if you missed the beginning of this series,
read all previous entries in order here

A few weeks ago I swapped the dinner preparation job with my 15 year old daughter for the laundry job.  Kait disagrees, but I definitely think I got the better end of the deal.  This switch not only relieved my daughter from a job she really disliked, but it has really shown me where I’ve been slacking off in creating and maintaining a smooth laundry routine.

Creating a laundry routine is essential when your goal is to form habits that don’t include letting laundry pile up in front of the TV (which, surprisingly, is where my clean laundry used to find itself). 
Laundry routines start with the people who wear the clothes.  That isn’t just you, but your kids play a role in this, too.

Put a dirty clothes hamper in an easily accessible place.  When you have young children in the home, having one place to deposit spent clothing may be the easiest way to go.  Not only does having one laundry depository make less work for me, but it also helps that I can look in one place and see how much laundry I have to wash.  This isn’t difficult – I’ve trained all my children (the nursling excepted) to put their clothes in one big hamper. 

Choose your laundry days.  I do one load, sometimes two, on an average day.  However, if you can’t wash daily, or simply don’t want to, pick out a few days a week as laundry days.  Getting into the habit of washing your family’s clothing on certain days of the week will take practice.  But with consistency you’ll be surprised how quickly a practiced routine can turn into a habit. 

Sorting your laundry as you go eliminates needing numerous hampers in your laundry area. Because I wash everyday it isn’t hard to sort and wash clothing in one load, towels in another.  The way I sort is a personal choice.  I have found that for me it’s not worth the added hassle of extra loads, to sort out colors, lights, and darks.  The simple act of separating out my towels from my clothing (which is a new habit for me) has made a tremendous difference in the feel and smell of my clothing.  And that’s enough for me.

Finding sanity in doing laundry starts with a simple routine.  Find one that works for you and stick to it. You’ll be pleased you did.

How have you simplified your laundry routine?  Tell us about it! 

Next up: Specialty loads.  Bedding, bleaching, diapers & bathmats

if you missed the beginning of this series, read all previous entries in order here

Now that the laundry room is up to par, let us move on to the clothes part of doing laundry.

Laundry is inevitable.  We wear clothes everyday, and to avoid stinking those clothes must be washed now and again.  And when you throw kids into the mix, potty training, and spaghetti, you have the makings of a mountain range of laundry.

Years ago, when we began looking for ways to make laundry a little more do-able, it seemed like an impossible task to get and keep the laundry caught up.  Now, however, after practicing and practicing some more, keeping the laundry caught up has become easy. 

It didn’t happen overnight.  It has taken us years to get to a point where laundry doesn’t make us crazy.  We had to change a lot of our habits along the way, and I’ve learned that there is much more to keeping the laundry monster under control than just wash, dry, fold.

And it all starts with the clothes.

It’s time to simplify.

The hard truth is that the more clothes your child has, the more laundry you’ll have to do.  I don’t know the why’s or how’s of this.  I just know this is how it works. 

And I do feel you’re pain.  All those adorable clothes.  How are we supposed to get rid of even just one outfit?  But part of finding sanity in a lived-in space is cutting our attachments to material things.  We must become less stuff-motivated and more God-driven.  We must minimize.

There are a number of ways to help pare down your kid’s clothes.  I’ve used this system to shrink my own clothing stash, too.

1. Evaluate clothing storage space.  Does your child have a dresser?  Do you keep clothes hung up in a closet?  Do all the clothes just sit in a laundry basket because by the time they get there you’re too tired to fold them and put them away? If you have a lot of space dedicated to clothing…
2. Choose a smaller space to house it all.  Whatever size space you use for storing clothing, you’re likely to fill it.  That means if it’s a 4 drawer dresser, you’ll have 4 drawers of clothes.  If you only use two drawers for clothes, you’ll fill just two drawers.  My baby and toddler each have one drawer and you can bet each one fills quickly. 
   ***If your children’s drawers are nicely kept, the clothes hung up in an orderly fashion, you’re likely not to have laundry issues at all and have no need of this article. 
3. Decide what clothes your child needs to keep.  Sally probably doesn’t need 15 Sunday dresses if she only wears one each week.  If you’re like us, you’ll find you really only need half of what you have (or even less!). If you’re having trouble tossing those cute hand-me-downs and auntie-gifts in the Freecycle box, maybe try storing them yourself in the attic or garage.  Each month trade out the stored clothes for the current ones.  This way Sally will get to wear all 14 dresses, but you won’t have to keep all 14 out.  Doing this is likely to show you that you really don’t miss all those clothes anyway and it will be easier for you to gift them to somebody else who needs them.
4. If it doesn’t fit, toss it.  I’m not talking about the clothes fitting your child.  I’m talking about the space you have set aside for housing the clothes.  If you have all the clothes cleaned, folded, and organized, but they just aren’t fitting nicely, you probably need to get rid of a few more items. 
5. Holes, stains, rips, tears – just trash ‘em.  This is my biggest problem.  A toddler shirt I’ve loved for a long time had a little hole and a stain on the front.  Not only that, but Sam’s dresser drawer was overflowing with clothing love from a friend at church.  He hadn’t worn the shirt for a long time (duh, it had a stain on it!) but for some reason I was still holding on. 
   It was time to let go.   
   I remember going through this same process before with my older children.  And, you know what?  I don’t even recall what those shirts I loved so much looked like.
   Remember, it’s highly improbably that you’re going to think about that shirt a week from now and wish you’d kept it. 
6. This also goes for the older kids.  While your 10 year old may resist throwing away that torn and tattered shirt, if he can’t seem to keep his clothing in order, this will teach him better laundry habits.  I always tell me kids, “I don’t care what you keep, so long as you keep it neatly.”  They know that if mama has to constantly come in and repair their disorderly room she’s gonna get rid of stuff.   By sticking to this rule I have given them a way to keep their favorites, while opening the door to do away with worn-out clothing if I need to.
7. Pick a day every month or two to re-evaluate your clothing needs.  Toss cruddy clothes, store outgrown clothes you’ll want to use for another child, and gift anything you want to get rid of.  This is the time to decide if your child needs new pants or a new shirt.  Making a list and sticking to it is a good way to not over-buy when clothes shopping.

And Finally -

Take these tips and design a system that works for your family.  Of course a system for a family with 2 children is going to look different than a family with 7.  A family with children in school is going to have different laundry habits than a family who homeschools.  Find what works for you.

How do you keep your kids clothes from over-taking your home?  I’d love to know!

…in the laundry room of all places.

Yesterday I cleaned out our laundry room. It had far too long gone neglected (I really should have snapped a picture). I took a giant rubbermaid in there and loaded it up with junk while little flurries of dust swirled around my already stuffed up head. I then wet mopped everything with a damp cloth.

Then there was clean. Peace. All of the sudden I could breath in that room. I didn’t hate being in there and I felt a surge of laundry-doing energy.

But [sigh] I still had this large rubbermaid overflowing this stuff. I also had drug out another very large box of other stuff we had been storing in the that room. And the library shelves (which are also in the laundry room)…

The work continued.

Thing by thing I went through those boxes. I kept only about 1/3 of the stuff in them. I freecycled that very large box, and the rubbermaid now sits empty in my living room.

The entire room has taken on a different feel.  My kids can now easily get to the board game cupboard - leaving no more excuses for not putting those games away properly and I almost look forward to doing the laundry today.

almost.

If you need some focus or direction today I suggest cleaning out your laundry room/area.  Don’t be discouraged if you can’t get to all of it.  Just start with the area directly around your washer and dryer.  Get your stuff organized.  Wipe down your appliances.  Find spaces for stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with laundry.  Trash junk.  Bless somebody with things you don’t need anymore.

Then maybe you’ll almost want to do laundry too!

How do you keep your laundry area in order?  What do you do with trinkets you find in the washer?

read all of this series in order here

I was cooking dinner. Actually, I’d already cooked it days before but I needed to heat it up on the stove top. For some reason the transfer from fridge container to pot wasn’t going well and in trying to scoop it out my plastic spatula spoon was a little too bendy and flung a very large portion of dinner across the kitchen. It splattered and made a big mess.

People don’t give me advice on parenting too much anymore. I’ve got seven kids who are well adjusted, socially capable and happy, who can sit through a church service without a peep – not counting baby Jesse who decides to eat and then poop through his diaper every Sunday right in the middle of the sermon (we go to the nursing room for this event). Go figure.

Imagine that Jesus has come to your house for a visit. He’s staying for dinner and you have so much work ahead of you. You’re dying to make everything perfect for Him so you station yourself in the kitchen, cooking Him a feast, frantically cleaning, and serving – being the best host to the One you call King because He deserves the absolute best you have to give. What an overwhelming thought – serving The Savior face to face! And in our own home!

This happened to Martha. She opened her home and welcomed Jesus to come relax in her living room. During His visit Martha became what I imagine to be dramatically involved in her role as servant. I picture her running to and fro in what might resemble a sensational Olympic event. Martha only desired the best for Jesus and worked herself weary to make Him feel comfortable and welcome.
What made all the work even more stressful was that Mary, Martha’s sister, wasn’t lifting a finger to help.
Think on that for a second. You have all this work set out before you and you feel like everything has to be perfect, but the others in the room aren’t doing anything to assist even though you’ve made it completely obvious that there are many chores to be done. They’re just visiting, laughing, talking, and enjoying the company. I know from experience that it would infuriate me!

I have the feeling that Martha was in shock when Mary didn’t see the need to assist her with the work. So, Martha, in what I guess to be an exasperated tone, asked Jesus to please tell Mary to get up and help her.

Jesus basically told Martha to let Mary be.

Martha, in all her good intentions was forgetting something. She was so busy being all dramatic that she was totally missing out on the joy of having her Savior visit. Instead of sitting down and resting a while with her King she busied herself with the details, trying to be perfect, trying to be pleasing, trying to do everything at once. The unique opportunity to learn from The Teacher was slipping right through her hands and she couldn’t even see it.
Meanwhile, Mary was soaking it up. No, she wasn’t being lazy, she was simply living in the moment – a unique moment that she felt blessed to be a part of.

Reading this story last night, I got to thinking about how many years it took me to get what it meant. I spent years like Martha, “anxious and troubled about many things”. However, since I’ve made more of an effort to be a Mary and chose the good portion, I have found a life that is much more delightful to live. Not always easier, but definitely more delightful.

Slowing down has helped me hear what The Lord has to tell me; the lessons He teaches are easier to learn while I’m calm. And lately, I’m finding so much joy at just sitting at the Savior’s feet and basking in the glory that He Is.

Now that we have our basic schedule for the morning laid out and we’ve practiced it all last week, I am moving on this week to add in the schooling schedule. I am not really ready for this one. Seriously, it took everything for me to get out of bed last week much less make it after I stood up. I made this nice, neat schedule for us to follow each day and when it was time to put it into practice I felt like a whining child, “I don’t wanna!”
Still, the house is looking better and better everyday as we get little things caught up. I should have taken before pictures of our library closet -eek! It looks perfectly organized now and all our books are easy to spot.

The kids are super charged about school! They have been bugging me for a more thorough and detailed school schedule.
Not.
Our typical school year doesn’t consist of a ton of book work but we do have a few months each year where we hit the books pretty hard. This is that time of year for us. We still try to keep things pretty relaxed and non-stressful. This helps in fostering the childrens’ love for learning. They’re are subjects they don’t like that they have to do anyway but I don’t push past the point of total frustration (in me or them). This takes some discernment and a lot of patience. I won’t let laziness be the reason for taking a break. I am not raising slackers. However, when I see a frustration-laden melt down coming on I know it is time to take a break. This doesn’t happen often anymore. Because they know I am cool with taking a break they have no problem asking to move on to another problem or subject. They also know my stance on slacking and don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes anymore.
Rambling…

Now, we have been doing school all along but it was definitely not our priority last week while we caught up chores long needing attention and started rebuilding cleaning habits that had gone by the wayside in the last few months. This is quite common for us after having a new baby, however, this time around I am determined not to let it go any further than it has right now.
So, here is the next section of our brand spankin’ new schedule.
We only do hands on, fun school on Fridays. Also, Kait’s school is not on the schedule. She has just started and at home high school program that is very different than the boys’ schedule needs. Since she is self motivated I don’t need to map out a school day plan for her.

9:30 to 10:00 Bible
10:00 to 10:30 Math
10:30 to 11:00 Science (Mon.)
History (Tues.)
Science (Wed.)
Geography (Thurs.)
11:00 to 11:30 Creative Writing & Language Arts (Mon.)
Handwriting (Wed.)
Typing (Thurs.)
11:30 to 12:00 Music
12:00 to 12:30 Reading

5:00 to 6:00 PM – Tutoring with Dad depending on need (this time allotment is very flexible and needs to be adjusted often depending on when my husband is home. His flight schedule is quite sporadic)

Notice how we don’t do every subject everyday. 1/2 hour is a lot of time when you are one on one. It is amazing how much my kids can get done in what seems to be a short period of time.
We also have a coop day on Tuesday where the kids are able to participate in extra classes like History, Science, Bible, Creative Writing, etc… These classes change each 9 weeks. Our kids are never bored on Tuesdays – though I ’bout go crazy.

Like I have said in previous posts – this isn’t meant to be a rigid schedule. It is simply a guideline that helps us map out our day. If we decide to deviate and take the scenic route that is okay! The schedule just helps us get back on track easily.

Morning Schedule, broken down

• 7:00 – Kids up (mom has already gotten up and started her day)
  Make Beds & Change Sheets As Necessary
  Get Dressed
  Brush Teeth
  Put Dirty Clothes In Hamper
  Straighten Up Bedroom
  Clean clothes go IN buckets or drawers or hung up
  Closet doors closed
• 7:30 – Bible Study
  Gabe, read Bible story to littles
  Joe & Kait do Bible studies on whatever topic
  Remember to pray.
• 8:00 – Breakfast
  If mom has not made anything have cereal or Peanut Butter & Jelly
  (Kait may have her own breakfast if she purchased it herself)
• 8:30 – Start Chores
  Kitchen & Dining Room
  Unload & Load dishwasher
  Clear & Clean Counters
  Clear off and wipe down dining table
  Sweep floor & wipe up any spots (kitchen & dining room)
  Laundry
  Take out green basket
  Move & start laundry
  Fold clean laundry, put it away
  Playroom
  Toys put away properly
  Activity table cleared off and under
  Drawers closed all the way
  Card table & dresser cleared off – no junk
  Closet doors closed
  Bathroom
  Clear off counter
  Pick up floor (put tub basket in tub)
  Put dirty towels in hamper
  Clean counters & toilet (top, sides, rims & inside)
  Sweep floor & clean any spots
  Wipe out sink
  Clean mirror with glass cleaner
  Spray down tub & shower with shower cleaner
  Living Room
  Put any toys away
  Clear off & wipe down coffee table
  Put junk away
  Straighten couch cushions and pillows
  Clear computer desk
  Hallway
  Spot check walls & clean where necessary
  Pick up toys & dropped clothes

  Have mom check all rooms
  Vacuum bedrooms, playroom, and living room

  9:30 – start school

There is still a little more tweaking needing to be done and that is okay. It seems like a lot but we have a small house and a lot of workers. Normally, today was an exception, the kids will not do all the chores themselves. This morning was different. I was taking care of Jesse who was unusually fussy and tweaking the schedule at the same time.
It doesn’t need to be perfect. Like I said in the last Homemaking For Us Real Gals post, the schedule is not a super strict rule for us. I have the schedule to help our days flow well, however, the times are more guidelines than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Culbertson ship, Matey!

Do you have a schedule posted on your blog or website? Or, are you working on making your day flow better? I’d love to read your suggestions or see what you have going on. Leave a comment and link to your post below using Mr. Linky.

Way, way, way back, a long time ago, I had a couple kids and life was crazy.

Having 8 people in our family means more mouths to feed. For a while our grocery budget was hitting close to $600 a month and we actually felt that was more than reasonable at the time. However, we have had a change of heart and have decided to become more frugal and less greedy. This started with a choice to stop buying stuff, cut up credit cards, and sell many of our non-necessities. While we are still in the throws of doing all this – selling things with the economy in the jam it’s in isn’t easy – I decided to do what I could to help out and started clipping coupons.

Wow is all I can say. If you have read this blog before you probably already know that I have managed to cut our grocery budget in half. We no longer spend more than $300 a month on food, toiletries, and other household needs. I have been amazed at what a little work and careful planning has done to help our finances.

If you didn’t read the previous post on this subject, Cooking On A Budget, you may want to. It is a prequel, of sorts, to this post. Here is how I cook for my own personal crowd without breaking the bank, spending hours in the kitchen, and keeping dinners from getting boring.

• Add rice or pasta. Both of these foods tend to bulk up meals. Left overs may seem boring but, as my family has told me, adding rice or pasta to leftovers, along with a sauce or some dressing, completely changes up the meal.
• We like to, though haven’t done it in a while, cook all our dinners for a month on one day. I have blogged about it in the past and you can read about it here. It only takes us about 3 hours one afternoon a month to keep our freezer loaded with easy, ready made meals that can be thrown into a crock pot in the morning and be ready to eat by dinner. Using the crock pot keeps the dinners from tasting like frozen meals. They always taste fresh after being slow cooked.
• Like the dinner tip above: With the exception of breads, which take a while in a bread maker, try to do all your baking for a week, or two weeks in one day. This takes only a few hours of your time and can save you tons of time on baking and cleaning later on.
• Tortillas. Almost anything is good on a tortilla with cheese, sour cream, and salsa. We often save leftovers up for a few days and then have ‘leftover night’. I put tortillas on the table along with some sauces and let the kids make their own. This is always a hit.
• Use less meat. 2 lbs of ground beef can make 3 dinners for our large family. This is where rice and pasta come in handy. Also, adding in potatoes helps to bulk up a meal without the need for a ton of meat.
• Buy a large roast and cut it into thirds or fourths right when you get home. Store them in freezer bags.
• When cooking for more than one night at a time separate each nights meals as soon as they are cooked. Freeze the portion designated for another night to keep your family from being tempted to eat it up early.
• Clearly mark any leftovers you want to use as another nights dinner as off limits. My husband is great about not leaving things to waste in the fridge and will eat up much of my planned meals if I don’t let him know it’s specifically for dinner.
• Plan out your meals in advance and try to match up store sales with coupons when planning what your weeks menu will be.
• Get a bread maker and use it often. I make bread almost everyday. It is a cheap way to add variety to a meal. Find different bread maker recipes and see what you can do.
• For breakfast, try making your own cinnamon and brown sugar oatmeal. Buy a large thing of regular oatmeal and add brown sugar and cinnamon to the tub, shaking it up well before each use. This way you won’t have to worry that you’re out of sweetening stuff. It is already in there – ready to cook and eat.
• Keep homemade muffins and pancakes in the freezer. If you get your bread from the bread store it is so cheap and easy to take an entire loaf and make french toast with it to store in the freezer for future breakfasts.
• With the exception of health issues, don’t be each person’s personal chef – except for your husbands if he desires this from you. Expect that not everything you make will be totally loved by everybody in your family but don’t think that grants them license to have you making something different for each person. Children who are taught to be thankful for the food on their plate, tasty or not, are more likely to enjoy a variety of foods. Ben, who we forced to gag down colorful foods for 2 years, now eats all his veggies without complaint and occasionally has seconds. We had to help him develop a taste for them and we had to encourage him to enjoy trying new things. Not only does this help my budget and time but it will help him feel satisfied with a range of tastes as he grows.
• Sit down at the dinner table with your family every night. You may wonder how this will help your budget so I will explain. Think to how you feel when you know there is a big feast waiting at the end of your day. There is no doubt in your mind that hot, fresh food will be served. The anticipation of a dinner meal like this one will keep me from snacking at 4pm. I want to be hungry when that table is set. Eating together at the family table helps to stay off the picking from the refrigerator when you’re unsure of dinner plans. Over eating and late afternoon snacking mean more money out of your pocket. Eating together also keeps you in the know about how much good and bad stuff your family is eating. Not only will this cause everybody to devour fewer snacks but they will be healthier. Plus, if your family expects dinner to be served you are less likely to end up with fast food. Eating out is unbelievably expensive when compared with the cost of a home cooked meal.

I am sure there are many good ideas I haven’t even stumbled upon yet – and some I have mentioned that will never work for your family. If you have a tip you think would benefit my readers or myself leave a comment and let us know! I could always use a new idea to make cooking on a budget easier.