I get a little bit crazy when my house starts to explode around me. Being a home schooling family, we are home a lot! This means that we are readily available to mess it up all the time! And we do!!! And it makes me crazy! I am the type of person that has trouble functioning in messy surroundings. I need organization.
So how do I beat the house explosion blues?
We have a simple phrase we use: house sweep. This simply means we quickly sweep through the house picking up any items that are out of place. All items are placed in the appropriate bedroom, room or area of the house where the item belongs. We pick up anything that is not where it is supposed to be - even if it belongs to someone else. We don't actually take the time to put everything away during the house sweep; we put them away during our afternoon chore/responsibility time. This is just a quick (five minutes or less) straightening up of the house.
Dad or I can call a house sweep at any time. Whenever we feel things are getting out of control or the toys are starting to trickle down the hallway, the kids know a house sweep is on its way. Sometimes my kids will even see the house getting messy and do a house sweep on their own. Each night, each child is responsible for a house sweep before bed, during their evening responsibilities/chores. This is really just to help me so that I don't have to pick up the house after every one is in bed.
A house sweep is great for any family, home schooling or not, with or with out kids, and at any time. It is a great way to quickly pick up and keep your house neat, tidy and better organized.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Reset Your Day
Have you ever had a day where you wish you could just crawl back into bed and start over? I think we have all been there once or twice or hundreds of times... especially when you have children.
There are days when we as humans just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, hence the reason that phrase came about. At least that is true for my family. Sometimes, as the day progresses, we get grumpier and grumpier. As a homeschooling family this can be extremely difficult when it is important that children cooperate to get the work done. I get frustrated when 20 minutes of work turns into 2 hours of struggling noncooperation.
What can you do in those moments of frustration and grumpiness?
Something that I do to help either myself or my family combat a grumpy day is to Reset the Day. If it is me that needs a reset, I will have my children go to their rooms so mommy can have a timeout. Then I will read a bit in my bible or inspirational book and pray. By praying, I am reminded exactly "why" we have chosen to be a home schooling family, in spite of the bumps in the road. This gives me just enough "oomph" to keep on going and change my attitude.
When it is my children that need a reset, we essentially do the same thing. First I determine if it is one or all that need a reset. If it is just one, that particular child and I will go into his/her room and read the Bible and pray for God to reset his/her day. If it is all of us that need a reset, we curl up on the couch, read the Bible and pray as a family.
Whether we are resetting the day together or separately, we talk about what might have made the bad mood start and what we can do in the future to prevent being mean, grumpy or uncooperative just because we are grumpy.
I only spend 5-10 minutes to reset the day, but in the end it saves me so much more time. It is amazing that something so simple is all that it takes for a recharge and to reset attitudes. After we take a few minutes to reset the day we can get back to our routine and continue, without the fighting or noncooperation. And the best part, is that I don't have to discipline bad behavior by letting it get out of control.
If we notice a bad mood setting in...
We acknowledge the bad mood and why it started.
We read the Bible to see what God has to say about getting along, obeying parents, etc.
We pray and ask God to help us reset the day and change our hearts with a better attitude.
If you are having a bad day, take a few minutes right now to Reset Your Day.
God Bless!
There are days when we as humans just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, hence the reason that phrase came about. At least that is true for my family. Sometimes, as the day progresses, we get grumpier and grumpier. As a homeschooling family this can be extremely difficult when it is important that children cooperate to get the work done. I get frustrated when 20 minutes of work turns into 2 hours of struggling noncooperation.
What can you do in those moments of frustration and grumpiness?
Something that I do to help either myself or my family combat a grumpy day is to Reset the Day. If it is me that needs a reset, I will have my children go to their rooms so mommy can have a timeout. Then I will read a bit in my bible or inspirational book and pray. By praying, I am reminded exactly "why" we have chosen to be a home schooling family, in spite of the bumps in the road. This gives me just enough "oomph" to keep on going and change my attitude.
When it is my children that need a reset, we essentially do the same thing. First I determine if it is one or all that need a reset. If it is just one, that particular child and I will go into his/her room and read the Bible and pray for God to reset his/her day. If it is all of us that need a reset, we curl up on the couch, read the Bible and pray as a family.
Whether we are resetting the day together or separately, we talk about what might have made the bad mood start and what we can do in the future to prevent being mean, grumpy or uncooperative just because we are grumpy.
I only spend 5-10 minutes to reset the day, but in the end it saves me so much more time. It is amazing that something so simple is all that it takes for a recharge and to reset attitudes. After we take a few minutes to reset the day we can get back to our routine and continue, without the fighting or noncooperation. And the best part, is that I don't have to discipline bad behavior by letting it get out of control.
If we notice a bad mood setting in...
We acknowledge the bad mood and why it started.
We read the Bible to see what God has to say about getting along, obeying parents, etc.
We pray and ask God to help us reset the day and change our hearts with a better attitude.
If you are having a bad day, take a few minutes right now to Reset Your Day.
God Bless!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Organization & Thrifty Tip #2
Yep, that's right, my next organization and thrifty tip are all wrapped up in one neat little blog post!
Ready? This one is super easy!
Plan your meals ahead of time.
Yep, that's it! It's that easy. Plan them ahead of time and you will save time and money.
It's up to you how you decide to plan your meals. I know some people that plan a month at a time, 2 weeks at a time, one week at a time, or just a few days at a time. Only you can decide what will work best for your family. I tend to plan only a few days at a time since my hubby's schedule is so sporadic and our family is a little spontaneous with our activities (because we never know when we can do fun things with him!) I need to make sure our dinners coincide with his schedule, which changes rapidly.
After deciding on a few meals, I write them down on my daily dockets for the week. This keeps me on track each day. (You can find the download for the daily docket I use as well as several other great organizational tools -all FREE- here: http://simplemom.net/tools/downloads/ ) If I have a busy day planned, I make sure my meal is one I can throw in the slow cooker. That way, after a super long busy day, when it is time to fix dinner it is already done - for the most part anyway.
When I was a full time working mom, my sister called me the "Crock Pot Queen." I used my crock pot EVERY DAY, even days when I didn't work. I found that after a long day of work, I was in no mood to "figure out dinner" and instead would drive through the nearest burger joint. However, if the main part of my dinner was already cooked, it was easy to boil noodles, cook rice, steam some veggies, etc. Most of the thinking was already done and all I had to do was to pull it all together. Plus it is wonderful to walk in the house with the scrumptious smells of dinner making everyone hungry and ready to eat.
Another way planning your meals will help you save time and money is less trips to the grocery store! Obvious time saver! Plus, less chance to spend money on impulse items. Stores are known to place items right in front of you to help fill that basket. If you are there less, then there is less chance to make those impulse purchases... money saver!
Hope you can use my thrifty organizational tip!
Blessings to you!
Ready? This one is super easy!
Plan your meals ahead of time.
Yep, that's it! It's that easy. Plan them ahead of time and you will save time and money.
It's up to you how you decide to plan your meals. I know some people that plan a month at a time, 2 weeks at a time, one week at a time, or just a few days at a time. Only you can decide what will work best for your family. I tend to plan only a few days at a time since my hubby's schedule is so sporadic and our family is a little spontaneous with our activities (because we never know when we can do fun things with him!) I need to make sure our dinners coincide with his schedule, which changes rapidly.
After deciding on a few meals, I write them down on my daily dockets for the week. This keeps me on track each day. (You can find the download for the daily docket I use as well as several other great organizational tools -all FREE- here: http://simplemom.net/tools/downloads/ ) If I have a busy day planned, I make sure my meal is one I can throw in the slow cooker. That way, after a super long busy day, when it is time to fix dinner it is already done - for the most part anyway.
When I was a full time working mom, my sister called me the "Crock Pot Queen." I used my crock pot EVERY DAY, even days when I didn't work. I found that after a long day of work, I was in no mood to "figure out dinner" and instead would drive through the nearest burger joint. However, if the main part of my dinner was already cooked, it was easy to boil noodles, cook rice, steam some veggies, etc. Most of the thinking was already done and all I had to do was to pull it all together. Plus it is wonderful to walk in the house with the scrumptious smells of dinner making everyone hungry and ready to eat.
Another way planning your meals will help you save time and money is less trips to the grocery store! Obvious time saver! Plus, less chance to spend money on impulse items. Stores are known to place items right in front of you to help fill that basket. If you are there less, then there is less chance to make those impulse purchases... money saver!
Hope you can use my thrifty organizational tip!
Blessings to you!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Never Say These 10 Things to a Mom
I wanted to share this article on Redbook's website that is just - oh so true - on both sides of the coin. 10 things never to say to a Stay at home mom and 10 things never to say to a working mother. I have been on both sides of these conversations. I always want to say to people, "You worry about your family and I will worry about mine."
Follow this link to read the lists here:
The truth is we are all meant to be right where we are. We all have our own choices to make. And if we choose to be a working mom or a stay at home mom, that is our prerogative. Why is it anybody else's business anyway? Big pet peeve of mine.
Now if only I had a list of 10 things never to say to a home school family....
Have a great weekend.
(Do you thing Puxatawny Phil will see his shadow or not? I hope not, I am ready for spring to be on its way!!!)
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