Sunday, September 09, 2007

Homemaking 101

This will not be a tutorial on homemaking. I would have to know about it before I could teach it.

It amazes me that even after 12 years of being a wife and homemaker, I still have no routine, no groove, no normal day or week. About the only thing that I do the same every day is get ready. Take a shower, brush my teeth, wash my face and put on deodorant (in that order).

I always thought that by now I would have some sort of norms, you know, like doing laundry on Monday and getting groceries on Thursday. I thought I would "know" what my specialties were and what to take to a potluck.

I mostly fly by the seat of my pants. For the most part, I clean when it gets to where I can't stand it. I do laundry when we need it (or for now, when it's sunny). I get groceries when we are out of milk or when someone is having a deal that I can't pass up (like Pop Tarts for $1 a box). I don't take out the same amount of money ever week or have a budget.

These things bother me. I want to have some order in my life. I want to wake up and know what I'm doing that day. I want to know before 5:00 pm what is for supper. I don't want to run out of things and "have" to go to the store.

I'm working on my homemaking skills. There are a lot of things I could do better. I'm sure that I could make my husband happier and things run more smoothly. It would mean a less stressed out mom which would mean happier kids.

Some of the things that I'm working on right now are budgeting, meal planning (in addition to healthier meals), and decluttering/organization. In the next week, I will post some of the things that I am trying and links to websites that are helping me get to a more "simple" life.

6 comments:

SamandSawyersMom said...

i have a lot to say... i will be back

SamandSawyersMom said...

I couldn't believe that you wrote this post today because I was just thinking yesterday about how I have managed to keep my house pretty clean this time (only 2 weeks) but that it was constant work and that when i do it in a routine kind of way, i find it easier.

Also, I have religiously done a menu for about a month for dinners and it has made all the difference. About 3 when Sammy and I do his cooking practice, we start dinner and I know exactly what we are making due to that menu and the list I made to go with it that I used at the grocery.

I have been just like you when it comes to not having a routine and i am just like you in wanting one. I think it would be bad to stress over trying to get a routine to make your life less stressful BUT it does make our lives easier. SO ,it may be worth it.

This just struck a chord with me becasue i am in the process of trying to get one myself. We just did our Christmas budget last night (we got it down to 900 total) and we still have to do Disney and our mini vacation for Steve's 40th all this next year so budget will be everything!

I need all the help you find so please share. The menu thing is simple and effective so start there (I mean being consistent with it) and then fine tune everything else. Good luck.

Everytime you say how different we are, i find a huge simalarity! We are both running a household and that requires the same work...

Cheryl said...

I do nothing routinely, except get ready in the morning. I try to keep Ryan's morning routine exactly them same because it helps him but everything else is fly by the seat of my pants too. I would like to change that stuff too, maybe you have motivated me to get started.

kellerie said...

i keep thinking that i need a routine, but then something always happens to prevent me from getting into one.

for example, last week i was all prepared to try sticking to a weekly menu. i had it all planned, all the groceries, all ready to go. and, because of different events, i didn't end up eating dinner at home once all week!!

Crystal said...

things that help me are too plan my meals for the week on Sunday nights. I do alot of crock pot meals so it's cooking all day long and when it's done, we can eat without hassle.

I have used a cleaning calendar in the past where I had to big chores that I did each day of the week (ie. Monday, laundry and vacuuming) (Tuesday dust and clean bathroom) etc. I hung it on my wall and I would only do those two things besides the daily straightening up and dishes. That helped alot.

Unknown said...

I only do laundry once a week, always on the weekend (mostly Saturday) because the machines are in the basement and it just works better to have Tim home when I do it. I also run the dishwasher once the kids are in bed so that no one tries to turn it off, or back on once it is going or done.