Tips for Keeping a Clean Bathroom part 2

That is not Lysol in that can!

Almost two years ago, I posted My Tips for Keeping a Clean Bathroom where I encouraged my readers to try keeping a spray bottle of vinegar and a stack of rags in each bathroom for simple, quick clean-up.  I still think this is a wonderful method, but I have found a few more simple cleaning techniques I'm excited to share that have really helped me keep up a clean bathroom.

First, I combined a few different ideas from Pinterest to create my own disinfecting wipes.  I used an old Lysol container and put in pieces of my husband's old undershirts that I cut up.  (I cut the body of the shirt into quarters for these wipes.)  About 10 of these wipes fit in the container.  I mixed up a cleaning solution in a jar that consisted of the following:

• 1/2 c. vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. Dawn dish soap
• about 15 drops of essential oils (I like orange and tea tree oil.)

I poured this mixture over the wipes, shook them up, and I had wipes ready to go for cleaning the entire bathroom.  They even worked nicely on the mirror!  (If yours seem a little dry, you can always add a little bit of water.  If they are too wet, you can squeeze out the excess liquid in the sink before using them.)  These 10 wipes lasted me about a month, and then I just laundered them and made up a new solution.  I have such a small bathroom and it has no cabinets, so this one little container hides in there very well.

The second idea is for cleaning the tub. I use coconut oil in my boys' bath water in the winter and this tends to make my tub get dirty in a hurry.  It is so much work trying to scrub out the bathtub, that I tend to put it off way too long.  I bought a little dish scrubber (shown above) and filled it with equal parts Dawn dish soap and vinegar.  I keep it right in the shower on the hanging rack.  About once a week while I'm taking a shower, I shake it up and do a quick once over on the tub and tiles.  This takes less than a minute and has been keeping my tub nice and clean.  I'm thrilled to give up the task of scrubbing out the bathtub every month!

Do you have any tips for keeping the bathrooms clean?

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Just Three Things

Life... sometimes I feel like I'm living it well, and other times I feel like it is eating me alive. 

This fall has been very, very hard for me physically and it has taken a toll on all of us.  We've been in survival mode around here, but beyond just the week-long flu bug kind of survival mode, more like the month-and-a-half-long kind of survival mode.  And because your family will be able to make it if you go for a month without dusting and cleaning windows, but will not make it if you go for a month without washing the dishes or doing laundry, I have found that it helps so much to keep the three most essential chores at the forefront of my mind.

If you can only do three things, do these three:

Hungry people are unhappy people, especially children.  #1 of the top three is to get everyone fed each day.  Your meals don't need to be gourmet.  Sometimes you just need to fill the bellies.  Use your stock of freezer meals, and when you run out, buy some convenience foods, ask others to bring you meals, and eat PBJ every day for lunch if necessary, just make sure you fill the bellies. 

#1 is going to get complicated if you can't keep up with the dishes, so washing dishes regularly is second in importance.  Try to wash all of the dishes after each meal.  If you keep up in this way, it will only take you about 10 minutes of work at a time.  Really.  If they pile up for 2 or 3 days, it will be a huge project and you may not have the energy to tackle them.  If you are struggling to keep up, buy paper plates, bowls, and cups and use them. 

Do a load of laundry each day.  Just one.  If you have a little extra energy do two so you can take the day off tomorrow.  You can fold laundry while you rest on the couch, and throwing in a load takes minimal time and energy.  You can do it!  Putting them away is great if you have the energy, but the most important thing is just to get the clothes washed, dried and folded so they can be worn again.  Re-wear clothes that aren't dirty so you don't make more laundry than is necessary.

Another way this mental prioritizing is helpful is if you are working outside the home and are struggling to keep up day to day, or if you tend to get sidetracked with hobbies and not get dinner ready... force yourself to have the self-discipline to take care of these three things every day before you do anything else.

On your better days, try to wipe down the bathroom and get the floors cleaned.  Work for 10 minutes and rest for 20 (or more).  Bit by bit, you will get by.  This is a good time to give your child a crash course in using the vacuum or rinsing dishes for you.  My friend Amy says that a job done imperfectly by a child is an improvement over not being done at all by you.  

Lastly, keep praying and reading the Psalms.  It helps.
Auntie Leila has some wonderful advice on this as well.

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Stuff & Nonsense

Clothing Storage in the Basement

Do you feel overwhelmed by your stuff?  

This comes from being abundantly blessed, so we have a good reason to check our complaints and be thankful.  But there is more to life than managing our stuff, so it is helpful if our stuff is an asset to living our lives instead of becoming a chaotic distraction. 

A recent realization:

It’s not all about having absolute minimal possessions.  It is much more about using our resources, and one of our most precious resources is SPACE.

Some have more space than others, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution.  What we need is to achieve a careful balance of needful stuff for our present space.  The smaller the space, the less you are going to be able to need!  If you have more space, then you can keep more.  Just remember that needful stuff includes the things that we can use to bless others. 

So, we start by weeding out the stuff we don't need.  Is there a way to use it to bless others?  If so, do.  But if that pair of shoes is truly worn out, please just throw them away.  (This is very hard for me!)  I have discovered that I can free up a lot of space in my home just by throwing away all of the trash!!  So before you start organizing, go through each room with a trash bag and a giveaway box and get the stuff you don't need out of the house!

You know the cutesy saying, "A place for everything and everything in its place"?  Life can be so much more smooth and peaceful if this is just a habit in your family.  If you have trouble adopting this in your own life, I hope that my advice will help you put this saying into practice.

Four Important Things:
1.  Group like items together.
Books on bookshelves, magazines in a rack or basket, media in one area, sewing supplies in a sewing basket, mending in a basket, medical supplies and medicines together, etc...  Use what logic makes most sense to you, but try to keep like things together so you are not running all over the house when you need to get some hydrogen peroxide, antibiotic ointment, and a bandaid for your child.  Sometimes it helps to stop and think it all through, "When I am doing x,y,z, what things do I always use?"

2.  Put these like items into practical storage.
It's ok to have some little used kitchen items in an out of the way closet, but with items you use regularly, store them near the place where they are used when at all possible.  (Example - store coffee making supplies near the coffee pot.  Put towels and toilet paper in or near the bathroom.  Keep cleaning supplies in each bathroom.)  When I say "practical storage", I mean in a place where they are easily accessible.

3.  Acquire any practical storage that you need if you don't have it already.
Each home will have different amenities when it comes to things like built in closets, shelving, and storage.  Use what you have first, and then look around at what you already have for storage - side tables, baskets, large tins and crocks, plastic bins, etc...  Keep an eye out at yard sales for pieces that will help ease your storage problems.  I have found wonderful plastic drawer systems, side tables, dressers, chairs, etc... at yard sales.  Ask around and get paper boxes from a friend that works in a school or an office.  These are wonderful for storing off season clothing in an attic or a dry basement.  And if you still have a need, work it out in your budget to get what you need to make things work - from small things like shoe shelves and hangars, to bigger things like dressers.  

4.  Make sure items are returned to their place when not in use.
And this one is a biggie.  Make it a habit to return things to their storage place.  And I mean actually in place, not just sort of close to where they belong.  Make it a part of your routine to have everyone in the family stop to do a pick up a couple of times a day.  (We do before Quiet Time and bedtime each day.)  Try to start noticing things - when you are heading to your basement to work on laundry or something, take an armload of things and return them to their place in the basement.  If you have multiple levels in your home, it can help to put a basket near each set of stairs where you place things that need to go up or down to get back to their place.  It saves you a few trips.

I think when any of those steps get left out, chaos starts to take over, so if you have chaos going on, try to pinpoint where things are breaking down.  It could be that you just need to acquire a few more laundry baskets and your life would go so much more smoothly.  Maybe you need to pare down the kids' toys?  Maybe you just need to take out all of the trash?

Got any tips for managing your stuff?  I love getting great ideas from readers!

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Homemade Kitchen Scrubbie

Easy...
Frugal...
Making something useful out of something you were going to throw away so you don't have to buy that thing you needed...


It's a dish scrubbie made out of those mesh plastic-y bags that onions, lemons, and limes come in.  Instead of throwing them away, you neatly fold them up, stitch the edges, and you have something useful!

It isn't every day that I see a frugal idea like this.  I thought it was a fabulous idea, but I wanted to test it out before I showed it to all of you.

I originally saw the idea on Pinterest, but if you go over to Mooberry Farm Homesteading, Julie will show you how to make one.  For all my crafty interests, I've never done crochet, so here is my take on her idea:

Instead of crocheting the edge, I just did a blanket stitch around the edge with some embroidery floss (all 6 strands with a large-eyed needle).  I already had scraps of floss, and it takes so little, this is truly a "something for nothing" project.  I used the floss because I thought the 6 strands would make it stronger than regular thread.  I also put in an extra stitch in each corner for strength.  So far, it is holding up quite well, and mine is getting heavily used at the kitchen sink.  I think these would also be great for scrubbing the sink/bathtub.  They have a nice, gentle scrubbing quality, and they won't scratch.  When it starts to fall apart, just throw it away and you have lost nothing more than a bit of your time.

Speaking of time, all in all, I spent about 15 minutes sewing up the edge while watching my children play.  15 interrupted minutes.  Probably would have taken less than 10 without, but the nice thing is that you don't have to think very hard, you just do.  I like mindless handwork for that reason.
 
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De-cluttering the Kitchen

or perhaps a more descriptive title:  Fewer Knives, More Coffee Cups

With our recent move, I did a LOT of de-cluttering in the kitchen.  I have slowly come to realize that I strongly prefer a high quality, multi-use tool to a specialized gadget that takes up space in my kitchen.  For the best example of that, you can read why I got rid of my garlic press.

De-cluttering in general is a good and needful thing.  We tend to accumulate too much stuff.  More stuff means more time spent trying to maintain and organize that stuff.  An uncluttered kitchen where everything has a place is a wonderfully freeing thing. I have also found that when I have less, I am forced to do a better job keeping up with washing the dishes and I can always use encouragement in that area!

Alton Brown recommends that any item you haven't used in 3 months goes into storage outside of your working kitchen (boxed and labeled in basement storage or a closet) and any item you haven't used in a year just goes.  Ouch!  But this is a rather good guideline and it will help you keep your sanity. It also allows for the odd items that are truly useful to you and your family.  For us, that means keeping a food processor, a tortilla press, and an egg cooker.  For others that may mean a blender, a waffle iron, or a rice cooker. 

In regards to knives, don't buy a set of knives because only 1/3 of them will be truly useful.  Don't buy fancy choppers that are a pain to clean when a knife will do the job just as well.  Buy only what you need.  You can cut anything with just four knives in your kitchen.  Get GOOD knives that you can easily sharpen, especially a good chef's knife.  Don't be scared of big knives.  Big knives are much easier to control than small, thin blades. 

So here are a couple of knife storage options with my recommended knives:

From left to right:  cheese slicer, carving knife (for roasts and large cuts of meat), bread knife, tomato knife (now moved in with canning supplies), two paring knives, chef's knife and two pair of kitchen shears (GREAT for cutting up food for the Littles)

At first, I was a little scared to have my knives so exposed, but if you have an out-of-the-way place for a magnet strip like this, it's a wonderful system.

In our current house, we can't mount the magnet strip on the wall, so we're back to knives in a drawer.  I recommend that rubbery shelf liner to keep them from sliding around.  Having so few knives, I can easily lay my hands on what I want without fear of cutting myself.  Here we have -

Same knives, only the kitchen shears and the cheese slicer are in a different drawer.  I have also recently learned that you should not store your knives in a sheath or a knife block.  The sheaths are almost impossible to clean and will dull your knives much sooner.  I save the sheaths for when my knives need to travel.

I don't know about you, but the kitchen is my primary workspace in our home.  Tackle a cabinet or drawer at a time and determine if you need to do some weeding out.  Just make sure in your efforts to minimize, you keep hospitality in mind.  Get rid of the gadgets, or at least most of them.  Keep the coffee cups.  Haven't used those extra coffee cups in a year?  HAVE SOME PEOPLE OVER!  :)

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Hard Water

When we moved to our new house, my glassware came out of the dishwasher looking like this:

ACK!

I did some googling and discovered that my problem was either a filmy coating from hard water or etching from soft water.   Since this happened instantly and not gradually over time, my guess was that I had hard water.  Just to be sure, I did the vinegar test.  I simply sprayed some plain white vinegar on a rag and rubbed the cloudy film away.  This confirmed that I indeed had mineral buildup from hard water.

What is hard water? 
Hard water is water that has high mineral content.  It is generally not harmful to one's health.  A result of hard water is a lack of suds when soap is agitated in water, so the harder your water, the more soap you will generally need to use to get things clean - things like your hair, your laundry, and your dishes.

Next, I needed to know just how hard.  Often when you buy a dishwasher or washing machine, the manual will recommend how much soap to use based upon the hardness of your water.  Our landlord left the manual for the dishwasher with us... the manual from 1990!!! 

We have city water, so I googled the name of our city + "water quality report" and I looked for the most recent year.  It gave me a number of 161 mg/L.  I found a chart online that helped me translate this because my dishwasher manual only listed grains per gallon:

	Water Hardness Scale
Grains per gallon	mg/L	Classification
less than 1.0	less than 17.1	soft
1.0 - 3.5	17.1-60	slightly hard
3.5 - 7.0	60-120	moderately hard
7.0 - 10.5	120-180	hard
over 10.5	over 180	very hard

So there you have it.  We have water on the higher end of the "hard" classification, so we would need quite a lot of soap to do the job.  According to my dishwasher manual, we need about 3 Tbs. of detergent.  I have found that I get the best results when I fill both the pod for the wash and the open pod for the pre-wash.

All of that detergent gets expensive, doesn't it?

Not thanks to a homemade detergent recipe I found on Pinterest!!  Hop on over to "Being Creative to Keep My Sanity" for a great dishwasher detergent recipe that works well for hard water.

I was amazed when I saw that I already had most of the ingredients and that is what encouraged me to just give it a try.  I already use many of these things for making my own laundry soap or other cleaners.  You will need:

• Borax*
• Washing Soda
• Citric Acid (found with canning supplies)
• Epsom Salts
• LemiShine rinse aid (in my picture above)

I cut the recipe in half to try it out and I think I will do that next time as well for a few reasons.  First, a full recipe won't fit in my storage container.  Second, once mixed, moisture will get into the powder and it will become very hard.  I pull out a table knife each time to chip away what I need.  I don't mind it too much as I'm spending my time, not my money, and it doesn't cost much of my time.  Third, it lasts a long time, so even cut in half, I don't need to make it very often.  I don't know how long because I've only been doing this for about two months, but I still have well over half left and as I said, I have to use a lot of detergent for each wash.

In order to cut the recipe in half I used a kitchen scale because I have one.  I think you could successfully eyeball it if you need to do so.  If you are unsure of the amount of citric acid, I did the math and a half recipe = about a quarter of a 7.5 oz. container. = 12 Kool Aid packets.
Because of the level of hardness of our water, I used the entire container of LemiShine in my recipe, so adapt for your water accordingly.

So I was a little skeptical at first, but my dishes are coming out wonderfully clean and the soap is all dissolving well.  (It didn't always when I used store bought dishwasher detergent.)

If you have soft water, the DHM of The Common Room has been using this recipe with success for quite some time.

*A note on Borax - Borax is a wonderful all natural cleaner, but that does not mean it is safe for children!  It is toxic if ingested and can burn eyes and skin, so you will want to keep your borax and your dishwasher powder stored safely away.  Store bought dishwasher powders are also toxic, so hopefully you have been doing this anyway. 

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Organization for Medicine/First Aid

Preacher Man was getting very frustrated with the situation of our medical supplies. If he wanted a band-aid, he had to look in three different places to find one. If he wanted an aspirin, he was never quite sure which cabinet it was in or if he should just dig in my purse. It was all a big jumble because I never had adequate space to organize and store things properly. This is compounded by the fact that I'm a bit of a natural health guru and I have lots of herbs, homeopathic remedies, tinctures, salves, etc... Those kinds of things don't fit neatly into the typical bathroom medicine cabinet.

Maybe you find yourself in a similar situation?



Now it's all in one place!

I found this great three drawer system at a garage sale for a couple of dollars and it works wonderfully! I keep it on top of the fridge because it keeps these tempting little bottles out of sight/out of mind from the Littles. At least they haven't attempted climbing on top of the fridge yet. (I sure hope I didn't just jinx myself!) The downside is that I have to stand on a stool to get what I need, but the drawers are easily taken out and put back in so it isn't too bad.

Here's how I organized my stuff:
Top Drawer = Natural Remedies

• bulk herbs
• homeopathics
• Emergen-C (GREAT STUFF!)
  
• essential oils
• cough drops (they are herbal)
  

Middle Drawer = Skin Care/First Aid

• Thermometer
  
• Snot Suckers (hey, that's what we call them!)
• Medicine Droppers
• Bandages
• Skin Salve
• Betadine solution
• Aloe Vera gel
  

Bottom Drawer = Rx/Traditional Meds

• Pain meds
• Fever reducer
• Prescriptions
• Eye Drops
• Allergy Meds
• Vapor Rub
  
• Tummy Meds

Probiotics are in the fridge and I keep my vitamins on my desk so I take them at least once a month. :P Seriously, I'm terrible about taking them!

How do you store your medicine and sundries?

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A Mystery

I've been joining my friend Lori at In My Kitchen, In My Life doing a January house clean out. It's fun! She gives a small, manageable task each day and I derive much satisfaction in getting these little jobs done.

So my fun for a Friday...

I was dutifully cleaning out my freezer when I came across this:



Any guesses what it is?

The first person to guess can have it mailed to their home! HAHA! Just kidding!

Have a happy Friday folks!


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Chore Charts

We instituted chore charts for the first time last week. They've been a long time coming. We're going through a transition period in our household, and I originally thought I'd just wait until all of that shakes out before starting up something new, but we got to a point with Big Littles where we just couldn't wait any longer. He is the kind of kid that needs a purpose in life. He needs to be kept very busy doing good, productive things or he very quickly spins out into destruction/provoking everyone in the family mode. :( The kid needs lots of good work! He's much happier as a result!

I used photos for our charts for several reasons. One, it's easy to modify the daily chores and add new ones to the rotation. Second, I think it is a great method for non-readers and early readers, which is where both of my Littles are at this time. Third, it was cheap and simple and I like that. :)

So here's a picture of our charts with the names whited out for privacy:



Here are instructions on how I made them:

1. Take photos of various chores and have them printed. Label the pictures with a simple description. I recommend taking pictures of the way the job will look when it is completed. This way if you child comes to you saying the job is done, but they've done sloppy work, you can ask if their work matches the picture.
   
2. Cut out a piece of poster board measuring 14"x18". I laid out the photos on the poster board to get an idea where I wanted to put the name and wrote it on there.
   
3. I cut another piece of poster board measuring 4"x6" for the pocket. I wrote a Bible verse on it. One has Ecclesiastes 9:10 on it, the other has Proverbs 22:29.
4. Laminate and trim the poster board, the pocket, and the photos of the chores.
5. I used sticky-back velcro for attaching the pictures because I have a lot of it around, but you could probably come up with a way to use magnets or some other adhesive method. Looking at the picture below, you can see the way I attached the velcro into long strips, which I admit uses a lot more velcro, but it also makes it much easier for little people to affix the photos. Put the opposite side of the velcro vertically on the back of the laminated photos for ease of use.
6. Attach the pocket. I used pieces of clear packing tape.
   

A close up of some of the photos:



So far, so good! We have a couple of happy workers and a happy mama and the system is working well!

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Balance

A dear friend is writing a wonderful series of posts on balance. She is calling it, "Balancing Balance". She is a woman worthy of emulation, too. She has graduated 2/3 homeschoolers, kept her home, served her fellow Christians, and has even served the community as mayor! Go and glean her wisdom!

Start here with Part 1.

I find that it is becoming crucial to learn these lessons now that I am the mama. There are so many really GOOD things that can be done and despite what you may have heard, you cannot have it all. We must make choices and If I fail to properly filter, the entire family can fall apart. Sounds dramatic, but it is so much the case!

If I fail to keep up with the dishes, the entire kitchen becomes over-run and a person cannot even work there to prepare food. What happens then? Mama's blood sugar plummets and she tries to correct it with dark chocolate peanut M&Ms which only make her crash even further in 20 minutes. (NOT PRETTY! Ask Preacher Man!) Children become irritable and hungry, and have to scrounge for whatever can be eaten with their hands. Then mama has to wash a room full of dishes and it takes an hour, during which time the children run AMOK and cause an even bigger mess! (Oh mama tried to involve the children in the dish washing, but really, it wouldn't work because of the horrendous mess.) It's ugly folks. Ugly! I should know!

Remember this?



*shudders*

Or what about when the family's schedule is so utterly hectic, running here, there and everywhere and the children miss too many naps and have irregular meals, and are the kinds of children that can only poop when they are at home (sorry, I know that is TMI), so their entire digestive system gets out of whack, not to mention the effects of eating bad food on the road...

All of this because MAMA fails to filter!

It's a different ball game now. My poor decisions don't just affect me anymore. My family needs me and needs me to BALANCE!

So if you struggle with this, and I don't know a woman who doesn't, go visit Mrs. Lori and learn how! :)

Appendix

We have been in a state of emergency in Church Mouse's little world for about a week. Now the dust is beginning to settle, and happily, I'm getting everything put to right. In the meantime though, I missed two linkups I've been faithfully following and this makes me a little bit sad. :( Even though I'm too late to link up, I think I'll add my thoughts on the final chapters of Open Heart, Open Home by Karen Mains over the next couple of days.

A bit ironic that I missed the linkup on the appendix of Large Family Logistics because my life was in crisis, while the two sections are entitled, "Coping While Exhausted and Overwhelmed" and "Moving Beyond Survival Mode". :)

I have said it before and I will say it again, the book is worth the price for the appendices alone. Seriously.

I was experiencing a temporary crisis, but there are times in life where survival mode goes on and on and on. (First trimester anyone?) If you have been there before, you are familiar with that helpless sort of feeling that comes from many months of exhaustion, illness, and just trying to survive minute by minute. In these two sections Mrs. Brenneman gently takes you by the hand, encourages you to keep on, and leads you step by step through what you need to do to bring things into a state of order once again. You don't need to feel helpless any longer. 12 steps, that is all, gets you right back on track.

"Do the Next Thing" is a fine saying, but if everywhere you look you see things to do, you wonder which thing is next.

And that is where my Home Management Book came in. Even in its skeletal state, it has been a tremendous help for me during this difficult week. Instead of looking at it and feeling guilty that I was not able to stick to the plan, I was able to use it as a guide. It helped me prioritize. Certain things were put on the back burner while I took care of what was urgent.

For instance, Monday is supposed to be laundry day, but I did zero laundry. I tackled my most pressing projects and took a nap! Laundry is being handled little by little throughout the week instead. I feel like just today I have things back on track, so tomorrow I jump right in with both feet into "Town Day". Having a focus for each day eases my mind and lightens my general to-do list considerably.

Crisis will come and go, but by keeping a good attitude and relying upon your well-thought-out plans, you will be able to overcome.

Redeeming the Time

Another study of Open Heart, Open Home by Karen Mains. Linking up with the Common Room. See the link for more hospitality-related posts.



Chapter 15 - Stewards of Time

Looking long and hard at time - this one unalterable, precious gift which we cannot change, but only learn to use well, I asked, "Am I being a good steward of my time?"

Sometimes I do quite well. Sometimes I fail. I fight being affected by the weather. I'm full of energy on sunny days and get so much done. When it is cloudy and rainy I feel like a slug, dragging myself to get my work done all day. When emotional stress hits, I tend to just give in to depressive thoughts and wallow. Wallowing, is decidedly, a poor use of time. I would be so much better off if I would use that time in prayer. It's a good thing that I have a lifetime, Lord willing, to work on myself!

So am I being a good steward with my time?

The best answer I can give right now is, "I try. Lord, I really, really try. And please help me to do better!"

The amount of time available to us determines the quantity and personality of our hospitality... On the other hand, there are people who can devote large amounts of time and energy to hospitality. The temptation which always accompanies this situation is to do more than is required. It is easy to spend days in elaborate preparations which have nothing to do with ministry but a great deal to do with demonstrating one's own abilities. One must look carefully at those hidden motives and ask, "Am I really seeking to serve, or am I trying to impress?"

We must be sure that "extra frills stem from a desire to give, to minister, rather than from a desire to impress."

A good thermometer as to whether pride was rising in me was to ask two questions: Am I nervous? Am I fussing? These were pretty good indicators of the true nature of my intentions... Again, the answer was pride rearing its subtle and manipulative head, forcing me to think self.

I am not one of those people that can devote lots of time and energy to hospitality. (I used to be, and perhaps that is a big part of my problem.) Elaborate preparations are simply not my style. So you would think pride would not be an issue for me. It is.

Oh pride. What a beast. I try and try to banish it far away, but oh how it loves to creep back in. Learning to be hospitable with Littles has been a good exercise for me in putting away my pride. I simply cannot do what I once could in terms of food preparation and house cleaning. I have to do much of the cleaning last minute for fear that it will all be undone by little hands. Decorations? HA! I'm doing well to light a candle in the bathroom!

I admit that I recently served a bakery dessert for guests and I really struggled with my injured pride when I simply ran out of time to make a homemade dessert. The truth is, I didn't really "run out of time", it's just that my time was needed more elsewhere and a homemade dessert was not the highest on the list of priorities. It happens. I don't regret the way I spent my time. I'm just learning to not let my pride keep me from serving.

Being a good manager of your time makes you a good manager of life.

Oh so true. And we've been talking about that a lot with the Large Family Logistics discussion haven't we?

Chapter 16 - Shortcuts

Most of us don't have all the time we want to carry on ministries of hospitality. We seek to discover shortcuts so that we can open our homes with a minimum of effort.

Yes, please!

1. Never clean before company.
I learned this one after the first couple birthday parties we hosted where the entire house was scattered with cupcake crumbs after everyone left. I vacuum on Tuesdays and Saturdays and do spot cleaning if there is a need. If you visit on any other day, our floors may not be spotless. I'm ok with that. After having large groups of people in your home, the floors will need to be vacuumed again, whether you served food or not, so you may as well save your time and energy and do the cleaning after.

Now DO do the basics of cleaning before company - wipe down the bathroom, tidy and straighten, make the beds with fresh sheets for overnight guests, but if you keep up with your general house cleaning and everyday routines, there shouldn't be a need for much cleaning before having company.



2. Don't be afraid to do things with flair.
I am a rather understated individual and my tastes are very simple, so I'm not much of one for flair. I am learning though. To me, the loveliest addition is a beautiful flower arrangement. It seems like a bit of an extravagance to me, so I don't do it often unless it is my own cut flowers, but a pretty arrangement certainly adds flair!



3. Do as much ahead of time as possible.
This is key for keeping my stress level to a minimum. Use the freezer! Have dessert, breakfast muffins, and part of the meal made up and frozen ahead of time. Take it out to thaw the day before. Use the crockpot! Nothing is nicer than having a hot meal ready to go, and best of all, you don't have to be a slave to the stove as your guests arrive! Prepare the guest room the day before and close the door to all tiny invaders, and you have one less thing to worry about. As much as you can, get things done ahead of time!



4. Clean as you go.
Confession: I'm still working on this one. I'm notorious for leaving the kitchen in a wreck while I do meal prep and often, the dishwasher is full of CLEAN dishes, leaving no place for the dirty ones to go! Yes, I need to improve my skills here!



Wash dishes as you cook, put things away as they are finished, But DON'T unsettle your guests by fussing too much with cleaning. Believe me, it IS unsettling. Your primary concern should be the comfort of your guests, not keeping things as pristine looking as when they arrived.

5. Use all the help that comes your way.
Many hands make light work! If you receive an offer of help, accept it with grace. This would include help in meal preparation, setting the table, cleaning up, planning an event, or bringing food. Allowing guests to help makes them feel more at home... like family. And it takes a burden off of your shoulders. It's a win-win! I LOVE her idea for a "Bring a Pie Night" where each guest or family brings a pie of their choosing. The hostess provides drinks, plates, and silverware. Brilliance!



6. Keep files.
She recommends keeping files of magazine clippings of hospitality ideas. Pinterest anyone? (Sometimes I really love technology!)

Each of us must learn to determine what is important in our lives. We must come to an agreement with the time which we have been allotted. If the Lord is asking us to carry on extensive ministries of hospitality, we will then be able to know the human limitations within which we work. We will learn to adjust our attitudes and discover shortcuts.

Better to just DO IT and show hospitality with shortcuts than to utterly neglect it because you simply haven't the time. (This means you have not made the time.) There is no shame in taking shortcuts. Don't let pride get in the way!

(Just two chapters remain!)

In Which Church Mouse Gives Herself a "Talking To"

While we do not yet have a large family, I have benefited greatly from the ideas shared in Kim Brenneman's book, Large Family Logistics. I'm joining the Four Moms today as we share from Chapters 28-47, the part of the book that gets down the the every day, nitty-gritty part of managing home and family. For a brief overview of each chapter, visit Connie's post on Smockity Frocks. The nice thing is that most of these chapters are very short, so you can easily hop around and read what is most needful for your family at the time.

For my post, I'm focusing on daily routines. For the past several years, I've been a bit of a free spirit. It has been nice, especially while I was figuring out how to be a mama, but I am feeling a little more urgently, a need to bring some more structure to our days. Big Littles, in particular, really thrives on routine and knowing what to expect, and our days run so much more smoothly when I put some thought into what we do, why and when.

Some words of wisdom from God -

Proverbs 16:3 - Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

Some words of wisdom from Mrs. Brenneman from Chapter 28 - Morning and Evening Routines

Here's what I have learned: When we are prepared, then we have no fear and are calm. When we are calm inside with surety as mothers, we speak with calmness to our children. On the other hand, if the children wake with no direction at all, they learn to be wasteful with their time. When our children wake to a plan and a calm and kind mother, then they in turn have pleasant mornings.

And part of this is making myself have the self-discipline to GO TO BED EARLY so I can wake up to be that cheerful direction for my children.

*shaking my finger at myself*

*nodding back meekly*

She goes on to say,

Children thrive on order; it gives them security. They want to know the plan for the day. They want to know what to expect when they get up. They are healthy in a home of order, peace, and security. As home manager, this is your duty to facilitate. Planning and preparation help build a happy heart in yourself which overflows to your children.

As my sweet friend Amy commented in regards to not planning, her husband says, "You can hardly call it Plan B if there was no Plan A to begin with."

So very true. In my previous line of work, I had to do extensive planning. It was drilled into me time and time again to do this planning in a very careful and explicit way. When the time came to execute the plans, I found I actually felt much more confidence and freedom diverting from the plans when the need arose because I was so familiar with my plans and goals that I could be spontaneous (not a strength of mine) and creative and get the job done WELL! I think it is the same way in managing my home. The plans are like the safety net of the trapeze walk that is my life. I'm going to be thrown off and I will lose my balance... I KNOW it. But I can jump right back on and keep going or even go in a new direction if needed because I have thought of a plan ahead of time.

Speaking of plans, this is what I have worked out so far -

Morning routine:
1) Coffee time/pump milk for donation (hopefully before everyone awakens) - I usually check the internet during this time
2) Start laundry
3) Nurse baby
4) Fix breakfast - water pitcher for the table
5) Eat with a Psalm
5) Vitamins for all
6) Wash faces/brush teeth
7) Clean up the table (dishes are rinsed and stacked, washing happens after lunch though), sweep crumbs
8) Everyone gets dressed
9) Make beds
10) Go to chore time = hang up a load of laundry + chores for the day

Stuff in the middle:
Playing, book reading, lunch/clean up, toy pick up, quiet time, more play time and book reading

I would really like to work in some more structured "school time", but we aren't quite there yet. I'm working on strengthening my morning routine just a leeeeetle bit more before adding it in.

Evening Routine:
1) After dinner clean up
2) Children's Hour- baths on bath night (which is also when I clean the bathroom), play games, wrestle, take a walk, etc...
3) Toy Pick Up
4) Get ready for bed routine (brush teeth/potty/pajamas)
5) Read books
6) Bed for the Littles
7) Sit with them until they are asleep and then I have free time with my husband until we go to bed.

I try to have chores done so I can just relax with my husband in the evenings, but I do sometimes throw in a load of laundry to soak overnight.

The morning routine is still tough for me. It just takes so much self-discipline especially when I am so groggy from waking up a thousand times the night before with a teething baby. I just keep plodding along, working at it each day until it becomes a habit.

The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days.—Charlotte Mason

And children cannot be expected to have those good habits if the mother herself does not have them. Self-discipline, folks, it takes plain old self-discipline.

As Auntie Leila says, "trying to do all the stuff you have to do, today, with a loving heart."

Do your duty! Be diligent!

*more finger wagging*

I mean YOU Church Mouse!

;)

Works For Me!

This is my brain:


This is my brain on Large Family Logistics:


(Sorry if the hearts are distracting... had to cover personal information.)

Psalm 90:12 - Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

I LOVE that verse.

This week, I made a Home Management Book. Now I'm one of those weirdos that gets a little high from gathering materials like pretty purple binders, tabbed dividers, post-it-notes, and sheet protectors. But rather than just being a fad that I put a lot of time and energy into creating and drop in 2 weeks (or less), this is a tool that is helping me order my days in a meaningful way, and I intend to use it for a long time.

Ever since I was in middle school, I have had a "brain". I have always called my planner my brain because it remembers everything for me. My planners have taken many different shapes and forms. I have used daytimers, notecards, spiral notebooks, etc... I have changed my systems as my life has changed in complexity. The Home Management 3 ring binder system spelled out in LFL is just the perfect solution to my life at this moment. For the past several years I have been using a spiral notebook, but as life gets more complex, I need to bring more order to my days. I love the fact that this notebook stores all of the most pertinent information for me in a very clear way.

Here are the sections of my Home Management Book and what I put in them:

1. Front Cover - my daily routine for easy reference
2. First Page - a piece of paper with my weekly menu, schedule, and to-do list
3. Sunday - The Lord's Day - Prayer List, Bible Memory Work page, Bible class planning
4. Monday - Laundry Day - jobs for the day, a page listing current clothing sizes and needs for each member of the family
5. Tuesday - Kitchen Day - jobs for the day, meal routines, meal lists for planning
6. Wednesday - Office Day - jobs for the day, list of household staples with current best prices, next week's menu (office day jobs include making a grocery list and planning next week's menu)
7. Thursday - Errands (aka - Town Day) - jobs for the day, "Watch For" list - long term shopping list for garage sales, thrift stores and best deals
8. Friday - Garden Day - maps of past and present garden layouts, lists of what seeds I planted this year, long term list of outdoor chores that need to be done
9. Saturday - Cleaning Day - jobs for the day, spring/fall cleaning lists
10. Homeschooling - Ambleside Online book lists, goals/plans (remember I only have pre-school children right now)
11. Holidays - gift lists, menus, other plans
12. Sewing - list of current projects
    
13. Blog - information and ideas for Church Mouse
    
14. Etc... - current TCOYF chart

Colossians 3:23-24 - Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

It is worth noting that the days-of-the-week sections are not limited to those days, but that I will focus on that section on those particular days. I find that I am easily overwhelmed by a single, long to-do list. Dividing up my tasks into different days helps me to divide and conquer!

I also enjoy the fact that I can dress for the occasion. I tend to dress in nicer clothes on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and I can wear work clothes for the dirty work that happens on the other days.

I depart from the LFL system with the following:

• So far, I have boys, and I don't think they'll be thrilled by a "Tea Party Day". We are substituting Pizza Day. :)
• Instead of one big cleaning day, I still spread many of my cleaning tasks out throughout the week. I simply put those tasks on the pages for the "jobs for the day". I have always preferred doing things this way.
• Not a real departure from the book, but worth noting in case you haven't read it yet - While I focus more on the jobs on their respective days, I also do laundry and gardening throughout the week because I hang nearly all of my laundry on the line, so these are both jobs where I "make hay while the sun shines". I usually do 2 loads on every sunny day. Remember, there are only four of us. If our family is blessed to grow, we may need to institute the "four loads by four" policy. As it is, I try to do "two loads by noon". Yeah... I have it easy. :)

So that is what works for me at this point in my life. I agree wholeheartedly with what Kim C. says about the book here, "I think Kim strikes a difficult and delicate balance between too much detail (overwhelming) and not enough (lack of focus or direction). She is also very careful not to dictate too many specifics of what belongs on your schedule or list of priorities, while providing plenty of examples from her own personal list and life."

What does your brain look like?



This post is a part of the Four Moms Large Family Logistics Part 2 linkup.

Life with Littles

A few months ago, a sweet, sweet friend and reader surprised me by sending me a copy of the book, Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman. The book is AWESOME, folks! I would say it is worth the price for the appendix alone! If you have one child or 10 children, you will benefit from this book and its Godly perspective on being a mother and manager of your home.

The famous Four Moms are doing a link up today on the first section of the book and I'm excited to chime in. The only problem is, the first section of the book is 17 CHAPTERS!! Now some of the chapters are short, but it is seriously a LOT of material to cover and I don't think I can do it justice in a single post. I decided yesterday that I would pick my favorite chapter for a post. But this is so hard to do! There are so many favorites! *sigh*

If you are not familiar with the book, Connie at Smockity Frocks does a nice job summarizing each chapter.

I love that this book is practical and that this is a mom that really gets it. I feel like I am reading a letter from a wonderful friend and she is sharing tips on when to take a shower (pg. 89) because there are times when even sneaking in a 10 minute shower seems impossible. She shares how to select modest clothing that is suited to the job of being a mother (ch. 17), how to avoid looking frumpy, and how to organize your clothing when you go through five different sizes in one year. She encourages me to keep denying self and to look to God for strength when my load becomes too heavy. I continue to be blessed by the Bible-based wisdom in this book.

Since I can't decide upon a favorite, I'll share the chapter that seems most fitting for me right now - Chapter 13, Life with Littles.


How Little is Little?
Mrs. Brenneman says it depends upon your family and how you are training them. I like the Deputy Headmistress' definition: a child that still needs supervision to use the toilet. :) Mine are definitely little!

Children don't instantly become helpful when they hit a certain age; it is a result of the developmental training process that you employ at each age. Make work fun, do it with the right attitude, as unto the Lord, and as children grow, they will gradually pick up new skills and slowly become more helpful.

I am big on having my Littles help me around the house. They LOVE to work! Even the baby is so proud to toddle over to the drawer to put away a potholder for me. We work together, we learn together, we play together, and sometimes it is difficult to tell which one we are doing. This is discussed in even greater detail in chapter 9, but I love how she encourages us to work with our little ones. She emphasizes that "Little children can learn to work more easily if their day follows a routine" and encourages developing good habits and routines for self-care and cleaning up. Personally, I really need to work harder at strengthening our daily routine. The day goes so much smoother with that routine, and the Littles appreciate the predictability. Part of the problem is that I need to work on my own self-discipline for self-care and cleaning up! :/ Thankfully, she covers that in chapter 4.

Ease into Homeschooling
I think it is a major temptation of mothers who are eager to homeschool to jump in too hard, too fast, and too soon. Mrs. Brenneman encourages mothers to ease into it, simply adding on bits and pieces at a time to an already structured day.

Do you have a time of day when you read to the children? Tack on a few minutes of phonics... While reading aloud, have the children narrate back to you a little bit at a time... Do you play outside? Get down and find a bug, and then look it up and read about it.

That is the way I do pre-school!

Content Yourself with Healthy Brain Food
Mrs. Brenneman recognizes the physically taxing aspect of life with littles and the fact that there is a need for mental stimulation. She warns us about the seductive nature of the internet in regards to wasting time and the temptation of online gossip.

If you sow into your mind things that promote discontent... then you will reap discontent in your life... Do not allow yourself to be discontent, but look at all things with thanksgiving and challenge yourself to overcome trials with biblical responses. Look at the long physically hard days as the blessing that they are. This is the school of sanctification. God is growing in you.

Hide God's Word in Your Heart
The best "healthy brain food" is God's word! She recommends working daily on memorizing Bible verses with the Littles and singing hymns while you work, hiding God's word in their hearts, as well as your own. When we do this, we receive strength from the Lord.

We learn to rest in God and depend on Him for the strength we need for each day. We learn to seek Him for wisdom in how to handle all the things that wear on us. We learn to pray without ceasing and make Him our best friend in the lonely days of little adult interaction.

I Can't Get Anything Done!
Do you ever feel like you are just spinning your wheels. *sigh* Some days are like that, but if every day is like that, then it may be time to make some changes. Maybe you need to stay home more and focus on your children, your home, and your routine? Maybe you need to do a better job meeting the needs of your Littles before the meltdowns begin? Maybe something in the routine needs adjusting (earlier lunch or naps, a snack added in, etc...)? Maybe some of your Littles need some intensive work on obedience? I think I have had problems with all of these at one time or another. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut, running and running like a hamster in a wheel. Mrs. Brenneman wisely advises that if this is the case, we take a day or two studying the problem and working on solutions that will make our home life more pleasing.

Less is More
I use all of the strategies recommended in this book to keep toys under control, such as -

• limiting toys
• keeping only high quality, open ended, imaginative toys
  
• keeping toys where I work
• keeping toys out of the bedrooms
  
• rotating toys in and out of storage
• doing a "10 minute tidy" before naps and bedtime
  

But it requires constant vigilance! It seems like keeping the toys under control is a never-ending process. Cleaning out toys is on my to-do list right now because things are starting to get out of hand again. Mrs. Brenneman recommends the rule of thumb that if it takes longer than 10 minutes to clean up, it's time to de-clutter again.

What are your strategies for thriving while living in a house full of Littles? Which chapter in Part One was your favorite?

Older posts about Large Family Logistics can be found here - Large Family Logistics and here - The Children's Hour.

How HGTV and the Food Network Have Killed Hospitality

Ok, I admit my title is a bit of an exaggeration, but I believe it because I am seeing a general decline in hospitality among Christians. What would modern culture have us believe about hospitality?

• Gourmet food
• Multiple courses - serving fancy drinks and hors d'oeuvres as your guests come in the door with swanky music playing, of course!
  
• Perfectly clean home
  
• A home with modern styles and decoration
  
• Beautiful table set with lovely china, place cards, centerpiece, tablecloth...
• Candles and flower arrangements strewn throughout
• Pretty, new furniture
  

Isn't that what is on TV, in cookbooks, and magazines? Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with a dinner party with all of these lovely amenities and comforts. The problem comes in when we think that the only way we can extend hospitality is if we first have all of them.

I have littles. Our furniture will be stained and scratched. Candles everywhere would be dangerous. Unless I lock my children in a closet for half of the day, there will be toys strewn in the living room, and the meal is going to need to be simple. Also, we choose not to live like the proverbial Joneses, laden with debt so we can have the latest and greatest furnishings and decorations. We live in our home. All four of us work, play, eat, sleep, and learn in our home nearly all of the time. We keep our home mostly neat and clean, and I think it is rather comfortable, but I don't think anyone would say it is magazine worthy. I do not apologize for this, and I hope that you won't apologize for your home either.

I actually had a woman say to me once that she really wanted to have us over, but they needed to replace the carpets first. We still haven't been invited over, and that was years ago. I have eaten in homes with dirt floors where the children sat on the floor next to the table to eat and everyone was happy and comfortable. I really don't care about the state of the carpets.

When we allow materialism to encroach and let personal hangups and perfectionism to prevent us from practicing hospitality, Satan wins. Does that sound rather extreme? I don't think that it is.

Hospitality is not just a good idea or a suggestion, it is a command. It is a requirement for elders (Titus 1:8, 1 Timothy 3:2), widows indeed (1 Timothy 5:10), is a command to all (Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2), and must be done with the proper attitude (1 Peter 4:9). In my Bible dictionary, it gives the following definition:

Hospitality: act of entertaining guests with warmth and generosity

Having people into our homes, friends and strangers alike, is a part of being a Christian, and it's something we all need to practice. As women, and the keepers of the home, it will primarily fall into our domain. I didn't do a lot of studying or research for this post, mostly I'm just spouting off the top of my head. I write to encourage myself to keep on working and doing better, seizing each opportunity that I see.

Four things come not back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, time past, the neglected opportunity.
Omer ign al-Halif

Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.
William Arthur Ward

Spring Cleaning!

Yesterday, we had a gorgeous, sunny day in the 50's with no wind. When I heard the forecast that morning, I made the spontaneous decision to start spring cleaning. All of the downstairs curtains went straight into the wash and were hung out on the line an hour later. (I choose to have white cotton washable curtains in all of our windows, except the bedrooms which have blackout lined curtains.) I spent the rest of the day washing the windows inside and out and all around. (Whoever invented double hung windows was a genius!) Just for good measure, I washed the ceiling fans and light fixtures. Today I'll touch up the curtains with an iron and rehang them and the house is going to smell AMAZING! I just love that fresh smell!

I need to do the same process with the bedrooms, but that is a bit trickier since the Littles need naps and those blackout curtains are there for a reason!

Here are the rest of the projects I hope to do for "Spring Cleaning":

• Shampoo the rugs and furniture
• Wash the trash cans and boot trays
• Clothing swap
  
• Clean oven (need to choose a cold day for this!)
• Clean shower head
• Vacuum fridge coils
• Wipe out kitchen drawers
• Give the counters/backsplashes a good scrub
  
• Dusting picture frames/books/display dishes
• Wash duvets and air pillows
• Swap humidifiers for fans/window ACs
  
• Prepare for a garage sale in May
  

B.C. = Before Children, I took a week and devoted it to spring cleaning. I think when we have older kids to pitch in this may be possible again, but for now I just plan to chip away at these jobs over the next three months. Slow and steady wins the race, right? :)

How do you do spring cleaning, and what is on your list?

The Precious Possession of Diligence

Proverbs 12:27 - A lazy man does not roast his prey,
But the precious possession of a man is diligence.

I am always astonished when I read through the Proverbs. I read one nugget of wisdom after the next and never fail to find something very practical to apply to my life. The above verse is one that I used to keep posted on an index card on my refrigerator. Does that sound a little strange? This verse was a continual reminder to me to curb my wastefulness.

Most of us acquire our meat and other groceries from the local supermarket. Some hunt, grow vegetables, milk cows, etc... but mostly by choice. Food is readily available and most everyone has access to a 24 hour store or restaurant. Perhaps if we really had to work hard to grow and preserve our food we would be more careful not to waste it.

In doing a quick google search, I found that Americans throw away an average of 14% of the food they purchase. No doubt, some are more guilty than others, but if you are like the average family, and you have a grocery budget of $100 per week (a little high in my opinion, but it's nice and round), you are throwing away $728 dollars every year.

Feeling a little twinge of guilt? Years ago when I read this verse in Proverbs, I felt it. I would buy food and bring it home, but because of my lack of diligence, I would not "roast it" and it would spoil. I'm not telling you to start eating spoiled food just so you don't waste it, I'm suggesting you are careful to only purchase what your family will eat, and then eat it! Make use of leftovers. Re-make leftovers into new dishes. Freeze portions for later consumption. Use creative substitution to avoid waste. Share food with those who will eat it.

This is one of those areas where habits will not change overnight, but you can start by opening your eyes to what is happening in your household and start making little steps to do better. Talk to your children as you work on these new habits. Talk about where food comes from and who has worked to bring it to our table. Talk about being diligent and not slothful. Most importantly, talk about the importance of being good stewards with our blessings and that food is a blessing from the Lord. We are blessed with abundance and we need to be deeply thankful.

Proverbs 31:10-11 - An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.

vs. 15 - She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.

vs. 27 - She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

vs. 30-31 - Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

"The Children's Hour"

Perhaps you are familiar with Longfellow's poem...

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupation,
That is known as the children's hour.

You can read the entire poem here. This poem has such sweet sentiments. After illness and travels, we are finally settling down into more of a routine. We have one child that particularly craves routine and thrives on predictability. In our anything-but-predictable life, I am trying to do what I can to create stronger routines when and where we can.

Enter Large Family Logistics! My amazingly sweet friend, Erin, surprised me by sending me the book, and I have been using many of the ideas from the book to create routines in our home.

In the past, I've tried a very linear approach to daily routines - sort of like a time line. Strict times were a bit too strict for me, but even just having one thing after another has not worked well at all. Seems like once the train got derailed, I could never get back on track. The author of Large Family Logistics takes more of a block approach with mini-routines within certain blocks of time - Morning and Evening Routines, Mealtime Routines, Chore Time, "The Children's Hour", Bedtime Routine, etc... and I'm working on implementing these into our life.

So far, "The Children's Hour" has been my favorite and the easiest to implement. It sets the tone for cheerful evenings and is a joyful way to end the day when I'd otherwise be mopey and tired. Each family must find what works for them, and in our particular situation, evenings are when Daddy leaves to do Bible studies with other families. Most of the time he leaves right after dinner. In the past, we would all be a little sad that Daddy was gone and it was reflected in our evenings. Now, we eat our dinner together and I wash up the dishes and clean up the dining room as quickly as I can. I purposefully spend the rest of the evening just playing and relaxing with the Littles until it is time for bed. No chores. No computer. No TV. Instead, we play, read books, take a walk, take baths two or three nights of the week, play games, and just enjoy one another. This "pause in the day's occupation" is restful to my spirit.

Still working on the other routines... that Morning Routine is a bear! There is just so much that has to happen first thing and I'm usually stumbling around for my coffee cup for the first hour I'm awake! (I still have a little one waking too many times a night to count!) But I'm happy for the sacredness of The Children's Hour.

Luke 18:16 - Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

What do you do during the "pause in the day's occupation"?

Surviving Survival Mode

The plague... the creeping crud... whatever you want to call it, we've had it this week. It has been a week of misery for everyone. This should explain my lack of posts. One of these days, life will get back into a nice rhythm again... I remain optimistic anyway!

So I thought I'd do a post on how to survive such a time from several different angles.

1. How to prepare. (Because you know your time WILL come!)
   
2. How to cope when you're in the thick of it.
3. How to help someone else when THEY are in the thick of it.

How to prepare:
There is only so much that you can do, but a few things do help. Having a well-stocked pantry is a big one, and I've talked about that a lot lately. I was very thankful for the cans of ready made chicken soup in the pantry. Homemade is best, of course, but there are times that mama just can't even stand up, let alone stand around the stove to cook! Crackers and cans of ginger ale, Sprite or lemon-lime seltzer are helpful also. I try to always keep a little stash, because when illness hits, it often hits without warning, and sometimes it is hard to get out to the store. For the children in the family who are not sick, or are in recovery mode, fast and easy is the way to go, worry about nutrition later. Cheese or peanut butter and crackers is fine. Add some fruit if you have it. Serve these on the bare table and you won't even have to worry about dishes!

My husband came up with a brilliant plan AFTER we ruined two pillows... Use a kitchen size trashbag over each child's pillow and cover with a pillowcase. It will be a little crinkly, but it will be a good waterproof cover in a pinch. This is useful for little ones who get sick in the night and are too young to use a bucket.

How to cope:
Let things go. Let the kids watch (wholesome) movies, let them eat ice cream for dinner, let the floors go unswept, let the dishes pile up, etc... Prioritize and let the rest go, then take care of yourself and your family. You can get it back under control one step at a time once everything is over. And remember that it will be over. Someday. :)

Don't be afraid to call for help. Ask someone to pick up some groceries for you if no one can get out. I am INCREDIBLY blessed that Preacher Man works from home and has a flexible schedule. Very few women I know have this luxury. If you are alone and need help, try to think of a relative, someone from church, a teenage homeschool girl, someone who can come over and help you out. If you are like me, you would do this as a last resort, but hopefully you can swallow your pride and realize that you are giving someone else the blessing of serving. And DON'T try to clean the house before that person arrives! Stay on the couch! Yes, that's an order!

How to help someone else:
It's a fine line, but I've learned to be a lot more pushy when it comes to offering my help in this way. I don't want to annoy, but try to push past all of the "Oh no, you really don't have to do that..." kind of niceties. (And I know because I always say those things myself!) Fix some homemade chicken soup and some nice bread. Stop by the store and get some tempting fruit that is in season, some Sprite and ginger ale, some frozen fruit bars, some crackers, etc... Call before you go please, but simply say, "I'll be out later this afternoon and I'd like to stop by to bring you some soup." (Notice that I did not ask this as a question, but rather phrased it as a statement.) Before you go, grab a bucket, a bottle of vinegar, rubber gloves, and a roll of paper towels. I always recommend bringing cleaning supplies with you so you don't have to ask where the family's are kept and bother them any further. Bring the soup, but say that you would like to please help out while you are there. You might have to fight their protests, but insist as much as you can and show that you have cleaning supplies in hand. Cheerfully go to work and give the bathroom(s?) a good cleaning and wash their dishes. If you see anything else you can take care of while you are there, by all means do it, but really, taking care of those two rooms will be a tremendous help. If your sick host(ess) is trying to follow you around and help clean, insist that they sit or lie down and brew them a cup of tea if that will help.

Offering this kind of help was something that I was regularly able to do as a single woman and as a married woman without children. Now that I have young children of my own, I find myself on the receiving end more often than I am the one able to give the help, but this is ok. Just remember that there are different seasons of life and make the most of each one. There are occasions where Preacher Man can watch the Littles and I can still go clean someone's home for them. I just hope that where I cannot do something, there are others that can and will, and I continue to do what I can. I find that I can still take over a meal fairly easily or if I can't deliver it, send it with Preacher Man. I just double the recipe and we eat half and share half, so it isn't too much trouble. I try to do this when there is an illness (especially long term), a new baby, surgery, or even for the elderly.

Now a special note on the elderly or those with a long-term illness. When my grandmother was very, very ill, I started going over to her house once a week and doing the heavy cleaning - scrubbing out the bathtub and toilet, mopping and vacuuming, and any other little jobs I saw. While bent over double, cleaning around the base of the toilet, I realized that there was no way in the world anyone with an aging body could accomplish such a task. I resolved then and there to try to do this for an elderly person when I could... even if just once a month, it will be a great help. Be active in the lives of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Open your eyes to their needs. Especially look for those without family close by and take it upon yourself to show love and care.

Matthew 25: 37-40 - Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'