Guest Post: Work to Be Organized
Hi! I'm Laura@HeavenlyHomeMakers and I'm grateful to Crystal for the opportunity to post at Biblical Womanhood.
My husband and I work to raise our four sons, ages 10, seven, six and three. We homeschool our boys, I cook most of our food from scratch, keep a fairly clean house (no white gloves allowed, though!) and manage a website.
If only I had a dime (phooey, I'd take a nickel) for every time I have heard, "With all those boys...I just don't see how you do all you do."
My only answer would be that I work to be ORGANIZED.
Please notice the words, "work to be..." Being organized is not something you are. Being organized is something you work to be. It is a work in progress.
You can't organize your linen closet once and expect it to stay organized without working at it. The same goes with organizing what you want to accomplish for your family. You must work at it, continually.
I used to be a bit more of an organized nut. (Thankfully, my husband married me anyway.) But as the responsibility of raising a family came along, I've had to choose what is important. So, here's what I feel is important in working to be organized:
1) What things HAVE to be done?
*We HAVE to eat at least three times a day (or in our case, one time a day, because it seems like the boys just never stop!). So, I have to organize my kitchen, food purchasing, and food preparation.
*We HAVE to have a clean house and clean laundry.
*We HAVE to get our school work done.
2) What things are important for God's kingdom?
*We want to raise our boys to be godly young men, godly leaders, godly fathers. If we accomplish nothing else in our lifetime, we pray to accomplish this.
*We want to see the needs around us and work to meet those needs as God calls us.
And so, I work to organize our days so that we can accomplish the most for God. If I am unorganized (and sometimes, I certainly am), I waste time, money and brain cells.
When I have organized our kitchen, our school work, our day-to-day activities...we are more relaxed and at peace, we get more done and we are better able to serve others.
As you work to manage your time through organization, I urge you to look at what is important to you. Make an organized plan for accomplishing the tasks that matter most. Work to organize your life so that you can be more effective for God.
Come back Thursday when I share some tips for organizing your kitchen so that you can make the most of your time there.
-Laura Coppinger has been married to Matt for 13 years and is mom of four boys ages 3-10. Visit her blog for more encouragement and practical homemaking ideas.
Have you gotten your Bargain Ebook Package yet? In it, you'll find great tips for making your kitchen more functional, ideas for making your kitchen more kid-friendly, and lots of delicious recipes using old-fashioned ingredients! It's only $5 for all 6 ebooks (plus some bonuses!) this week. Get your package here.
Labels: Home Management and Organization
posted by Crystal Paine at 8:00 AM
3 Comments:
Thanks for your post Laura. I recently bought Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time by Donna Otto, at Crystal's recommendation. I am definitely feeling God leading me to get more of a grip on organization in my daily work as a homemaker.
I LIKE to be organized, and have done better at it in the past. It seems to have slipped a little--well, A LOT--in the past few months.
The first step for me is to get organized on paper--get a planner and use it. Otherwise, I spin my wheels just "keeping up" with everything and never actually planning ahead, or WORKING on being organized, as you said.
Crystal, could you share about your purchases from Grace Works? I want to order some too, but don't want to buy yet another planner that doesn't really work out for me...
Phebe
I am a young mother (almost 21) of a 7 1/2 month old son. My husband and I are expecting a second son this summer. If God will allow it, we would like to have a big family. I would like to learn good organizational techniques now so that if more children are in our future, and even now with just two, I can run an efficient home. Thank you for sharing this post. More tips for organization would certainly be appreciated!
Lauren
I bought your bargain pack last night and it looks fantastic, but I may need some help with terms and names of ingredients that are different here in Australia.
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