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Welcome to chapter 17. Can you believe we're only a few weeks away from finishing this book?
As a homeschooling mother, your home is your domain – it is the part of creation that God has uniquely designed and delegated to you to subdue and rule over. pg. 301
In this chapter, the Clarksons take us on a journey of maintaining and organizing our homes using the word FIRST. First stands for:
- Family (including cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc)
- Information
- Rest
- Stuff
- Time
These are the areas that we need to subdue in our homes. When we allow these things get out of order, everything in our lives starts to break down. We're not as effective as we could be and we become stressed.
Here are a few ways that I maintain things in my home:
I joke that my whole life is in Evernote, but I think it might be true. I have been moving more and more towards being paperless for my everyday life and storage of information. Receipts, bills, ebooks, pdf documents, and much more. I store it all and organize it all in Evernote. I can tag and search documents. I can access my information from my computer, iPad, phone, or through a web browser.
I keep my to-do list in Producteev. I enter my tasks via their web interface or send an email. I can sort and categorize my to-dos. I can get email reminders. If it needs to be done, I put it on this list and check it multiple times a day.
Google Calendar is my preferred scheduler. If I need to be there, it goes on my calendar. I can also easily send Josh invites so he knows when he needs to be somewhere. I can access my calendar from my phone and Josh can see my calendar from his phone too. Reminders pop up on my phone and in my email as needed to remind me of places I need to be.
Cleaning schedules are one of my biggest downfalls, but I've been working on that. 3 in 30 has been a great help in setting goals and developing new habits. I've read a couple of books recently that have helped me change my mindset and start developing manageable routines: 31 Days to Clean and I Dream of Clean. I have also been using Tell Your Time to help me learn to better prioritize my time.
How do you juggle it all? What are your favorite methods and tools?
