Photograph Credit: Flickr (Expert Infantry)
Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941
Archives for 2011
Using Time Wisely: Willingly Accept Help
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Shakir Abdullah)
There comes a time when you will realize that you CANNOT do it all. There are only 24 hours in one day, and you really must get your sleep. During seasons of busyness, I am learning to willingly accept help even if the task is not done to my specifications.
At this time, I am in the middle of rehearsals for my son’s Christmas program. Besides needing crowd control, sets, props, costumes, and lighting for the program, I also need distractions for my girls. Both of them enjoy hanging out with mom at the rehearsals, but they can get into trouble. By willing accepting help offered to watch my girls, I am better able to concentrate on leading and guiding the student actors.
On the day I did not have help with my girls, I found the students distracted and lacking in focus during our time together. Though I would rather have my girls with me, I know I need some assistance, and I willingly accept help that is offered.
Coming to the conclusion that I cannot do it all has brought me to willingly accept help. With the extra hands to assist and play with my girls, I have been able to focus on the students and make progress while using time wisely. My load has been lightened as I let go of perfection and willingly accept help.
Question: Do you find it hard to willingly accept help? I do, but I am learning. If you struggle or struggled with accepting help, can you offer this Momma any pointers on the subject? Would love to hear your comments.
House Guests: Showing Hospitality
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Tony and Laura)
Last weekend our family had the privilege of hosting house guests. Yes, I spent the week of Thanksgiving scrubbing, dusting, organizing, and vacuuming our entire house after my daughter’s bout with hand, foot, and mouth. While our children were counting down the days until our guests’ arrival, the excitement was building.
Our house guests consisted of a family of 4, who are serving as missionaries halfway around the world but are in the States on furlough until the beginning of 2012. As they are making their way to supporting churches, family, and other friends, they chose to stop for a quick visit with us. We were thrilled to accommodate them for the 2 days and 1 night of their visit.
Before you believe I have 2 nice guests’ rooms with a private bath to welcome our guests, let me give a little background. Our home fits our family perfectly. We have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. With our family of 5, we are snug as a bug in a rug. By adding another 4 individuals, we got the opportunity to be hospitable. Our family gladly adjusted our normal routine to accommodate our friends for the evening.
On a typical night, our family sleeps in our own rooms:
- Bedroom 1: Paul and Tracy in master bedroom
- Bedroom 2: Youngest daughter in nursery
- Bedroom 3: Two older children in bunk beds
With our guests visiting, we adjusted our routine to the following placement:
- Bedroom 1: Our missionary friends – husband and wife – in our master bedroom
- Bedroom 2: Youngest daughter in nursery
- Bedroom 3: Our missionary friends’ sons slept in the bunk beds. Our son also wanted to sleep in the same room with these boys. By pulling out the extra mattress housed under the lower bunk bed, our son slept there near his friends.
So, where did Paul, my oldest daughter, and I sleep? We camped out in our bonus room. Paul pumped up our air mattress for my daughter and I. Then Paul slept in the recliner. Though we were out of our routines, we all slept well and enjoyed our special time with our friends.
Having a medium-size home without a guest room does not deter our family from showing hospitality. All our possessions have been given to us from our Heavenly Father, and we choose to use our resources for His honor and glory. With thankfulness for a nice home, we welcome guests and enjoy using time wisely visiting with our friends.
As the holiday season quickly arrives, don’t be afraid to adjust your routine as you welcome your friends and family into your home. These visits allow your family to serve your guests with hospitality. What a great way to share the Christmas spirit while using time wisely! Happy planning!
Question: To how many people will you be showing hospitality this Christmas season? Please add your answer to the comments.
Scheduling: Laundry Routine – Part 4 of 4
Photograph Credit: Flickr (BamaCIT)
I love the smell of clean laundry. In fact, I get asked often how I get our clothes smelling so good. You want to know my secret? You think I will share it with you? Yeah, I will. 🙂
It is a combination of a fragrance-free laundry detergent with Snuggle liquid fabric softener. Because the laundry detergent has no fragrance, the Snuggle permeates our clothing for a fresh, clean smell.
Before we get to clean-smelling clothing in our organized laundry routine, let’s review our first three steps: Preparing throughout the week, Pre-treating soiled clothing, and Preparing on laundry day. Today, I will complete this series with STEP FOUR.
STEP FOUR: Performing laundry tasks
To get the fresh, clean smell throughout our loads of laundry, I follow this routine:
Washing the Clothes
1. Use All Free and Clear detergent since my children have skin sensitivities which perfumed laundry detergent irritates.
2. Wash all loads on warm/cold, and all load sizes are large or super.
3. Add Snuggle liquid fabric softener during the rinse cycle to make the clothes smell great without irritating my children’s skin.
Drying the Clothes
1. Place one Snuggle fabric softener sheet into the dryer with the clothes to keep them static cling-free.
2. Pile the clean, dried clothes into one of two blue laundry baskets.
3. Remove the lent from the dryer vent.
Folding and Putting Away the clothes
1. Fold the clothes and place them back into the clean blue laundry basket.
2. Take the laundry basket upstairs.
3. Put the clothing in the appropriate dressers or closets.
The two blue rectangular baskets are for clean clothes. The oval blue basket and white basket are used for dirty or used clothes. Having different shaped and different colored baskets helps my family differentiate between clean and dirty clothes. Since my family knows which baskets are dirty and which ones are clean, I avoid getting questioned on whether items are clean or dirty. This system of using different baskets makes laundry days simple and organized.
As you work through laundry days at your home, I hope you will find a system that works for you while using time wisely. Whether you choose a weekend or weekdays to tackle your laundry pile, you can stay organized by preparing prior to laundry day, pre-treating soiled clothing, preparing on laundry day, and performing laundry tasks. Happy laundry organizing!
Question: Do you use different baskets for clean and dirty clothes? Please add your answer to the comments.
Personal Insurance: Summary Page
With all our Box 1 documents filed and organized into the four categories: Credit Cards/Reports, Personal Documents, Home Ownership, and Vehicles, let’s concentrate on Box 2 which houses all the insurance documents. The first category housed in the first file opening holds our personal insurance documentation.
Personal Insurance Documentation
- Summary Page
- Annual Enrollment Reports
- Former Severance Package
- Privacy Policies and Travel Insurance
- Medical Information Bureau (MIB) Files
Summary Page
Because this insurance file holds policies and paperwork that will be needed during possible life-changing events, I keep a one-page summary in each category of this insurance file that contains the following vital information for each policy we hold:
- Type of policy
- Policy number(s)
- Name of insurance company
- Web site address of insurance company
- Telephone number of insurance company
- User name, password, and security questions to access the account(s)
- Benefit administrator’s contact information
In the event that immediate contact with these companies is needed, Paul or I can get one of these summary pages and get access to our accounts. If you, like me, are the one that registers the accounts and handles the insurance paperwork, please be sure your family has access to your passwords.
A close friend panicked for 3 days after the sudden loss of her husband because there was no record of the passwords. Besides planning a funeral, housing guests, and taking time to grieve, she was trying to access her accounts. She finally succeeded, but she exerted energy and time that could have been used elsewhere had she known or knew where to look for those passwords.
In using time wisely, I highly recommend that you write down the information, store it securely, and inform your family or a close, honest friend of the location to this information.
Having a summary page will help you access your documentation quickly if you need to increase your coverage, change your contact information, or request information. In using time wisely, a little time now compiling this summary page will save you time, energy, and frustrations down the road. Just adding the policies you have now will be a great start. Happy organizing!
Question: How do you keep track of your passwords? I write down the information on the packet of documents for that company. The documentation is then housed in one of my filing boxes under the appropriate category. How does your system differ? Please add your answer to the comments.