then carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully refine them before adding to them.
6. Telephone, Email, IM and Gadding About - We women like to talk and oftentimes this gets us into trouble. The Bible warns against the misuse of our tongue in 1 Timothy 5:13, "And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not."
   
   It’s an old, old problem. Don’t be an idler, gossip, or busybody going about from house to house via the telephone, email, IM, or visiting. Save your talk time and be meaningful with it. There is no need to say the same thing five different ways in your conversation. In doing these things you are stealing your own time, God’s time, and the correspondent’s time. Give thought to your words.
7. Disobedient Children - Disobedient children take your time through cleaning their messes, repairing their destruction, threatening and repeating, arguing with them, and mental anguish. Unruly children are not enjoyable. They will rob you not only of time but also relationships. Your friends may avoid your family because of your children. Babysitters don’t want to have to deal with them.
   
   Do something about it. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Pray for wisdom. Enforce consequences and make the consequences mean something. Spend time with them teaching them respectful behavior. It takes time and deliberate thought and action on your part to teach them obedience and manners.

Blessings,

Kim Brenneman

Kim is the joyful wife of Matt and the blessed mother of nine children.

When not busy homeschooling and farmschooling, she enjoys writing, gardening, cooking, reading, sewing, and crafting.

Kim lives on a farm in Iowa where her family grows beef cattle, corn and beans, and operates a micro-dairy selling cheese at farmer’s markets. She loves to write and speak about her passion for home and family. She is the author of Large Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family. She blogs about the same subject at:
http://largefamilylogistics.blogspot.com.

If you'd like to leave a comment, visit Time-Warp Wife on facebook: Click here

And you can also find Kim on facebook too: Large Family Logistics

If you would like to have Time-Warp Wife delivered to your inbox daily, simply click here: Subscribe to Time-Warp Wife

Daily Planner Printables!!

I have created some daily printables that you can print off and use. (I'm starting mine today!) Each one has the monthly calendar at a glance, and the following sections to write in:

• To Do's - Things you need to do today
• Hope To Do's - Additional things you'd like to do if time permits
• Prayer Requests 
• Reminders 
• Bible Reading - What you plan to read in the Bible or a verse that comes to mind
• Groceries
• Thinking Ahead - Goals or future commitments
• People to Call

And if you haven't checked it out yet, take a look at my weekly housekeeping schedule. It's a great way to get the house clean and keep it looking that way!

If you would like to view or download the printables for December and January,
just click the links below the image. (Originals are full-sized pages)

December 2011 Daily Planner - Click Here

January 2012 Daily Planner - Click Here

If you are an email subscriber, and have trouble viewing the links, click through to the website at: Time-Warp Wife.

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

If you'd like to leave a comment, visit Time-Warp Wife on facebook: Click here

If you would like to have Time-Warp Wife delivered to your inbox daily, simply click here: Subscribe to Time-Warp Wife