Yes, we are rapidly becoming a large family! It is hard to think of our family as large – we aren’t the Duggars – but we do have more kids than a lot of people do. We will have FOUR in May! WOW! It thrills me and scares me when I say that every time – especially when our oldest hasn’t turned 5 yet!!!
For my birthday my aunt gave me a great present (she must know me well!). She has a large family (with five kids) and she ordered me a book about managing your household that really meant a lot to her! Well… it has meant A LOT to me as well. I have really enjoyed learning from the author – a mom with nine kids, a BELIEVER, and a home school family. There are TOO MANY good things to share from this book, but I will list several ideas that were reinforced or learned through this book.
1. Have a schedule! I have always been one to be very scheduled. I have had a schedule for all of the household chores for over a year, and it has been working great! I have had laundry day on Wednesdays since we moved to this house last January and I LOVE how that works. Now I am scheduling myself even more. I get up before all of the kids so I can shower and have my devotional time. I love the quiet of the morning and having a shower first thing (that is not interrupted or needs to be hurried) is WONDERFUL! I also am thriving with a morning devotional time because I think about my day or pray in the shower and then spend 30 minutes in the Word before the kids get up. I have prepared myself for the battle of the day! It is great! I tried having that time at nap, but I was so tired and defeated on some days that I hardly could keep my eyes open or even remember what I read or studied! NOT A GOOD COMBINATION! There are other things that I do only at specific times during the day as well as a few things to do after the kids go to bed to make the next day run more smoothly.
2. There should be a place for everything, and everything should be in its place. I have heard this 1,000 times, but I have never been great at doing it. This book has encouraged me in that pursuit. If there isn’t a place for it, is it really necessary to keep? NOPE! I have cleaned out more cabinets and closets and PURGED! It is a great feeling… if we don’t use it… LOSE IT!
3. Get the dishes done at every meal RIGHT AWAY! Yes, this is one that I never have liked doing, but I love the benefits of doing it. BUT that means that I must have the dishwasher emptied to put more dishes in it… scheduling once again. I put dishes in the DW at dinner and then fill it again at breakfast and lunch. Then I run it after lunch. After naptime it is all finished so Grace and I will empty it in preparation for dinner. Most days this works really well and there is space for dinner, breakfast and lunch dishes, but sometimes there will be an early DW run or I will run it when it is not crammed full. Keeping on this cycle helps me to stay on top of the dishes.
4. Character building is the MOST important thing! My kids are like any one else’s…. they fight, they yell, they disobey, they have bad attitudes. As moms we all know how to handle that and discipline them accordingly, but what I have been challenged to do it to build character into them with Bible verses. I need to help them replace that bad attitude with joy or that fight with love. Taking the time to build character has added a whole new perspective to my discipline because I am working on the heart and not just the behavior. They can change their behavior to fit the standards of this home, but when their heart is truly in line with the Word, there is TRUE change! I am also teaching them character traits to go with behaviors so all I have to do is mention that trait and they know what I mean. For example, when Grace and Hannah were working on HARD floor puzzles yesterday, I encouraged them with, “I am going to go upstairs for a minute, but I want you to be DILIGENT. When I return I will see all of the hard work and progress you have made!” Being diligent is a Biblical character quality with many verses to go with it!
5. Cleaning chores. I have often wondered what the balance should be between having children be children and having children be slaves. I have come to realize that there are just some things that must be done in this home that the kids are MORE THAN CAPABLE to do that would be helpful for them to do. They are not slaves, but I now have them even MORE involved in the daily chores around the house. They had chores before, but now I have given them MORE responsibility and they LOVE IT. They thrived on doing the “mommy jobs” and mommy LOVES not having to do all of them (especially as my tummy grows!). For example, Grace has learned how to empty the dishwasher and sweep the kitchen floor. Hannah has learned how to carry her clothes to her room (on laundry day) and appropriately put away her clothes in her drawers. Praise the Lord for diligent workers!
There are MORE AND MORE wonderful reminders in this book about home management! I have benefited from it SO MUCH! Thank you, Auntie, for sending it to me. It will be a great resource that I will go back to over and over as our kids grow!
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