Author Topic: Blog post by an experienced homemaker  (Read 3512 times)

Offline Leahsgarden

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Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« on: September 09, 2013, 11:20:13 PM »
http://www.granny-miller.com/june-ask-granny-how-do-you-keep-on-top-of-all-the-various-diverse-homestead-tasks/

This blog post is something I keep coming back to, mostly as an encouragement to keep up the work in my own home. Certain aspects of the post that stand out for me are:

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My “secret” for keeping ahead and on top on things is that I’m a full-time farmwife/housewife and I no longer have children at home.

That reminds me to give myself extra grace, child raising is a full time job! It's ok to only get a few things done and spend my time more focused on the boys.

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I prioritize my list and try to be realistic about my energy level. What I don’t get finished in a week gets rolled over to the next week’s list. I work steady until my goals are completed.

This is a good point, I know I'm not always realistic about my energy levels.

I think a lot of people have lost their ability to work steady on a job until it's done. We get distracted so easily these days... checking our email, seeing if people posted Facebook updates, checking our phone for a text, seeing something out of place and completely forgetting the task we started. I'm not sure how to fix my "work steady" focus, except to build it up little by little. I tend to tell myself, "I'll just work on this for 15 minutes."

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Clutter is kept to a minimum inside and outside and I pick up and clean up as I go along – all day long.

What? You mean I can't declutter once and call it good for 2 years?  ::) But I've been trying a little harder to be more aware of my surroundings and it's clutter. If I'm going to throw a diaper away, is there any other trash that I can grab? I'm changing out of my PJs, is there any other dirty laundry I can grab and add to the pile? That kind of thing.

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I don’t allow myself the luxury of procrastination and never leave a day’s work incomplete unless I physically cannot continue without rest.

I'm not in this place right now, I need lots of little breaks. If I don't, I get contractions galore. :P But I also work harder on not procrastinating so much. Just jump in and get it started before it becomes a monster in my mind.

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Also I don’t ever watch TV .  And I do mean never.

You will find HOURS of increased productivity if you will give up the TV habit.
I haven’t really regularly watched or owned a working television in over 20 years. And it’s not an exaggeration to say that without a television I became a free thinking and self-reliant person.

We don't even own a TV (Caleb threw a wooden block at it and cracked the pixels), but I ask myself if I'm trying to "deaden" my mind. A couple years ago, it was playing solitaire. I don't even love that game or anything, but I was somehow getting a "high" whenever I won. So I'd play some more so I could get that happy feeling... and ignore what I should or could be doing to improve life in general (like putting laundry away!).

Later, I felt like my blog reading list was getting extra long and taking away time that could be used more wisely. So one by one, I started to ask myself if this blog was blessing me, did I feel enriched by reading most of the posts, or did I get nothing out of it? I ended up removing over 300 blogs from my list! I've done the same with a couple forums. They have their purposes, but they weren't serving me at this time in my life.



I've printed out this post, and will read it when I need a little boost to tackle stuff around the house. Baby steps to being a better homemaker! :)
...Leah
wife to Chris
Mommy to Caleb, Logan, & Josie

Offline Proudmama

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2013, 06:03:22 AM »
Great post and thanks for the link!  I look forward to reading her blog.

Denise

Offline Andrea G

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2013, 06:37:34 AM »
Thank you so much for posting this link, and for your post.  I have to say I'm feeling convicted right now. I am so bad for procrastination and being easily distracted.
I have a feeling that this is a post that I will be coming back to as well. :)
Loving life in southern Ontario
Wife to David, Mom to Kate, Paul, Matt and Julianne

Offline mooremama

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2013, 07:11:58 AM »
I love Granny Miller. 

One little saying that helps me is "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time"

I find myself repeating that to myself when I'm doing a job that seems overwhelming.  Here recently it's been stacking wood.  Aaron and Sam are busting up wood and I'm stacking it so I constantly feel like I'm loosing the race.  With every whack, they're making 2 pieces of fire wood that I'm going to have to move and stack.  When they're both out there busting, the pile grows very fast and I get defeated easily.  So I just keep thinking....one bite at a time  :)

Beth
Beth in western NC
Wife of Sam for 27 years,
Mother of Aaron (26) and Caylon (24)
MIL to Bo
Nan to Lainey Beth (7), Stephen Holden (3) and Samuel Evan (2)
Furmama to Bonnie and Jake
Barnyard Mama to 2 goats, 3 turkeys and oodles of chickens.

Offline trlmom3

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2013, 07:42:43 AM »
Thanks for the link, I bookmarked it for later. I'm like Granny Miller, I don't have little ones at home, but as I posted before my daughter,sil and grandson will be here temporarily.While I love that they are back in MI, it is an adjustment to have a house full. Beth I don't know how you do it with three little ones.
Laura
From Northern Michigan
Married to Rick
Mom to Nathan(Kayla), Tanya(Scott),Adam(Nicole)
Gramma to Aiden , Gabby, Isaac  and Sophia Rose born Mar 30 2015
2 dogs

Offline mooremama

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2013, 08:05:38 AM »
Laura,

The three I have are actually my grandchildren.  My son and daughter are both grown but still live at home with their children so there's 7 of us living here.  :D  My daughter works 9 hour days at an eye doctor's office and my son works 12 hour nights for the Sheriff's Dept. as a deputy so the bulk of the kids care falls to me. 

Lainey just started kindergarten and the boys are 20 months and 6 months old. 

Yea.....kind of crazy around here.   :o  I love it though.

Beth
Beth in western NC
Wife of Sam for 27 years,
Mother of Aaron (26) and Caylon (24)
MIL to Bo
Nan to Lainey Beth (7), Stephen Holden (3) and Samuel Evan (2)
Furmama to Bonnie and Jake
Barnyard Mama to 2 goats, 3 turkeys and oodles of chickens.

Offline Leahsgarden

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2013, 08:28:00 AM »
Beth, I think you have an advantage of experiencing that babies outgrow this stage of life. It helps you enjoy it a little more. :)
...Leah
wife to Chris
Mommy to Caleb, Logan, & Josie

Offline mooremama

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2013, 08:42:06 AM »
Yes Leah.  It helps to be on the other side of child rearing and to know that in the blink of an eye...they're grown.  I would much rather have sleepless nights because of teething, ear aches, "boogie men" dreams, etc than wondering and worrying about where my children are, are they safe, who are they with, etc.  And that worrying about grown children never ends.  There are many nights I lay awake praying for Aaron's safety as he performs his duties as a Deputy.  We have a scanner so we can hear when he's responding to a shots fired call or when he's clearing a drug house or responding to a domestic violence call.   Teething is sooooo much easier.  ;)

Beth
Beth in western NC
Wife of Sam for 27 years,
Mother of Aaron (26) and Caylon (24)
MIL to Bo
Nan to Lainey Beth (7), Stephen Holden (3) and Samuel Evan (2)
Furmama to Bonnie and Jake
Barnyard Mama to 2 goats, 3 turkeys and oodles of chickens.

Offline Shelly

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2013, 09:49:59 AM »
That is a fantastic blog! I've bookmarked her.
Wife to Trevor for 16 years and SAHM to Maisie (4) Liam (4) Aedric (1) Harold (1)

Offline Alana

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2013, 05:53:34 AM »
Great blog!  I cant wait to read more :). Thanks for the link!
Loving the country life in Canada!
Married to Sean
Mom of Brandon 20, Joshua 16, Evan 14 & Alyssa 11
Daycare 'mom' to 5 toddlers

Offline auntotiti

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2013, 10:27:29 AM »
Thanks for the link!
Looks full of great ideas.
Married to mybest friend Mike 38 yrs
Sons Josh and Phil
Two beautiful sweet daughters in love
Three adored grands
Malyna, Nolan, Charlotte

Offline Sandlappersue

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2013, 09:33:55 PM »
Oooohhh Beth! I have said what you're expressing so many times the past few years. Yes, the younger years are soooo much easier than the older years. My older ones haven't really given me any trouble but it's mainly worrying over things that haven't even came to pass and probably won't ever come to pass. It's always the "what ifs" that are hard.... the worrying over them making the right decisions and being happy in life...their living a good life for the Lord and staying safe. It's so hard. I do hope to find that peace one day but, my land, our youngest is five~! There's so much to get through first. I see new lines appearing on my face daily. I tell ya, my face is going to be a road map before it's over!

Offline greyhoundgirl

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #12 on: September 17, 2013, 07:41:27 AM »
Ooh, just seeing this!  I used to read her blog years ago and didn't realize she is blogging again.  Thanks for sharing!

I would have to say I think the younger years are more physically tiring and the older ones more mentally tiring (and sometimes physically in the sense of having to run them around more).  :P  So it evens out over the long haul.  :)
« Last Edit: September 17, 2013, 07:51:22 AM by greyhoundgirl »

Offline fishermanwife

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Re: Blog post by an experienced homemaker
« Reply #13 on: September 17, 2013, 08:29:53 AM »
I love the idea of knowing how much your family consumes in food, household and personal items in a year I cant wait to start tracking next year! I could easily guess but with the 2 youngest eating more as they get bigger and the oldest 2 wearing deodorant now and shaving in a few years. I would love to pick up a years worth of stuff when an item goes on sale. There was coupons for free razors in the paper a while back and while I don't use that brand Im hoping they will be ok for daughter to use in a few years to start out with, I couldn't pass up free lol think I got around 100 in a box in the bathroom now.
Norma in Southeast Oklahoma. Wife to Steven, mommy to Abby 16, Keagan 14, Trenten 10, Ollie 7.