My Blog = My Life: homemaking

Like many of you, we are a single-income, larger-than-average, (1.8 or more children), homeschooling family.

And both my husband and I come from a rich, Dutch heritage.

In other words, whether or not we need to be, we enjoy frugal living. I'm also a lover of nutritious, from-scratch, whole-food cooking. Overtime, we've found that you can have one and the other! Here's how we can enjoy a mainlywhole-food diet on a budget (we still eat take-out more often than I'd like to admit!).

Cheap foods that are good for you

1. Whole grains. Oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa are cheap! For ultimate nutritional value, choose any of these grains and soak them for a hearty breakfast that'll keep you energized all morning.

For a fabulously healthy, gluten-free, blueberry-muffin smelling breakfast, pour 1 cup of steel-cut oats, brown rice, OR quinoa in a crock-pot. Add 1 1/2 cups of almond milk, 1 1/2 cups water, 1-2 Tbsp of ground flax seed, 2-3 Tbsp butter or coconut oil, 1 cup fresh blueberries, cinnamon, sea salt, and sweetener (honey, maple syrup, stevia, or brown sugar) to taste. Stir. Cook on low overnight. Alternately, try using diced apple and a handful of walnut in place of blueberries.
2. Beans and legumes. Beans are one of the cheapest proteins available and can be used to replace meat in a meal. Given a good, over-night soak in purified water, they are a highly digestible form of fiber, complex carbohydrates, iron, and folate - ideal if you're pregnant or breast-feeding.

Our favorite way to enjoy beans are in chili, taco salad, and brownies (there's a Special Agent Brownie recipe in Trim Healthy Mama that's absolutely fabulous!).

3. Eggs. Eggs are one of the very few complete proteins available to us (they contain all 9 essential amino acids), contain only 70 calories, and are chock full of nutrition. Besides being excellent sources of protein and good cholesterol, they also contain iron, vitamins A, D, E, and B12, folate, selenium, and lutein.

Eggs can be cooked quickly in a variety of ways (hard or soft-boiled, fried, poached, scrambled) and provide great structure and texture when added to baked goods.

We enjoy them on their own and in omelettes, crepes, breakfasts bakes, and pizza crust.

Foods worth paying more for

No matter how tight our budget, there are certain foods I don't cheap out on as we feel the extra dollars are insignificant compared to the health benefits. We'd rather "pay the farmer than the pharmacy," as the saying goes.

1. Oil. It's a safe bet that anything you can get in a big plastic jug for $4 is not good for you. Vegetable oils and margarine derived from cheaply grown or genetically modified plants like sunflower, corn, soybean, canola, safflower have little nutrition to begin with and are chemically altered and deodorized in order to make them palatable. Our bodies were not meant to consume them.

Opt instead for healthy saturated fats that are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. These include butter (preferably organic), coconut, olive, and red palm oil.
2. Fresh, local, organic produce. We can't afford to purchase all of our produce this way, but we try our best to grow or purchase the infamous "Dirty Dozen" organically as these fruits and vegetables contain the highest pesticide residue otherwise:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Celery
• Peppers
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Pears
• Cherries
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes
• Grapes

• onions
• avocado
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• mango
• asparagus
• bananas
• cabbage
• broccoli
• papaya
• kiwi

Instead, we use coconut or almond milk. They contain high levels of vitamins A & D and are lactose free. They cost slightly more than pasteurized, hormone enhanced cow's milk, but since we rarely use it for more than our morning smoothie, we don't notice a difference in our grocery bill.

As our budget allows, we try to purchase higher quality dairy products like kefir, greek yogurt, cream and cottage cheese.
4. Meat. Cheaper cuts of meat are usually that way because they come from animals that are pumped full of genetically modified grain products, growth hormones, and antibiotics - the sole purpose of which is to fatten an animal up as quickly as possible for slaughter. Food Inc. is a fascinating documentary that explains how the food industry is making us sicker, fatter, and poorer through this process.

Although more expensive, grass-fed, locally raised, organic beef and chicken is a far more nutritious alternative and of much less consequence to your health.
5. Sweeteners. Sugar is cheap, appeals to our pallet, and is easy to come by. Consequently, diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart failure, and a host of other health concerns are also the norm. We stay away from refined sugar as much as possible and use raw honey, pure maple syrup, and stevia instead.

While they should still be used in small quantities, these sweeteners contain healthy enzymes and minerals which are difficult to get from other foods. They also have a healthier Glycemic Index which means they don't mess with your blood sugar levels in the same way refined sugar does.

Where to get healthy food for less

1. Garden. Anyone can grow their own produce, even a little bit. Be it a pot on the balcony of your apartment or a 3 acre market garden, all you need is some seed, soil, water, and sun and you're in business.

We put in a large raise bed last year for free - my husband made a tarp in exchange for a truckload of triple-mix and I used the gift cards I got for my birthday to purchase our seeds and plants.
2. Farmer's Market. Farmer's markets are great places to find local, seasonal produce, cure meats, eggs, honey and maple syrup at a fraction of the price you find in the store. Plus, farmers generally care about individual relationships with their customers and often offer a faithful buyer further discounts and "throw in a little extra."
3. Local Farmer. In the fall, we often purchase 1/4-1/2 a cow from a Christian farmer who grows his beef organically. We get to choose how we'd like it butchered and our freezer is well stocked for several months. We estimate purchasing our meat this way saves us 30% of the store price.

If we had the space for it, we'd love to keep our own chickens. We go through plenty of eggs around here! Thankfully, they are cheap to come by! We buy them from Brad's co-worker whose family keeps organically raised laying hens as a sideline business.

In the summer, we pick our own berries, freeze most of them, and turn some into sauce or jam. A relative of ours keeps a bountiful raspberry patch where we can come and go as we please.

It didn't work out last year because of pregnancy complications, but this summer, my mom, sisters, and I plan on putting up other produce from local farms that we don't grow ourselves: peaches, pears, carrots, pickles, etc.

4. Bulk Stores. I buy most of our grain from The Bulk Barn. We often receive coupons for $3.00 off a purchase of $10.00 or more (which I can easily spend in one visit!). I blend whole kernels with my Wondermill and the stuff I purchase pre-ground (flax), I purchase in small quantities as it goes rancid quickly. I purchase my organice herbs, teas, sea salt, and spices from The Bulk Herb Store.

I also purchase soap and other dried goods here like coconut, almonds, walnuts, and cranberries.
5. Grocery Store. You can save money at the grocery store by using coupons, ad-matching, checking the clearance shelf, and purchasing store-brand non-perishables like brown rice and tomato paste.

The clearance shelf where everything is ripe and ready, is a wonderful place to get greatly discounted produce. If you have a juicer, freeze your juice into Popsicles for a healthy summer treat or into ice cubes for slushies. Peppers and onions can be cut up and bagged for pizza toppings, apples turned into sauce, and mushrooms sauteed in butter for a fine steak topping.
6. Online. I must admit to rarely purchasing groceries online. I prefer to see the product myself. The exception to this is the extra virgin coconut oil I get from Tropical Traditions. The quality is truly remarkable. We use it a lot, especially in desserts like Chunky Cream Pops, Skinny Chocolate, and Peppermint Patties. I'm thankful it regularly goes on sale for 40-50% off.

In the interest of full disclosure, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Growing Home. I humbly thank you for your support! Linking to: Mind Body Sole, Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Frugally Sustainable, Natural Living Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies, Homestead Barn Hop, The Better Mom,

The amount of actual living space in our house is quite small, and since our kids prefer to play near Mommy (and I prefer to keep them within ear shot so I can break up squabbles), storing our toys in the main living area, adjacent to the kitchen, proved to be both wise and aesthetically pleasing! It's hard to tell at first glance, but between the baker's table and our bookshelf, 90% of the toys in our home are stored away.

My favorite feature of the baker's table (which doubles as an end table for the couch), is the swooping drawer. Designed to store large bags of flour and sugar, the deep sections are perfect for storing bulkier toys like trucks, teddies, and balls. Above the deep drawer is a smaller pull-out which we use to store puzzles and flat-laying games.

Inside our bookshelf cupboards are four bins I picked up from the Dollar Store. They keep the smaller, most used toys organized. One bin is for dolls and their accessories, the second is for toy food and play kitchen utensils, the third bin stores Mr. Potato Head parts, and the fourth stores Mega blocks.

The bin solution has been an excellent tool for teaching our two-year-old to clean up after herself. When she's tired of playing with dolls and wants to build a tower out of Mega Blocks instead, she first has to put away all of her dolly things and slide the bin back onto the shelf. She's learning that "When we take something out, we put it back."

The great thing about using small bins for storage is that it makes the cleaning-up process seem less daunting to a child. Even our 1 year-old can hold his attention long enough to finish putting all the Mega Blocks into a bin! A few of the bigger toys (a plastic shopping cart, doll carrier, and a ride-on toy) are stored in their bedroom closets and can be pulled out upon request.

Once in a while someone will comment on how few toys we have in our home. I like to think that we have enough. Space issues aside, our children really don't care for playing with "real" toys all that much. They prefer to play in the sandbox, or with everyday items like spoons, boxes, canning jar rings, blankets, and hats. Keeping toys to a minimum does several good things:

1. It increases our children's imagination and creativity. Do you know how many different ways you can use a box?!
2. It minimizes their entitlement mentality. We have never taken our children toy shopping or picked one up while they were with us. Hence, I can easily go shopping at Wal-mart without them begging for another teddy bear or a new ball. The more we have, the more we want.
3. It reduces the clutter in our home. Less cleaning, more room to play with the toys they already have.
4. Slim picking with toys creates many opportunities to teach sharing, as a wise Mom said on our Facebook page.
5. Fewer toys teaches our children that work can be fun! With less toys to distract them, we can spend more time doing constructive things together like making dinner, washing the car, or weeding the garden.

How's the toy situation in your home? Have you found a good method for keeping it all organized? I'd love to hear your solutions and advice!

It's Sunday morning. The alarm clock didn't go off like it was supposed to. Rolling over in bed, you squint at the red digital numbers and start to panic. There's an hour before you need to leave for church. You bolt out of bed, rudely wake your sleeping husband and try to scare him into action by telling him the time. Jumping into the shower, you realise you forgot your change of clothes and holler at your drowsy hubs to bring them over. You skip shaving your legs and conditioning your hair, dry yourself off in a hurry, only to discover that you had forgotten to iron your Sunday blouse. Having just had a baby, this is the only one that fits and is convenient enough for breastfeeding. You sigh as you button it up, promising yourself you'll keep your coat on the whole church service and nobody will notice.

You throw your hair into a quick ponytail. No time for anything fancy today. Running downstairs, you wake up your toddler and are too frustrated to enjoy her chipper morning spirit as she chatters away while you change her diaper. You rummage through her clothes, only to discover that her Sunday dress is still in the laundry room, probably hidden under the rest of the unfolded clothes. A skirt and tights will have to do. The tights have a hole in the toe. Oh well, her shoes will cover it.

Racing upstairs, you plunk her in her seat at the table and dash off to wake the baby, hoping he'll be alert enough for a good feed by the time the rest of you are done breakfast. While changing his diaper and trying to decide what he should wear to church, he has an explosive bowel movement leaving you no choice but to give him a bath. While you frantically wash the poop out of his hair, your husband calls from the kitchen to let you know that the syrup bottle is empty. Cheerios for breakfast on a Sunday. Again.

Placing baby in his bouncy chair, you wolf down your Cheerios, bouncing baby's seat with one foot, and feeding your toddler, who is highly distracted by the shadows the sun is helping to make on the dining room wall, with your empty hand. As soon as you're done your cereal, you ask (tell) your husband to take over feeding your toddler while you nurse your wailing baby in the messy living room you were too tired to clean up the night before. Trying to be as holy as possible considering the time, the rest of family gathers in the living room for devotions, where you pick the shortest Psalm and mumble a 20-second prayer so you can say you've done your duty.

After cutting baby's nursing session short, you lay him down on the floor, throw on your new white coat, and buckle your newborn into his seat. You had forgotten to burp him and he hurls all over the front of your new coat. No time to change. You pass the infant seat to your husband to place in the car while you hunt for your toddler's missing shoe. Where did she put it?! Already running three minutes late on the week your husband needs to hand out bulletins, you decided it's okay if she wears her rubber boots to church just this once.

Finally, you're all in the car and you race off to church. As your toddler begs you to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" for the hundredth time, you scream "Shut up! We're going to worship!" The gas light comes on. Hubby assures you that even though you might be running on fumes, you'll probably make it back. And if not all the way back, at least you'll be stranded on a major highway where lots of other church folk will be passing by and will surely stop to help. Just as you remember you left the tithing cheque and diaper bags in the front entrance, you see cherries flashing in the rear view mirror and hear a siren wailing in your ear. Busted.

Have you ever had a Sunday morning like this? We haven't had one quite that bad, but pretty close. Even though we need to leave by 8:45am to be at church in good time, I've found there are several things I can do to make it fairly relaxing and peaceful for everyone. A good morning starts the evening before. Here's some things I try to make a habit of doing so that Sundays truly are a day of rest and I'm not running around like chicken with my head cut off or barking out orders like a drill sargent:

Things to do Saturday morning:

• Decide what you'll be eating for each meal on Sunday. Make as much as you can ahead of time and slot in a trip to the grocery store if necessary.
• Check to make sure all the Sunday outfits are washed and ironed. A good way to avoid ironing, is to pull out your clothes from the dryer as soon as it finishes and hang them neatly in your closet.
• Make a trip to the gas station and top up the tank.

• Pack diaper bags. Include at least one extra outfit, three diapers, and wipes. Charity's bad also includes a cookie or two and a drink for in the baby-sit. Judah's bag is the bigger of the two as it also holds my nursing cover, extra nursing pads, a spit-up rag, and another shirt for me-just in case.
• Lay out each person's complete outfit in where they normally get dressed. For us this means a onesie, dress shirt, socks, pants, coat and hat on top of Judah's dresser; an undershirt, tights, a dress, shoes, and coat on Charity's; a suit, dress shirt and tie on the bathroom counter for Brad to change into after his shower; and my skirt, a button up blouse, camisole, and head covering beside my bed.
• Set the table for breakfast. If you're worried about flies pooping in your bowl or glass overnight, turn them upside down. We usually have waffles with Maple syrup, and orange juice on Sunday mornings which means three place settings including forks, knives, plates, and glasses. I also lay out Charity's bib and put two capsules of fenugreek next to my glass.
• Shower. I've realized I don't have to have a shower Sunday morning. It saves a lot of valuable time and is a great way to wind down by taking it Saturday evening before bed. After my shower, I usually lay out my earrings, and hair accessories on the bathroom counter so I don't have to hunt for them the next morning.
• Tidy the house. It's not the most wonderful thing to be doing on a Saturday night, but waking up to a tidy house is so much more relaxing for everyone! Set the timer for 10 minutes and you'll be surprised to how much you can accomplish. You'll be glad you picked up the toys even though you didn't feel like it.
• Put anything you can into the car. Diaper bags, purse, tithing cheque. The more that's already in the car, the less you'll forget. And you'll save yourself a bundle of time.
• Place all the footwear by the door. Make sure there's two of each. Unless of course, you happen to be missing a leg.

• This is the order that works best for us in this season of life: wake up, do my hair, get kids dressed and Charity's hair done while Brad showers, have breakfast, family devotions, nurse Judah while Brad clears the table and gets Charity's coat and shoes on, get myself dressed, put Judah's coat on, out the door.
• Get the kids dressed as soon as you take them out of bed. This saves having to go back into their rooms after having breakfast. If you're worried about them spilling on their clothes, invest in some good quality bibs and help the younger ones eat if necessary.
• If you're nursing, dress yourself after baby's done his feed, burped, and in his car seat to save having to put together another outfit. You can get dressed in 4 seconds flat. I've done it.
• Your husband wants to help. He might just need you to ask him what to do. Ask kindly and specifically instead of using body gestures and indirect commands. (i.e. Ask, "Honey, could you please put Charity's coat on?", instead of huffing loudly, "Charity's coat still needs to be put on and I've still got to get dressed, and I can't find Judah's soother!")
• Give your hubby a really good kiss on the way out the door. No matter how rushed the morning was, this will erase any memory of it. :-)

Does your house ever become a pig-sty? Maybe you prefer the term warzone or pit.
It’s okay. It happens to even the biggest neat freaks sometimes. You get sick, busy, have a baby, or maybe you just take the week off from housework. You turn around and the next thing you know you discover a fossilized piece of pizza in a couch cushion.

There will be times when your house simply just gets out of control. Here’s how to get it back to normal again without going insane.

Unless you’re feeling very industrious (or have help) give yourself at least a week to get a very messy house clean. Could you completely clean an entire house in less than a week? Probably, but this game plan takes errands, small children, and life in general into account. Very few of us can get 12 hours of uninterrupted cleaning, so spreading out massive cleaning over a week only makes sense.

If, however, you get a call from your mother-in-law saying she’ll be stopping by in an hour all bets are off, it’s time to start shoving clothes, toys, and dirty dishes in the closets. Just make sure you don’t accidentally push a child in one in your mad-dash cleaning spree.

From Pigsty to Palace In One Week: The Game Plan

Before You Start

* Buy all the trash bags, cleaners, and all the paper towels that you will need. Also consider buying paper plates, and utensils for the week. The environment will forgive you. It’s just for one week.

* Plan simple meals for the week that are easy to clean up.

Day One

* Do all dishes and put them away.

* Clean kitchen counters.

* Take a trash bag and donation box around to each room get rid of as much stuff as possible. This will infinitely speed up cleaning this week.

* Take a box for misplaced items around to each room, and fill it with any odds and ends that are out of place. Tomorrow you’ll begin putting things from this box away.

Day Two

* Put away all misplaced items in their proper places.

* Pick up and put away all stray clothes in your home

* Clean your bathrooms

Day Three

* De-clutter your dining room, living room, and kitchen. Make sure everything is in its proper place in these rooms.

* Organize these spaces as needed.

Day Four

* De-clutter the bedrooms and family room. Make sure everything is in its proper place in these rooms as well.

* Organize these spaces as needed.

Day Five

* Catch up on laundry.

* Put away all clean clothes.

* Vacuum and sweep the entire house.

Day Six

* Clean the windows and dust.

* Wipe the walls as needed.

* Wipe down all kitchen appliances

* Properly file or shred paper work and mail.

Day Seven

* Maintain everything you’ve cleaned, then:

* Rest.

Bonus Jobs If You Should Happen To Have Extra Time

* Clean out the refrigerator

* Clean out and vacuum your vehicle

* Clean up your desk area or office

* Store out of season clothes Want a deeper clean? I highly recommend Sarah Mae’s 31 Days to Clean.

What are your best cleaning tips? Let us know in the comments!

KM Logan is a wife, mother, teacher, and Amazon best-selling author. She is wholly inadequate but strengthened by the Lord. She’d be tickled pink if you stopped by her blog and said hi.

***This post contains affiliate links

Who would've thought there'd come a time in my life where I'd wonder where my next breath would come from when I'd be able to squeeze in my next shower? Not me! But here I am with 3 kids in three years, wondering some days when I'm going to find the time to do things I used to take for granted.

"When do I take a shower?" If Brad is home, then I have it after the oldest two have gone to bed while he watches our newborn, Anna. If I'm away in the evening, then I attempt to have one before the kids wake up in the morning. If that doesn't work out, then I wait until Anna's morning nap - place her in the bassinet, Judah (2) in his crib or a playpen with several toys to keep him occupied, and trust our 3-year-old to keep herself occupied and out of trouble. So far, so good (famous last words)! Worst case scenario, I look like a slime ball when someone unexpectedly pops in for a visit.

"When do I have my devotions?" My friend Anna, from Feminine Adventures, covered this question in beautiful detail. Go and read her post if you haven't already!

I try to have them while I'm nursing in the early morning or late evening. It never hurts to involve the kids either should they wake up earlier than expected. If I'm not too sleepy, I go through my prayer list when I'm nursing in the middle of the night.

"When do I make supper?" Raise your hand if 5 o'clock seems to be the most hectic time of the day. Okay, you can put it down now. Someone is guaranteed to be nursing, crying, needing to use the potty, discovering (and spilling) things in the pantry (like flour) while the rest of the house sits in disarray. Plus, the kiddlets are starting to get cranky from hungry tummies and you're expecting your husband home from work any minute.

This is why I try to make dinner first thing in the morning. I love using the recipes from Trim Healthy Mama (you can read my entire review here). They are easy, healthy, whole-food dishes that can be prepared quickly and made ahead of time. That way, even if the rest of the day is chaotic, there will still be a nutritious meal on the table, and hopefully, an atmosphere of relative peace and calm for my husband to come home too. He deserves it after a long day at work!

"When do I clean my house?" I used to reserve one day a week to do all the major housework like cleaning the bathrooms, scrubbing floors, vacuuming, and dusting, etc. Now with 3 kids, 3 and under, I spread it over two days.

The biggest jobs I try to finish on Thursdays, leaving Friday and Saturday morning to wrap it all up. Brad has Saturday afternoons off from work and we like to spend it relaxing with the kids, visiting our grandparents, or having friends over.

"When do I fit in exercise?" Normally I like to take a brisk 1/2 hour walk in the early evening after the kids have gone to bed while Brad stays home with Anna. We've been having so much rain lately though, that I've resorted to torturing myself with Jillian Michael's 6-week six pack during the first 35 minutes of the kids afternoon nap time.

I've joined the Redeemed Health and Fitness Facebook group for accountability purposes and encouragement. All the ladies in this group are mothers (most with larger than average families) who are seeking to shed unwanted pounds on a tight schedule. We share our highs and lows, praise each lost pound, steal each other's great ideas, and kept accountable with a daily check-in.
"When do I nap?" HA HA HA HA HA! Good one.

***For further reading, I recommendLarge Family Logistics: my favorite resource for learning how to build household routines within a larger-than-average families. Brad bought me this book for my birthday a few years ago, and I've been giving it out as gifts to other young moms ever since then. It's filled with step-by-step procedures, organizational advice, and a myriad of tips for efficiently managing a home in a way that honors God and builds up family relationships.

In the interest of full disclosure, some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Growing Home. I humbly thank you for your support! Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Modest Monday, A Mama's Story, Raising Arrows, Homestead Revival, Time Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies

I'm big fan of using natural, tried and true cleaning recipes instead of chemicals to get the job done. In addition to using my Norwex cloths, the following recipes featuring vinegar, baking soda, lemon, and essential oils are regularly put to use in our home. They work wonderfully, satisfying my desire for a clean, non-toxic environment.
Fizzy Sink Cleaner

• 1/2 cup baking soda

• 6 drops lemon essential oil

• 1/4 cup vinegar

• hot soapy water

• baking soda

• 1 cup olive oil

• 20 drops lemon essential oil

• 1 part white distilled vinegar

• 4 parts water

• Borax

• Water

• Water

• Distilled Vinegar

• Lemon Oil or Olive Oil

• Dustcloths or rags

• Lemons

• Air tight jar with screw lid

Some mothers don't believe it's fair for a young child to work. They say it deprives them of a fun childhood and is nothing more then an excuse for Mom not to do all the work herself. I suppose this could be true in some cases, but in our house we give Charity and Judah jobs to do because:

1. We are not raising children; we are raising adults. Hopefully, by God's grace, ones that will be responsible, capable, productive members of society.
2. They want to help. Seriously, they do. I can't clean the bathroom without one of them asking, "Mommy, can we have a rag too?" Giving into their request and praising them for hard work is not child abuse. It's capitalizing on a small window of a child's life where being "just like Mommy and Daddy" is fun!

If it's obvious that they've been hasty in their work or have done a job half-heartedly, we go back and finish it together. They like working beside me and usually try to copy what I'm doing exactly, or I'll try to coach them through it with simple instructions. It might look something like this:
Charity (3) is using a wet rag to wash the floor with me. Frustrated, she complains, "I can't get this dirt off!" I take my rag and wipe away the spot saying, "See? If you push hard and go up and down like this, it cleans up much easier." She runs off to find another spot on which to utilize her newly found information. Jumping up and down excitedly, she exclaims, "Look Mom! I just washed that spot all by myself!" She has just been taught how to effectively wipe up a spill and now the game is fun all over again.

One of our tots helping to wipe up his smoothie spill after breakfast.
In addition to wiping away dirty spots on the floor (because something about carrying around a damp rag is absolutely empowering for little cleaners!) here is a list of other jobs we ask our tots to do:

• Line up footwear neatly in the closet when coming in from outside.
• "When you take something out, you put it back." If they're big enough to dump all their toys, they're big enough to put them all away.
• Help Mommy put laundry in the washing machine or dryer (this works well if you have front-loaders. Top loaders are probably too difficult for them to reach).
• Sort laundry by colors.
• Fold wash-cloths, tea towels, socks, and small blankets (Our 3-year-old daughter loves to do this. Our almost 2-year-old's fine motor skills just aren't there yet).
• Dust baseboards.
• Bring dishes to the counter after they're finished eating.
• Straighten the hand towel in the bathroom after using it.
• Tuck chairs underneath the table after eating
• Use a hand-held vacuum to pick up crumbs

What other chores have you discovered your toddlers are capable of performing? Anything else you'd add to this list?

~"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalm 90:12~
When your husband comes home from work and inquires about how your last eight hours have gone, do you bite your lip and think, "Hmmmm, what have I accomplished?!"

Do you ever feel like you're sitting and spinning; trying to make progress but getting nowhere? Do you feel like you dawdle aimlessly all day only to crawl into bed at night wishing you had been more focused and able to bless your family, friends, and neighbors? Do you ever breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that no unexpected visitors have dropped in, when you survey the state of your home right before dinner?

I have. Several times, I'm afraid. It's embarrassing, but sometimes my house looks like a war zone and I don't even know how it got that way. The good news is that it only takes - get this - just a few seconds to keep things from piling up!

I've made a list of some very quick jobs that have the ability to transform a room from looking dirty to clean in seconds. I timed myself. Most of these "Quick Fixes" take less than 60 seconds. They can all be done in less than 5 minutes.

If your house is a disaster and you don't know where to start, tackle a few of these and you'll be pleasantly surprised! Charity and I go nuts with this list right before Daddy arrives from work. I want our house to be a welcoming place for him to come home too.

• Straighten pillows on couch
• Make your bed
• Clear the table
• Collect junk mail and toss into recycle bin
• Neatly shelve any books or magazines at are lying around
• Load the dishwasher
• Sweep kitchen and front entry floor
• Tidy the top of your dresser/end tables
• Pick up your clothes. Throw the dirty stuff into a hamper (or, even better, the washing machine) and fold or hang anything that can be worn again.
• Walk around the house with a plastic grocery bag. Fill it with garbage (hair, fuzzies, string, twist ties, Kleenex, candy wrappers, etc.)
• Line up shoes. We have a shoe rack in our front entry closet to keep our footwear out of sight.
• Straighten the tea towel in the kitchen, and the hand towel in the bathroom.
• Collect all the toys and toss them into their appropriate toy boxes.
• Keep water in a Spritz Bottle underneath the bathroom sink. Spray and wipe porcelain bathroom fixtures (sink, toilet, tub) with paper towel.
• Polish up your faucets with a microfiber cloth (cheaper and healthier than paper towel and glass cleaner. Use vinegar if you need to.) until they shine.

This dish/spa cloth pattern is easy-peasy - perfect for beginner crochet or for those who need an inexpensive, practical, heirloom gift in a hurry! The pattern requires only 1.5 oz (68 yards) of medium weight cotton yarn, making it an ideal way to use up your scraps. Alternating rows of single and double crochet stitches add interest and texture to the cloth.
Finished cloth measures 9"x9". Machine washable and dryable.

You'll need:

• 1.5 oz (68 yards) medium weight (4) organic cotton
• 4.5mm crochet hook
• yarn needle for finishing off
• scissors

Pattern:

1. Chain 34.
2. Single crochet in second chain from hook. Work a single crochet into each chain stitch. (33 sts)
3. Chain 1. Turn. SC into each stitch. (33 sts)
4. Chain 2. Turn. Work a double crochet into each stitch. (Note: Chain 2 at beginning of row does not count as stitch)
5. Repeat step 3 twice. (Two rows of single crochet)
6. Repeat step 4.
7. Continue repeating steps 5-6 (2 rows of single crochet, 1 row of double crochet) until cloth measures a perfect square (9"x9"), making the last row single crochet.
8. Chain 8 to make hanging loop. Slip stitch into first chain and tie a tight knot.
9. Cut yarn, leaving a 10" tail. Using yarn needle, weave end down through the edge of your cloth and fasten off at the corner. Trim tail.

Make a few in coordinating colors and pair with our family's favorite hand cream, Beeyoutiful's Miracle Skin Salve for naturally splendid gift!

Linking to: Holy-Spirit Led Homeschooling

This blanket is as simple and easy-to-make as they come. If you've never sewn before, its a perfect piece to start with. The finished size is perfect for a picnic, toddler bed, or stroller blanket. Since it's reversible, you can easily switch up the look by flipping it over.

You'll need:

• 2.5 yards flannelette
• 2.5 yards fleece or felted wool
• Heart pattern for applique (included below)
• Sewing machine and basic sewing supplies (thread, scissors, pins, safety pins)

Click for full-size pattern. "Save as" and Print.
Directions:
Trim a piece, 12 inches wide, off the length of both fabrics to use for your heart applique.

If one of your materials has a shorter width, cut the length in half and sew the long ends together. Using the seam to mark the middle of your blanket, cut both fabrics to your desired blanket size (allow for 1/4" seam).

Cut a heart shape out of the excess from each material. Pin each heart, right side up, onto the right side of the contrasting material. I chose to place the hearts in the right corner of the blanket. Using a tight zig-zag stitch, carefully follow the edge of each heart to form your applique.

Once the appliques are finished, pin the two materials, right sides together. Using a 1/4" seam, sew around the blanket, leaving a small opening, just big enough to fit your hands through, along one of the sides. Flip right side out. Tuck in the raw edges around the opening and secure with straight pins. Use safety pins to mark a border, 1-2 inches from the edge of the blanket.

Using the edge of the sewing foot as a guide, sew around the entire blanket.

If you're feeling really ambitious, edging your blanket with a blanket stitch would really add to the decorative factor!

I'm about to show you the grossest thing you've ever seen. (Aunt Connie, if you're reading this, look away or you'll fall out of your chair. Mom, you too.) This is what my fridge looked like yesterday morning:

Okay, now that you've picked up your jaw from off the floor, allow me to explain.
That spilled milk? It leaked out of Judah's bottle during the night. The rest? I'm afraid I have no excuse. My fridge has been in desperate need of a cleaning for a while - it's just not on my list of favorite things to do, I guess. The spilled milk was the last straw before I got a scrub-a-dub-dubbing. And now?

Dun-dun-da-dun. Let's just say the results from a little bit of elbow grease are so, so worth it!
If you're fridge looks like mine did, here's a few tricks to make the dreaded job easier:

• Take out all the food. If you're worried about spoiling, store the perishables in a cooler while you clean.
• Remove all the drawers and any shelves that can fit into your sink.

• Fill your sink with steaming hot water, vinegar, baking soda, and a bit of dish soap. Using a dish brush, scrub away the grime from the drawers and smaller shelves.

• Once the drawers have been dried, pass them off to your two-year-old and watch her imagination soar! Apparently they make fantastic beds for stuffed bears and dogs. Not to mention they're great for keeping a wee one occupied while you finish cleaning.

• Sprinkle some baking soda on the larger shelves. Add a splash of vinegar and real lemon juice before putting all your might into scrubbing away the residue with a dish brush. Don't forget the sides of the refrigerator too.
• Use paper towel or a microfiber cloth to wipe away the wet mess and leave a streak-free shine.

I couldn't help myself. I just had to show you this picture one more time. Isn't it a thing of beauty?! Now the challenge is to see how long it will stay this way.
How long has it been since you cleaned your refrigerator? Does your mess beat mine or am I Queen of the Filthy Fridge?

There have been days where our house looked like World War III. Days where fancy-footwork is required to dodge the kid paraphernalia strewn across the floor. Days when, after nearly spraining my ankle for the umpteenth time on dinky cars and mega blocks, I ask my 3-year-old to start picking up the mess. She looks at me and innocently asks, "What mess?" and I bury my head in my hands and weep.

How important is it to teach our children to clean up after themselves? I've often questioned whether cleanliness is a matter of character or part of our individual DNA, whether it should be enforced and to what extent.

See, we have both extremes within our family. Our daughter is naturally... "laid back," a nice way of saying she couldn't find the mess if a tornado tore through her room (which it does on occasion). Our son, although he's just 21-months-old, is a lover of order. He'll automatically line up his shoes in the closet when he comes in from outside; his sippy cup gets placed back on the counter when he's done taking a drink.

When it's time to clean up toys before bed, one inspects every toy as if seeing it for the first time before s-l-o-w-l-y placing it in the bin; the other hustles as if cleaning up were some sort of strong-man competition. One wouldn't give two hoots about leaving her undies sunny-side-up in the middle of the bedroom floor; the other makes a bee-line for the laundry hamper when he finds a dirty article of clothing. One is messy, the other is neat and I'm trying to find the balance.

One theory says cleanliness is next to godliness. The other says cleaning up toys while the children are growing is like shoveling snow while the snow is still snowing. One thing is for certain - the state of our home is never more important then the state of their souls and while a mess can remain unchanged for as long as you leave it there, our children are daily developing and strengthening habits that will effect them for the rest of their lives.

Besides the fact that keeping things in their proper places typically results in a calm, peaceful atmosphere with less stress, hurry, and bustle, tidiness is a trait I want to teach my children as part of an effort to care for their souls. Picking up after themselves is important for 3 reasons (at least):

1. It pleases the Lord. Creation testifies to the orderliness of God's character. Likewise, we also ought to delight in the practice of attending to our duties with watchfulness and care.

Additionally, it is pleasing to the Lord when we are faithful in the little things. Teaching our children to take charge over the ordinary duties of life is helping to lay the groundwork for greater responsibilities. Conscious attention and a cheerful attitude towards "trivial" tasks builds the character required to acceptably serve the Lord in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

2. It honors Mommy and Daddy. It's not a matter of "Because I said so"; it's a matter of, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." (Ephesians 6:1) I shouldn't need to present a logical case to my children on why they must clean up the toys when I ask them to. However important things like safety, making our home look suitable for company, and house rules may be, their responsiveness to my request reflects the attitude of their heart. An obedient heart and a willing spirit bring joy to Mommy and glory to God.

3. It prepares for future usefulness. Some women will accomplish twice as much as others in a lifetime simply because as a child, they learned the importance of keeping everything in its proper place. Their homes appear orderly and little effort is required to keep it that way.

Other women will find themselves despairing in the midst of confusion that reigns over their homes. Throughout life, they will feel hurried and rushed, rarely able to enjoy a moment's peace. It will seem like they are forever trying to put things away but nothing stays that way for long.

Many times I wonder "What's the point? They don't remember!" when I find clothes strewn across the floor, shoes forgotten to be lined up in the closet, books left lying everywhere around our living room except the bookshelf. But I've heard from older and much wiser mothers that consistency is key. Diligently working to teach them the habit of tidiness by many words of encouragement and my own example will prepare them for life of usefulness, purposefulness, and, in the case of the girls, an apt and capable housewife.

And so, I will continue to hand them a wet rag while I clean the floor even if they spread the dirt around more than they clean it up. I'll pass them a dust rag on housework day even if I need to go over the same spot when they're not looking. I'll let them return the toys to the bucket they turned over even if it's quicker when I do it myself. I'll let them help fold laundry even if the stack of washcloths in the linen closet looks precarious and uneven. I'll do it because I want to raise our children to live a life that's pleasing to the Lord, honoring to Mommy and Daddy, and prepared for future usefulness.

Linking to: Homestead Revival, Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, A Mama's Story, Time-Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies, Raising Arrows, The Modest Mom

It's cold up here. There's no sign of Spring as far as the eye can see. Snow, ice, and bitter wind have marked the past few days and my guess is that the theme will continue for several more months.

Inside, it's a different story. Crocuses are blooming in my kitchen and serve as a reminder that Spring will surely come. Sooner than later, we will be able to say:
"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land." Song of Solomon 2: 11, 12
Forcing bulbs to grow indoors during the off-season is a simple project and an easy way to rid yourself of the winter blues. If you have children, this is a wonderful way to teach them about Creation and an opportunity to draw a visual parallel to the doctrine of re-birth.

You'll need:

• 1 small pot with drainage holes
• 1 saucer or container to catch the water
• potting soil
• a shovel
• 3 bulbs (Hyacinths, crocus', tulips, daffodils, and paper whites are excellent choices)

I try to avoid using chemical cleaners if at all possible. With the exception of one product (a terribly toxic substance that seems to be the only solution to wiping out the ring of dirt and hard water around the tub - might anyone have a natural remedy to this problem?), everything in our cleaning cupboard is safe to use and wouldn't kill our children if they were to accidentally ingest it. Baking Soda, Vinegar, and Lemon go a long way!
These lemon dust cloths take just minutes to prepare and can be stored in an airtight jar until you're ready to use them. Sometimes dusting with a dry cloth does more harm then good as it moves the dirt around instead of catching it. These cloths are damp and infused with vinegar to help catch and kill the bugs at the same time. The addition of olive oil and lemon rind bring a soft polish to your furniture.

To make, you'll need six things:

• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 lemon rind
• 2 dust rags
• 1 glass jar with lid

Do you have any natural cleaning solutions to share? I'm especially interested in learning how to get marker off fireplace stone. It seems someone in our house decided the slab looked to boring in grey. :-)

Here's a sweet little gift bag idea that won't break the bank!

After you've emptied the sugar bag from all your holiday baking:

• fold the top of the bag inside
• reinforce four small holes with grommets
• attach two equal lengths of pretty string to make the handles
• add a tag with a creative play on words : "To my Sweetheart," "To a Sweet friend," etc.

I debated whether or not to include my personal schedule as part of the Keeping A Growing Home Series because really, it probably won't work for anyone else; our circumstances aren't the same. However, several women who are contemplating homeschooling have written and asked to see how it can actually fit into their day in addition to managing the rest of their homemaking responsibilities. I have chosen to include it for the sole purpose of assuring those who sincerely wonder that it can be done.

Below is a summary of a very good day at our house. It often looks nothing like this. Kids get sick or wake up on the "wrong side of the bed" and need more training and correction on some days than others. Interruptions happen. Sometimes it's little stuff like a blender explosion that takes me 30 minutes to mop up. Sometimes it's a bigger deal like the 20 week bed-rest of my last pregnancy.
Schedules and routines are designed to serve you, not the other way around. Learn to be flexible and roll with the punches. It's good to have a vision (Proverbs 29:18) and be intentional about your day, but remember: "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth His steps." Proverbs 16:9God often allows disruptions to teach us life lessons, bring blessings in disguise, remind us of our dependence on Him, and equip us with grace to overcome obstacles greater then our own strength could bear so that His name is ultimately glorified.
If supper doesn't get made, there's a pizzeria down the street; if school doesn't get done, there's always tomorrow; if the laundry doesn't get folded, we can live in wrinkly clothes for a week and no one will care; if I don't write a blog post, there are hundreds of thousands of other ones on the web for people to read.
If I develop a stinky attitude over a few interruptions and storm around miserably because I haven't gotten my way, the whole family suffers and I've just made keeping a growing home appear to be the worst trial a woman can endure.
This is not what I want for my daughters. It's not what I want for you.
So please don't take my schedule too seriously. :) My Daily Schedule 6:30-7:15: wake-up, personal devotions, get dressed, nurse Anna while checking emails. Flag any messages that need a reply.
7:15-7:30: write, schedule or publish blog posts, schedule Facebook and Twitter updates (I can pre-schedule updates on Facebook which are synced to my Twitter account)
7:30-8:15: wake kids up, change diapers, get dressed, have breakfast (smoothie).
8:15-8:40: Bible Time

• Bible Story
• Sing A Psalter
• Recite memory verse
• Pray

• Charity (4) works in her Rod & Staff textbooks at the kitchen table
• Judah (2) plays in the kitchen sink (I fill it up part way with water and give him a few toys) or colors a picture
• Anna (7 months) bounces in the exersaucer
• I start supper prep when Charity has independent work to do

• playtime
• I might throw a load of laundry in the washer and check my emails

• Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Charity on the couch
• Judah usually like to sit beside us and sound out the blends too
• Anna goes down for her morning nap

• Read from our weekly selection of books we borrowed from the library or do a craft that involves both kids

• kids play outside in the sandbox
• I throw laundry in the dryer, clean up kitchen, or start working on an odd project like switching out the winter/summer clothes or organizing the pantry

• Charity is allowed a few books in bed (if she's tired enough, she'll fall asleep)
• Judah and Anna nap

• write blog posts, answer emails, reply to advertising inquiries, working on reviews or eBooks, reply to comments, and interact with my Facebook community

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox. In the interest of full disclosure,some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive a small commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Thank you for your continued support!
Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family,

In Part 3 of this series, I emphasized the importance of keeping our priorities aligned as God desires (God, Spouse, Children, House) and listed 15 Good Things I DON'T Do so I can give them adequate attention.

You cannot schedule long, lingering hugs with your husband, heart-to-heart's with your children, or circumstances that bring you to your knees and compel you to worship your Creator; but you can learn how to manage your secondary duties efficiently. This does three things:

1. It affords you more time to invest in the souls entrusted to your care.
2. It keeps your home "company-ready," and open for hospitality, whereby some have entertained angels, unaware. (Hebrews 13:2)
3. It teaches your daughters, by your own example, how to care for their own homes one day.

There are thousands of books available to help learn how to organize your home (I'll list my favorites at the end of this post), so I'll keep it short and simply list a few small, but meaningful things that have been a great asset in helping me manage our own home:

Meals for the freezer. 1. Double up when you cook or bake. Get into the habit of cooking extra so you have one meal for dinner and one to put in the freezer or give away. It takes almost no extra time or energy to double (or triple) a recipe and having a healthy "heat-and-serve" meal available on busy days is a great stress reliever! Some of our favorite things to freeze are soups, chili, casseroles, muffins, cookies, and brownies.

Making granola and sweet potato fries in the kitchen while the kids do school at the table. 2. Make supper at breakfast. I try to make my meals in the morning, or at least get some of the prep work done while the kids are doing their independent work at the kitchen table. That way, if school takes longer than normal or we have swimming lessons in the afternoon, 5 o'clock isn't as rushed as it could be.

3. Learn to use the kitchen wonder-tool: your crock-pot! You don't even need to use a recipe. Throw in a frozen cut of meat, a few vegetables and some spices in the morning, cover and set to 'Low,' and you'll have a tender, flavorful meal ready by dinner.

Our "school" cabinet across from the kitchen. The small drawers contain our pencils, markers, crayons, glue sticks, erasers, etc., and the four larger drawers contain our workbooks (one for each child, and one for Mommy). 4. Manage your space efficiently. Don't make yourself walk across the kitchen to retrieve the pepper grinder while you're simmering soup. Keep your baking essentials in a cupboard above the area where your blender is stored; your plates and silverware in closest proximity to your table (or dishwasher, if you have one); the schoolbooks on a shelf or drawer near to where you normally do your lessons (for us, that's the kitchen); the toys where the children play.

An uncluttered house is easier to clean up! 5. Clear the clutter. Get rid of the stuff you wouldn't know was missing if it suddenly disappeared. Donate, re-gift, recycle, or throw out. You'll spend less time trying to organize and clean what you don't need and your home will feel bigger and brighter. Cleaning up their toys will also be less daunting for your children when they have fewer of them to put away (you can read more about the toy storage system for our small house here).

A typical wash day: Charity (4) helps me fold (she's better than I am!), Judah (2) mountain climbs the unfolded pile, and Anna (7 months) watches us for entertainment. 6. Devote specific days to specific tasks. This is not a new idea. For Ma Ingalls and other pioneer women, each day had its own chore:
Wash on Monday. Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday. Nowadays, with machines that speed up a great deal of these things and imported products that are cheaper to buy than make, my list looks a little different but the principle is the same. In addition to homeschooling everyday, I typically do laundry on Monday, groceries on Tuesdays, freezer cooking and baking on Wednesdays, swimming lessons and the bulk of my writing/blog business on Thursdays, housework on Fridays, outside work on Saturdays, rest on Sundays.

7. Multitask. I make dinner while the kids are doing their schoolwork at the kitchen table, check my emails or read aloud when I'm nursing, dust when I have a phone call to make, and review memory work while we're folding laundry.

What I aim to have our kitchen look like before going to bed at night. 8. Clean up the night before. I'm much more excited and motivated to start my day when I wake up to a clean kitchen and a tidy house. Every evening after supper, Brad and I wash and dry the dishes while the kids clean up their toys. They are rewarded with a bedtime story if they get the living room (also our play area) neatly organized before we're finished.

9. Ensure you're are being spiritually fed. You can read the scriptures out loud to your children while you are nursing, sing Psalms at the kitchen sink with your two-year-old, or pray while you're driving. I keep my Bible on my nightstand so it's the first thing I see every morning before starting my day.
"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:29-31

When I remember to wear one, a pretty apron makes me feel like a real homemaker! My favorite ones come from Flirty Aprons. 10. Dress for the job. There's a reason the corporate world abides by a professional dress code. Dressing for success often leads to success. Your clothes make a strong visual statement about how you view your job. Comfort aids productivity and your personal, creative, feminine style tells the world your role is freeing, not stifling. Decide what you're going to wear the night before and put it next to your bed. Commit to not leaving the bedroom until you're dressed!

If you struggle with the temptation to stay in your robe like I do, I highly recommend reading Frumps to Pumps: Your 1-Month Motivotional to Getting Dressed and Staying That Way by Sarah Mae.

11. Take care of yourself physically. Eat healthy, take your vitamins, get fresh air, shower, go to bed on time, and adopt an attitude of joy that will energize you for the tasks at hand.

My very simple meal plan on a magnetic menu pad I found at Wal-Mart. 12. Meal plan. I'm not a rigid meal-planner, but I like to have a week's worth of dinners written down so I have a general idea of what I can prepare in the morning. It also saves me time and money at the grocery store.

13. Unplug. Turn off your distractions. Consider getting rid of the TV if it keeps you from going to bed on time and get an emergency only plan for your cell phone. Unplug the computer if you won't be needing it for several hours and keep it in an inconvenient location so it's a pain to check Facebook when you're supposed to be homeschooling.

Before and after the kids have cleaned up the living room/play area. 14. Involve the whole family. Managing a home doesn't mean you have to do all the work; it means you are responsible for seeing that the work gets done. Don't assume your children are going to learn how to run a home by osmosis. Let them take responsibility by giving them their own chores, and in the process of teaching them life skills, you will find more time to engage in fun, memorable family activities like hiking, tobogganing, or traveling together.

15. Stay home. Novel concept, isn't it? If too many trips out are keeping you from fulfilling your duties at home, it's time to cut back. I try to set aside one morning a week to do all of my grocery shopping and limit our extra-curricular activities. Currently, we're involved in swimming lessons and leave one other afternoon open for visits to the library, a friend's house, or a field trip. I don't go to Ladies Bible Study at Church and rarely go shopping "just for the fun of it."

My to-do list, decorated by someone who found a pen. 16. Make lists. Remember all of those careers being a homemaker encompasses? Making bite-size lists can do wonders when you're feeling overwhelmed. You can see exactly what needs to be done and get the satisfaction of crossing off a task when it has been completed.
17. Just do the next thing. When your kitchen sink is overflowing with dirty dishes, the floor is sticky, and dinner still needs to be made, just do the next thing. Don't look over your whole list or get side-tracked by thirteen other things that are calling for your attention. Just pick up the dish-brush, fill your sink with hot, soapy water, and do the next thing.

18. Accept help when it is offered and ask for it when it's not. Accepting help is not a sign of weakness or failure; it means you're a human who understands that no one can do it all. Asking for help humbles a person and opens their eyes to the community of believers that God has arranged to encourage and support each other (1 Thessalonians 5:11-13).

If you could recommend one life-altering home management tip, what would it be?

Recommended Resources
These are affiliate links for books I love, which means I make a small commission if you choose to purchase through them, but please don't feel obligated to do so!

• Large Family Logistics by Kim Breneman
• More Hours In My Day by Emilie Barnes
• Saving Dinner Basics by Leanne Ely
• Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley (The FlyLady)
• The Christian Homemaker's Handbook by Pat Ennis
• The Family Manager Takes Charge by Kathy Peel
• The House That Cleans Itself by Mindy Starns Clark

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.
Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family,

Most women, myself included, get overwhelmed when they read Proverbs 31. There is no way in this world I could get done in one day what she got done in one chapter. That's why it's important to understand that her picture is a portrait of a lifetime, not a summary of Super Woman's day.

We go through seasons of life where we are able to engage in different things; right now I'm mothering through the little years where all the kids are still in car seats, they all need their shoes tied by an adult, and someone else to give them a bath. They aren't quite big enough to make their own beds, make dinner, or watch younger siblings when Mommy needs a nap.

It's busy, exhausting, and rewarding. I have to remind myself not to compare my Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 100. I'm not Martha Stewart. She can keep an immaculate home, tend glorious gardens, and grow every vegetable perfectly because she is at a different stage of life and her priorities are different than mine. She does not have three small children, nor does she homeschool. Of course she isn't any less of a person for that, but it would be silly of me to measure myself against her.

I'm responsible for using 24 hours wisely everyday. I use 7-8 of them for sleeping. That leaves me with 16 to manage well. Managing them well means learning how to prioritize and giving the most important things the most attention. In our house, that order looks like this:

1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. House

My husband prefers a good meal to a clean house or an empty laundry basket, so if I have to choose between making dinner or cleaning the shower, the former takes priority.

We believe our primary purpose as parents is to raise our children in the fear of the Lord. It's a hard exhortation to remember when there are crumbs under the table and sticky fingerprints on the window, but if it seems the only thing I accomplish in a day is giving instruction, administering correction, breaking up squabbles, reminding our children of the necessity of their salvation, and teaching them to pray for a clean heart that hates evil and wants to do good, then the most important things have been given the most attention.

I'm told by seasoned mothers whose children have flown the nest that one day you will have time to bake, and sew, sell handmade goodies and keep a spotless house, but you'll probably wish you still had the company of several little people who think you're the world.

To help keep my priorities aligned properly, there are several good things that I just don't do. One day I'd like to do them, but right now I don't have enough time or attention to give them.

1. I don't cloth diaper. I know it's more eco-friendly, and I've heard it's no more work than disposables, but I haven't taken the time to build up a stash. My washing machine doesn't get much of a break as it is and I'm not sure how I'd find the time to keep a clean supply of diapers on hand or the stomach to slosh around poopy diapers in the toilet (or is that not required anymore?) When a pack of 136 diapers goes on sale for $17.99, I stock up.

2. I don't bake my own bread; partly because Brad eats gluten-free and I cannot seem to make a loaf that doesn't taste like a hockey puck, and partly because homemade bread isn't very high on our priority list. I don't eat much bread either. The kids eat store-bought sourdough bread at lunch time. One loaf lasts us a whole week, so the time and effort it takes to make my own doesn't save me any serious coin in the long run.

3. I don't iron. I recently pulled it out for the first time in three years to iron a blazer. Marveling at this new invention, our two-year-old son asked, "Why are you vacuuming your shirt, Mom?" Wrinkle-prone items get pulled from the dryer as soon as the cycle is finished. Sometimes they get hung up on hangers and hung neatly in the closet. Sometimes they lay on top of the dryer until I need to wear them.

4. I don't bath our kids every day. I don't even bath them every other day. We (usually Daddy) bath them when they're dirty (at least once a week, I assure you).

5. I don't use natural remedies for everything. I'm a vaccinated, formula fed kid and grew up taking Tylenol for headaches. I have a long way to go before I'm comfortable knowing what herb to give for what ailment, what homeopathic drops to pour into my baby's mouth when she's teething, and what essential oil to rub into my temples when my head is pounding. I want to though, and I'm slowly learning how, but you'll still find Tylenol in our medicine cupboard.

6. I don't grind my own flours. In fact, my electric grain mill is for sale if anyone is interested.

7. I don't have a large garden. There's not a great deal of room on our city lot. We grow tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers, a few herbs, and whatever happens to seed itself through our compost. It's more of a teaching tool for the kids and it satisfies my gardening itch. I enjoy making Tomato Spice Soup from our produce, but I buy and preserve nearly everything else from local farms.

8. I don't can. I don't know how. It's on my list of things I want to learn. Thankfully, my friend Jill is a great teacher and my Mom is willing to hold my hand and walk me through the process. I'm terrified of things exploding in my face. For the past five summers, I've simply cleaned, cut, bagged, and thrown seasonal produce in the freezer. Gently, of course, so it doesn't get bruised. That much I understand about preserving.

9. I don't dust every week. It's really just a country accent anyway and we're honored when folks take the time to autograph our bookshelves. Kidding. Sort of. I make an effort to dust every Friday on "Housework Day," but sometimes it goes two weeks before it gets done. The kids each get a rag too, which means our carpet is probably due for an interesting homeschool science experiment...

10. I don't sew, knit, or scrapbook. At night, when the kids are in bed and I've got some time to relax, I write. Keeping a blog is the therapy that works for me. It's a fun way to interact and learn from a community of like-minded moms and a bonus to be able to contribute to our family income.

11. I don't coupon. I don't even look at flyers. They go from the mailbox to the recycle bin. I can purchase everything I need from three stores and they're all within 5 minutes of each other. It's quick, convenient, and just one afternoon in town (if you have three children in car seats, you get me).

12. I don't go to the Ladies Bible Study at church. We homeschool.

13. I don't have a phone. I don't want one either. I'm not sure I'd have the self-discipline necessary to give it the same amount of attention I give the non-existent one now. I'm sure it'd be handy one day if I were in a car accident or stranded on the side of the road. I'm relying on the generosity of those passing by and assuming they probably have one I could borrow.

14. I don't exercise. Not deliberately, at least. I've been blessed with a good metabolism and consider giving under-doggies to thirty-five pound toddlers on the swing for half an hour, and chasing our one-speed (fast) son around all day good enough.

15. I don't serve fancy meals. I like to cook a mainly whole food diet, but I don't go all Jacques Pepin on my family. Every morning we have the same smoothie for breakfast. Every afternoon we have the same sandwich for lunch. Snack-wise, I serve simple things I know our kids love. In the evenings, we typically enjoy healthy, low-fuss dinners like Cheeseburger Pie, Taco Salad, or Coconut Curried Chicken. Sometimes we have grilled cheese, or order pizza.

How 'bout you? Are there good things that you don't engage in because you simply don't have the time? What are they? What or who gets the bulk of your attention and what gets the leftovers?

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.

The first step to becoming an excellent manager of your home is to understand your role and why it is so important.

As a whole, our culture dismisses the impact of a faithful homemaker and constructs stereotypes that are outlandishly opposed to our exemplary in Proverbs 31. For instance, note who gets attacked when one young girl says she's going to be a nurse and the other says she's preparing to be a homemaker, which, biblically and historically, is God's normative plan for women. It is considered a waste of talent and intelligence to bless your family with the gifts God has given you for eternal rewards, but admirable if a paper certifies a particular area of focus and you get paid monetarily.

We must not rely on society's view of homemaking as our source of strength, purpose, and encouragement. Our value and fulfillment is found when we understand that the almighty God of the universe has called us to this task, and therefore, there is no greater work as a wife and mother that we could be doing.
"... teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2: 4The title "manager" denotes different types of jobs we must oversee to ensure our homes are running smoothly. Let's list them:

• Accountant
• Baker
• Chauffeur
• Cheerleader
• Chef
• Coach
• Counselor
• Dean of Education
• Entertainer
• Fashion Coordinator
• Food Service Manager
• Filing Clerk
• Fitness Trainer
• Gardener
• Gift Coordinator
• Health-care Practitioner
• Interior Designer
• Laundress
• Maid
• Purchasing Agent
• Referee
• Secretary
• Short-order Cook
• Travel Agent

A woman who purposely trains to do all these things well will not just be an asset to her husband, but should the Lord call her to singleness, she will be able to minister well to anyone, wherever she is planted. This is why I tell my daughters that preparing to be a godly homemaker thrills Mommy's heart just as much, if not more, than having them trained, indebted, and degreed, in one particular field of interest at college.
"Putting up the lunch for the children or cooking a good meal for the family may seem very insignificant tasks as compared with giving a lecture, writing a book, or doing other things that have a larger audience; but I doubt very much if, in the ultimate reckoning, they will count for as much." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the OzarksOnce you begin to understand and embrace the importance of your place inside your home, you can begin to draft a "mission statement" to refer to when you're feeling weary in well-doing, or you need to be reminded of your vision. It can be as simple as photo-copying Proverbs 31 and posting it on your fridge, or writing out your own summary on a note card and placing it above your sink. I've written mine inside my journal where I see it everyday:

"Called, authorized, and empowered by my Redeemer and Friend, with the blessing and support of my husband, my mission as the Keeper of our Home is to create an atmosphere of grace and forgiveness, order and flexibility, warm love and gentle affection, nutritious meals and fragrant aromas, conversation and education."
I want our home to be: (Check all that apply)

• Welcoming
• Stressful
• Warm
• Light
• Dark
• Messy
• Cluttered
• Happy
• Perfect
• Neat
• Chaotic
• Tidy
• Educational
• Shiny
• Sloppy
• Organized
• Attractive
• Dusty
• Beautiful
• Positive
• Well-arranged
• Tense
• Fun
• Calm
• Rigid
• Creative
• Chaotic
• Cozy
• Unique
• Balanced
• Homey
• Joyful
• Tacky
• Intense
• Purposeful
• Simple
• Appropriate
• Immaculate
• Functional
• Fresh Bright
• Expensive
• Relaxed

Recommend Resources
These titles encourage Keepers of The Home in their God-given calling. I'll list resources specific to organizing and maintaining different areas of the home as we cover them in this series. These are my affiliate links, but you are under no obligation to use them!

• Passionate Housewives Desperate For God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald
• The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
• Queen of the Home by Jennifer McBride
• The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
• Praise Her In The Gates by Nancy Wilson
• Home-Making by J. R. Miller
• Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.
Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family,

Recently I was asked a question I had heard many times before: "How do you get everything done in a day when you have three small children and a blog? I only have one child and I can't even keep up!"

Truthfully, I don't get it all done in a day and I often feel way behind on everything. I can't remember when each room in our house was tidy at the same time or the last time I had all the laundry caught up.

That's why I want to do this reality series, because if keeping a home entails a perfectly tidy house, an organized linen closet, well-behaved, homeschooled children, and an empty laundry basket, I fear we're all doomed. It must be something more.

Yes, more!

Gloriously managing a home does not mean the laundry is always caught up, the towels are straight, and the kitchen counter is clear of clutter. It means rolling with the punches, giving yourself grace, determining to make the most of every opportunity to love and serve your family, and pleading God's promises, understanding that there is nothing more important as a wife and mother than your place in the home and the powerful influence you wield in your family.

Becoming an excellent homemaker is a growing process, not an overnight change. Life happens. When I've spent three nights in a row cleaning up after sick family members and cannot see beyond the mountain of laundry or dirty dishes in the sink, I must remember that God knew I would be facing this situation when He called me to be a Keeper of the Home and will see me through it if I choose to place it in His hands.

Our house was messier when we only had one child. I wondered how in the world I could handle more of them, homeschool, and keep our home running smoothly. God faithfully gives grace every day and always enough time for the necessary things to get accomplished. It's up to me how to learn to prioritize and manage it effectively.

Care for our children's souls must always trump cleaning floors and decorating drywall; our house will be rubble one day, but their hearts are eternal. Some days that means all we do is read books and take a walk to the park. Some days it can mean making three healthy meals plus extras for the freezer, accomplishing two days worth of school work, folding four baskets of wash, taking the kids to swimming lessons, and getting the bathroom deep cleaned.

The longer we're married and the more children we have, the more tools God gives to help me become better at this task. In this series, I hope to:

• share my favorite time-management tricks,
• share how I prioritize my list of things that "need" to get done
• homemaking stuff I don't do,
• recommend a list of invaluable resources,
• share my personal schedule,
• share real pictures of it all in action at our house.

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.
Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family, Moms The Word, Hip Homeschool Moms, Trivium Tuesdays, The Prairie Homestead