Organizing Homemaking Priorities

Years ago, I began the story of my life as homekeeper in a little one-bedroom studio apartment. It was the ugliest place I’d ever lived in.

The carpet was a dark shade of coffee brown, stained and worn thin. I really disliked it — that, and the kitchen linoleum, which was a dirty yellow patchwork of squares with curly patterns inside them. In contrast, the curtains were a gaudy shade of mauve pink. Actually, they were “draperies” — the pull-the-string-and-they-open kind; several of the hooks were missing, giving the fabric a limpy, haphazard appearance. To top it all off, the bathtub faucet leaked hot water constantly, which sent the gas bill up through the roof, leading to the cancellation of our gas service and cold water showers for at least a month. That’s how it began.

As pathetic as it sounds and despite the obvious setbacks, I was happy: my very own place! I was pleased to offer what were at that time my best efforts. I dutifully vacuumed the floors several times a week, mercilessly yanked the ugly curtains down and put up an inexpensive sheer one (for privacy) behind some new vertical blinds, cleaned the kitchen linoleum, set down a $30 sage-green rug in the living area over the yucky brown carpet, hung pictures, organized the few pieces of furniture we had, and did everything else I could to turn that rundown place into “Our Home.” I also cooked whatever meals I knew how to prepare: macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, scrambled eggs with tortillas, and not much else.

I never considered making myself a schedule, since what needed to be done was always right in front of my eyes, therefore making reminders unnecessary. However, I didn’t have the seven children I now have and neither was I homeschooling. Life was much simpler then! Ha, ha! I thought things would get simpler the older I got, but they’ve only gotten more complicated.

Now, I usually depend on written reminders of what needs to get done so I don’t overload my brain with the effort of trying to remember too many things at once. I simply transfer my to-do list to a paper of some sort, and refer to it as needed.

I’ve found these lists very helpful, and I suspect that many women, both young and older, can benefit from this type of organization. In fact, many already are, jotting down goals into store-bought planners or homemade binders. Probably plenty of us will admit that housekeeping isn’t always as straightforward as my early days in that apartment, which never demanded more than the basics, as much of a challenge as it was. I recently read a wonderful idea of how to get started organizing our homekeeping goals, and I’d like to share it with you. It’s always nice to get a little boost when it comes to homekeeping inspiration, isn’t it?

Here is one way (though there are certainly many) to help us stay organized. I liked this approach because of its simplicity; any housewife just starting out can use this tool to great benefit, I believe. The experienced housewife might also like to try something fresh and simple, for a change. The following excerpt is from the book Affliction, written by Edith Schaeffer.

Edith Schaeffer’s ideas for organizing homemaking tasks:

. . . buy pads of art paper, at least two different sizes. I like white, but you could use colored paper if this would please you more. Get felt-tipped pens. I prefer black, but get five colors, at least at first, and try to make yourself pay attention to what you write by using a variety of colors. Every day sit down first thing and make a list. A list of what? First, your ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY WORK — in one column, or in a circle you’ve drawn, or in a box of a differnt color. Then plan MENUS, not just for the shared eveing meal but for your own lunch, if you eat alone. Decorate your menus, whether or not you can draw. At least make a few daisies or curlicues, but if you like to draw, give yourself a few minutes as a treat to decorate the list differently each day. After the menus, make a SHOPPING LIST for the food and also for any other needs for that day. If you have a weekly shopping day, make at least a rough list of menus for the week on another sheet of paper, so that you can have all the things on hand.

Add another list for things that are not absolutely necessary to be done that day, but that are creative projects. Head that PROJECTS. Painting? Dressmaking? Knitting? Gardening? Writing? Exercising carefully for your back, or to get two inches off your waistline? Always have some projects in progress, even if you have to neglect them. It is quite a different thing to feel that you have neglected cutting out your new dress, or the leather animal you are designing or the wooden tray you are decorating with an electric needle, than to have nothing concrete to have “neglected.” It is psychologically very different. Always put down items like INTERRUPTIONS, so you can check off the interruptions as they come, and feel that you haven’t done just “nothing.” Also put down READING and include a few minutes to read each day, choosing books for your particular need at the time: education, recreational, “to lift me away from here to another space and time” — as well as remembering to tick off somewhere a time for prayer and Bible reading.

[pages 237-238; emphasis in bold added]

What my own list looks like

I put her ideas to the test recently. Here’s the result:

It’s a little hard to read everything I wrote (plus, it was smudged in one spot by someone’s 3-year-old fingers), but I’ll tell you what it was.

– Under “Absolutely Necessary Work” I put down household chores and the children’s schoolwork. I also added that I needed to organize our homeschool binder before starting our “official” schoolwork (we’d been doing a lighter schedule for awhile to finish a few things up and help ourselves transition from Summer into Fall). I did, and continue to do, all of those things.

-Under “Projects” I wrote that I wanted to organize a “Nature Shelf,” fix my son’s shorts, make a new blanket for his bed, type up a couple new posts for this blog, organize our “play room/schoolroom” to get ready for the start of our “official” schoolwork, and set up a new outdoor clothes line. I have only completed a few of those things.

-Under “Reading” I penned in “Bible,” from which I read one or two chapters every day for my personal devotions; several books from my oldest two’s school reading; and a couple of books I’m reading just because I’ve always wanted to read them (The Plymouth Settlement, and Susannah: The Mother of the Wesleys).

-Under “Menus” I only had room to write down dinner plans for a few days. Likewise, “Shopping” only has one item, since I wrote only what I needed to complete those meals and not what I would need for the household in general, which I always write down on a list on the fridge.

-Under “Interruptions” I wrote down two things, a phone call I answered which took longer than expected, and that I moved the dryer, which screeched so badly I nearly went crazy one day and just had to get rid of it, and rearranged the area where it used to be (now do you see why I wanted to put up a clothes line?).

I did not make a new list every day, as she suggests. Many items were not the sort of things that would change very much, or at all, from day to day, so it was easier to just leave it “as is.”

Would I do this again?

I think I would, after making some changes, for several reasons:

1. I like that everything is kept together in one, easy-to-see place. I have never been able to use a daily planner. I never remember to write anything in it, since I find it easier to just jot something down on the calender than to have to open up a little booklet. A list that is kept right out in the open has greater appeal to me and is something I believe I would actually use.
2. I think it’s very useful to have goals and to keep them prioritized. I personally wouldn’t change a thing about the headings “Absolutely Necessary,” “Projects,” “Reading,” and “Interruptions.” I like that other things besides those that are “absolutely necessary” are included. It seems to me that personal development and God-sent interruptions are just as important a part of our lives as the “absolutely necessary” things are, and I think it’s good to remember and embrace that.
3. It’s fun to decorate one’s own chart, cross items off, and add new ones.

However, I would not continue to use the sections “Meals” or “Shopping” because I already have lists for those in other places: I keep a shopping list on my fridge (as noted earlier), and a meal plan in my head. I do have an official meal plan, which I might get back to using later after making a few changes to it, but that topic is for another post.

I wasn’t very good at writing down the interruptions, since I’m usually too busy from the interruptions themselves to have time to actually write down what they were, but I still like the idea. Maybe I will write down just the major interruptions.

Now, will this new organanization method replace my usual list-making habits? I don’t know. I like to make lists and then put them exactly where it makes the most sense for them to be, right where they will be able to function as reminders of those specific goals.

As seen below, I have a homeschool binder for our daily lesson plans, and a general outline (on the fridge) of the schoolwork I want to accomplish every day of the week (written quickly on a piece of notepad paper, though I do have more proper charts but haven’t been using them lately. I have a chore chart on the chalkboard, and a more detailed list for specific chores, on the fridge. To motivate the younger children to do their chores, we give them a bi-weekly prize; we use a magnet chart on a tin cookie sheet for this. After they’ve finished their chores, they get to move their magnets down. You may notice a shopping list (yes, this is our actual list from this week), plus a little something I scribbled down to remind myself of what I want our evening schedule to be.

So, I may continue to do just what I’ve been doing but will add in the “Edith Schaeffer list” as a way of keeping track of my personal development. It would stay in my bedroom, exactly where I now have it. Perhaps I might decorate it with a “Bible verse of the month” to inspire me, or add in a noteworthy saying I want to remind myself of.

Many other kinds of lists can be made for different specific goals. Whatever our individual lists look like and whatever we may choose to put on them, I think it’s a good idea to put our plans down on paper: This helps us organize them, remember them, and be motivated by them. It makes us feel like we’re accomplishing something useful with our time.

Obviously, this is just one idea for planning our homemaking tasks; what do you think of it? If you give it a try, I would love to hear how it went! Do you have any other ideas to share? Please feel free to tell us about how you organize your homemaking priorities in the Comments section below!

~Jessica