The Power of Seven For Homemakers

I was sitting here today content on not doing anything but relaxing. Then rushing around in a messy house later, trying to get everything ready for church tomorrow.  Then I was praying for energy because I'm tired today.  It's like my "get up and go" has "got up and went".   Then I God said "I created and rested in 7 days. What can you do with 7 minutes?"     WOW!  Powerful thought.
 

What can I do with the next 7 minutes that God gives me?

I'll take the challenge and see....

OK, in that 7 minutes (using the kitchen timer) I was able to put clothes in the dryer, new load in the washer, and swept carper of the movie area of our living room.  (Our living room is a great room divided in half: movie area & homeschool area).  Oh yeah you did read that right... I swept the carpet. My vacuum was broken in a recent move and I'm waiting to get it fixed. However, the sweeping quickly helped pick up my heart rate and I'm not feeling as sluggish. Of course, I was rushing to do as much as I could in 7 minutes. I'm a competitive person so I like a challenge.  My heart will be better now that I've got it pumping faster than if I had sat on the couch "resting".

Now let's see if I what else I can do in 7 minutes...

WOW!  I worked for 14 minutes. My oldest son (5) woke up and wanted to help me clean (RARE). So I kept working.  In the first 7 minutes, I finished sweeping the carpet in the living room, opened the curtains, and swept half the kitchen. In the second 7 minutes, I finished sweeping kitchen and the laundry room, which is behind the kitchen, and we cleaned off the table.


I think I will base my cleaning upon "7".   I have read and used the Flylady system, which is a good system but it doesn't work for moms of little ones. When the kids are awake, 15 minutes is a large amount of time for them to stay busy without bothering mom, whereas, 7 minutes is perfect. If they are loving what they are doing then I can keep going with another 7 minutes giving me 14 minutes total.  I get a better feeling of accomplishment.  However, if I try working for 15 minutes and get interrupted and don't meet my goal I feel like I'm defeated. I see a win-win with 7 minutes.


UPDATE:  I'm able to clean anything even lacking motivation when I tell myself it's only 7 minutes.  To get my house all clean I bounce around between rooms every 7-14 minutes depending upon the task I'm doing.  Plus 7 minutes helps me realize I can quit after the 7 minutes are up. Some days my energy is too gone because I'm feeling ill, one of the kids are sick, or I was up late at night for whatever reason.  The only tasks that I must devote more than 7 minutes to are planning (menu, homeschool, budgeting, etc),  cooking, and doing taxes.

MORE POSTS ABOUT THIS TO COME SOON!!!

Getting organized: Using a calendar

One of the keys to getting organized is to use a calendar so you don't forget important dates.
Don't have too many calendars around the house then you get confused. I suggest 2-3 at the most: 1 Electronic Calendar like on the iPhone or other smart phones. The other 1-2 should be a master calendar that everyone can see. I have 2 one on the wall of my kitchen that EVERYONE can see. It has everyone's appointments, tests, quizzed, trips, birthdays, etc on it. My personal master calendar has everything about everyone on it PLUS bill due dates and amount due. 

1. My personal master calender is a monthly/daily type.  I use the monthly for an overview, then I use the daily for my "DO IT NOW" lists. 
2. Check calendars DAILY! I check them the night before so that I can get clothes, diaper bags, paperwork, etc ready for the next day. Then I put it all by the front door so I have it in one spot ready to go.
3. Use your calendar to plan your menus to prevent excess spending on take out. 
4. Purposely plan to call/email a friend during the week. 
5. Plan your Bible reading and your self-improvement reading. 
6. Set your goals on your calendar and your checkpoints.
7. Anytime something changes, change the other calendars.

The iPhone: When I set appointments in my iPhone I set 2 times with it. Either 1-2 days before AND 1-2 hours before. ALWAYS SET REMINDERS!

Organize Toys with Ziploc and Plastic Containers

Toys groups by type/color in Ziploc bags then placed in a plastic storage bin.

What's one of the hardest rooms to organize? THE KIDS ROOMS/PLAY ROOM. All those toys. All those parts. All the mess!  With children ages 3 and older, those who are old enough to know NOT TO PUT PLASTIC BAGS around their mouth and head. This little tips is a MAJOR help to keep from losing little parts and keeping all the pieces together. Ziploc Storage Bags and Plastic Bins!  I use ziploc bags with the "zipper" on it so the kids can easily open and close them. I use quart and gallon size bags. Using the bags makes it easy to group toys together according to type and not be searching every where for all the little piece.

Toys in Ziploc bag with all the pieces in one bag.

Household Planner-In Progress

I have begun my own household planner. I am working on it intensely, however, I do have to work around the needs of my family. But it is coming along nicely. I have many pages already complete from monthly through daily planners and chores list. I'm working on Homeschool Pages right now!

FlyLady Didn't Work for Me

I'm a stay-at-home-work-from-home-army-wife-homeschooler-mother-of-3 (all 4 and under). When it was just 3 people in our family it was easy to do the flylady system. But NOW with 5 of us. I just can't keep up with it all and the routines. So I am going to start my own blog and create a system that will suit me. I also tried the S.H.E method, which worked for a while, but I just couldn't get it going.

I'm a list-sticky note-cell phone reminder-date book-planner- person also known as absent minded. So I am thinking about what would work for me. I need my phone (Blackberry Curve). A notebook. Post it notes. Date Book/Planner. Hmmm.... The big calendar didn't work for me because I just didnt' like the format. I like having things in a time block format for each day. This is too many things to have out.

Let's put the post it notes by where we sit the most or buy our phone chargers. (BTW: I don't have a home phone, just my cell.) Cell phone, notebook and date planner.... that is what I will work with for right now. I'll see what I can come up with from here!

See you in a few!!!!