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As I was planning my post on involving the kids in service and volunteer work, I ran across some great links at the Good Morning Girls website. One of them is a free downloadable brochure that discusses some tips for how to get your family involved in serving together, plus some helpful ideas for before, during, and after the adventure.
I hope it helps you as together we revamp our to-do lists.
Collect some well-written thank-you notes that people send to you and place them in your letter-writing kit or in a folder. Then when your child needs some inspiration for his own Thank-yous, pull out your samples for him to look over. Not only will it teach your child how to write his own, but it will take away some of the dread of the task from the non-writers in your family.
Though we are often adept at scheduling our tasks and appointments, sometimes our “free time” gets left to chance. And if right now you are asking “what free time?”, then you definitely get my point. So my quick tip for this week, schedule your free time as you would any other task.
- schedule your quiet moment–so you know it’s coming
- schedule your play time with your kids–so they know they are a priority, not a left-over
- schedule time with Hubby–because our marriage is so frequently taken for granted
- schedule a time of prayer and reflection–or else you’ll never take the time to see what God really did do for you today
And if, on the other hand, your “free time” tends to take over your day (read: Facebook and other web distractions), there are a couple of great solutions for this as well.
- Leechblock is a free software that blocks out particular times of the day that you cannot access those distracting websites.
- Self-control is a similar free software for Mac that sets a timer, denying access to your blacklisted sites for a particular length of time.
Need some ideas for a vacation at home? Check out this list of links. Find the city or region closest to you, click on the given link and start planning your summer activities.
I love to send my kid’s artistic creations to friends and family. It keeps them connected and cleans our clutter. But in the meantime, we have to have a place to put it all. To keep their various art projects organized we use large 3-ring binders and pencil pouches.
Small projects are stored in the pencil pouches, while larger projects are either 3-hole punched or placed inside sheet protectors.
Other ideas for controlling artistic clutter–take a picture or scan the masterpiece to include in a photo album or portfolio.
Have an idea that’s worked for you? Include it in the comments section.
I love to read, but with little ones I find much less time to sit down with a good book. So recently, I’ve turned to audio books. Now, I can have my book and get my work done, too! And I’ve found some great websites for free audiobooks that I can play from either my computer or my Nook Color. Even my kids have loved listening to many of the audiobooks: from The Tales of Peter Rabbit to Uncle Remus.
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/ for free classics, kids books, public domain titles, and much more.
http://christianaudio.com/ for lots of Christian titles. Sign up to be notified by email of their free monthly audiobook, or click on the “free download” tab. Many current Christian titles are available here, as well as sermons and conference sessions.
It’s the perfect solution for those of us who can no longer sit down to read!
I have recently added this gem to my daily routine–and love the results. I pick a task, a room, or specific area to clean; set a timer for five minutes; and then clean like a mad woman until the timer goes off. I try to do this three times a day–in the morning, around lunch time, and before supper.
Sometimes the frenzy is just keeping up with kid toys and corralling them back in to the kids’ rooms. The fun part is that the kids have loved this idea, too. They rush to beat the timer, picking toys up or wiping bathroom counters. What makes this such a success is that we all do it together. Both kids work together on one of their rooms and then rush over to finish the other room. It eliminates the discussion of who’s mess it is, and they are learning teamwork. My benefit? Some very motivated little helpers.
This idea also helps me in the afternoons around nap time, when my energy is becoming dangerously depleted. It takes everything in me to stand back up and get to work on housecleaning. But a five minute frenzy I can do. “It’s just five minutes,” I tell myself. And many times, moving around during that five minutes gives me the energy I need to finish the rest of the cleaning.
It really is surprising what all you can get done in just five minutes: clean the bathroom (minus the tub); dust the whole house; swiffer the floor; or, control the clutter. Try it today–just five minutes–and let me know what all you were able to get done!
I’ve been looking into the Once-a-Month Cooking routine, where you do most of your prep and cooking once a month and then freeze it. But that is a huge, overwhelming task for most of us. So, here’s a quick tip to enjoy the beauty of limited prep and still make it out of our kitchens once in a while. Choose one recipe each week to double. Cook twice what your family would eat and freeze the extra. This works especially well for casserole or one dish meals, enchiladas, etc. But you could also cook some extra chicken, chop some extra vegetables, make some extra sauce, bag each item individually in quart-size freezer bags, and place all components in one large freezer bag. Be sure to write the date, name of the meal, and any re-heat instructions on the outside of the bag with a permanent marker.
In no time, you’ll have a nice supply of freezer meals for a family that’s under the weather or for a night when you’re in a rush. And you’ll save money on the over-priced, over-preserved freezer meals from the store. It’s the concept of once-a-month cooking chopped and diced into bite-size tasks.
