Chores For Mom~ Just For the Joy of It!

I decided one of my goals for this year was to make myself a chore list...Why, you might ask? I am a very organized person by personality, but FOUR kids later I have no working brain cells in the memory department any longer. I can't seem to remember what day I last changed the sheets on the beds...what day I cleaned the bathroom,ect. STOP!!! I know what your thinking....if you can't remember the last time you did something, then it is time to do it again. Well yes, maybe sometimes that is the issue I sadly agree, but not always. Sometimes I plain can't remember what I accomplished the week before......Amen anyone? So for me I was really feeling the need to write a "Mommy chore list". This list only incudes weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly things I need to accomplish. I don't seem to have any "issues" taking care of  daily tasks. So just in case you want  a little sheet of your own here is mine to spring board off of and simply print off for yourself.

Just FYI, If I wanted to be sure the task is done weekly I have four lines...once I complete the task I can write in the date. Two lines means bi-monthly...one line means I want to accomplish this once a month.......Disclaimer: I am sure I am dreaming to think that because of this list I will ALWAYS accomplish everything on it..maybe not, but at least I'll be organized...smile!

Chores for MOM

Clean the Bathroom _____   _____  _____  _____

Mop Bathroom _____  _____  _____  _____

Change Sheets _____  _____  _____  _____

Wipe Down the Table (legs and all) _____  _____

Wipe Down the Cabinets _____

Wipe the exterior of all appliances _____ _____

Mop the Kitchen/Laundry Room _____ _____ _____  _____

Dust Downstairs _____ _____

Dust Upstairs _____ _____

Sweep Upstairs _____  _____ _____ _____

Clean Inside the Oven and Microwave (UGH!) _____ _____

To see some more JOYFUL links go HERE

DANIELLE

New Year Goals...."My List"

I was inspired to get some goals written down for 2010. I really enjoyed reading what other bloggers had to say about their own goals for the year. First of all, I should start by saying I don't get into making unrealistic life changes. I know that for me my list needs to include things I am committed to changing, thing I have been working on already, and realizing I am a busy wife, mommy, and homeschooler that just can't "Do it all". That doesn't mean that I didn't set some high achieving goals ....just that I kept my list limited.
I decided that dividing goals into catagories was the way to go for me. As we go through 2010, my hope is to keep you informed in a very transparent way on how God is using those goals to mold me throughout the year. I plan to bring you up to speed on what is happening around the Gaertegang household and how "the list" is panning out......My purpose?
To give God the glory for everything, inspire you to set your own goals, and make myself accountable for the things I put on my list.

Spiritual:
#1 Continue to be consistent in God's Word daily
#2 Study my Bible in conjunction with a concordance so I can a deeper understanding (buy a concordance!)
#3 Begin prayer journaling again
Homeschooling:
#1 More read aloud time together
#2 Continue "NO worksheet Wednesday" & Make Friday our test day
#3 Consider using a Unit Study next year
Chores:
#1 Make myself a checklist of my household jobs...so I can better track what needs to be done
#2 Keep the boys encouraged/disciplined on their chore lists
#3 Do all things big or small with a servant's heart
Financial:
#1 Continue to faithfully tithe and be generous when led
#2 Be very conscious of how we spend God's money and what we spend it on
#3 PAY OFF OUR MORTGAGE!!!! ohhh to be debt free....can't hardly wait!!!
Parenting:
#1 No yelling (Sometimes I feel like that is only way I am heard, not a good excuse though)
#2 More patients...hence the no yelling issue..
#3 Do all things in LOVE....listen attentively....play more!
Kitchen:
#1 Continue to learn more about cooking from scratch..Don't burn myself out...
#2 Continue to cook meals ahead whenever possible to help with time issues
#3 Keep collecting healthy budget friendly ideas.
Marriage:
#1 Monthly date nights
#2 Get away at least once a year!
#3 Being a happy helpmate at all times
Hobby:
#1 Create a space for my hobbies (somewhere?)
#2 send a stamped card twice a month
#3 Quilt once a month
#4 Blog for fun...to document my family....not feel pressure (from myself) to keep a certain schedule


Okay so there it is...I felt is was important to keep my list in each area to only #3 items.
The point: To be able to keep a concentrated effort in each area.

So have you written any goal for yourself, your marriage, your household yet? If not, you might want to seriously consider sitting down (with your spouse) and writing you own list.....Why??? I heard once "If we aim for nothing we will hit it everytime." Having a goal gives us direction, and something to work hard for.....of course keeping in mind, that our "goals" may not always be the same as the Lord's. I think that if you spend time in prayer about what goals the Lord would want for us, we will have some perspective to shoot from.

DANIELLE

New Year Frugality...Paying Cash for all your purchases!

In  case one of your Goals for 2010 is to be a better steward of the money GOD had given you and you want a good place to start.....Pay Cash for all your purchases.... It is a very simple straight forward way to know where you are spending your money and how much you are spending....Simple have an envelope for each area of spending. When you get paid you divide the money into each spending envelope...when the money is gone...your done spending.....pretty simple yet effective! So in case you want to make "Living on a Spending Plan" more fun and pretty......go HERE to download the template and see the tutorial on how to make it.....

 If this sounds like something your family should start doing and your interested in finding our more details go HERE!

In case you haven't been around here at The Gaertegang to long and you missed the series on "Seeking Financial Freedom" be sure to check it out.....or maybe refresh your memory on it....
( This is a direct link to the series but it starts from the most recent post (last one)...so scroll to the bottom to Part One and then continue from there...sorry for the irritation..)

DANIELLE

Operation Organization!

Well my family and I spent the entire day organzing our home!!! Let me start with this information...We live in an old farmhouse built in 1900...so there really is very little storage. Actually I think we have more storage than some older homes, but just not enough. CAN YOU EVER HAVE TO MUCH STORAGE????? As a family of 6 I think not, with all the toys, clothes, and misc items I always need more space to put stuff. I think I should have bought some stock in the PLASTIC TOTE COMPANIES..I have a million of them!!! Anyone else feel that way???



Moving on, we started off the morning working in the basement. Well when I say basement I mean your typical farmhouse basement that can't be finished...it is wet when it rains and has that stinky wet smell...well it's has been working well for storing all those great totes we have but lately I have really been wanting to get everything moved out of there to somewhere less wet, and mildew smelling. So after looking over all the totes and making sure we wanted what was inside them my helpful hubby hauled everyone one out of the basement and out to a outdoor storage barn we have. It stays dry there and it still easy to get to when we need something out again! TASK ACCOMPLISHED!!! But it took us most of the morning!!!



The next project was trading rooms with the boys. All of our bedrooms are upstairs, and our 3 boys share a room, Julia has the top of the loft for her room and then we have the other bedroom. The last 6 years that we have been here our room and been our bedroom PLUS my sewing room, PLUS my card making room, PLUS the ironing room ALL WRAPPED IN ONE!!! (it's a pretty big room) That arrangement has worked fine for us but the boys were needing some more space to actually play with there toys and just have some space of there own. There current room was big enough for the bunkbed, and a toddler bed, with 3 dressers and a toys box, but there was little room for playing. So now we have the smaller room and they have SO MUCH room to play in the bigger plus we elimated one dresser!!! I think it will work out well..I hope so since it took so much work to make the switch happen........Justin and I agree we think we like it better where we are now. TASK 2 ACCOMPLISHED!!!



PLUS Justin was able to put together 2 wooden storage cubes I got as Christmas gifts!! And we got all the gifts put away, dishes done, and all the laundry caught up!!! SO WE WERE POOPED by the time we put the kids in bed.....



IT FEELS GREAT TO ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH IN ONE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Did you have a great weekend??? What did you do??