Managing Your Home Part 2

I am almost there. Figuring out this master schedule has really been a challenge. It's a lot of work, it takes a lot of thinking and planning and praying about whether our decisions are the right way to go for our family. I haven't yet completed the weekly master schedule, and one reason is that I have to make 7 schedules for 5 people. That's a lot of brain work, and usually by the evening my brain is fried already. Well this is what I've done so far.

First, I've listed all the norm activities and homeschooling for each child, for each day. This gives me a clear picture of the 'slots' for the other things that need doing. I'm trying not to over crowd the days, but also, I'm trying not to give them too much time to get bored and misbehave either.

I've also made a list of house work that needs doing daily, weekly and monthly. Finding the right slot for it and the right person to do it, assures it gets done and nothing piles up. When stuff piles up, it can get so overwhelming, and we often find ourselves at each others throats and rushing around, because we were not prepared. Unfortunately, relationships suffer and there is not enough time left for one on one time or family time, when its all rush rush "I can't read you a book now, because mum is doing EVERYTHING!!!!!!!" I don't want that. My desire it to spend a lot of time with my kids and investing in their lives. We're working towards that.

When there are clear slots for i.e dishes, quick tidy ups and everyone is involved and in training, nothing should pile up and there should be enough time to fellowship and do other activities. the laundry piles up and you find yourself doing several loads a day, without having the proper time to fold them away, on top of that you still need to do your basic daily chores and activities. And usually we got more on our plate "to do" than just one thing. I end up trying to do more than I can handle and "mum just turned into the wicked witch" to top it off! Oh, and when will you find the time to fold those several baskets of laundry? When your kids are asleep, cause you didn't want to sit down and relax anyways?

So, I made a chore list for each kid according to their age, and scattered it throughout the week. This allows me to do my chores too in scheduled slots, while supervising the kids. Hopefully, the training will go well and they absorb the new schedule well. 

Like I said, it isn't ready, I'm nearly there... Once I got it together, I will post a pic of one complete day and then follow ups on how the new schedule training is going for all of us.

More on Managing Your Home Part 1 HERE

How to de-itemize your home HERE

 How do you schedule?

Daily Lists

I have a tendency to make lists upon lists, of some which I might forget about and some that I carry with me at all times. I make lists on what lists I should make. I make grocery lists, garden planning lists, menu lists, to do lists, some day to do lists, summer activity lists, monthly lists, book lists, homeschool lists, diy lists, you name it. Oh and blog about lists!

I haven't completed our new master schedule as of yet, but I have worked on a fraction of it. It's a quick over view list of Mon-Fri, of what needs to get done, or maybe of what we aim to get done. I might plan a quick menu on the side, which to be honest, rarely goes to plan, and I might add a few must do tasks that come to mind as the week progresses.

Let me warn you, it's not pretty -but it works! It's just to map out the day for me, I'm a very visual person and I like to see things on paper :) 

Here it is. Oh, right, one of my kids stuck stickers on it to make it more attractive....

 I check things off and usually cross them out as a double check. I know, it's silly.

 

So basically, I write down the homework that needs covering and also the amount of time I want them to invest in it. I have a timer on my phone, on silent (only for me to see), so that I can decide whether we need to work on a topic a few more minutes or such. I have the errands needing to be done listed afterwards, the menu for the day on the side and a few "wishes" that would be nice, if it got done.

This is my little crazy list, simple yet keeps me and my household "on track". Of course, I am working on a simple binder which will be visible to me at all times and as well looks pretty, won't be as easily misplaced.

What are your lists like?

Do share!!!

More on Home Making and Managing Your Home HERE!

My top 10 #3

It's January. It's rainy, rainy, rainy..... ugh. Well at least you don't have to shovel it. But I miss the snow at times, for the kids' sake really.

Here are my top 10

1. Keurig K-Cup coffee maker. 
   
   I got this for our anniversary present. I have been drinking so much coffee (I'm honeymooning it with this machine), I had to switch to decaf K-cups.
2. OvuView App for android -for natural family planning (I'm sure they have that for iphones too)
3. The Stair Master - mother of all cardio equipment. Don't bother with the rest. I dare YOU, give it a try!
4. Scheduling like so,
5. Budgeting like so,
6. Savings plan like so,
7. Early morning (before the kids wake up) bible study with my husband and bible "circle time" as a family before bed time. I am just LOVIN' it!
8. Vitamin-C 1000mg - during this cold season, I have been making sure that my family and I stay on top accumulating this vitamin. During a cold (or any other sickness), we go up to thousands of mg dosages, and it really fights off any bug swiftly. Excess vitamin C, which your body cannot use, will be disposed of through your urine. So, it's important to keep this vitamin at full! (a little article on Vitamin -C healing around the world, HERE)
9. Pumpernickel/Rye bread -since we unfortunately cannot get the REAL kind of rye bread here in North America, we will just have to settle with the German kinds. It's still healthy, yummy and gives plenty of healthy fiber. The kids love it, I don't complain!
10. Weight Training - helps increase metabolism, maintains you muscle health, prevents osteoporosis, increases strength, and reduces risks of muscle tears and damage as you get older. We often concentrate on our spiritual well being so much that we completely neglect the physical aspect. After all, it's amazingly created, masterminded and given to us. Our HOLYTEMPLE.

What are your top 3-10, currently? 

More on my previous top 10's HERE