Domestically challenged? 🙂 Need help with homemaking? Doing fine with homemaking, but it just takes ALL DAY LONG? Oh! I completely understand. I love my home. I love my family. It is very important to manage my home well. It makes our house a home.
Reality of it all is that I don’t do a great job balancing it all if any one area gets out of balance. I need to keep homemaking easy so I can focus on what is most important to me–building relationships with my husband, children, family, and friends. So, how do you do it? Here are some things that have helped me along the way…
- Use your help. Yes, we ALL have help. Let others help you! Everyone can do a part, even your toddlers. Just plan a set chore time every day. Find little things that everyone can do to help you. Maybe it is letting your 3-year-old fold wash clothes or letting your 5-year-old take out the trash. Put everyone to work! You will have more time to enjoy your family and your home won’t distract you along the way. Plus, everyone will learn how to serve others. Talk about perfect preparation for life!
- Guard your time. Oh! Time! Does it slip by as fast for you as it does for me? We have to manage our time. It is our greatest blessing. It is our greatest tool. Every one of us gets the same amount of time. The difference in our productivity is what WE DO with our time. Become a manager of your time. Plan each day. Decide on your daily “to-do” list the evening before so you can get up and get going strong. Be reasonable with your daily checklist–plan what you can do each day. You may even want to study your day for a while so you can get a reasonable expectation of what you can and cannot do in a day and so you can get a reasonable expectation of how long things really take. I was surprised that it only took 3 minutes to make my bed and go back over my room before I went downstairs. How many days did I think that it would take an hour to clean my room so I left it yucky! (OUCH–HONESTY!) Plan your day with margin. Expect the unexpected–illnesses, bad days, delays, interruptions! Have a plan for days that you have the unexpected hit your day. Learn to say no so you will have more time for keeping homemaking simple! Turn off the TV–the best way to keep your little ones productive! Plan for free time–IT IS OK! Manage your time and you will see a big difference!
- Limit the time spent on cleaning. I can see you all–some of you are stunned and offended while others are feeling the shackles drop off!  Let’s face it, our homes will never stay spotless. Let’s get real. Don’t lose this time with your little ones endeavoring to keep the perfect house. Instead, let’s redeem the time to spend with our eternal treasures! Have “clutter-drills” during the day where the children pick up as much as possible in 5 minutes. Set a timer. In just five minutes most of the house can be cleaned back up! IT WORKS!  Do semi-annual cleanout…fall and spring. This will help to get things back in order…to re-organize those places things are to be put…and to de-clutter. Then, the children can help you maintain the home IF THEY ARE TRAINED to help and not become part of the mess. Purchase servants for making your job easier—bread mixer…crock pots…blenders…dishwasher! These will save hours of time and do the job better as well!
- Keep meals simple and easy. Use easy meals (Easy dishes like-tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, salads, spaghetti, chicken pot pie, burgers, lasagna, granola and yogurt, shakes, muffins) or big meals that you can reheat or serve in a hurry (Soups, breads, casseroles). Use that crock-pot to make delicious meals without having to stand over the stove–you know that they are healthier anyway! Work with a friend to make freezer meals for each other–talk about the perfect take-out meals! 🙂 Keep it simple and easy.
Ready?
Sweet friend, you are the keeper of your home. You are the one who manages your home. Make it easy. These days pass much too fast. Don’t miss the precious moments that you have today with those you love. Make homemaking easy so you can live an abundant life!
Happy homemaking!
