I am so touched by all the kind words about last week’s post left in comments, e-mailed and tweeted. I can’t thank you enough! It’s such an incredible reminder of the amazing kindness of people and the power of sharing our experiences with each other. There’s something so comforting and heartbreaking and beautiful in hearing the words, ‘you aren’t alone,’ or, ‘I understand, that happened to me too.’ Thank you!

In the past few weeks, taxes, car troubles, a plumbing disaster, and all the chores and tasks that make up every day life have left me feeling a little out of breath and out of step. So, I’ve promised myself that this week I’m going to take the time to put some sense of order back into our house. The goal is to make our house feel like a home again, instead of a three-bedroom junk drawer/laundry pile, and I have this crazy idea about seeing the surface of our kitchen table again someday. But, since this will involve doing laundry, filing papers, and possibly using one of those vacuum things I’ve been hearing so much about, I need to bribe myself.

Candy is often my go-to bribe for unpleasant chores, but I’m pretty sure I have single-handedly caused a jelly bean shortage in Western New York over the past few weeks, so I’ve resolved to call it quits on the sweets for awhile. Luckily, my dear friend, Shanna Murray, launched her line of hand-drawn wall decals today, and they make the perfect bribe!

Not only do Shanna’s designs (and Shanna herself) lift my spirits, but the decals give me the perfect motivation to get the house in order, so when they arrive I have the space and time to enjoy them.

I ordered this one for our living room.

And this one for my office.

Because, who doesn’t need a reminder now and then?

Do you have any good motivation tricks?