Thursday, December 4, 2008

Home Management

There are only 3 more weeks until Christmas!! Yikes! I have alot to do. Really I only have 8 or 9 days to finish the gifts that have to be mailed out. I am behind, but I do work well under pressure. I also want to get something made for the Whirl Into Winter giveaway coming up. You can click on the little snowflake on my sidebar to get the details. How are your Christmas preparations coming? I have got some shopping done. This will be much simpler this year and that is fine. I have not hit the stores, but Rachel has called me with some deals and grabbed them for me and I have done some Amazon shopping. If you are going to shop Amazon, go through the link on Copperswife's sidebar. It costs you NOTHING and she will get a percentage toward her heritage library. Amazon does not tell her who you are or any information about you.
Well we got another 4 inches dumped on us yesterday! It looked like a snow globe out there for most of the afternoon.Our new schedule seems to be working out ok. Mr. Zachary may need to do his math before chores, but all in all he is doing well.

I got out my Home Management Binder. I had been doing my housework "by heart" and not really looking at the focus lists. Things were not getting done as they should.This weeks focus is the front rooms of the house. The living room, dining room, and entryway. I had done a really nice deep clean of the dining room before Thanksgiving, so I was ahead of the game. The kids took some jobs....wiping switch plates clean, dusting legs of tables and chairs, straightening the coat closet, and organizing the DVD's that are stored in the cabinet in the entryway.Since I had a head start on the dining room, I worked a little on the laundry room. Next week is the focus week for this room, and it will get some deep attention, but it needed a little TLC now. This is what happens when you do your housework "by heart"....there will be a day when I have no children at home that "by heart" will be good enough. That is not now.Just a little time and a garbage bag, and Voila!!!! Not deep cleaned, but well organized and ready for next weeks meeting with the cleaning rag! I always keep a laundry basket in here for kitchen towels and cloth napkins. All my laundry is back on schedule. I am terrible with laundry! I washed my rug by the back door and was shocked to find it had totally fell apart. I should not have been surprised. The rug by the back door is always an older rug from another area in the house that has been replaced for a fresher rug. Kinda like the kid who always gets the hand me downs. I decided to get a new rug for this area. Basically, there were no rugs to hand down this time!Dark rugs by a heavily used door are great! They hide the dirt well.
Tuesday we worked in the bedrooms. All the linens get changed here on Tuesdays. I put these pillow cases on my pillows and am trying to remember who made them. I think it was my mom. Still not certain. Maybe my Grandma made them and my Aunt Pete gave them to me...I am sure they will know. Speaking of Aunt Pete....she sent the kids a wonderful package in the mail. She is always great about sending holiday cards to the kids. They all love getting mail. In the package was a box of 6 different card games. It has been very quiet here in the afternoons as they play their new games. They thank you Aunt Pete, but I really thank you!!!!! I have been faithful to my commitment in Eating 2 Live. The scale is not moving as fast as I would like it to, but the inches are coming off. Sweetheart can see the loss, which is good. My sister and mom both mentioned it. It is hard to tell when you still have so far to go. My clothes really tell it. They are very loose and I am almost ready to go down a size. It is all worth it! It is not about being thin, it is about being fit and healthy.Ooooo....I almost forgot. I ordered my "after Christmas" book. Every year I kick back and read a good book after the holidays. This year I hope to read two. This is one of them. If she can handle 18, I should be able to do fine with 3 at home, right???

9 comments:

em's scrapbag said...

Love all your snow. Wish we had some. Also wish I was as organized as you are with the house keeping. Not my strong point.

Patty said...

you have been a busy girl ! I had a rug stick to my floor last week, it wasn't there for years or anything, it actually pulled up a tile when I gave it a big pull. So right now I am not a fan of the rubber backing on rugs.
Love the snow, so pretty.

Andrea Cherie said...

I'm enjoying your snow pics!! It's beautiful...and I don't have to drive in it!

MrsRitchey said...

Hi Bren
I haven't been by in a while. So good to see you again! You are such a wonderful inspiration! I need to get back in my morning devotions. I don't know exactly why (except God promises to bless those who pursue Him), but I always do better with my housekeeping when I spend my mornings with God. You have inspired me to get my act together!!!!! Christmas is always a little stressful, because I have such a small house (it keeps shrinking), and we have so much Christmas stuff, such a big tree, (my hubby likes it that way), and it clutters up the house so, and is so stressful. Well, that is probably not the only reason that it is stressful...but anyways, I shall push on! Luv ya Bren! You are great and such a blessing to me this morning!

Monique

Brenda said...

Wow! The snow missed us. I am amazed by the amount of things you accomplish in a day.

Brenda said...

Wow! The snow missed us. I am amazed by the amount of things you accomplish in a day.

Carolina Girl said...

That looks like a good book, please post a mini review when you are done!
Shellie

Finn said...

Hi Bren, what a happy, lovely, inspiring post *VBS* You always amaze me with how much you get done. The pictures are great! 3 cheers for a new rug. And oh my! you have MUCH more snow that we have. Hope you are finding time for some stitching. The Duggers really are a neat family. I watch their program on cable. I love seeing how they deal with daily life and love their wholesome values. Take care. Hugs, Finn

Homeschool Diva said...

I desperately need to get back out my control journal/hmb and revamp it. I haven't used it in over a year, and a baby has been added to our household since then!!

I love the Duggars! I have so much respect and awe for Michelle. I have to tell myself the same thing you do. "Michelle handles twenty. My 2 should be a breeze!"