Kyle & Melissa

Regardless of if you work outside or at home, you can implement these ideas.

If you are the The Ultra Organized/Clean Freak, which is most definitely the category that I fit into before kids and early on in my mommyhood, you probably have a great routine in place, but maybe you feel like you spend too much time cleaning and organizing (i.e. following your kids around with cleaning wipes and a broom) and not enough time playing or the last thing you want to do when you get home from work is drag out the bucket of fun/cleaning supplies.

Set a timer for a specific amount of time and see what you can get done.
Designate days for certain tasks (Mondays are bathrooms day…).
Find a time to do cleaning/organizing each day and stick to it so it doesn’t morph into other times where you could be doing fun things.
Help a friend that might need some help with her mountain of laundry or cluttered closet. In other words, lend your expertise to someone else – that’s a real gift!

If you are The In-Betweener, you probably have days where you got it all done and days where you feel like you failed miserably.

Implement a routine (clean a little bit every day, all on one day, or Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Just come up with a plan and work with it until it doesn’t work anymore.
Determine what your downfall or biggest challenge is and do that first. My biggest challenge? Laundry is my nemesis, so I do at least a load every day, and I start it first thing in the morning (like 5 or 6 am).
Keep a list – check off what gets done and what doesn’t get done gets moved to the next day or time slot.

If you are The I Don’t Even Know Where to Start homekeeper, the name says it all. You got into this whole homekeeping thing by default, and you can’t get out of it, but the laundry and dish piles are driving you crazy.

Ask for help – maybe you have a friend (think Ultra-Organized/Clean Freak) that wouldn’t mind helping you work through some of your stuff. You could always look for someone that you know who wouldn’t mind doing a little cleaning for you or alongside you every once in awhile. This would be much cheaper than hiring a cleaning service.
Start a routine – do a little bit every day to insure that you don’t burn out and give up.
Involve your family – anyone that is able to help, encourage them to clean up after themselves and to take on small, age-appropriate household tasks to keep things running smoothly.

Paul Newman’s letter to his wife on their wedding day: “ Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say ‘I love you’ at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon; it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have the wings of an angel. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding rooms for things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.” -and keeping God in the center of it all!

I have a goal to spend at least 30 minutes each day with my daughter and teach her. We want her to be able to read by next schoolyear and she is now learning to read three-letter words. I need to make time for this, and have a strict schedule on work and the web conferencing service duties I have with a client.

A few weeks ago we finally opened individual savings accounts for the kids. We have been meaning to do this since the start of the year but we only had time a few weeks ago.My eldest, who is 11, is old enough to actually have an account under his name, complete with an ATM card so he was really excited about it. He was the one who filled all the details needed, and even got to place his signature on all forms AND on the ATM card! The youngest needs to have an ITF (in trust for) account so it is still under my signing name.

The plan is I am going to deposit a little something with every pay I get to each of their accounts. It is not much, not even enough to get one gold bullion bar – but if I actually get to be consistent in setting aside money for them, it will eventually get big when the time comes.

My eldest is now working some sideline job practicing his writing skills so all earnings go to his savings too. Hopefully, this practice will teach them how to save!