Home Is Where The Heart Is
“Home is where the heart is..." yet in our case it would read hearts. In the course of my life nothing has been more challenging than this endeavor to create a home where the heart could dwell. Without a doubt managing a large household requires creative -organizational strategies. To quote the Proverbs 31 woman “she carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness"(Proverbs 31: 27). When you read this woman’s impressive though extensive " to do" list one may swoon, however, with some creative attention to detail it's quite possible to accomplish. Our home requires a consistent stream of oversight and nurturing to be the habitat of choice for any given member of our family.
Budgeting A Household
One aspect of management in any arena destined to succeed is budgeting; a home is no exception to this. Budgeting in the home has two aspects to be considered: finances and time. Let’s start with finances. It’s logical to recognize that every household has seasons. Working a program for these stages is crucial for the success of any domicile. Specific savings accounts for vacations, Christmas and school supplies is what can keep the budget from faltering. A scheme for spending when the time comes for such things as groceries could look like this: making a menu, list of ingredients, shopping sales, and stocking up. Another area of creatively stretching the home's resources is to fabricate meals from scratch. This aspect of homemaking is helpful not only in salvaging the budget but our family’s health as well.
Budgeting Time
Time is the other commodity to be allocated with imagination since it too can follow the course of scarcity and abundance. One solution we use is streamlining events for maximum productivity. It looks something like this: visiting grandparents while at the same time taking them to run errands or sorting out old family photos, or spending time conversing with the children while cleaning closets or doing dishes. Another strategy is to declutter our abode of things that will require our attention yet add little value such as: televisions, video games, excessive amount of book, toys, or clothing. One helpful rule of thumb is to rid the home of items that haven't been used in the past four seasons. A system for placing items in order can save countless hours and energy when implemented by the entire brood.
“Home is where the heart is..." yet in our
case it would read hearts. In the course of my life nothing has been
more challenging than this endeavor to create a home where the heart
could dwell. Without a doubt managing a large household requires
creative -organizational strategies. To quote the Proverbs 31 woman
“she carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not
have to bear the consequences of laziness"(Proverbs 31: 27). When you
read this woman’s impressive though extensive " to do" list one may
swoon, however, with some creative attention to detail it's quite
possible to accomplish. Our home requires a consistent stream of
oversight and nurturing to be the habitat of choice for any given
member of our family.
Budgeting A Household
One aspect of management in any arena destined to succeed is budgeting;
a home is no exception to this. Budgeting in the home has two aspects
to be considered: finances and time. Let’s start with finances. It’s
logical to recognize that every household has seasons. Working a
program for these stages is crucial for the success of any domicile.
Specific savings accounts for vacations, Christmas and school supplies
is what can keep the budget from faltering. A scheme for spending when
the time comes for such things as groceries could look like this:
making a menu, list of ingredients, shopping sales, and stocking up.
Another area of creatively stretching the home's resources is to
fabricate meals from scratch. This aspect of homemaking is helpful not
only in salvaging the budget but our family’s health as well.
Creating Order
"Order increases comfort" (Murdock 9). Order is the accurate arrangement of things” (Murdock 9) that can decrease distractions and agitation. Having necessary items in their place can eliminate loss of focus and increase productivity. One example is having to make a call yet being unable to find the cordless phone. How about being in the process of wrapping a gift though unable to locate a pair of scissors? Orderliness can also add momentum to your day: for instance being able to locate your car keys, easily procuring a library book for return, not having to begin your day cleaning up yesterday’s messes. A comprehensive method for systematically keeping a home can be established and followed by all members for the family with effort.
Article written by Elise Case. Elise is the wife of Tom and mother of six children. She homeschools and the entire family is very active in Family Harvest Church.
Staying Organized With Children
O.K., so you have resolved for the third year in a row to GET ORGANIZED; but you really mean it this time. No more walking into a kitchen that looks like a war zone. No more dishes left in the sink from the night before; no more spaghetti sauce all over the countertops from the dinner you worked so hard to prepare. No more stubbing your toe on little Johnny’s toy truck because the children’s toys were left out once again. You are determined to get organized and stay organized this year!
Generally speaking, our organization (or lack thereof) is most often a symptom of what is going on inside of us. Let’s face it, if we tend to be scattered in our thoughts, not finishing one thought before another one so rudely interferes, then most often we are the type of person who does not finish one project before we begin another. Does this sound familiar to you? You are cleaning out your bedroom closet and you stop to go and get something out of the kitchen…twenty minutes later you have all of the recipes out of your ‘recipe drawer’ scattered all of the kitchen because you just could not take it anymore. The kitchen is a disaster, your bedroom is a disaster, and you can’t remember what you came into the kitchen for in the first place. Well that, my friend, is typical of our lives. We have a lot going on - work, soccer games, ballet, homework, overnights, and lest we forget, we still need to make time for our husband!
Ladies, there is help! Jesus said in John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." He sent a comforter/helper in the form of the Holy Spirit. We have access to the wisdom and ability of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The first and most overlooked thing that we need to do is PRAY. We must realize that we cannot do it all ourselves. We try, and yes many of us come close (at the expense of some much needed sleep), but we all know that something will usually fall through the cracks. In Proverbs 31:15 the scripture says, “She rises while it is yet night....and assigns her maids their tasks.” Yes ladies, she had help! The Holy Spirit is no respecter of persons, so let’s use our wisdom and as God instructed Moses in Exodus 4, let us use ‘what we have in our hands.’
Here are a few tips to get us started on our journey to organizing our home:
1. Realize that you cannot do it all yourself.
For those of us who have children, it is so important that we take the time to train them to help around the house. When we get our children involved, we train them to be self-sufficient and impart in them the importance of giving back into the community in which they live (in this case, their home). They need to take responsibility and take pride in their home and realize that this not only brings peace to their lives but it also becomes a place of refuge and comfort for any guests.
2. Make and post a chore chart that is clearly visible and age appropriate.
There are chores that a one year old can do, if you are patient enough. Of course a one year old will not be able to read a chore chart but you can begin to ‘train’ them by having them put away their toys when they are finished playing instead of you doing it. Do not frustrate your children by making the chores too advanced for their age. You know your children and what they are able to handle; seek God’s wisdom and let them do it! Please remember to keep it simple, sister. If your children need a course in Excel in order to read the chart, you will frustrate them and no chores will get done.
3. Inspect. Inspect. Inspect.
It is true, people do not do what you expect; people tend to do what you inspect. You can post a million chore charts, but if you do not inspect the work, you do your children a disservice. Remember, you are training your children for real life. The day will come when they will have a boss to answer to; help them while you can.
4. Do not get weary.
Trust me there will be many opportunities to “get weary.” Often times you will think ‘it’s just easier to do it myself.’ Resist that temptation. You can start wherever you are. Whether your children are toddlers or teenagers, just start! Stay focused, stay committed, and stay strong. Remember, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!
Written by Theresa Lashley, the wife of Erick Lashley. They have four children (Ericka, Erin, Erick, and Eldon). The girls are in college and the boys are in high school.
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