Sunday, March 22, 2009

Home Keeping


(Photo source All Posters)

I have been thinking a lot lately about the idea of re-implementing my home keeping schedule. This past holiday season really threw our family for a loop. We had some very unexpected incidents occur that have really taken up most of our time and energy. Things have been on going since. Whew....where have the months gone!?!

Anyway, the past several months have not been kind to my home keeping schedule that I used to have in place for myself. Yes, I would leave room in my daily schedule for the "unexpected" but I didn't leave room for months at a time of daily "unexpected" situations. What has been the result of this...our home has not been properly taken care of in the manner Hubby was accustomed too (not that he expected it or has issues now with things), my cleaning schedule has been neglected (yes, things get cleaned but not like before), errands that normally would be taken care of on a certain day to limit my time and resources have been askew to say the least. Things get done around here but I have been forced to adopt the thought process of "whatever it is, it'll get done when it gets done," unless of course it is something that can not wait, in that case I try to get to it as soon as all possible.

H
as this affected our household? Most certainly, YES! As a Keeper Of The Home, I am not fulfilling my call if I am not home. There are times that things outside the home need our attention and energy, but as the months have gone by, we have literally burned our candles at both ends to the point that there just isn't anymore wick to relight in us. Do we like things this way? NOT AT ALL!

Hubby works so hard each day that the last thing he needs is to come home and be greeted with an untidy home, dinner just barely getting started and a wife that has been frazzled with the stress of the days events (that is, if I manage to get home before he does, which some days it has been a hit or miss on who will get in first.) Once he is ready to rest, then he is hit with the challenges and newest circumstances that have presented themselves to us that we have to take care of. Frankly, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! We're absolutely tired and worn out, mentally, physically and emotionally.

Each of us have our own unique ways to relax and such, but for me...it's doing what I love to do best. What is that you might ask...Home Keeping. Simply put, I am going to re-strategize my Home Keeping schedule that I once had and focus on our immediate family and our home. So starting tomorrow, Monday, I am going to press in and get back into a routine. This afternoon we are going to get our shopping done and that way I can start the week fresh and new without having to leave and run to and fro taking care of things before I can start taking care of our home. This may not be something you look forward to, but you don't know how much I am looking forward to scrubbing our toilet. *grin* It's not that bad, don't get me wrong, but just to be able to have the time to take care of such mundane tasks as these really is exciting to me. Yes, it truly doesn't take much to impress me.

I have been able to keep our outside fast food to a minimum these past few months, in spite of not being home much, but I would rather have a meal planned in advance than to "wing it" each night. Yes, I have had some days where my crockpot has been my life saver and there have been crash cooking sessions where I have had to cook up more than one meal at a time to make sure we had something for the next day or later that week, but I am tired of cramming for our meals. So menu planning will be one of those "must have" items that will be going back into my home keeping schedule.

Laundry...oh do we really have to go there!?!
Not being home much has not afforded me time to take care of the laundry before it piles up on me. Hubby has been great and has been helping when he can but he is so tired by the time he comes home that the last thing he needs to deal with is dirty laundry. So my goal is to schedule a category a day to be washed. For example...Monday--Towels, Tuesday--Linens, Wednesday--Clothes, Thursday--Whites, Friday--work clothes. This way if for some reason I am not able to take care of a certain day's category, it won't interfere with pushing another day down the line, or rotating things instead. It also frees up the weekends from doing any washing, unless something unexpected comes up or needs to be taken care of.

Another thing that most definitely needs to be scheduled for is uninterrupted down time. Whether it's time for a quick bubble bath or time for sitting out on the porch for a few minutes...down time is crucial. You don't realize how important it is until you have not had any for so long. No it may not always be something that is obtained each day or week but it certainly gives you something to look forward to.

Do you have your own Home Keeping schedule? If so, I would love to have you share about it. We can never stop learning from each other how to be better stewards of the time GOD has given us each day.

4 comments:

Mrs. B, a very peculiar person said...

I too have gotten off routine since Christmas and I was shocked the other day when I wrote out a check and the date was mid March!

Yep, coming up with a new household routine sounds like something I should work on this week also.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Mrs. B

blessedmomof3 said...

I enjoyed this post a lot. I've never had organized routine, which is probably why I always feel so unorganized. I have wanted a set homekeeping routine, but just don't think I would last long.

Oh, I saw an older post of yours about how to do 3 column templates. I followed the directions over at The Cutest Blog On The Block, which is at:

http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/blog-secrets/145-how-to-get-a-3-column-template

Wasn't really too hard.

Andrea

Keeper of the Home said...

BlessedMom,
Thank you so much for the tip. I am certainly going to play with it maybe Monday.

Marjorie (Molly) Smith said...

I have tried to keep life on a schedule but for the last few month's like you, I have had to much unexpected things happen and I just can't seem to keep up either. Thanks for the inspiration.