What I've Learned About Organization

This has been brewing in my mind for quite some time. But before I get started, I want you to know that I have not totally achieved this organization thing. I'm still learning. I am a stay at home, home school mother of 4  and a farmer's wife. You may be in a completely different stage and setting. If organization doesn't come easily for you, I will not judge you.

I function best in an organized environment. I have OCD issues with making my bed and a few other things. (well, I thought I did. I just looked up that term and maybe it really doesn't apply. I kinda hope not anyway.) I like order, hate clutter, love schedules, and have passed at least some of this on to my children. Being flexible is not my strong point but God is teaching that one to me in a variety of creative ways.

1. Your children will seldom be neater than Mom.
I have seen this over and over. People tell me that they can't get the children to pick up after themselves or be neat. But one peek at the master bedroom or the kitchen, and you know Mom has higher standards for her kids than she's willing to follow herself. I must set a good example for my children. That means making my bed, hanging up my pj's, putting away my shoes and the like.

2. You can't put things away if you don't know where to put them.
We mom's have to have a plan. Hooks in the bedroom for pj's, hooks in the bathroom for towels, hooks in the entrance for coats. Drawers for gloves and hats, shelves for shoes, baskets for blankets. You get the idea. I am not a fan of toy boxes. Things get thrown in and lost, broken, or ruined. We have totes for lego's and little toy cars, nice cloth bags for the doll clothes, book shelves for the books, and a little kitchen cupboard for the toy dishes. Granted, when we have guests over and it's time to clean up the toys, it can be a little confusing. But we generally help with pick up or send them home and do it ourselves. Who doesn't like to skip that part if you have tired children? Each of the children has their own personal 'treasure drawer' and no one is allowed to dig around in it without permission. This gives them a place to put their stuff.

3. A hamper in each room saves the dirty clothes clutter.
I keep a hamper in each bedroom and each bathroom and I get pretty frustrated if I see dirty clothes on the floor! My children often gather and sort the laundry for the regular laundry days. I have a laundry cart in my tiny laundry room and it makes sorting the clothes very simple.

4.Get rid of clutter. Get rid of clutter.
Oh, did I just repeat myself? I am a bit obsessive about this one and yes, you can ask my husband if this trait has ever caused issues in our marriage. I am a pitch-er! If the dresser drawers won't shut easily, we have too many clothes. I often go through our clothes and consign, or give away what we don't need or wear.  Mail piles up on the kitchen counter and drives me crazy. At least once a week I sort through it and organize and pitch. Several times a week, I make a sweep through the house and gather up the children's paraphernalia and put it on a pile on the table. I give them each a chance to get their stuff and put it away then I pitch the rest.

5. Have regular clean up times.
Like before naps, or before supper or bedtime, designate a room to a child and pick everything up and make it neat and tidy. Sometimes I say, "All hands on deck" and we all pitch in together. Or maybe I'll say everyone has to put away 5 things. It's so much more fun to wake up in the morning and start my day in an un-cluttered house! 

6. Have a meal plan.
I've tried it all- to weekly menus to monthly menus to none at all. Right now, I'm not really planning menus but I do figure out in the morning or the night before what we're having for supper. That way I can have the meat thawed, put in marinade, or whatever it takes. The more of a plan you have, the less grocery trips you have to make for that one elusive item you thought you had. 

7. Teach your children to work.
You don't have to do it all alone. I read once that if you are feeling overwhelmed as a Mom, you need to delegate more responsibility to your children. Of course, all things considered- they may be too young to help and you might need some outside help. But if they are between the ages of 5 and 11, like my children are, there is MUCH they can do. My boys have been cleaning bathrooms for a long time, and all 4 keep their bedrooms clean. 

There is a lot more that could be said about organizing a house. I like to look through the freezers every now and then and use up those forgotten items. And speaking of freezers, mine wouldn't win an award for being neat. I also like to clean out and organize the pantry frequently. I hate throwing food away.
Our mud room is this teeny tiny space that is supposed to store a lot more than it's actually capable of. Depending on what day you visit, you just might be shocked at the condition of that room. I always say you don't need a large space to be organized, but that room makes me wonder. I often feel grumbly inside when I step into that room, but after a thorough scrubbing and organizing and an attitude check about how much I have, I feel content again. First world problems definitely.
I have 2 daughters who are in the pack rat stage right now. It can be super frustrating. When I ask them to clean up their room, they do, but they save a lot more stuff than I would. Several times a year, I go in and clean it out and pack the 'junk' away. I save it in a hidden location for a month or so, just in case I eliminated something precious. I learned that the hard way. Then eventually I get rid of it all.
We have issues sometimes with the children's drawers looking awful. I set up a plan where I would make random drawer checks and reward anyone w/ neat drawers. It was amazing what a couple of quarters could do as an incentive.
I hope this is an encouragement to you with maybe just one helpful idea. We need to figure out what works for us and go with it. Habits form in a month, so one month of consistently adopting a new habit and you're hooked!:) 

How To Decorate

My brain has been begging to blog for days, weeks even. I promised myself a stress free Christmas and so I refused to give in to the blogging urge unless I had time. Today I have time. Today I am relaxing and doing a lot of nothing. I lay in bed until a shocking  hour, washed the sheets, did one load of chore clothes, heated up leftover soup for lunch, invited cousins over to play with the kids, and caught up on blogs and such like online.

Now I have time to blog.

First off, you will probably never come to my house and say, "Wow, if only I could decorate like her." I'm not a super creative artsy Pinterest type person. Oh, I peruse Pinterest, dreaming of the ability or even just the desire to get all crafty. But in the end, I try a new recipe. that's who I am. and I'm okay with it, at least most days.:)

Soon after we got married and were all settled into our old but cozy trailer, I invited my very talented, creative friend to my house, to decorate. I pulled everything out that I owned in that department, and she set to work. When she was done, my house was beautifully decorated. A week went by. I simply could not stand to dust around all the stuff on that shelf. So down came most of it. Soon I was tired of almost cracking my head on the shelf. Down came the whole shelf. After more time had elapsed, I felt this creepy crawly feeling when I looked around my house. Too much stuff! I started taking it down. Soon I was back to where I started before my friend arrived. A light bulb moment happened just then. I can decorate. But I decorate MY way. And I'm happiest in my own house when I decorate it my way.

My Decorating Tips:
1. Be yourself.
2. If you like it, it's great.
3. Be yourself. (Am I repeating myself?)

Over the years I have discovered my style. It's all about simple, clean, and cheap. Please forgive me if this offends you.:) I may 'blow' my money in areas that you would find offensive. But seldom will I spend money on decorating my house.

As a woman, I know all about competition. I love to go to Elaine's house or Mary Beth's house or Fannie Ellen's house or Char's house, where everything is tastefully decorated. They have a gift, unique to them. I love to soak in the beauty when I'm there. But I operate best when I am me, and when I decorate my house according to what suits me best.

We as women would do well to stop the competition, the 'she has-I want-I need' mentality. We can serve God best by using our own gifts and talents. I want you to feel loved and cared for at my house. I want my house to feel like a safe, comforting, and fun place to be. I want you to experience God's love through me and my family's actions of service to you.

And you know what?

I'm not even offended if you don't like my decorating style.

Losing Brittany

This past week has seemed really long for me, but not nearly as long as it has seemed to my friends, Randy and Lavertta. Last Sunday morning, their 15 year old daughter Brittany, was in a car accident with her 2 cousins. A drunk driver hit them and Brittany was life flighted to the hospital, where she died soon afterward. The cousins were injured but not in serious condition.

As I wrestled with the whole situation, I kept thinking, This is not how it is supposed to end. We pour into our children's lives, praying that they will grow up to follow God and raise their own family some day. We smile at the thoughts of weddings and grand babies in the future. We never entertain the thought of burying them at the age of 15.

Ultimately, it didn't end there. We know that. What Satan intended for evil, God can use for good. Brittany is in Heaven with Jesus, and she won the final victory against Satan.

I grew up with Brittany's mom, and we spent a lot of time together in the youth group. I was in their wedding party 19 years ago. I can't tell you how much it hurt to see Vert go through this. I heard her say that if only one person comes to Jesus, Brittany's death will not be in vain. And then she added, "But oh! How are we going to let her go?"

How do you let your 15 year old daughter go? How do you watch your children go through the intense grief of losing their beloved sister? How do you send your children out the door to school for the first time without her? How do you get through walking past her room, or cleaning out her suitcase, or finding her things lying around the house? How do you watch her friends cope with the huge loss they are facing? How do you laugh and smile again? How do you celebrate Christmas? And how are you supposed to ever enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend again?

The funeral service was very meaningful. As we sang a song about God's Grace at the start of the service and I saw Brittany's dad raise his hands in worship to God, I completely lost it. A man who has lost so much, yet he is praising God in the midst of it all. This is not some superficial faith he's got. It's the real deal. God has carried the family through these past few days in nothing short of a miraculous way. The strength they portrayed  in the midst of their raw grief was not their own.

And now I'm home again. What effect does Brittany's death have on me?

Last week I struggled so much with being a Mom. It felt like I was impatient and frustrated all the time. It felt like the issues we were dealing with in our children were huge. I felt like I was in a huge battle and I was handling everything all wrong.

Brittany's death has been a huge reminder for me to enjoy today, now, with my children. I've been reminded to focus on what's going on in their hearts instead of the outward actions I'm seeing. I've been challenged to say less and hug more.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.      Hebrews 12:1-2