A Day's Time!

    I have a few questions for you to ponder on.  The first one is how many times in a day do you think about something that needs to be done or taken care of and then a few days later you remember it again and are definitely going to take care of it that day? Until, a few weeks later you remember it still hasn't been done! To me, that is the most aggravating thing ever! Second question. Don't you think it is so annoying to walk in the grocery store - more than likely with less time on your hands and more children on your sides than is humanly possible to actually get it done with - and instantly become so overwhelmed that you make it home with less than half of what you need and five grocery bags full of things that just looked yummy at the time.  My last question is - Doesn't it seem like there are always cute things that the kids say or do or things that you just can not live without telling your hubby about? However, it NEVER fails that by the time he gets home you have forgotten at least 3 out of the 4 things that I couldn't live without telling him. Apparently, I really could survive without telling him....but, I still for some reason think that his life would not go on the same without this little tid bit of info that I just have to tell him! Not to mention it leaves me thinking about what it was I needed to tell him for hours - and then finally at 2 AM when I've been up with the baby and I'm just laying in the bed patiently waiting for my mind to stop wondering so I can go back to sleep - I remember!!...and by the time the alarm clock goes off - I've forgotten again! Ahhhhh!!!!  For these things I have found an answer. Okay - maybe it's not a "cure all", but I have to say it sure has helped a ton. Want in on my secret? Wanna know what it is? Yep - a list. Not just one list. Three. Separate. Lists.

       My answer to remember all of the things that you need to get done in a day - on top of take a shower, brush your teeth, change the baby's diaper more than one time every 12 hours, clean green beans off the floor and milk off of the carpet, wash, dry and fold the 3 loads of laundry that have somehow accumulated since yesterday when the laundry was "all caught up", vacuum and sweep at least five times, pay the bills, do homework with the kids, remember to make breakfast, snack, lunch, snack again and dinner for all six family members living in our home.....REALLY? There are more things to do on top of this!?!?!  And, I'm supposed to remember all of this!!! I  have a column on the right side of my daily list sheet that is blank for me to jot down any notes or reminders that I may need for that day. If for some reason I don't get them crossed off that day - which does happen - then I transfer it to the next day's list. Works like a charm!  Things on my typical to do list look kinda like this:

First Things First:

• Take Shower and get dressed
• Make bed and tidy room
• Get a load of laundry started

Things to complete this morning:

• Unload dishwasher
• Clean up kitchen after breakfast
• Set out anything that needs to thaw for dinner
• 10 minutes to pick-up
• Snack Time
• Switch laundry
• 30 minutes outside time/free time with kids
• Prep for lunch

Things to finish after lunch today:

• Clean up kitchen after lunch
• 10 minutes to pick up
• "Today's Chore"
• 30 minutes of "me" time
• Pre-prepare anything possible for dinner
• Fold and put away all laundry
• Prepare snack

After 3:30 

• Pack Bella's bag to go home
• Look over Dylan and Madi's daily work/behavior charts and homework
• Work with Madi on homework for 30 minutes
• Work with Dylan on homework for 30 mintues
• Prepare dinner
• Clean up kitchen after dinner
• Baths, Stories, Prayers and put kids in bed
• Load all dishes in dishwasher and run

    Wow - seems like a ton doesn't it? I would be willing to bet that it is no more than what you do in a day - except, you don't get to check all of your things off of a list so you don't always give yourself credit for things that really do count!  Did you notice that in my after 3:30 list I don't have any house work related things to do except for cleaning the kitchen after dinner? I try to make sure that my "housework" day ends when my big kids get home from school. They haven't been home all day and they need (and deserve) all of my attention in the afternoons. What do you say? Give it a shot! Make the list work for you - rearrange it, take some things out, add some things....but, just try it - what can it hurt?

    Ah, the grocery store. Isn't it your favorite place to go? Yea, it's not mine either! However, I'm pretty sure there is no way around it. I hate figuring out what to buy and I hate spending lots of money on things that we end up throwing away because we didn't eat them in time. So, every Friday I make our weekly menu. (I guess you could consider this a "list", too...) My menu is Monday through Friday and has every single thing that we will need for the week on it. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. After I have made our menu for the week I can go through and determine which items I already have for the meals I have chosen for the upcoming week and what I need to buy. These items go on my grocery list. I have my grocery list split up in sections. (ex. Drinks, Produce, Meats, Dairy, Frozen Items, Breads, etc.) Once I get to the grocery store my rule is that I can buy no more than 3 items that are not on my list - and I can't cheat. Do you know that since I have started doing this I have cut my grocery bill down more than $50.00 each week!?!? Also, I can be in and out of the grocery store in no time because I know exactly what I need!!

    While my husband doesn't necessarily have a job that I can't call him when I need him I don't like to bug him all day long with things that can wait until he gets home. If I don't write these things down though it never fails that I will forget it. I typically remember what it was I was going to say around 2:30 in the morning and I doubt he wants me to wake him up at 2:30 in the morning to tell him that I suddenly remembered that I wanted him to fix a latch on a storage room door that we haven't used in 8 months! Plus, it gives us things to talk about in the evenings. So, I have another little list that I can just jot things down on when I think of something that I want to ask him to do or that I just want to tell him. He can check it in the evenings when he gets home and sometimes it's self explanatory and sometimes he can ask me what it means when it says, "tell Daddy about new baby news!" No, no....we have no new baby news...but, some friends of ours do! It's also a fun place to write I love you's and I miss you's and I can't wait for you to get homes! 

    Now do you see why I love making lists? They help me save money! They help me keep my home picked up and organized! They help me feel like I've actually accomplished something in....A Day's Time!

But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. - 1 Corinthians 14:40