A is for Action: Do it now, do it fast, get it done, quit procrastinating. If it takes less than five minutes, don’t even stop to think about it. Just do it.
B is for Basket: Have one by the door for items being returned, loaned, given, sent, and otherwise. Anything that goes out of the house in the next few days should be in the basket.
C is for Calendar: Have one, either a big hang-on-the-wall type or a planner you carry with you everywhere you go. Or both, if necessary. The more children and activities you have to coordinate, the more likely it is you will need the big calendar for everyone and the daily planner for your own lists and reminders as well as the family’s.
D is for Deadlines: As in, give yourself deadlines on projects, plans, dates, activities, goals. Especially give yourself deadlines on things you want to do but don’t usually make time to do. Don’t let the mundane have-tos force out the marvelous want-tos.
E is for Equipping: Equip your children to do things for themselves and for you. From day one, include them on helping even when their help is more time-consuming for you. Teach them simple skills. My 1 1/2 year old is great at throwing things away for me, fetching simple items, and taking items from one room to another. She also has a little broom that she uses when I am sweeping or mopping. It doesn’t really help, but she is getting the training and mentality necessary to be able to help me even more as she gets older.
F is for Flexibility: Have a planner and a calendar; make plans; set deadlines; but leave yourself some elbow room and take advantage of it. It’s okay not to do everything on your list. You are in charge, and you make decisions. You might run across opportunities you hadn’t thought of, or find a new plan that is better than your old one, or see your priorities differently. That’s good. Go with it.
G is for Giving: For starters, give a tithe. Ten percent is a nice amount, but it doesn’t really matter how much. Just get in the habit of giving some portion of your paycheck away every single time you get one. Why? Because we need to remember that money is a tool, not a goal. Money is meant to flow, be used, provide. Savings are great. Investments are great. Giving is better yet.
H is for Habits: Habits are the homemaker’s best friend (or worse enemy, if you have bad ones). Have something you want to accomplish? Make it into a daily habit. Train yourself in habits for all the things you have to do regularly, like cooking, shopping, dressing, getting the kids to bed. A habit saves you the effort of making lots of tiny decisions every day and wearing yourself out on the unimportant.
I is for Independence: Set things up in your house so you don’t have to help with every task or detail. Get easy to fix food so anyone can put a meal together. Label things so your spouse and kids can find them without asking you. Set up systems that are easy to understand and easy to remember, and repeat, repeat, repeat until it is second nature for everyone in your home. This works for house guests, too. Give them a quick tour of where stuff is in your home and how they can help themselves and you. Most people feel much more comfortable this way.
J is for Jumping: Out of bed. Every morning. At the same time. Okay, fine, take Sunday off and sleep in a little bit. Otherwise, do yourself a huge favor and set your alarm clock up to go off every day at the same time and be sure it is out of arm’s reach. Don’t hit snooze. Get out of bed and get your day started. You can always take a nap later. (Tell yourself you can, anyway, when you have trouble getting started in the morning. Chances are once your energy and coffee kick in, you won’t want to take a nap.)
K is for Key Hooks: Such a simple thing. Take two minutes and put a couple of hooks by the door you come in the most often. Use a nail if you don’t have any hooks. Now, every time you walk in, put your keys on the key hook. Not in your purse, not in your pocket, not on the table, not with the mail. Key hook.
L is for Laptop: Most households have a computer, probably a desktop, probably set up somewhere not extremely convenient. If you use a computer daily and can afford to, buy yourself a laptop Sister! You can set it up where it makes sense for you: in the kitchen while the kids do homework, in the living room while they play, in the basement, the office, the bedroom.
M is for Maintenance: Every day you should do maintenance on your home. You probably already know what is required to keep stuff running: basic cooking, a load of laundry, make beds, wipe down bathroom, empty trash, sweep. Something like that. Do your maintaining every single day. It doesn’t have to take long at all, and if you are faithful with it you will hardly ever have to spend more than an hour doing “real cleaning.”
N is for Notebook: Have a notebook to write in and carry it with you. It could be part of your planner, if you like the all-in-one systems. I prefer something simpler. I have a thing weekly planner that gives me a space for every day and a spiral-bound, hard-back notebook (usually available in bigger bookstores). I carry both with me everywhere. Don’t stress your brain trying to remember everything and don’t stuff your purse with random pieces of paper. Consolidate.
O is for Off Time: You should have some, preferably once a week without kids for a couple of hours. Do something you enjoy. Stay home and take a nap. Go have a cup of coffee, uninterrupted. Read a book on the couch. You can make it a date with your honey, if you like, but I really recommend having some off time to yourself or to spend with girlfriends or do something special and working in some date time as well. You may not be able to get both in every week, but do your best. Alternate weeks if you must: an afternoon to yourself one week, a date night with your husband the next.
P is for Planning: Since you have that planner and that notebook, use them! Sunday night is a great time to sit down for thirty minutes or so and jot down a menu, note your activities and commitments in your planner, jot down the items you would like to have done. Do this at the beginning of the week and you can space things out a bit, plus you will have a good idea of how busy you’re going to be and can make decisions accordingly.
Q is for Quick Meals: Master the art of the quick meal. If you have a repertoire of four or five meals that you know by heart, keep ingredients for, and can put together in thirty minutes or less, you are already a master of this exquisite art. Pasta is a great option for something quick. You can also have a quick-meal-in-the-slow cooker option: throw in some meat, potatoes, seasoning, a vegetable or two, and let it cook away while you do other things.
R is for Routines: A habit is your best tool; a routine is a series of habits, usually performed on a (loose) schedule. So, a morning routine would be your habits of getting up (at the same time), getting dressed (before the kids), eating breakfast (simple and healthy), and whatever other things you need to accomplish every morning. Routines will save your sanity.
S is for Seasonal: Go with the flow of the seasons. Lighten up in the summertime: pare down your wardrobe, eat simple, fresh meals with lots of produce, schedule less so you have time for fun summer stuff. Use the energy of spring to get through the bigger cleaning and organizing tasks. Take advantage of the hoarding-and-hibernating instincts of fall and stock up your freezer, your gift closet, and your household supplies. Spend the cold, quiet winter days on those longer-term projects.
T is for Team Mentality: Talk about your family as a team and your children will pick it up. Everybody has a job on a team. Everybody is important and everybody is responsible for something particular. Team members are trained (to take care of their particular responsibility) and ready and enthusiastic. Being part of a team means you help your team mates out, you step in when they’re slacking, you encourage, and you see the goal as one to be reached together.
U is for Uniforms: I know, you think I’m taking this team mentality a bit too far. You don’t need to buy cleats and shorts for everybody, but do give your wardrobes a bit of the uniform approach. Buy three pairs of those pants that fit you and five of the shirt you love and two pairs of the shoes that are comfortable and go with anything (maybe in two colors?). Stock your children’s closets with clothes that are simple, comfortable, and similar in style and color. Have a few special outfits for everyone. Enjoy wearing them on the appropriate occasions, and the rest of the time spend your mental energy on more important things.
V is for Vision: Develop a vision for what you want your home to be. Do you like lots of calm and quiet, a serene interior, soft music, relaxed dinners, quiet nights reading? Do you prefer people, energy, lots of different stuff going on, fun and light and activity? It’s up to you to bring that vision into reality. And yes, it can be done. Don’t be a slave to perfection here. You’ll have to make compromises. You’re not the only one in the house. (Remember that team?) But you can set up routines and systems, train yourself, equip your family, and create an environment that supports your vision.
W is for Write It Down: Don’t overburden your brain. Use your notebook and write stuff down. Lists. Lists of your lists. Thoughts. An idea for a book to write later, when the kids are grown. An idea for how to make time to write a book now, while the kids are still at home. What your best friend would love for her birthday. What you would love for your birthday. A poem. Things you hate about your house. Things you love about your husband. Etc. Write it down.
X is for Xenograft: Bear with me, X is a difficult letter. A xenograft is when the cells of one species are transplanted to a different species. In the terms of modern homemaking, then, check out the styles, personalities, and systems that are working for people who are not like you. Then try some. Transplant some into your own homemaking and see what benefits you get. Different is good.
Y is for Yearly Review: You don’t have to wait until New Year’s for this, either. Pick a day – your birthday, perhaps? – and just give yourself a little time to review your home and homemaking for the last year. What was good? What was bad? What bothered you? What bothered your family? What one thing do you want to change? What worked? What do you want to keep?
Z is for Zeal: Don’t restrain your enthusiasm. If you don’t have any, fake it till you feel it. Homemaking is a challenging, rewarding, never-ending, unpredictable adventure. Have fun. Go for your vision. Don’t hold your talents and skills and energy back for something more important. It doesn’t get more important than kids, husband, and home. Bring your dreams into it. Bring your friends into it. Build the skills you don’t have. Experiment. Find mentors. Find peers. Be proud of what you do and what you are and enjoy all the difficulties and the perks.
Image courtesy of
fontplaydotcom on Flickr.
