Organizing Your Time and Space

I recently gave a talk to our homeschool mom's group on "Organizing Your Time and Space." I'm not sure if it was helpful to anyone else, but it helped me feel more organized just writing my speaking outline. Thankful I learned from the true master, Honey a.k.a. Mom!

Organizing Your Time and Space 

I. Time 

    A. Every family is different. You will have different strengths and weaknesses, different learning styles, different needs. 

    B. Start with spending time with the Lord. Kids can join in. 

    C. My hourly schedule – may look overwhelming at first, but it shows me where my margins are. Combines my calendar and to-do list. 

        a. Leave room for margin (quiet time—first 30 minutes, reheat coffee and Instagram) 

        b. Leave room for your hobbies/interests (read, piano, out with a friend) 

        c. Date your husband and your kids (babysitting swap with a friend) 

    D. If your resources allow, get help. 

        a. Housekeeper 

        b. Grocery delivery 

        c. Babysitter one afternoon a week 

    E. Schooling 

        a. You really can’t do it all, I have tried so hard! 

        b. Play to your strengths (I’m not a nature girl, I hate history projects, love to read). 

        c. No school is perfect—private, public, home—they’ll all have gaps. 

        d. Day in, day out learning adds up to a whole lot by the year’s end. 

        e. Structure: morning time, then tutorials, after lunch is together time subjects. 

        f. In previous years I’ve done different things—all grades handwriting, all grades math, etc. Rotation Stations. 

        g. Trust in what the Lord has called you to do. 

        h. Pray for wisdom. 

    F. Take inventory 

        a. What’s working, what’s not? Possible solutions. 

        b. Write out a family mission statement—if you want—how do those priorities fit in your life? 

 II. Space 

    A. Two mantras: 

        a. Everything has a place and everything in its place. 

        b. Don’t put it down, put it away. 

    B. Teach kids to help 

         a. Laundry basket idea—gather up all you can find, a quarter to get anything back 

        b. Transfer responsibility to your child—help them develop their own plan, resort to the Mom plan when needed 

        c. 15 minute pick-up time/cleaning time 

    C. Get rid of clutter. Give away things you haven’t used in the past year. Simplify. 

    D. Cleaning routine 

        a. I have daily tasks—dust Monday, clean kitchen and baths Tuesday, floors Wednesday, wash sheets and towels Thursday. 

        b. It is easier to clean a clean house. It doesn’t take very long. 

        c. A weekly wipe-up keeps the house clean enough. 

        d. Deep cleaning—some seasons I’ve had a schedule, some seasons I just wait till something starts bothering me or I have time to scrub. 

    E. Meals routine 

        a. Let kids help in kitchen—teaching and serving opportunity! Sometimes seems more trouble than it’s worth, but say yes when you can. 

        b. Dinner short-cuts—make double batches and freeze half, use that crock pot! 

        c. Make a master grocery list. 

III. Conclusion: Grace 

    A. We all need more grace. “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16         B. Ann Voskamp: Life is not an emergency, it’s a gift. 

    C. Enjoy your children. Soak up each phase. It won’t last.

Ground-breaking!

We broke ground on our new house this week. Here's the ceremonial photo. The children (and adults) are so excited about this new chapter for our family!

The Grand House (and nursery) Reveal of 2019

Last fall we embarked on a minor house renovation. We converted our 1/2 master bath to a full bath and added a walk-in closet. We also got lots of small repairs/remodeling done that had been our list of "too difficult to tackle ourselves but too small to hire a contractor" and then some things that ended up on the "Mama planned to do these things but she doesn't have time" list. These included new toilets in all the bathrooms, repainting the Gent's closet, painting the baby's room, painting the front door, repairing some previous drywall repairs that were not done well in a few rooms, a little bit of electrical and plumbing work, and removing the wet bar from Jacob's room. There were some other things that I've already forgotten but that I am glad to have done.

I meant to take pictures a while ago but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. But I got a new wide-angle camera lens for Christmas so I thought I'd better get it out and start practicing! Obviously I am a beginner. :) I was trying to use natural light and experimenting with different camera settings. Some of the pictures are way too dark and in several my lines are crooked. I didn't do any editing. I had fun even though all I see in these pictures is tons of mistakes.

First up, the sun room. We use this as our play and school room. It is a bright, happy room and it
makes me smile. Even if sometimes the kids cry over spelling in this space. Then the living room. We purchased new furniture for this room in the fall and I love it. It fits the space so much better. I re-accessorized this room after Christmas and I'm much happier with the new look. Next is the dining room. We moved the rug from the entry way to this room; other than that I think it is the same. Then the entry way. Love all the woodwork in this space. Next is the office. The Gent and I use this room every day. Our home office is essential to his work and my (mostly) well-run household. Then the kitchen. We updated this space in the fall of 2017 and it is so much more functional now. And much prettier. I appreciate this since I prepare 4 meals a day here. To finish out the first floor is the full bath off the office. I couldn't figure out a good camera angle but I did take a pretty picture of my accessories!

Upstairs. The hall. Sophie's clothes are in this dresser because you have to squeeze in storage where you can in an old house. Then the hall (kids') bathroom. Another space difficult to get a camera in. Next is the baby's room! We had a good time preparing this room for baby brother. The crib is the same one I used for Annie and Sophie (I have a Jenny Lind I used for Jacob and Nora). Honey made the bedding. The children created the artwork over the dresser (which used to be in Poppa's room when he was a boy). I bought a new rocker this time around. This is a calm and peaceful space and I hope that baby will cooperate with that mood. ;) Jacob's room comes next. No more wet bar--the armoire is there now. The laundry room is just across from it. It got new teal organizers to hold all the extra sheets and towels. Then the new master closet (no natural light and no good camera angle, but I love all the extra storage this closet gives me and it is beautifully organized, thanks to Honey) and new master bath. Master bedroom is soothing and I love having a fireplace in our room. Wrapping up the tour with Annie's room, and Sophie and Nora's shared space. We stole a little bit of space from their room for the new master bath. There you have it, the 2019 house reveal! All cleaned out and organized and ready for baby! (I don't know why the hall bathroom pictures are out of order--blogger is refusing to let me change them.)

Living Room Re-Do

The pictures are dark because I took them before the sun was really up this morning, but you get the idea...

We decided to take our house off the market about a month ago and stay put for a while longer. In the meantime, I "needed" new living room furniture. Our old sofa was too low and squishy for this pregnant mama, and it never quite fit our living room (too large). I love the way this room has turned out! After living in our house for 7+ years, I feel like we finally did the living room right. Now we are getting ready to embark on some renovations (including a new master bath and closet) that we hope will help the house sell next spring. Until then, we will get to enjoy it! Glad we still have some love to spare for this old house.