I got this from Barbara Curtis' blog. It reminds me of my Grandma, who always wore aprons...
The History of Aprons
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
Send this to those who would know and love the story about Grandma's aprons.
REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs was on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an Apron!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Menu Planning...
I saw a really neat idea awhile back.
When we have people over for dinner I always worry about whether or not I am constantly duplicating the menu. I also have some holiday menus that I want duplicate, for tradition's sake.
So I read this tip in an organizing manual.
Keep menus in your calendar.
When you have company, or a holiday get together, on the date that you write the event down, also write down the menu. You can even reference where you got the recipes so that you can make the exact same perfect meal!
Now Google Calendar is really great because you can make multiple calendars and view them separately. I made a "menus" calendar and I will be able to go back and see what we had for Easter this year and I can make notes about how to improve the items that I made.
I can do this for all the special dinners that I make. I can make notes about the likes, dislikes, allergies, etc, that are particular to the people that visit.
This can also be very helpful in preparing meals to welcome babies or help out a family in need. I always worry about how many times I have taken "Chicken etc!"
When we have people over for dinner I always worry about whether or not I am constantly duplicating the menu. I also have some holiday menus that I want duplicate, for tradition's sake.
So I read this tip in an organizing manual.
Keep menus in your calendar.
When you have company, or a holiday get together, on the date that you write the event down, also write down the menu. You can even reference where you got the recipes so that you can make the exact same perfect meal!
Now Google Calendar is really great because you can make multiple calendars and view them separately. I made a "menus" calendar and I will be able to go back and see what we had for Easter this year and I can make notes about how to improve the items that I made.
I can do this for all the special dinners that I make. I can make notes about the likes, dislikes, allergies, etc, that are particular to the people that visit.
This can also be very helpful in preparing meals to welcome babies or help out a family in need. I always worry about how many times I have taken "Chicken etc!"
Monday, March 24, 2008
Getting your balance...
Having a sense of order in our environment can be a way to establish control over some aspects of our lives. We may not be able to effect change within our workplaces, our children's schools, our circle of friends, but we have the ability to make our living space, time and habits as orderly and efficient as possible. We can feel a sense of personal accomplishment within the place that we call home.
Why do we want to be able to manage our homes well?
Why do we want to develop structure in the way we manage our time?
Why do we want to be better parents?
All of these things are positive, they move us forward and break the inertia of our old habits. They help us live more peacefully with others and carry over into our careers and other activities. They are also skills that will serve our children well. Cooking a healthy meal and eating together as a family seems to be a simple thing, it seems insignificant. This is a very positive activity in so many ways. It not only provides good nutrition, but also family time, manners and a sharing of our day. It is a time to reconnect.
Little steps and successes add up. Go slow and try to change one thing and make it a habit. Take pride in the small things. Clean clothes, clean kids, a new recipe, a clean floor. When you and your family start to experience the benefits of order and routine you will want to incorporate more and more systems into daily life.
Evaluate
One of the ways that we can identify and prioritize issues that are obstacles to efficiency, is to label each of the most likely challenges.
What are your Challenges?
1. Time- Some people really don't have much time to manage. Working moms, families with many children, someone who cares for a parent, etc. This requires an intensified time-management over-haul. Using any extra time you DO have to the greatest advantage.
There is another time challenge but it comes under a different heading: Time Use.
2.Time-Use- Here is the one we don't like to talk about. Now be honest, how do you use the time you do have? Is what you are labeling an organizational issue, really the lack of initiative and therefore the use of your time for other things?
I address this by having the client do a daily log of activities and show them where the time can come from and how to prioritize which things to accomplish with it.
3.Space- This is a common issue in large families. For some people this really is a problem. Too many people, too much stuff for the room you have. Organizing CAN be effective in dealing with this. Clutter removal is crucial as is setting standards and habit forming to maintain the reorganization. For other families it can just be an issue of using the space you do have more efficiently and keeping things put away. Location and area management are also key tools.
4.Energy-Some people can go all day, cook, clean, school, and still have time for themselves and their spouses at the end of the day. Others just DON"T. There is a need to address the reasons for this. Diet, exercise, sleep patterns, discouragement, hormones. All of these things need to be addressed for the low energy person. If even an extra hour of productive time can be given to the day, it's worth the effort.
5. Family- The dynamic within the family has to be one of the biggest challenges to organization and efficiency. Does the husband have a need for more organization, or less? Do the children have habits in place that are conducive to running a smooth household? Is the homemaker the only one making the effort at change? Who can she turn to within her family? Outside her family? A friend who can watch the kids while she works at home? Her husband taking them out on a Saturday?
Children do not have a magic moment of enlightenment when they just start running through the house looking for their things and stowing them in the proper places. Neither do they suddenly realize that it is inappropriate to drink Kool-aid in the living room on the couch. This is my greatest beef against sippy cups!! Habits are formed from the earliest days. Give them a sippy cup at the table! Give them WATER in a sippy cup if they have to carry one around. A very small child knows the difference between water and juice. (hint:they want juice!)
Also, the adults in the household HAVE to be willing to re-enforce the rules!!! NO, sorry dear, no beer in the living room either!
6.Habits/addictions- How much time do you spend in front of the TV? The computer? Is it easy to "just say no?'' or are you making excuses about the time you spend there? Shopping, even exercise. Is anything out of balance and are you avoiding other things because of your habits?
7.Clutter/Stuff- Are you challenged by the great economy? Do you just keep accumulating? Are you a pack rat? Is everything Grandma ever owned considered a precious heirloom? Do have a place for everything? If so why isn't it there? Do your kids help keeping their things put away? Do you just drop things where you last used them?
Do you need to have things visibly in front of you to remember where they are?
Not every Family has the same needs for organization. Some people are very functional amidst clutter. I cleaned house for a lady who just wanted me to dust UNDER the piles of stuff all over the house!
Determine the clutter comfort level in the family and then work to be SURE that everyone feels the same comfort. Children who need neatness may do better if they have a clutter free corner in which to school, build things, read etc. Some kids need a place for their piles. They will probably work better if they can see all their stuff! This is not a license to be a slob! They must not allow their things to drool into the rest of the house and it must be clean. No dirty laundry, dust, pet hair, etc! Piles can still be organized.
Each homemaker must evaluate her needs in this area. She must look at what she has and decide what she absolutely needs to change.
8. Attention/Perseverance-ADD is a bit overdone but everyone has a certain level of distractability. Is this your problem? Are you truly a person who gets started on something and then either you get distracted by a part of the job at hand, or you go off to feed a child a snack or let the dog out and never come back?
Do you give up easily? Do you just decide that half done is good enough, or is "What the Heck and What's the Point?" your mantra?
9. Life Experience- This is the biggest trap and the best excuse. You had parents. You had a mom. Was your house a mess? Were you frustrated or embarrassed by the condition of your environment? Did you even notice? Were your and your spouse's upbringings similar? If you were brought up by a slovenly mother in a house where the TV was on all day and frozen pizza was Haute Cuisine, and your husband was brought up by a neat-freak who had a housekeeper once a week and cooked for fun, there are going to be some issues! BUT DON'T LET YOUR PAST EXCUSE YOU! We are all called to be good stewards of our gifts. You just need a system and a new way of approaching your stewardship.
Triage
In beginning to develop systems that are going to stick, you need to do a bit of evaluating as far as 1. Where you WANT to start and 2. Where you NEED to start.
The flylady has some really great ideas and resources.
Sidetracked Home Executives is a great book to get you started. I don't think that it works for everyone though.
Some people thrive using a system that another person develops. It's great for those that can do it, but for many people it is doomed to eventual failure. One of the reasons the Weight Watchers works is because it uses real food in a realistic way and helps people develop new habits based on their actual reality and behavior. They begin to change their own habits, not try to take on a whole new way of eating and purchasing special foods or weightloss products. The WW program is based on changes of habits.
In the same way, our organized homes need to be lived in by the same people who have been living in chaos. You aren't going to take a book in hand and implement a system based on someone else's family.
Your family isn't suddenly going to have a revelation and become reborn through a conversion to organization.
I agree that baby steps and incremental habit building are the only ways to gradually transform yourself into one who thinks systematically, but they have to be steps within your family and your own personal system.
By developing systems within each area of your household you are building a program that can be used to create order and can be tweaked and reworked with the changes that every family goes through.
An orderly home, home-made and well balanced meals, a genuinely effective homeschool, a balanced financial situation, personal health (exercise) and time for prayer and family are all within reach.
Why do we want to be able to manage our homes well?
Why do we want to develop structure in the way we manage our time?
Why do we want to be better parents?
All of these things are positive, they move us forward and break the inertia of our old habits. They help us live more peacefully with others and carry over into our careers and other activities. They are also skills that will serve our children well. Cooking a healthy meal and eating together as a family seems to be a simple thing, it seems insignificant. This is a very positive activity in so many ways. It not only provides good nutrition, but also family time, manners and a sharing of our day. It is a time to reconnect.
Little steps and successes add up. Go slow and try to change one thing and make it a habit. Take pride in the small things. Clean clothes, clean kids, a new recipe, a clean floor. When you and your family start to experience the benefits of order and routine you will want to incorporate more and more systems into daily life.
Evaluate
One of the ways that we can identify and prioritize issues that are obstacles to efficiency, is to label each of the most likely challenges.
What are your Challenges?
1. Time- Some people really don't have much time to manage. Working moms, families with many children, someone who cares for a parent, etc. This requires an intensified time-management over-haul. Using any extra time you DO have to the greatest advantage.
There is another time challenge but it comes under a different heading: Time Use.
2.Time-Use- Here is the one we don't like to talk about. Now be honest, how do you use the time you do have? Is what you are labeling an organizational issue, really the lack of initiative and therefore the use of your time for other things?
I address this by having the client do a daily log of activities and show them where the time can come from and how to prioritize which things to accomplish with it.
3.Space- This is a common issue in large families. For some people this really is a problem. Too many people, too much stuff for the room you have. Organizing CAN be effective in dealing with this. Clutter removal is crucial as is setting standards and habit forming to maintain the reorganization. For other families it can just be an issue of using the space you do have more efficiently and keeping things put away. Location and area management are also key tools.
4.Energy-Some people can go all day, cook, clean, school, and still have time for themselves and their spouses at the end of the day. Others just DON"T. There is a need to address the reasons for this. Diet, exercise, sleep patterns, discouragement, hormones. All of these things need to be addressed for the low energy person. If even an extra hour of productive time can be given to the day, it's worth the effort.
5. Family- The dynamic within the family has to be one of the biggest challenges to organization and efficiency. Does the husband have a need for more organization, or less? Do the children have habits in place that are conducive to running a smooth household? Is the homemaker the only one making the effort at change? Who can she turn to within her family? Outside her family? A friend who can watch the kids while she works at home? Her husband taking them out on a Saturday?
Children do not have a magic moment of enlightenment when they just start running through the house looking for their things and stowing them in the proper places. Neither do they suddenly realize that it is inappropriate to drink Kool-aid in the living room on the couch. This is my greatest beef against sippy cups!! Habits are formed from the earliest days. Give them a sippy cup at the table! Give them WATER in a sippy cup if they have to carry one around. A very small child knows the difference between water and juice. (hint:they want juice!)
Also, the adults in the household HAVE to be willing to re-enforce the rules!!! NO, sorry dear, no beer in the living room either!
6.Habits/addictions- How much time do you spend in front of the TV? The computer? Is it easy to "just say no?'' or are you making excuses about the time you spend there? Shopping, even exercise. Is anything out of balance and are you avoiding other things because of your habits?
7.Clutter/Stuff- Are you challenged by the great economy? Do you just keep accumulating? Are you a pack rat? Is everything Grandma ever owned considered a precious heirloom? Do have a place for everything? If so why isn't it there? Do your kids help keeping their things put away? Do you just drop things where you last used them?
Do you need to have things visibly in front of you to remember where they are?
Not every Family has the same needs for organization. Some people are very functional amidst clutter. I cleaned house for a lady who just wanted me to dust UNDER the piles of stuff all over the house!
Determine the clutter comfort level in the family and then work to be SURE that everyone feels the same comfort. Children who need neatness may do better if they have a clutter free corner in which to school, build things, read etc. Some kids need a place for their piles. They will probably work better if they can see all their stuff! This is not a license to be a slob! They must not allow their things to drool into the rest of the house and it must be clean. No dirty laundry, dust, pet hair, etc! Piles can still be organized.
Each homemaker must evaluate her needs in this area. She must look at what she has and decide what she absolutely needs to change.
8. Attention/Perseverance-ADD is a bit overdone but everyone has a certain level of distractability. Is this your problem? Are you truly a person who gets started on something and then either you get distracted by a part of the job at hand, or you go off to feed a child a snack or let the dog out and never come back?
Do you give up easily? Do you just decide that half done is good enough, or is "What the Heck and What's the Point?" your mantra?
9. Life Experience- This is the biggest trap and the best excuse. You had parents. You had a mom. Was your house a mess? Were you frustrated or embarrassed by the condition of your environment? Did you even notice? Were your and your spouse's upbringings similar? If you were brought up by a slovenly mother in a house where the TV was on all day and frozen pizza was Haute Cuisine, and your husband was brought up by a neat-freak who had a housekeeper once a week and cooked for fun, there are going to be some issues! BUT DON'T LET YOUR PAST EXCUSE YOU! We are all called to be good stewards of our gifts. You just need a system and a new way of approaching your stewardship.
Triage
In beginning to develop systems that are going to stick, you need to do a bit of evaluating as far as 1. Where you WANT to start and 2. Where you NEED to start.
- The first suggestion I have is to start with a place that you WANT to be. It can be any room, part of a room, a corner. Your living room, bedroom, bathroom, but it has to be a place that you relax. It needs to be a place that you go to to sit, read, Pray, visit with friends. A place you like to be. Now this is going to be YOUR space. Make it the way you like it. Put away any clutter, clear out things that don't belong. Papers, books, clothing, toys, anything that doesn't belong. Straighten, rearrange, dust, vacuum, spot clean the carpet. If it's the Bathroom you like, if bathing relaxes you, clean all surfaces til they shine, put away tub toys, get some pretty soap and a few new towels. Tell the kids "hands off" the new stuff and place liquid soap and a "kids Towel" for them. Put all toothbrushes, cups, etc. out of sight. Candles can be placed in any room in the house where you like to relax.Now this space is "your nest". It's OK for you to have this for yourself! It's OK to ask that the kids clear out the toys after they have played with them in "your parlor". It's OK to ask your husband to put the papers he is working on somewhere else, or offer to find a file folder for him. It's OK to tell the family that "Your Bathroom" must be picked up and kept after. This space is where you go to enjoy order and to relax.
- The next rule is: use it!! You need to take the time to enjoy this place and your free time. Go there and spend time with your husband and share your day. Take a youngster there to read a book. Notice how nice it is that you don't have to look at clutter and converging chaos. This is going to be your stronghold. No matter what else you are dealing with in the house, this place remains clutter free. No clothing, folded or unfolded may grace the chairs. No paperwork, schoolwork, sewing,etc is left there. This is a great place to start a habit. Get used to the way order feels and how to maintain it. Help the family start some good habits by being firm about this space.
- After "Your Space" has become a solid habit. Or maybe a little before, It's time to tackle the next obstacle. The Place you need. This is really just going to have to be the kitchen. You may love this room or avoid it, but you do have to go there, and until it's under control everything else is going to keep feeling like it's sliding back into chaos.You may not like to cook. Why? Is it because you don't know how or because you have to tackle the breakfast and lunch dishes before you can start dinner. Is it because it is such a chore to find anything in your cupboards that you are now just cooking out of boxes? Is it because the counters are so cluttered that you can't find a place to work? You may LOVE to cook, but it takes so much out of you that it's just not worth it.A lot can be done with a few well ingrained habits and a LOT of organization.Change the way the kitchen is set up. keep the counters clear by finding a place for everything, even if you have to get another cabinet or use another part of the house to store some things, or give something away.
- Start with the sink. If you have a dishwasher always empty it and put everything away as soon as it finishes running. If it's full and there are still dishes that need washing, fill the sink and wash them and put them away. I don't have a dishwasher. I did, but I quit using it because I found that it was just easier to wash everything and put it away all at once, instead of always having things sitting around waiting to be washed or having to wash something by hand anyway because I needed it before a load would run. Saves on the power and water bill too.
- After you wash the dishes, empty the wash water and rinse out the sink. Take a good look at that empty sink! Looks good huh? how long did it really take? If I can't get to the breakfast dishes right after breakfast, because we are starting school, I run very hot water, and put in the dish soap, then I rinse all the dishes and put them in the water until a bit later in the morning, after I have started everyone on a subject. You may have a young "dishwasher" in the family. Tell the Breakfast person that they need to get up and eat a bit earlier so that they can be doing the breakfast dishes as the rest of the family finishes.
- Clear the counters. Put away ALL traces of breakfast, lunch, or whatever you were doing. CAYG. Clean As You GO. This is a golden rule in the kitchen. You may have to put the brakes on the rest of the family using the kitchen at will for awhile. When they learn your system, where to put things and to clean up after themselves, you will have help, not the undoing of what you are trying to instill.
The flylady has some really great ideas and resources.
Sidetracked Home Executives is a great book to get you started. I don't think that it works for everyone though.
Some people thrive using a system that another person develops. It's great for those that can do it, but for many people it is doomed to eventual failure. One of the reasons the Weight Watchers works is because it uses real food in a realistic way and helps people develop new habits based on their actual reality and behavior. They begin to change their own habits, not try to take on a whole new way of eating and purchasing special foods or weightloss products. The WW program is based on changes of habits.
In the same way, our organized homes need to be lived in by the same people who have been living in chaos. You aren't going to take a book in hand and implement a system based on someone else's family.
Your family isn't suddenly going to have a revelation and become reborn through a conversion to organization.
I agree that baby steps and incremental habit building are the only ways to gradually transform yourself into one who thinks systematically, but they have to be steps within your family and your own personal system.
By developing systems within each area of your household you are building a program that can be used to create order and can be tweaked and reworked with the changes that every family goes through.
An orderly home, home-made and well balanced meals, a genuinely effective homeschool, a balanced financial situation, personal health (exercise) and time for prayer and family are all within reach.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Why I am an efficiency nut...
I get a kick out of systems. I love figuring out the best way to do anything to make the job go more smoothly.
I thrive on order and I am happiest when I am working around my house, doing the simplest things in the most efficient and logical way that I can come up with. That doesn't mean that everything in my house is logical or efficient, it just means that I like to tackle the things that don't work well and make them work better.
I like managing my time, space and materials and improving a little each day by tweaking the systems that I have put in place.
I decided to start this blog to have a place for my writings and notes related to organizing.
I will post the things I have already written and as I find new and interesting ways to do things, I will share them.
Since I am a Homeschooling mom, many of the topics will pertain to organizing within the Home school.
My systems are mine, I have developed them for my home and family, for my schooling needs, but the way I got to where I am is certainly simple. Anyone can find the level of order that their particular family needs.
My house isn't fancy, new or full of ingenious time saving devices, in fact I don't even own a dishwasher, but my home works. It runs smoothly and well. It's just a matter of habits.
I'll be sharing ways to develop these as I go along.
I thrive on order and I am happiest when I am working around my house, doing the simplest things in the most efficient and logical way that I can come up with. That doesn't mean that everything in my house is logical or efficient, it just means that I like to tackle the things that don't work well and make them work better.
I like managing my time, space and materials and improving a little each day by tweaking the systems that I have put in place.
I decided to start this blog to have a place for my writings and notes related to organizing.
I will post the things I have already written and as I find new and interesting ways to do things, I will share them.
Since I am a Homeschooling mom, many of the topics will pertain to organizing within the Home school.
My systems are mine, I have developed them for my home and family, for my schooling needs, but the way I got to where I am is certainly simple. Anyone can find the level of order that their particular family needs.
My house isn't fancy, new or full of ingenious time saving devices, in fact I don't even own a dishwasher, but my home works. It runs smoothly and well. It's just a matter of habits.
I'll be sharing ways to develop these as I go along.
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