Hi everybody – it’s been a whacktacular week around here. (and it’s only Monday! I know!) My mother-in-law (I’ve mentioned before she’s battling metastatic breast cancer) has been in the hospital the last few days, so if you are a praying sort please lob a few up for her. Otherwise, please send your positive thoughts/warm vibes her way.
So I need some inspiration to keep my house together. Because when my friend who happens to be my husband’s mom is in the hospital and it’s a billion degrees outside and we are cutting/raking/baling hay on the farm…well my house tends to fall apart. I’ve found that I tend to ignore things, which really just makes everything worse. So here’s to keeping my house tidy and my kitchen running, because seriously everything is easier when I can keep those things in order.
You all know how I feel about flylady. I fell off the wagon (again) when we started our painting project, but it’s time to get back on.
Everything needs a place. This ties right into flylady’s decluttering theories – but seriously I need to find a place for things or get rid of them.
If I can’t do it all, whatever I can do in ten minutes is better than nothing. It will be an improvement over the way it was before, and every little bit counts!
Give the kids jobs. They are more than capable, and even if they don’t always do it “my way” it will be better than it was!
DO NOT let the laundry get ahead of me.
Keep the living room presentable and the kitchen clear. That way, no matter what else is happening, I can receive an unexpected visitor or get a meal together without being overwhelmed and depressed later.
Eat simply – raw foods, whole grains, vegetables, fruits. Last night I made the kids grilled cheese sandwiches with apples and blueberries. They found it to be a drool-inducing and moan-inspiring meal.
How do you all keep things together? I’d love some handy tips. Remember, every little thing helps.
Well you know things are always falling apart around here, but in the last few days loosing the 10 yr olds glasses and then having a sitter over helped me to frantically catch up with the living room and kitchen. The laundry and bills got a quick and equally frantic treatment when I got the call about Mom because I needed to feel I could jet off to see her quickly if necessary. Not a new phenomenon, but it is still fascinating to me that the addition of some extra chaos can actually be helpful. You are awesome, by the way, and I love you.
Keep it all together? Don’t ever come to my house unannounced! lol… I am the worst housekeeper. Okay, not the worst. Watching showes like Clean House have made that apparent, but my house definitely has a lived in look. lol… I’m working with Flylady too to get ahead of the mess…although some weeks its more like her advice/daily missions go in one ear and out the other, so to speak.
It’s like being on a diet or only having to maintain your weight…maintaining is easier but you can’t get complacent, but at least you’re not starting with what seems an insurmountable task. It’s not all going to happen at once…as long as the kitchen and living room are clean and you can close the doors on the other rooms, you will be fine. Just make sure you’re hot buttons are taken care of all the time, so then when you do have 20 extra minutes at night you can really hit something hard. And throwing away things is FANTASTIC. Or donating them. Lots better than putting them in an unorganized closet or drawer to deal with later. If you don’t have a place for it, you might not need it?
Good luck.
“Less is more, less is more” rinse & repeat. Seriously it always *seems* if we have more it’ll be easier- 2 weeks worth of undies for everyone in the family means doing laundry less…but MUCH bigger piles. Kids toys same thing. Make a pledge to yourself to get rid of 50% of what you have & life will be simpler & lighter. Easier said then done…especially for a farmer’s wife
I’m lobbing a few up for your MIL.
When I play tennis in the morning I’ll think of her as I’m literally lobbing and lob a few more prayers up for her, too. 
Lob a few up for my in-laws too, if you would. They’ve lived with us for 23 years, and my FIL fell three weeks ago and has been in the hospital and rehab hospital since. My MIL has Alzheimers and needs someone with her all the time. It’s been a challenge, keeping her clean, fed, pills, shuttled back and forth, etc and keeping FIL with everything he needs, too. Thank heavens for Derby Health & Rehab, so we don’t have to go into Wichita every day! It felt REALLY AWESOME to throw out several bags of papers and clutter this weekend. The house is still a shambles, and there is so much more to do, but I got rid of some and I’ve got some stuff in the car ready to drop off at Goodwill tomorrow. Yay! Every baby step helps! Thank you, Fly-Lady!
Ooooh – and thank you to my sweet niece, who took MIL for dinner tonight (I know she reads your blog!)
Family, friends and prayer definitely help in times of chaos and crisis!