My
List of Must Do's
by pamela
spurling
Never
allow cream-of-wheat to dry on the highchair tray!
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My
top of the list decision is the decision
to be grounded in the Word. This
is my number ONE. Without this, I have no foundation on which to build---without
this, I build my house on the sand. This means that
I live for the LORD,
listen to Him, wait on Him. This cannot happen randomly, nor can it happen at
the end of the day when the day and the mind is spent. Give Him the first
part---first fruits---first thoughts. Too many times, unexpected evening things
come up---the time runs late, a woman is understandably tired and then the
quality time with the LORD is neglected. If a woman decides to begin her
day in the late evening, then she might arrange
it in such a way as to have her quiet time
then---and make a determined habit of doing so.
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One of the biggest things that will make you a motivated wife is seek
to nurture a
happy and contented
husband---This is so important that I am
including it at the top of the top ten... I don't need to detail what
this happiness consists of (!), yet, you know what I mean! Okay---enough said on
that one---it's critical and you know when that area is satisfied, life is
soo good---when there is tension in that area, then your marriage suffers,
you suffer, your home suffers. Your husband is a gift, your marriage is an
heirloom for your children and your marriage needs to be cherished and
nurtured. This is one very very important facet of your life.
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Do a Top-to-Bottom Tidy at least
once a day
—every
day—
if at all possible without fail. Go around
your whole house as fast as you can and put away
anything and every thing that is out of place.
Load the dishwasher and run it, load the washer
and run it; load the dryer and run it; fold a
load of dry clothes and put them away
immediately. If you have many children,
then you can assign a person to a task and make
them responsible for that area.
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Then...
organize your home into exact places for things.
I have a floor to ceiling shelf... on it are 14 stacking plastic "shoe boxes"
paper dividers, 4 Sterilite pull out drawers---everyone of them are labeled on
the outside with what the contents are on the inside. We train our selves to
only put those things which belong in those boxes in those boxes. Example1 each
for crayons, felt pens, stamping markers, glitter glue, stencils, glue
sticks-glue-tape-rubber cement, coloured pens, coloured pencils, hot & cold glue
guns with the glue sticks, ribbons and lace, acrylic paints, charcoals, flash
cards, play doh, fimo clay, modeling clay... etc. I took the doors off the
cabinet so the shoe boxes are sticking out by 2 inches---I don't care and it
doesn’t matter---it's perfectly neat and we are forced to "obey" putting things
in the right place or things don't fit!
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Next...
I am big on rolling carts
of drawers... one is
exclusively for sewing... another is just for rubber stamping... another has
hand and needle work supplies in it. Again, inside I have very cheap drawer
dividers and every single thing goes into its own drawer divider section...
pins, needles, snaps, buttons... several "tiny bins" for different types
(children's, men's novelty, etc.) sippers and a narrow bin for my scissors and
rotary cutter---if it's empty I am to blame for not putting them away and just
sticking them somewhere---so I force myself to do it! I have the cart so that I
can roll it over to the table when I am sewing, pull out the drawer reach for my
scissors, pin cushion, measuring tape, etc----then roll it back, with the
machine on top when I am done. It's neat/it's easy. The rubber stamping cart
can be wheeled to the table, the drawer pulled out with the pre-cut stationery,
the drawer with that type of stamps, maybe the drawer with the stamp pads or ink
pens... you get the idea.
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Next,
I am big on labeling
shelves and plastic bins in the kitchen cupboards, too! An example: I have the
large baking cupboard in one corner of the kitchen. This way, I open the doors
and on the inside of the doors I have taped my favourite/ most often used
recipes, lists of lunches and dinners/pictures of my family.
This whole area is the
baking centre... On the shelves I have spices in baskets that
can be pulled out, (one for baking spices, one for entree spices) I have a
plastic box for my KitchenAid attachments, the attachment box that came with the
KitchenAid food processor, an embroidery floss holder holds all my cake
decorating tips/couplers. Another bin holds the use everyday type things: pan
spray, vanilla, almond, salt, honey. On that counter I have all the ingredients
for any thing I might bake---flour, master mix, sugar, br sugar, wheat flour in
large glass "candy store" containers (Wal*Mart--$16+.) or in gallon glass jars
with fabric lid toppers that I sew; then in cobalt snap lid containers I keep
salt, soda, baking powder---inside them I always keep a measuring teaspoon in
each one---I never hunt for one and put it back after use. Below the counter
are the baking pans in a plastic dish basin, a bigger plastic bin holds
the glass, metal, and plastic measuring cups. I keep a two cup measure in the
flour bins, a one cup in the sugars, and a one cup in each of the other jars.
This has saved me hours of time, I am sure.
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ALWAYS
(especially Sunday) have dinner planned in the morning (or prior) and do
*something* for the meal in the morning by a certain time: thaw the meat, make the salad, make Jell-O,
make dessert---whatever it takes to
make
you be *committed* to making that meal that day on time---this is
important for randoms like me who change their mind fifty times a day as to what
sounds *fun* for dinner!
CLEAN UP THE KITCHEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER EVERY
MEAL and make sure it's neat and tidy before you
go to bed. Work smart! Clean as
you go.
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Other tricks:
I am sure that
clipping socks is a
necessary training for families with more than two children... we all clip our
sock with clothes pins after we wear them and put them in the dirty
clothes----yes, wooden clothes pins that go into the bleach wash and through the
dryer for years---don't wreck the clothes and don't hurt the washer either. A
large "camping type bin" Rubbermaid bin sits at the bottom of the stairs...
anytime I find anything left out anywhere I put it in the bin-----NOW here's the
deal... randomly the bin gets emptied by someone who wants to eat dinner! The
big bin is called the QPU container: Quick-Pick-Up container---everyone is aware
that their things will end up in there and that *they* may be the one to
distribute the contents at the end of the day or whenever!
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A drawer
a day---that's
the way to stay on top of keeping crumbs out of the silverware drawer...
cleaning it periodically makes it stay cleaner. Clean one drawer or one shelf
every day. This is a ten-minute a day commitment.
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STAY OFF
the computer for hours at a time and get things done! You won't regret
this, you won't miss anything... it'll be there
when you get back to it.
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Go►
into the bathroom, rollup the rugs, sweep, spray every single thing down with
your cleaner then start at the mirror, then the window, then make your way
through wiping down the whole bathroom as fast as you can... then shake out the
rugs, put them down, light a candle and then brush your hair and put on a little
blush and lip-gloss... you'll be ready to say
welcome home!
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A load in
the washer every single night...
and at least one put away every single morning will make laundry effortless---I
am sure about this. If you will spend a minimum of 15 minutes a day on this
task, you will really enjoy effortless laundry.
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Posted
jobs for
everyone in the home---even if they can't read them, you can use the posting as
a memory jogger as to what everyone is supposed
to be doing---things that are to be done every single day by
that person for that month---whatever it is, it must be done before
breakfast or before lunch or whatever you decide---but *check it!*
to make sure the child has complied. It
will help them gain trust points with you and
enable you to train them to be responsible and
efficient.
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And Finally:
Have a *daily short list* of
the stuff you think is absolutely
mandatory to be done
every day
and *do* them---
mine is
something like this:
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QuietTime / bath time/
Bible study- family study time-- total about 2 hours
o
House: all over
tidy every single day---30 minutes (15 in the morning & 15 at night)
o
Sweep/vacuum all
floors 30 minutes.
o
Dishes DONE after
every meal / No soaking!! N0 sitting! 45-90 minutes or so, daily.
o
Laundry - 3 loads
a day--- 45 minutes +/- daily (depending on your family size)
o
General super
quick wipe down of all surfaces/ledges--- 20 minutes
o
School work
---several hours a day
o
Reading together
---an hour or so a day
o
Scripture Memory
---10-15 minutes a day
o
Sit down to
eat/talk together ---an hour
Stay
busy --- a busy
body cannot be a busybody!!!
*
Even if you add
all these up and do them every day, you will
still have a few hours a day for other things
that will be particular to your home. When
you have other pressing needs, do the above jobs
faster---drop one or two but don't allow
yourself the indulgence to neglect them.
You really will be sorry later if you do.
It's like eating cake and ice cream on the third
day of a diet... it's not really worth it and
you'll pay double in the end.
By the way,
Trust me
on the suggestion:
Never
allow
cream-of-wheat to dry on the highchair tray!
Floss your teeth and KEGEL. Really.
pamela spurling ~
http://www.achristianhome.org
©
2001-2004, 2005
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