A New Year

I love setting New Year's goals, resolutions, call-it-what-you-will.  I do it every year when we are in Charleston, South Carolina after Christmas, and keep the list in the back of my monthly planner calendar.

I often set goals related to exercise or sleep, like most people probably do, and I also try to expand my definition of resolutions. This year a couple of my quirkier ones are--

*learn to can something....anything!
*sew a garment that I am fully pleased with from start to finish, for myself (I sew frequently, but I'm often not pleased with *something*)
*keep fresh flowers on the table
*try to do FUN things with my children every single day, whether that means staying home and playing together for a while in the afternoon or going to the park or somewhere else....I want to enjoy them, have fun and be fully *present* with them.  These years are fleeting!
*write every day--journaling is good for me!

Now, in order to keep that sleeping resolution, I'd better get to bed....

Fresh Space and a Timer Tip

Today was a day for clearing-out! It's so satisfying to put all the Christmas items back into their labeled bins and stick them back on their shelves in the garage to await next year's holiday season.  We took the tree down and I removed all Christmas decorations from the interior of the house except for my children's small (faux) trees.  They will come down sometime after our daughter's birthday on January 9.

I also went through a huge lot of vintage Christmas ornaments my father-in-law dropped off at our house last Monday.  I chose a small number of the ornaments to keep--the most interesting, singular-looking ones (glass bells, glass stars!) which gave me a surge of joy when I saw them, then created a bag to give to my sister, and the rest are going to the thrift store.

And finally I orchestrated an ambitious decluttering and re-organizing of the main floor of the house. All three bedrooms were ruthlessly tidied--the children's rooms in particular needed a lot of help--and the other rooms were totally decluttered.  Tomorrow our lower floor gets the same treatment.

My tip for doing this with children around is to set a timer.  Spend a set amount of time cleaning together, and then spend an equal amount of time playing (sometimes I will play *with* my children or read to them, but more often I just let them play because they are now old enough to do so--with toddlers, it's best if you devote the entire time to interacting with them!).  It is amazing how much I can accomplish this way!

I love creating fresh space to usher in the New Year.  It's energizing and so refreshing.

The Work of My Day

Just as I keep a loose schedule for cleaning through the week, I keep a daily rhythm as well.  This fall, here's what works in our household: 

Morning: Prayer time.  Stretching.  Drink water with lemon. Get dressed and do hair/makeup. Wipe down bathroom surfaces.  Put away all laundry. Serve breakfast. Unload dishwasher and clean kitchen from breakfast. Check email on phone. Feed dog.  Be sure children's chores are done. 

Each day is different, but I try to stick to a predictable routine (ish): piano practice after breakfast and school in the morning, with read-alouds and outside time in the afternoon. I like for us to spend 10-15 minutes tidying the house before dinner as well. 

Evening (after dinner): Clean kitchen, Prepare for breakfast.  Run dishwasher.  Take out trash and recycling.  Read bedtime stories.  Bring laundry upstairs in bins. Feed dog.  Be sure living area is tidy.  Computer time, shower and books.  Drink water with lemon.*

NOTE: This is my "ideal."  Rest assured I skip bits and pieces of my routines each day, but I like to think that on the balance it all works out!  I don't beat myself up when I leave things undone; I just try to do my best and get on with it!

 *I started drinking water and lemon faithfully after my spring facial this year--the aesthetician sold me on drinking plenty of water with lemon and on rhassoul clay! 

A Perfect Balance

Today after he preached the sermon at our church, my husband took our children to his parents' house for the afternoon.  During my free time I:

*read my devotional and prayed (about twenty minutes or so)
*napped for about an hour (I typically would not, but I'm battling a cold)
*enjoyed a very early, leisurely supper (not quite an hour)
*spent roughly two hours cleaning a bathroom, tidying the main room and our bedroom, decluttering the kitchen, and purging/tidying my daughter's room--the bulk of this was my daughter's room, which needed some attention!  And finally, after all that was done and I was feeling tired of working--
*spent one episode of "North and South" doing some applique onto a skirt I'm making

By the time my family arrived home I was rested, the upstairs was immaculately tidy (don't look at my son's room), candles were lit on the dining table, and I had even gotten some sewing done.  It was the perfect balance of activity and rest!

I record this here so that I can reference it when I'm planning my Friday afternoons.  On Fridays I have a babysitter who comes to care for our children from 1-5pm.  So I think, based on today, a good balance for Fridays would be:

*devotional time (20 minutes)
*writing/poetry time (40 minutes)
*a brisk walk (45 minutes--includes 5 minutes to drive to and from my walking destination)
*vigorous housework or house project work (60 minutes)
*sewing time (45 minutes)
...with a little buffer of about half an hour.

I am going to try this out on Friday!

The Work of My Week

I currently have two young children who are with me at home all the time, one dog, one cat, and one fish...and an excellent husband.  Here's my weekly housekeeping routine! (It does tend to change from season to season.)

Monday: Laundry.  Quick-dust main room (living, dining). Vacuum first floor.  Wipe down inside of fridge.  Mop kitchen floor.  Prepare for Tuesday's outings.  Bath, face mask, manicure. 

Tuesday: Marketing and errands.  Windexing.*  Write letters/thank-you notes.

Wednesday: Laundry.  Tidy up basement. Vacuum and mop basement and dust one area. Clean basement bathroom. Paperwork (filing, to-do list, correspondence).  Prepare for Thursday's outings. 

Thursday: Change sheets on all beds. Clean the children's bathroom. Pick up children's rooms and quick-dust one of them.  Sweep off and tidy deck, patio and porch.  Bath, face mask, manicure, pedicure if needed. 

Friday: Laundry. Quick-dust our bedroom. Vacuum first floor. Projects! Lesson and menu plans. 

Saturday: Wash work clothes and church clothes, if needed. Prepare food for Sunday, if desired.  Set out clothes and prepare for Sunday breakfast. 

Sunday: Wash makeup brushes, water houseplants, wipe down fridge exterior and oil cutting boards.**

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*Windexing means I choose one door or window to clean each week. This saves me from having to do all the windows at once--an overwhelming task. 

**I save my very favorite tasks for Sunday.  I typically don't really do much in the way of housework on Sunday, but I consider these chores 'fun' so they are my Sunday treats. 

Every month or so I scrub down the outside of the kitchen cabinets and do other little random tasks like wiping down doors and doorknobs, wiping down the stairwell, et cetera. I don't assign a schedule to these tasks...I just try to hit them when I can. 

The beauty of having a routine is that it is liberating! If you skip a day you know that next week you'll get back to it; conversely, you can easily turn off the cleaning switch when that day's tasks are done.

And I'm not a perfectionist; I'm very comfortable with "good enough." The Flylady is right--housework done imperfectly is still a blessing.  So do what you can and don't stress!

The Work of the Day

"Laura and Mary helped Ma with the work. Every morning there were dishes to wipe. Mary wiped more of them than Laura because she was bigger, but Laura always wiped carefully her own little cup and plate. 

"By the time the dishes were all wiped and set away, the trundle bed was aired.  Then, standing one on each side, Laura and Mary straightened the covers, tucked them in well at the foot and the sides, plumped up the pillows and put them in place.  Then Ma pushed the trundle bed into its place under the big bed.

"After this was done, Ma began the work that belonged to that day.  Each day had its own proper work.  Ma used to say: 

"Wash on Monday, 

Iron on Tuesday,

Mend on Wednesday,

Churn on Thursday,

Clean on Friday,

Bake on Saturday, 

Rest on Sunday. 

"Laura liked the churning and the baking days best of all the week." 

--Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Happy at Home: My Ten Essentials

I'm an affirmed and unapologetic homebody, but this has not always been the case. I've always longed to be home, but there was a season in my life when I ran away from home a lot--frankly, I didn't know *how* to be at home.  When I was at home I distracted myself, and I had a hard time putting forth the initiative to actually create the home I wanted to have.  I don't mean the physical act of decorating, exactly; I mean nuts-and-bolts--functional routines and ambiance. I never learned this when I was growing up, and I entered adulthood with a deep desire to create a home but no actual skills!  When we were first married I had no idea how to hardboil an egg, and I was bemused to the point of giving up when I thought about how to clean regularly.  The routines I eventually began to create and follow were deeply informed by Cheryl Mendelson, in whose debt I will always remain.

Unfortunately housekeeping gets a bad rep as drudge work; I grew up with the idea of a homemaker as an oppressed and pitiful soul who whiled her life away on the most mundane tasks--even though I loved the idea of cleaning and organizing.  Somewhere along the line my attitude was rehabilitated, probably because I began to want to create a home for my family that mimicked the love my own childhood home had...but with more order and passing-on of skills.  I began to see the inherent dignity and value in domestic work.

This past summer my thoughts centered somewhat on home routines and particularly how to stay happy while engaging in home-based learning.  I created a list of 'ten essentials' that I try to do each day: 

1. Cook good food and stay on top of the kitchen.  Every day we have to eat, so kitchen work is essential.  I make an effort to serve nutritious meals. The kitchen is clean before bed each night.

2. Stay on top of the laundry.  For me in this season of life this means doing laundry on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays--with any residual laundering done on the weekend.  When I had a baby I did laundry nearly every day, between the clothes and the diapers!  (Note that this is my ideal. The reality is not always aligned with the ideal.)

3. Figure out the daily tasks that make things pleasant and make me happy, and try to do them.  For me: getting dressed in clothes I like, making the beds, keeping the main rooms and our bedroom tidy (the main room often gets cluttered during the day, but my children do their tidying before bed and all is well), and keeping the main bathroom fresh are the essentials. When everyone is in bed, I want to sit down in the living room and rest in a tidy room. If I want a hot bath at night, I don't want to feel grossed-out by the bathroom!  

4. Learn with my children.  Don't just administer learning to them; partner with them.  Come alongside and figure out concepts or learn something new together.  It is more fun for everyone that way--and also more effective. I love to engage in wonder with my children. 

5. Play with and/or read to my children each day. 

6. Go outside, even if it's just to read a book or walk around the yard or to pull some weeds or check the garden.  Kick the soccer ball to a child, take a walk, eat a snack. Fresh air is a cure-all. 

7. Make something that lasts or engage in a soul-filling activity.  Sewing, writing, reading, praying, playing piano, and gardening are all on my list.

8. Stretching.  I have noticed that stretching (in the form of yoga or pilates--or just plain old stretching) helps me stay happy.  

9. Rest. The days when I feel the most strung-out are, not coincidentally, the days when I've not rested enough.  I like to stay very busy, and I'm amazed at how refreshing it is to have a cup of tea and a little reading for 20 minutes in the afternoon, or how much better I feel if I stretch out for a 10-minute catnap.  Carving out a couple of short rest periods every day, instead of racing to the bedtime finish-line and then collapsing, makes my day so much better.  Getting to sleep at a decent hour at night is so helpful, too.

10.  Pausing.  I try to pause frequently to just observe a child's smile or look out the window to see what the sunlight is doing or check in with myself to see how I'm feeling.  Pausing for a moment keeps me focused in the moment.  Mindfulness reaps many benefits.

Those are my own essentials during this season of life!