Getting Organized and Staying Organized

Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Do you wonder if there are things you can do to be organized in your home without cleaning all day long?

Over the years, I have seen so much common sense in the FlyLady’s system and keeping my home organized. As a large family, we live in our home and use it more than a lot of families.

By homeschooling, we are home at lot. This means we need to have routines and consistency.

Decluttering is a part of my daily life. With a large family, things come into our home daily. I have to spend a few minutes each day decluttering. This is not just boxing stuff up and putting it away. This is actually throwing things away and putting them in a box to give away. I am a regular benefactor to our local resale shops. I donate clothes and household items weekly.

Picking up behind yourself is a daily routine. Throughout the day, we get things out and use them. Take a few minutes to put them away when you are finished. Teach this to your children. When they leave things out, I use a calm voice and ask them to pt their things away when they are finished.

Don’t procrastinate. When you put things off, you tend to make them a bigger deal than they really are. Small things become mountains when you continue to ignore them and put them off. Even with a busy schedule, I do one thing each day that needs to be done. I don’t let it pile up. I set routines for blessing my home, menu planning, cooking, paying bills, doing school with my children, and taking care of myself. These are the areas I often see procrastinated.

Use a timer. A timer gives you an ending point to whatever you are doing. It keeps you from going overboard in doing something you like, and it keeps you focused when you are doing something you do not like. It is a tool that helps your children learn to be independent.
Make it fun. Anything you do in your home can be made into a game.

You can use music, timers, or competition to get things
accomplished. It feels really good to beat the clock in dusting. It is satisfying to get your mopping or vacuuming done in 10 minutes. You have a smile on your face when you go into your bathroom, and it has been swished and swiped. Waking up to a shiny sink starts your day off on a happy note. All of these can be fun to do! Get creative and make up some games.

Rest. Are you chronically tired and lack energy? There are four main parts to having energy that you can control. You need to rest for approximately 8 hours a night. You need to drink an adequate amount of water each day. You need to exercise daily. You need to eat healthy.

Going to bed at a decent hour is easy to do once you get into the habit. If you are getting adequate sleep, you will have the energy you need to care for your home and your family. You will have the energy to meet the day’s requirements.

Homeschool moms wear a lot of hats during the day. Get enough sleep to support your actvitity level. For those with small babies, you can add in afternoon rest time daily.

Water. Your body needs water to survive. It needs water to function well. When you are dehydrated, it effects your body systems. Proper hydration is easy, if you take the time to do it.

Exercise. You need daily movement to give you energy. You don’t have to go to a gym or spend hours on exercising. You can walk a little bit each day to get in enough movement. Start out by just walking around the yard or house. You can add to it if you like, but look for a minimum amount of steps for you to be active. Teaching your children at home adds to your schedule. You also may find that you sit at the table a lot. So model healthy habits by walking and playing with your children daily. Not only will it help you physically, it will help you with your relationship with your children. They like it when you play with them.

Healthy eating. You have heard that you are what you eat. This is true. If you eat on the fly all the time, you are likely not getting enough nutrients from your foods. This leads to being lethargic. Menu plan weekly. If you need the structure, menu plan for all three meals of the day. I have done that in the past, and it takes the thinking out of your day. You make a menu plan and shop for it. Then, you have the foods you need to eat healthy.

Do one thing a day. We like to make lists. We feel like we have so much going on that we need a big To Do List every day. You can have a master list, but each morning, pick one thing to do. Write it on a sticky note or in your daily journal. At some point during the day, take a few minutes to do that one thing. If you accomplish it plus your regular routines, you will see progress. You do not have to do 10 things a day from your list to be successful.

You can get organized and stay organized. You just need to develop daily routines and stick with them. Follow the FlyLady each month to practice the Habit of the Month. Read her new book, CHAOS to Clean, and implement her ideas. I have been using them for 15 years, and it works!

Today’s Zone Mission is to clean under the living room furniture.

Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.

My menu plan for Friday is pizza and a salad.

Have a wonderful weekend!
FB Cover - Tami Fox

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About Tami

Tami Fox is a homeschool mom of 6, who in age from 26 to 11. She and her husband have homeschooled for 17 years and have graduated three of their children from their homeschool. They are currently homeschooling 3 boys who are in grades 11, 9, and 6. They use hands-on learning and unit studies to ignite the fire of learning in their children. Tami is a homeschool author and conference speaker. You can contact her by email at Tami@TamiFox.com. Buy her book, Giving Your Children Wings at https://tamifox.net/giving-your-children-wings/.

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