Lent: 40 Garbage Bags in 40 Days

I have never done (or would the right word be celebrate?) Lent before, but this year I am going to do it.  I got the idea for Lent here: http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/2011/03/one-week-from-now-40-bags-40-days.html

Basically you fill a garbage bag a day for the 40 days of Lent, and either throw it out or donate it to charity.  I am excited, there is plenty for me to throw out or give away and to work a garbage bag at a time sounds very do-able.  The only modification I will make is that Sunday I will not be cleaning out anything, Sunday is a day of rest where we only do the work necessary, so I will do two bags on Saturday.

Do you celebrate Lent?  What do you do?

Family Logistics, When Life is Crazy

 

The month of November was c.r.a.z.y.  Between Dadzoo being gone for 10 days, to sick kids, Thanksgiving and a family vacation there was not one week that was even close to normal.  So how do you keep to a schedule when the weeks doesn’t go as planned?  (For my weekly schedule, go HERE).  Here is what I found, having a weekly schedule made handling the difference easier.  Yes, easier!  For example, the week of Thanksgiving I knew what household chores needed to be done that week, I knew I had to get it all done by Wednesday, so I could plan to double up.  On Monday I baked and worked on laundry, Tuesday I finished the laundry and did my office day, Wednesday we cleaned the house, which freed up Thursday so I could pack and have Thanksgiving dinner with Dadzoo’s parents, we left for vacation early Friday morning.  I was amazed at how easily I was able to move things around and still get everything done.

 

The "Zoo" at Mt. Rushmore

December, strangely enough, looks to be a bit calmer.  Now if I can get my Christmas lists organised and finished…..

Family Logistics, Week 4

Last week I made three goals for myself (go here to see last weeks goals).  If I were to look at only what I accomplished last week, I would have to say that I failed pretty good, however I don’t feel like I failed at all. 

I am still struggling with a working morning routine, it seems that there is something that comes up every morning, an appointment, a ornery baby or a late night and tired mommy.  So for my morning routine, I am going to make a list of things I would like done by noon, and work on that as opposed to  a strict timed schedule. 

As for my weekly schedule, I am loving that, I feel like I am getting so much done every week.

I have been pondering and praying over my sleeping schedule and that has led me to studying more about food and diet, specifically what the scriptures have said on the subject.  This is still a work in progress, something I am really enjoying.  As for my sleeping habits, I do need to get to bed earlier, but I need to not feel guilty for napping when I need to as well.  I am nursing a baby full time and that takes more energy than normal, and although baby is sleeping through the night, with six kids there is a pretty good chance that at some point in the night my sleep will be interrupted.  Napping is necessary at times, especially at this time in my life.

So for this coming week I am going to set three more goals to work on. 

1. Continue to work my weekly schedule, especially work on my family budget and get our finances in order.

2. Study the scripture in regards to health and nutrition, pray, make a plan.

3. Make a list of chores to be done before noon, prioritise this list, do what needs to be done first so there is some flexiblity. Work my list everyday.

Wish me luck! 🙂

 

Family Logistics, Week 3

Last week I set for myself three new goals to work on along with the previous weeks goals.  To quickly review, my three new goals were: work on my housekeeping binder, do my weekly schedule and establish a morning routine.  There were a couple bumps in the road, Monday night I had a sick child, so Tuesday was spent caring for my boy and catching up on lost sleep, even though my day wasn’t as ambitious as I had planned I still was able to work on my kitchen getting it cleaned and doing one small extra job.  I found that working my weekly schedule made my days more organised, structured, and  efficent.  I found that as I was going about my tasks, with the order my schedule had created, I found joy and satisfaction in my work. 

 I did find establishing a firm morning routine quite a struggle, my morning hours change so much depending on when the baby wakes up and wants to be fed, I also have a hard time waking  up and getting the energy to get going in the morning.  My inclination is to nap for an hour or so after the big kids get off to school and I struggle with this, at times I feel I really need it, I am nursing a baby after all, but other times I see all the wasted time that I should be getting up and getting about my day.  In pondering on this I have come to see that my late hours are a big part of my problem.  My baby sleeps 12 hours at night, there is plenty of time for me to get my rest, but I find that I enjoy those late night hours when the house is quiet and I get to indulge a little on the things I want, but at the same time I am not rested like I should be….I will be thinking, pondering and praying over this.

My housekeeping binder is organised and ready to go.  I have been using it and loving it! 

So for this next week my three goals will be, along with previous on going goals:

1.  Ponder, study and pray about my sleeping schedules, do I nap in the mornings. or go to bed earlier, which is better for me and my family?

2. Continue to work my weekly schedule and tweak it where needed.

3. Contine to establish a firm moring routine, I think I need to relax my expectations a little in this area.

I have a couple of friends that have joined me in establishing routines in their lives, so they can better live their lives.  If you would like to read what they are doing you can go here: Aimee@ On the Mountainside and Sassy@ Keepin’ it Rural in the US

Family Logistics, Week 2

A week ago I set some goals for myself in the attempt to get life a little more under control after having the baby.  I set exactly three goals, two were things that were to be done everyday, and one was something to just work on over the week.  The first goal was: Get up, get dressed and ready for the day, the second: Make my bed and pick up the master bathroom and the third: work on my housekeeping binder.  All in all, every goal was met for the past week.  I didn’t get everything done as soon as I would like, but everything was accomplished and my housekeeping binder is well on its way.  I am very pleased with how this past week turned out. 

So, for this week I am going to give myself three more goals.

1. Establish a firm morning routine, and write it down.  I have a fairly set early morning routine, from the time I wake up until the children get off to school I pretty much do the same thing everyday and it works well for us, it is after the kidlets are out the door that I get lazy!  So my goal is to set a routine for after the kids leave, where I get myself dressed and ready for the day and my morning work done, such as the little kids beds made and breakfast dishes done, so I can move onto other things in a timely manner.

2. Do my weekly schedule.  I am still establishing a firm routine when it comes to my weekly schedule, I am still working on what exactly I am going to do each day, so for now I am going to do something, so I can figure out exactly what I will be doing each day.  This is a work in progress

3. Continue to work on my housekeeping binder. I am going to type up my weekly schedule, type up a list for each day and type up a morning routine and get it into my binder so I have something visual to work off of.

Do any of you have a morning routine?  I would love to hear what you do each day so I can get some ideas.

Now, there have been a couple of my readers (yes, all two of you!) who have said they would like to establish a weekly schedule, I would love to hear what you are doing, if you want to blog about it I will link to your post, or just tell us what you are doing in the comment section so we can all benefit from each others experiences!