Here’s the basic idea: At set times during the day, you’ll see Kelleigh tweet that it’s about time to #speedclean. Then you set your timer for 5-10 minutes and tackle the spot she suggests (or another spot that’s applicable to you).
I just did it with her and in 20 minutes I washed the dishes, wiped the counters, swept the floor, started the pizza dough and threw a load of laundry in the washing machine.
(My own addition: I also thought I should multitask a bit so I prayed for Kelleigh as I was doing it. I don’t know Kelleigh, but hey, why not?)
It was cool knowing she was somewhere doing the very same thing I was doing. Made it a lot more pleasant. I love ideas like this!
Hi, I’m Amy and here’s my life in one short post. If you’ve been here a while, tell me if I miss anything. If you’re new here…consider yourself warned.
That’s my life in 2 paragraphs. So now you’ll understand why I am the way I am.
Things I love & write about here:
God. I love that He loves so much, He was willing to sacrifice His son for a couple billion yahoos like us. I love that He gets right down in the details of my life and offers glimpses of Himself if only I open my eyes. I love that He is so completely constant even when I am flyin’ all over the place. I love that He makes me laugh and brings me to tears, sometimes in the very same moment. I love knowing He’s got my back always. I love that, come what may — all the good, bad and ugly — He doesn’t waste one single thing. I talk about him a lot here because He has changed my life. I completely understand not everyone feels the same way about Him. My goal is not to shove what I believe down your throat; I’m just telling you what goes on in my brain & in my heart. Another thing I love about Him is that He gives us freedom to choose Him or not. Wherever you’re at, I respect your freedom.
My family. I’m just gonna say, I picked a winner of a husband. Took me about 10 years to admit that, but boy is he a keeper. And did you ever love someone so much you could just squeeze their guts right out? That’s how I feel about my kids. (A lot of times I want to squeeze their guts out for other reasons, but that’s another story.) In the big scheme of things, I don’t have a single thing to complain about. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
The internet. I often say I’ve learned more on the internet in the last 5 years than I ever learned in college and that is the complete truth. I love to surf and find cool things. I also like to share them with you. I have this blog, but unfortunately I hate to write. In fact, surprisingly, I am complimented on my writing from time to time and I assure you, anything good that comes outta me is a result of God’s goodness because you should see the stress when it’s time to churn out a post.
Providing a good education for our children does not have to be expensive!
Old Fashioned Education uses classic literature and other resources that can be found almost entirely for free online.
Ambleside Online utilizes the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling for kids through grade 12. Some of the books on the book lists are not available for free online, but almost any public library would have them.
Letter a Day is a preschool curriculum developed by a homeschooling mom. She includes lots of suggestions and clever ideas that are easy to implement.
Please note: A self-hosted WordPress blog (sometimes referred to as WordPress.org) is different than a blog at WordPress.com. “Self-hosted” means you use the free WordPress platform on your own domain via hosting you pay for. A blog at WordPress.com is hosted by them and in exchange, you are limited in customization and monetization. A WordPress.com blog is not bad, but a self-hosted WordPress blog is much more preferred.
Step One: Register your own domain
You simply need to choose a domain name (read how to choose a domain name) and then register it with a registrar. I personally use GoDaddy.com and have not had any problems. You have many options, though, so simply google “domain registration” or something similar. Domain registration will cost about $10 per year $20 per year when you choose Private Registration (I highly recommend it) and must be renewed annually (you can pay for several years at once).
Step Two: Purchase your own hosting
Once your domain is registered, purchase hosting from a different company (so as not to give one company complete power over your site). This is a simple process and costs as little as $8 per month for an average-sized site. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing hosting from a company that provides easy, auto-install for WordPress (most do, but check) — this will make life much easier in Step Four. I personally use Bluehost.com and would recommend it. (You might also check out the hosts recommended here.)
Step Three: Get your domain and your host to communicate
If your domain and hosting are set up at different companies, you will need to make sure the two “talk” to each other. This involves changing some settings. Here’s how to do it:
Log in to your hosting account. (I will use Bluehost here.) Click on the “Domain Manager” tab at the top of the page.
Click on the “Nameservers” tab just above the Summary box.
Write down the two nameserver settings you see. Nameservers look something like this: ns1.bluehost.com and ns2.bluehost.com.
Now, log in to your domain account. (I will use GoDaddy here.)
Choose “Domain Manager” from the left column.
Click on your domain in the list.
Click “Manage Nameservers.”
Select “I host my domains with another provider.”
Input your new nameservers (from #3 above) under “Nameserver 1″ (ns1.bluehost.com) and “Nameserver 2″ (ns2.bluehost.com).
Click “OK.”
That’s it! Now you should see your site at your domain. (Note, it may take several hours for the changes to take effect.)
It all sounds very complicated but don’t worry, it’s really not. If you get stuck, just call support at each place (starting with your host) and ask them to walk you through.
Step Four: Install WordPress
Hopefully your host provides WordPress auto-install. Search your host’s faqs or contact support to find out how to install WordPress.
Scroll down to “Software/Services” and click the “Simple Scripts” icon.
Under “Blogs” click “WordPress.”
Click “Install.”
Under “Where would you like WordPress installed?” leave the field blank. This will make your blog the main page of your site.
Check the “Legal Information” agreement box.
Click “Complete.”
Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a self-hosted WordPress blog!
Step Four: Change your permalink structure
This is important and should be done right away before you post anything. A permalink is the address of a specific post. For example, the permalink of this post is “http://www.withpurpose.com/2010/01/27/how-to-start-a-self-hosted-wordpress-blog/”. If I had not changed my permalink structure the permalink would have been something like “http://www.withpurpose.com/2010/01/27/post-139″. The difference between the “post-139″ and the keyword-rich “how-to-start-a-self-hosted-wordpress-blog” is significant when it comes to being found and being ranked by search engines. It’s a bit techy for now, so just trust me on it.
To change your permalink structure:
Login to your WordPress Dashboard. (You should have received this login info in an email after completing Step Four above.)
Click “Settings” at the very bottom of the left column.
Click “Permalinks.”
Choose either “Day and name” or “Month and name.” (I prefer the former.)
Click “Save Changes.”
That’s it! You’re ready to blog!
I realize my geeky brain sometimes explains thing in a clear-as-mud sort of way. I did my best to make it clear, but if you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
The WordPress Codex and Support Forums – These are great places to visit when you are stuck and need a little help figuring out how to get started, implement something new or troubleshoot.
Free WordPress themes – I assume you’ll want to spice up your design a bit. There are tons of great-looking, free themes you can find online (like here, here and here). Or, simply go to your Dashboard –> Appearance –> Add New Themes –> Find Themes. When you see one you like, click “Install” and then “Activate Theme.” (Or…a shameless plug: I provide affordable blog design.)
Choose the photo you want to use from your computer.
Once it loads, click “Resize.”
Make sure the “Keep Proportions” box is checked.
Change your dimensions. (One way to figure out a good dimension is to determine what size your photos are when they are posted. You can find this out by pulling up your blog and right-clicking on a photo. Find “Image Properties” and you should be able to see the dimensions it is scaled to in pixels. Consider making it a little bigger than this figure if you allow people to click on it for a larger view.) I usually go for about 700 x [this will automatically fill in if the "Keep Proportions" box is checked].
Click “OK.”
Click the “Save & Share” tab.
Name your photo, choose a format and save.
Post as usual, but use this photo instead of the original!
Large images make your site load slower. Instead of downloading your images from your camera and inserting them straight into your blog, scale them down to about the size they will appear in your post. (Here’s how to resize your photos for free online.)
The reinvented withpurpose.com is designed with YOU in mind and it’s gonna be a WHOLE lot more useful!
How’s this new format going to benefit you?
Now you can get helpful information — QUICK. Do you get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information online? There are plenty of golden nuggets to be found, but sometimes it requires wading through a whole lot of not-so-golden commentary. I’ve been wading for years and withpurpose.com is where I’m about to dump my stash. No wading required.
Here are the top 4 ways to get the most out of this site
Browse the Categories in the top navbar. See that blue navbar toward the top of the page with all the topics in it? Now hover your mouse over one of them. Did it drop down for ya? Cool, huh? Subcategories. And some even have sub-subcategories. Why? Because I get frustrated with traditional categories on blogs. In my opinion, they are only mildly helpful, especially when I’m trying to find something specific. I’ve tried to make the organization and navigation as efficient as possible so you can drill down to what you need via the navbar at any time and from any page on this site.
Check out the Highlights on the home page. On the home page (withpurpose.com), you’ll see each major category listed, under which are a handful of the most recent posts added to that particular category. It’s a lot of great information all in one place!
Use the All New! link in the navbar. If you’re not sure where to start or if you prefer the “traditional” format of newest posts on the home page, one on top of the other, just click the New! link in the navbar above and you’ll be good to go.
What you’ll find at withpurpose.com
You’ll find tips, hints, resources and ideas all intended to help you streamline life. I’ve been collecting useful tidbits online for years and I’m putting it all in one place here.
You’ll find:
Short posts with power-packed tips
“Top 3, 5 or 10″ lists
“How to” posts
Lots of links to other places on the web that I think are great resources
You won’t see:
Not a whole lot of pretty photos or images, not because I don’t like pretty, but because it cuts down on loading and scrolling time.
A lot of commentary (with the exception of my posts written from 2004-2009). That’s because I want to cut to the chase and get to the point.
Topics I cover & a little about me
I’m a stay at home, 1/2-time homeschooling mom to 4 kids (we especially love homeschooling for free), living debt-free (but our house) on a public school teacher’s salary, who knows a thing or two about blogging after doing it for 5 years and works as a designer from home. I talk about how I do things — what works and what doesn’t — and what I’ve learned along the way. I’m by no means an expert and I make plenty of mistakes on a daily hourly basis, but I love passing on information that other people can use.
I hope withpurpose.com becomes a handy, helpful reference for you!
P.S. I decided to throw my perfectionistic tendencies to the wind and introduce the new site even though it’s a bit rough around the edges. So, sit back and get ready for the tips to start rollin’ in!Now go subscribe (RSS or email) and follow me on Twitter so you don’t miss it!!
Here are some tips to remember when choosing a domain name:
Go with .com (as opposed to .net, .info, etc.). With the exception of .org for non-profit organizations, .com is generally assumed when looking for a website. Having a .com domain makes your site easier to find and remember. It might be a challenge to find one, but be creative.
Make it easy to spell. Not just for you, but for the average Joe/Jane trying to find you.
Make it easy to pronounce. Not just for you, but for the average Joe/Jane trying to find you.
Choose a phrase. Most one-word domains are taken (or on sale for large sums of money). Experiment with phrases that have 3 or 4 (short!) words (67 characters is the limit). If the domain you want is taken, try adding a word like “a” or “the” to the beginning (MomInHarlem.com vs. AMomInHarlem.com) or something like “writes” to the end (MomInHarlemWrites.com).
Make up a word. There are plenty of made-up domains out there that are now well-known. As long as it’s easy to pronounce and spell, who knows, it might just be a hit!
Consider using your real name. Unless you have a very common name (like me), it’s probably still available. Personal branding (i.e. yourself as the brand) can be powerful and effective. This also solves the expandability problem below.
Make it expandable. Avoid using life-stage-specific terms in your domain like MyCollegeCareer.com, because…what happens when you graduate? Think ahead. Give yourself room to grow.
Choose something you won’t mind becoming your “name.” Your domain name often becomes the name people know you by, so make sure it’s a name you want to have. Case in point: if you were to see her on the street, would you say, “Oh look! It’s The Pioneer Woman!” or “Oh look! It’s Ree Drummond!”
Avoid strings of words. Unless the string is well-known (ex. LionsTigersBears.com), a domain like ButtonsPinsBaubles.com is confusing — “Is it PinsBaublesButtons…or ButtonsBaublesPins…oh, I can’t remember…” click and their gone.
Consider using keywords in your domain. If yours is a niche site targeting a specific audience, this can be a wise SEO move.
Avoid hyphens. Hyphens dilute the power of a domain name, particularly verbally. “Lollipops rock dot com” is a lot easier to say and for the other person to remember than “Lollipops hyphen rock dot com.” Remember, the goal is for your name to spread easily.
Make it punchy and memorable, but not too long or overly complicated.
Take note of what your domain looks like with words squished together and no spaces. Pretend you are a WWII buff and want to start a site called “Is Hitler Dead dot com.” (Go ahead, try it.)
Once you choose a domain, you need to register it. Your registration must be renewed annually. There are many domain registrars from which to choose. I personally use GoDaddy.com .
Well, I mentioned in Action Steps for 2010 that I have big plans for WithPurpose.com this year. After tinkering and tweaking for far too long, I’m just gonna take the plunge and introduce you to my new site. I’ll be working over the next several days to get the kinks out of the design and put things back together, so bear with me. If you don’t see something you saw before and you wonder where it went, let me know.
You’ll see there’s an entirely new look and the home page format is new too. Why? So you can get information QUICK. I’m about to inundate you with loads of tips and resources to help you streamline life and I hope this becomes a reference you find yourself returning to again and again. So COME BACK. Better yet, subscribe!
Watch my video (I hope you don’t get seasick) to see how you will benefit from my weird quirks.
I’d love your feedback too, so if you want to let me know what you think, leave a comment below or email me at amy at withpurpose dot com.
And if you’re new here and want to know more about me, here are 61 Random Things About Me while I work furiously to get my proper About page updated and posted.
Hi there. I'm Amy. I write here about my life and my issues. I also design blogs and websites at Uncluttered Design. I'm a mom to 4 and a former pastor's wife.
Hi there. I'm Amy. I write here about my life and my issues. I also design blogs and websites at 
