What a wonderful meeting we had on October 14, 2010. Heather Henricks was our guest speaker and she spoke on Home Economics. Here’s a summary of her presentation.
If you recall the first thing Heather asked us to do was look at each and say ‘You are not the expert’ and then she also had us look to each other and say ‘I am not the expert either.’ She wanted us to understand that she was not an expert at home economics but would like to share some things that have been working for her and her family!
Before we review some tips and tricks Heather shared with us, I wanted to take a minute and note the ‘God moment’ we all experienced that night! Rachael Drullinger shared a wonderful devotion from Proverbs 31:10-31 which talks about the virtuous women (defined as a woman of strength, efficiency and ability). Heather also shared that Proverbs 31 was also the inspiration of her presentation. It was so neat to see how God used this passage for extra emphasis this evening!
Thanks Rachael for sharing with us!
Thanks Heather, you were such a blessing!
Now, back to some things Heather shared with us… Heather reminded us that even though our stages of life will change the desire to maintain and manage our home will not. Here’s a simple question as we got started, ‘Did you feel good about your home today?’
I loved the correlation Heather made between our home and a corporation and as moms; we are the CEO of our home! As the CEO we have several things to manage:
1. Chores
a. Laundry
i. Doing it means wash, dry, fold AND put away!
ii. Get your kids involved. Kids older than 3 should be able to help.
iii. On a side note I (Krystal) have gotten my 17 month old to help by putting his dirty clothes in the hamper and putting some of the folded things away. It tends to take a little longer, but he loves to help.
iv. I’ve (Krystal) also utilized the delayed timer on my dryer. Before I leave for work in the morning I put a load of laundry in and have it set to finish before I get home. Once I get home, I put it in the dryer and then by the time supper is done the kids and I can fold and put it away! This has been a huge time saver for us!!!
b. Cleaning Bathrooms
i. Complete task once a week
ii. Send your kids to clean one bathroom while you clean the other. Make it a game and set a timer!
iii. Don’t over work the bathroom; just spend about 15 minutes cleaning!
iv. Consider cleaning the bathroom while your kids are in the bath tub since you have to be in there anyway!
c. Doing the dishes
i. Do the dishes every night! This makes for a much better beginning to the next day!
ii. Get your kids involved!
iii. Paper plates are not a sin! Use them!!!
d. Cleaning Floors
i. Schedule to complete twice a week and don’t stress out about the times in between!
See below for the picture of a sample of charting your home tasks and don’t forget to schedule your time off!
Thanks Amy for assisting Heather!
Take some time to layout your schedule of duties and your time off!
2. Paperwork
a. Here’s a motto – only handle paperwork once.
b. Sign it, file it… take care of it right away
c. Have a place for all paperwork to prevent the horrible piles!
3. Daily Clutter
a. Daily clutter needs to be taken care of EVERY DAY
b. One thing that works for Heather is having a basket for each kid. She puts things in their basket and then once a week the kids are responsible for putting these items away. Great for homes where the kids’ bedrooms are downstairs or upstairs!
c. Make sure to do a sweep through your home before lunch and before bed.
d. Prepare backpacks (or diaper bags for working moms) before bed.
e. Gift to yourself is having a clean home and ready for the next day!
And above all make sure to schedule yourself a break!
‘She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness’
Proverbs 31:27
Thanks to both Rachael and Heather for sharing with us!
Stay tuned for a posting of a video of our life lesson on bow making!
Blessings,
Krystal
