tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77109717611379054352017-09-03T04:56:24.080-07:00Large Families on PurposeErika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comBlogger114110tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-63660470305037672352017-01-01T15:22:00.000-08:002017-01-26T11:51:12.070-08:00We're Moving to a New Blog!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Exciting news! We've moved to a <span style="font-size: large;">new website!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://familylivingonpurpose.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihByv2J-7QA/WGmRUVga8CI/AAAAAAAAJnk/bhqPfI_uKnQrICVOchoatSH6ZLxqwzNkwCLcB/s320/Family%2BLiving%2Blogo%2Bstacked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We will be keeping our focus on organization of the home, family, and time, as well as on practical how-to's from our experience as parents of 9 children. We will be including and updating some material from <i>Large Families on Purpose</i>, adding videos, and will move forward with new material as well. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We will no longer be present at Large Families on Purpose or its Facebook or Twitter page but will be dedicating our time to the new venture and the new Family Living on Purpose Facebook and Twitter pages! Please join us by going to:</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://familylivingonpurpose.com/" target="_blank">www.FamilyLivingOnPurpose.com</a></span></b></i>,</span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Please do sign up to receive automatic emails every time Erika posts! </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And please also join the</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1600794850231653/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Family Living on Purpose Facebook group</span></a> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hope to see you there! Blessings! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bob & Erika Shupe</span></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-67576103583427891202016-08-17T18:30:00.000-07:002016-08-17T18:49:57.505-07:00Scheduling: What To Do With Weekends?<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">I've had many questions about <i><b>whether or not I schedule weekend</b>s</i>. The answer to this is yes, and no. *smile*. I'll share with you what our plan was like with mostly very young children since that is the season most of our readers are in; but these principles apply beautifully also to older children as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><i><b> </b></i></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JXcDjuj7ZbM/ToT7OdAYcvI/AAAAAAAABAw/OSgnfXwp4ZM/s1600/7-19-11+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JXcDjuj7ZbM/ToT7OdAYcvI/AAAAAAAABAw/OSgnfXwp4ZM/s400/7-19-11+002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><u><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">A<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Routine</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>for Weekends - But Not a Schedule</span></b></i></u></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />In general we do not schedule weekends, but I have scheduled Saturdays in the past when my husband, Bob, has been working every Saturday regularly.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Currently on Saturdays we have a <b>general routine </b>we follow when there are not any events in place for that day. The children all have the opportunity to sleep in later than usual that morning if they choose (they all choose *chuckle*). When we had babies, Bob and I got up at 7:45 am and woke up the twin 9-mo-old babies to feed them at their usual time, and we also woke up the 5 children at this time who still had afternoon naps so that they would still need their nap later that day. This may not seem like sleeping in very much, but to us it's nearly 3 hours later than we usually get up Monday through Friday (at 5am). Also, if we expect the children to sleep at nap time, then we need to be faithful to them and enable them to do so. We can't let them sleep late and then require that they still nap later. After all,<b> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">we can't have our cake and eat it, too</a></b>. *wink* </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After feeding the twin babies at 8:00 am, we always had pancakes or waffles on Saturday mornings. Still today Bob usually cooks these while I'm getting other things done around the house for a little while such as laundry, clothes out for the children, opening up the blinds, etc. Then I moved right in to bathing the youngest 7 kids. <br /><br />During the summer we waited to do baths and showers until Saturday evening instead of the usual morning time because the kids would get so sweaty and dirty during the day of playing. Meanwhile, Bob snuggles with some kids, spends time on the computer or reads. The other kids do their regular morning jobs, and then they have free time mostly playing together before lunch. When we had toddlers they would have some structured playtime in either the extra-large-size playpen or their bedroom for a little while like they usually did during the school week. I've found that toddlers do not typically make great choices of how to spend their time for hours on end with out some guidance *chuckle*, so I break up their "free choice time" with some structure, even on weekends. (Toddlers will learn how to make great choices by being shown what is appropriate.)<br /><br /> I used to do the deeper cleaning such as bathrooms on Saturdays so that I could do it without interruption while Bob was home, but for many years now we have had older children desiring to be employed at home and so we pay them to clean the bathrooms. All of the children have <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/family-participation-chores-for-kids.html" target="_blank">daily jobs as part of our family</a></b>, but if they desire to earn money then I'll pay them to do extra jobs.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The lunch menu on Saturdays varies from our usual weekday meal, and we usually have sandwiches. After this is a little more free time for the children, I am busy getting to-do list things done. With both Bob and I home and present around the house the children do not typically need much structure to enable "successful" free time (i.e. not too crazy, not destructive, kind, and creative). Bob usually spends some time on my "honey-do" list as well. *smile* I love, love my man and the way he participates with and supports our family. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When we still had nappers, at 2:00 those five children had naps: the 5-year-old for two hours, the 2 toddlers and 2 babies for three hours. The older 4 children had quiet play time; Bob and I had a 2 hour break from managing kids. During the week this was alone play time for the 4 oldest, but on the weekends when Bob was home, I allowed them to play with one other sibling during that time (3 or more children typically needed management, but 2 was okay). He didn't mind managing their relationships or behavior a bit if necessary, but when he was not home I always required that everyone naps or play alone, which gave them each a break from people, and me as well. After a quiet 2 hours I am refreshed and ready to jump in with the family again. During the week, for Bob and I, "naps and play-alone time" is a time for working on to-do lists, reading, I make any phone calls I need to make while the house is quiet, we get some things done on the computer, and usually have a nap. After a nap on Saturdays I usually would leave around 3:00, with one of our daughters to do the weekly grocery and other family-needs shopping. This currently takes about 5 hours on average. Bob or one of the teenagers very lovingly puts something together for dinner while I'm doing the shopping for our family, and then the kids start cleaning up the house and getting ready for bed.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This was a typical Saturday at the Shupe's house when we had babies and toddlers. *smile* When we have extra things going on, such as an activity to attend or a park to visit (mostly just in the summer), or if I have larger projects to get done (like <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/10/rotating-seasonal-clothes-large-family.html" target="_blank">rotating the children's seasonal clothes</a></b>, which takes about 2 hours in the garage), then we work around that. We still get the basic same things accomplished on Saturdays - pancakes, baths or showers, to-do lists, relaxing, family time, cleaning bathrooms, grocery shopping - but it may happen in a different order. Or, if we're out most of the day on Saturday, then some of the things like grocery shopping needs to happen on Sunday afternoon instead. <br /><br />We try to leave Sunday as a restful family day, however, definitely not having any regular commitments outside of church on that day, such as sports. In order to keep Sundays as restful or for spending time with friends, Saturday is a productive, getting things done day, just differently than Monday through Friday.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Actually Scheduling</b><b> Saturdays</b></span></i></u></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Years ago when Bob was working every Saturday, however, I needed to schedule Saturdays as well, for my own sanity and for peace in our home. "Winging-it" for hours on end with lots of young children never worked well for the children or myself. *smile* Having no plan has lead to chaos, which no one in our family liked for 10 minutes much less for hours. Young children simply did not know, yet, how to make great choices all of the time; they learned by example. Our scheduled Saturdays looked much the same as the<b> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/favorite-recipes-karens-cobb-salad.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LargeFamiliesOnPurpose+%28Large+Families+on+Purpose%29">regular weekday schedule</a></b>, but the older children did not do school; they would have free-choice time instead. But jobs (chores) still happened, one-on-one time with younger siblings, baking, and stories, etc. happened in a predictable routine.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />A sweet friend encouraged and reminded me even just recently when I was struggling with managing our family's time in a unique situation. She said, "Make a plan; implement the plan." Yes - of course! *smile*<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><u><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like to have any of my charts, lists, or schedules that I've shared you can download those from <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qdvdoowoi046cwk/AAAD-zK3Zpz7sfhq9td96Ng8a" target="_blank">this link</a>. </span></u></i></span></b></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blessings on your efforts!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><i><b>Recommended resources:</b></i></u></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100">Managers of Their Homes - Scheduling, Maxwell</a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1110">Managers of Their Schools, Maxwell </a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><i><b>You might also be interested in reading:</b></i></u></div><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/large-family-meal-planning-shopping.html">Large Family Meal Planning & Shopping</a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/03/family-time-managment-managing-my-time.html">Managing My Time, Part 1 of 2</a><br />My <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/search/label/Schedules%20and%20Routines">other posts on Scheduling </a></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-26014824636079542362016-07-21T20:30:00.000-07:002016-07-21T21:07:08.637-07:00Scheduling for Fall - How I Create Our Schedules<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Having a<b> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">weekly schedule</a></b> (click here for what that means and what it doesn't mean) for our family of 11 is crucial to fostering family life and healthy relationships. With a schedule we have productivity, predictability, consistency, and on average - balance. It helps to produce peace and eliminate chaos. Not that we don't ever have stressful times with home and family - but they are brief and do not become a <i>life style</i>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UlheBoEdAfA/UheTfvrgRjI/AAAAAAAAEHQ/W6gUeC27vIA/s1600/cartoon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UlheBoEdAfA/UheTfvrgRjI/AAAAAAAAEHQ/W6gUeC27vIA/s320/cartoon1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a name='more'></a>Every fall when we begin a new school year I sit down and create a new weekly schedule for our family. When that's done I've then proactively thought through what should happen when during a typical week, Monday-Friday, and <span style="font-size: large;">I can eliminate about a hundred decisions for myself <i>per day</i></span>, because those decisions and possible alternatives are already now made in advance. And, those decisions are made at a time when I can think straight and when I can focus, not on the fly or amidst chaos. When I decide things in advance I can make my best possible decisions for our family and <span style="font-size: large;">eliminate mistakes</span>, which would have wasted my time and energy and others'. With a balanced schedule <span style="font-size: large;">there is time to work, time to play, and enough time to rest</span>.<br /><br />When I haven't had a schedule in place, things have felt stressful and chaotic. Sometimes we haven't had one because we needed an updated one and I hadn't made one yet, or perhaps we've just had a baby and we're winging it a bit while readjusting, or even just because it's been summer and we've been very busy with unusual things. The stress results because I've been making all of our decisions on the fly, and with every choice I'm trying to consider in that instant 11 people simultaneously and how my decision will effect each person, asking myself if there is a better choice I should be making, missing many things I simply can't think of every moment, making mistakes, and having regrets.<br /><br />Without a schedule I've spent pretty much all of my time <i>reacting</i> to kids' poor choices instead of helping them make great choices. Stress comes for children (young ones especially) when there is unpredictability and inconsistency. They don't know what's happening next or later, they don't know how long they're going to be left in a pack-n-play (for example) so they do not typically play peacefully and contentedly for 30-60 minutes. They don't know when they'll have my attention next, so they're hanging on me and whining or crying, and I've usually been brushing them off because I'm "putting out fires" all over the place. <i>Doesn't feel good to any of us</i>, I can tell you. And without a schedule Daddy certainly can't come home to an orderly, clean home, with the smell of dinner cooking, children pleasantly occupied or playing, and a wife who is smiling and looking fairly rested and ready to sit with him for a while and talk. <span style="font-size: large;">Having a schedule in place establishes a home</span>. And I don't want the urgent to take place of the important. So I start by organizing our time by creating a schedule for our family's daily and weekly activities.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Having a schedule is living life proactively, not re-actively; </span></b></i><i style="font-size: x-large;"><b>living life</b></i><b style="font-size: x-large;"> <i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">ON PURPOSE</span></i></b><i style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b></b></span></i><b style="font-size: x-large;"><i>.</i> *smile*</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Okay, so here's a sample of our schedule for a school year. This post will be very practical; step-by-step for how I approach making up a new schedule for our family. Click here for <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html"><b>more on scheduling</b></a> - <i>why </i>we schedule our week; why is scheduling valuable; what it looks like exactly; considering, is scheduling too restrictive? etc. Here in this post I'll simply share with you what I do first, second, third when I sit down to the computer. My other posts on scheduling are more in depth on <i>why </i>our schedule looks the way it does, and the <i>thinking & reasoning</i> behind each aspect of it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(click to enlarge, and again to enlarge a second time)<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LvMcf_veKJA/VmGtP6gTG0I/AAAAAAAAIR8/yAXl0OGvTZQ/s1600/Schedule%2BSample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LvMcf_veKJA/VmGtP6gTG0I/AAAAAAAAIR8/yAXl0OGvTZQ/s400/Schedule%2BSample.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><i>(You may like to print a copy of the schedule for reference while I'm talking about how I create it.) </i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Note:</i> I use Microsoft Excel for scheduling (which all Microsoft Office users have by the way) so I'll be talking about Excel a bit here as I go along. But I used to make my schedules in Word using "Tables", which is very nice, too. My husband taught me how to do the few basic functions I need in Excel which I now prefer. *smile* It's very easy to use, actually.</div></div><br /><br /><u><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">How I Create Our Schedule, Step-By-Step</span></b></i></u></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />~ First, I make sure I have uninterrupted thinking time, usually during the children's afternoon <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html"><b>naps and play-alone-times</b></a>, or on an evening (not preferable - not my best brain-squeezing time being a morning person), or when Bob has taken all of the children to the park for me for a few hours. I'm about to draw to the forefront of my mind all of the needs for 10 people (everyone but my husband) and balance them and puzzle them all together for an entire week's worth of time, for the entire school yera - I have not been able to simultaneously jump in and out of conversations with children while thinking this all through, much less get up every couple of minutes to help children with things.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />~ Next, I make sure I have something yummy to drink while I work. *wink* Hot or cold, depending upon the time of year, but it must be yummy. This makes me smile, builds my courage, and I'm sure it helps me focus. *laugh* And I'll put on some of my favorite music. And I get my slippers - even in the summer; I love my slippers.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />~ Then I'm ready to begin - comfy, smiling, alone and quiet. I print out and place on the desk in front of me our most recent, old schedule, and highlight with a pen those things I want to make sure I remember to include for certain people still this time. Things that are maybe unusual or new that worked well and I don't want to forget to include again, school subjects so I don't miss any of them in our new schedule, etc. I can't work on our current schedule in the computer and view our old one simultaneously, so I look at the old one on paper.<br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Now I like to get the frame work of our schedule in place first. I just think best this way. I don't want to have the old and the new information all jumbled together, that would confuse me. I like to see the whole page with established things already in place (i.e. meals, naps, times, morning and evening routines that will stay the same), and empty places where I'm going to fill in our new plan - this is mostly our whole school morning.</i><br /><br />~ I open up the old, most recent schedule for me to work from, "Save As" renaming it to the most current draft title, while still keeping the old one as a back-up just in case. This way I won't forget to do this later and accidentally hit "Save" while I'm working (instead of "Save As") which would erase my old schedule completely. No sense in re-inventing the wheel and re-creating something from scratch when most all the formatting I need is already there, just needing to be tweaked. <br /><br />~ I change the children's ages across the top of the schedule so that they're accurate.<br /><br />~ I then <i>delete</i> the body of information on the old schedule between the times of 9:00 am and 12:00 pm, except the times listed on the left-hand column. All of my schedules have those time blocks of 30 minute increments (but some are joined together to make longer blocks of time). I also erase any other individual blocks of time on the schedule that will now change. I need to start with a clean slate.<br /><br />~ I un-merge any of the cells in this block of time in the morning (and anywhere else on the schedule where appropriate) because this will all change. (If you're not familiar with Excel, merged cells are the ones where I joined 2 or more cells in to one big one, which to me is a simpler look on the schedule). Starting fresh with individual cells.<br /><br />~ I add back in all of the borders I had erased previously, again so that I can start a fresh with the changes I'll make, and simply erase the borders/lines I don't need from there on out.<br /><br />~ Here is a sample schedule where you can see the general lay out. Boxes are arranged into mostly 30-60 minute blocks of time and before creating a new schedule I erase the boarders to show this. Sometimes two or more children share a block of time so it spans both columns for those children, again boarders erased. I shade the meal times so I can easily see at-a-glance what is happening between those breakfast and lunch, or between lunch and dinner. (click the image to enlarge)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LvMcf_veKJA/VmGtP6gTG0I/AAAAAAAAIR8/yAXl0OGvTZQ/s1600/Schedule%2BSample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LvMcf_veKJA/VmGtP6gTG0I/AAAAAAAAIR8/yAXl0OGvTZQ/s400/Schedule%2BSample.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>~ I fill in the<b> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/large-family-organization-scheduling.html">baby's schedule</a> </b>first because that's the least flexible in order to help her feel her best: when she'll need to eat during the day, and when she'll need to sleep.<br /><br />~ Then I fill in the established parts of the day, such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner (the timed they begins usually don't change). I fill in nap time from 2:00 - 4:00, and the other children's activities during that same time block. I fill in the whole beginning part of the day, wake times, jobs, showers, etc. which rarely change, either.<br /><br />~ At this point I'm ready to creatively fill in the rest of the day and week, so I always stop and pray. I go to my Heavenly Father and ask Him for wisdom, clarity in my thinking, good recall in what each person needs, and for the ability to really focus and not be distracted even in my thinking. I desire to do my best for our family, and the Lord knows each of the children and me better than even I know them and myself. I ask Him to help me see outside the box, so to speak (pun intended); and I ask Him to lead me in what He would have for us to do with the time He's given us. This is the most important step. *smile* And God loves us so much, He always, always meets me where I am. I've been so pleased and delighted at the number of times when the Lord has revealed to me a good plan when I began to think, "Hmmm...how can I fix this part..." Or, "...How can I meet this person's need while meeting this other person's simultaneously." I remember that the Lord has already gone before me as He is not bound by time, and He has a perfect plan for each person in our family - and He desires for me to understand it, and implement it. *sigh* This gives me such peace. (...And so does my hot cocoa, so I take a sip of that, too. *wink*)<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100"><b>Managers of Their Homes</b> </a>book I learned from teaches how to consider and list what each person in the family needs to have in their <span style="font-size: large;">24-hour day</span>, and then how to puzzle all of those needs in to one week. It's a longer process than I can explain in this post, but it's invaluable for grasping so many aspects of scheduling. I did that a couple of times when we first began scheduling but now I no longer have to include this process as I have it in my mind, and have already worked out the framework of our schedule for our family. From a formatting perspective I know what we like to have each day look like, and how to meet everyone's needs. I can recognize when someone is short on something they need, such as time with me or a sibling, giving that then direct attention.<br /><br />~ I'll begin at the top of the day and work my way down to bed time.<br /><br />~ My own day as well as the children's will begin 30 minutes earlier than it did during the summer months because we need to fit in all of the young kids' school pretty much before lunch time, and most of the older kids' school. We'll also go to bed 30 minutes earlier now to enable us to get up earlier and still have an adequate amount of sleep.<br /><br />~ Getting up early, <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/03/family-time-managment-managing-my-time.html" target="_blank">I make sure I'm totally ready</a></b> before the children get up, otherwise there is not time for me to shower until nap time at 2:00 and I'm not willing to wait that long. I am totally ready mentally and physically after I've showered, and I'm ready to answer the front door, open our home to a friend in need, welcome my Hubby home for lunch if he's able to come, feeling pretty, or leave the house to take someone to the doctor if we need to without dying of embarrassment. *chuckle* After a shower I feel alert, energetic, and ready to be the best mom I can be.<br /><br />After my shower I need Bible and prayer time. I've made time to open all of the window blinds in the main living areas, start some laundry, and turn on some nice music for the morning. It's a nice way to begin, and is worth it to me to sacrifice some free evening time and go to bed on time in order to bless my husband with a smile and a wife who is happy in her role as his helpmeet. And, the children know I'm ready for them and ready to invest my time, talents, and energy in them.<br /><br />~ Seems like Anna Marie is old enough and responsible enough this year to take on Brandon's last year's morning jobs, and I'll give Brandon new jobs this year. The Maxwell's books, <a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100"><b>Managers of Their Homes</b>,</a> and <a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1150"><b>Managers of Their Chores</b></a> offer great advice on teaching kids to do jobs around the house, and for understanding <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/family-participation-chores-for-kids.html" target="_blank">what jobs children are capable of doing at what ages</a></b>.<br /><br /><br />One of the things the Maxwell's advise (with their 8 children) is having each child do a job/chore for an entire year, rather than switching jobs all of the time for variety. We have <i>loved</i> this principle. By having children do this they become very competent in those jobs, learn how to do a great job, do it efficiently, and to not need very much management from me. The children become competent, feel successful, and I can enjoy the fruit of my effort to teach them. Their efforts to be helping and serving within our family are so appreciated and noticeable, and this makes them feel needed and adds to their sense of value. The <u>Managers of Their Chores</u> book provides a lot of really great information on children and chores.<br /><br />I am also always looking to see which is the youngest person that can do any one job. Another great Maxwell principle. This way the younger ones are participating with our family and having their own jobs just like the older children do, and I do, and daddy does (going to do his job every day at work), which they love. *smile* It's so good to get young ones in to this mindset when they are <i>desiring </i>to help at a young age, rather than forcing them to begin helping when they're teenagers. The "middle kids" are then always increasing in their abilities to learn new jobs each year (and through out the year with smaller jobs), and the oldest children are not over-loaded.<br /><br /><br />~ This year Riley will also take on a morning job, but his will not change day-to-day as the older children's do. At a young age he needs one job that he can do well every day.<br /><br />~ Breakfast will become much more stream-lined this year at only half-an-hour as everyone is a year older and able to get their food eaten in a time-efficient way. (Older children were also able to keep things going while I was feeding the twins as babies.) Prayerfully this timing will work out for the first time this year. *chuckle* (It's always taken an hour in past years, to prepare, eat, and clean-up breakfast and be ready to move in to our day.) We need to get breakfast done in a timely way because we have more children homeschooling this year which will take more time. If we're not able to get things done in this time frame then I'll have to drop one of their school blocks of time, leaving out one subject.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Having a schedule doesn't mean nothing changes, by the way. It means that things change as they need to in a predictable, manageable way. Everyone benefits from this.</i></blockquote>~ As I'm filling in the schedule I make notes to myself on a large post-it note when I think of things to consider later, such as, "When can I exercise?" And, "Could I correct the kids computer work at a later time of day?" I initially fill in the schedule as best as I can, knowing that some blocks of time are set temporarily, but it's not my favorite time slot to have it in. Later when I can see the whole completed schedule I can consider if I can move that item to somewhere else as I refine the schedule, timing, and coordination.<br /><br />~ As I'm filling in what will probably happen and when during our day, I've often struggled with some activities that <i>I want</i> to work a certain way, but what <i>actually</i> needs to happen is different. For example with this schedule, I really don't prefer to check on the kids <a href="http://www.aophomeschooling.com/switched-on-schoolhouse/overview.php"><b>Switch On Schoolhouse</b></a> computer-based school work from the previous day at 6:30 in the morning, I would much rather check my email and see what's on my plate for later, but I don't currently see a better place for that task later in the day and it needs to be done before the kids need to do more in it today, so at 6:30 am it goes for now. I can reconsider that more later. (note to self)<br /><br />~ I've also often struggled with thinking that a particular task <i>should</i> take a certain amount of time, and it feels like a waste of time to put more time in the schedule for that task. For example, in the past I had a couple of school activities for the children which I knew should take maybe 45 minutes at the most, so I planned for a 60-minute block of time. In reality it always took 90 minutes because it just happened to be the same time of day when I had to switch the laundry, change a few diapers, use the bathroom myself, have a quick snack myself, and check on a couple of siblings so that they could continue in what they were doing. I did not <i>want</i> to schedule in a 90 minute block of time for something that seemed like it should take only 45 minutes. I resisted for a long time - but finally I just did it, and I was so much more relaxed. *chuckle* Rather than having to skip the next school activities and which I always missed due to the interruptions, I just went smoothly along with the appropriate time set aside - 90 minutes. Kids were happy, and I didn't feel frustrated. I'm learning to listen to the Lord's lead sooner. (I had asked Him for help, but then didn't want to do what He suggested *laugh*.) Tasks take the amount of time they take, when the children are at the ages they're at; <i>I need to just go with it and plan accurately, rather than ideally.</i><br /><br />~ I fill in the oldest girls block of time for school. <br /><br />~ I put <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/08/character-training-for-children-core.html"><b>Character First</b></a> directly after breakfast while every one is still at the table, as this character curriculum is the most important and must be prioritized first. It's best for me to have CF done before everyone goes in to their separate school activities. Also, the children really look forward to it so this is all the more reason to begin our day with CF.<br /><br />~ Then I fill in the subjects that the boys, Brandon and Riley should start with, determine who I should help directly first and where Anna Marie should be while I'm helping the boys. The boys will both start with math, and then Brandon with hand writing; Anna Marie (5) will start with computer learning activities which I count as her language arts. (These computer activities are educational, not video games). I've found that I need to jump right in in the morning while the boys especially are "fresh", before they run out of steam and an ability to focus and persevere. Then the boys can be more independent with their other school activities while I work with Anna Marie in math. Math seems to be a subject for us that needs a lot of hand-holding for now.<br /><br />~ I fill in all of the children's morning school activities knowing that my morning is dedicated to their education, so I fill in my column later just by reading what their columns include. I think through where I am as I'm filling out their schedules, but I don't actually fill in my column until after I've filled in their morning until lunch. <br /><br />~ Then I plan for Spencer and Tyler to start their days off with independent activities while I focus on the 2nd-grader and kindergartener's school. Spencer and Tyler will alternate restricted play space, with freedom for a little while, and then another structured activity, and then time with me.<br /><br />~ I try to stay right together with the "middle kids" and get them through their core subjects while every one's fresh, then we'll work in to the easier more favorite curriculum like the game and computer learning (Science for Brandon, playing the violin for Anna Marie).<br /><br />~ Story time includes, amongst the library books, a book for science, and one for history and geography, and we talk about those books especially during and after reading them. That's science and history/geography for Anna Marie, Riley, and Brandon even though Brandon will also do science learning through his computer curriculum later in the morning.<br /><br />~ I have in my mind some "Educational games" I'd like to play with the younger children that review and practice their phonics, telling time, and using money. This can happen at 11:00 am. But I don't want to forget what games I had in mind specifically so I make a note to self listing those 4 game ideas, for reference later if I forget.<br /><br />~ When the twins were babies, sometimes I am holding them one at a time, or they also play in the jumper, or the mega saucer, or a sibling who's finished their subject is playing on the floor with them. Sometimes one of our oldest children wear them in front packs for a while. When Lacey & Lilly were walking and able to get in to more things then I structured their play times and areas a bit as well.<br /><br />~ I only school the "middle kids" for the morning before lunch time and then we stop no matter what we accomplished or didn't. Sometimes if I know that the preschooler missed his preschool learning that day then I'll grab him up in the evening and give him a little of that one-on-one time with myself or Bob. I don't feel that the young ages of kids need more seat work than that morning time in a day.<br /><br />~ I feel that Tyler and Spencer need a little more time in their schedule with a sibling or myself, but I'm not sure how to work that in yet. They do sometimes sit with me while I'm working with the "middle kids", but they could use more one-on-one learning activity time with someone's dedicated attention. I'll have to see if one of the older children regularly finishes their school work before lunch time (they often begin doing it the night before or early in the morning so that they can be done earlier in the day). If that is the case I'll probably have one of them take some regular time with one of the little boys until I am able; or, they could teach the educational game with the middle kids, for example, while I had time with the little boys. Either way, this is a note to myself to work that in once I see how the day pans out in actuality. I also take these types of needing to see "outside the box" problems to my husband, and he always has good input to help me work out a good solution.<br /><br />~ Lunch time is a little busy and takes a while. The 9-month-old twin babies, Lacey & Lilly, needed me to feed them, the toddlers needed to be fed by an older sibling (Karen prepared the toddler's food and then a younger one feeds it to them on the tray), an older child prepares <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/favorite-recipes-karens-cobb-salad.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LargeFamiliesOnPurpose+%28Large+Families+on+Purpose%29"><b>lovely cobb salads</b> </a>for us every day (cost effective, and healthy) to go with our lunch, and then we get everything cleaned up and put away before we all leave the table and kitchen. It's a group effort, plus salads take a while to eat (much longer than peanut butter sandwiches take), so this is an example of one of those areas where I wish it took less time but it just doesn't. So we go with the flow right now while there are so many young children.<br /><br />~ So! I then fill in the rest of the afternoon and evening spots that have changed, such as who will set the table for dinner, who will help toddlers have snack. In the past I have enjoyed the older girls being dinner-prep helpers, which is good one-on-one time with them and myself, too. But they began participating more with the breakfast and lunch duties when the twins were born and needing my attention, so I try to give Karen and Melanie the afternoon "off" from very many responsibilities. I need them helping more right now when Bob is at work, and less when he's home from work, so this is a plan which the girls enjoy as well; good balance.<br /><br />~ <span style="font-size: large;">Creating a new schedule usually takes me about 3 hours</span>, however this time I did a lot of coming and going from my preparations over the course of several days (and getting my concentration back each time, figuring out where I left off and where I'm going takes more time this way) so I can't tell you really how long it took this time.<br /><br />~ Once I think I'm finished I click on the "Print Preview" icon at the top of the screen which let's me see the schedule all on one page just as it will be printed, without the invisible lines but only the ones I've set boarders around. I can more easily then look at each person's column one at a time and consider if they have what they need in good balance. I can then also see where I've made mistakes in my lay out and where boarders need to be created or taken out.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> *****</div>I'll be making some changes after the first week or so if I find that real-life timing doesn't match my scheduled timing in any one area, or if I find that I'm missing something for someone. And I'll make a couple of changes later in the year as young children need something different, or when the babies droped their morning nap and then needed more structure in their day, but most of this stays the same. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The first week or so has always been a huge time of adjustment for everyone, so I don't make changes until after that time has smoothed out. I really try not to expect perfect success in our first few days - but this has always been <i>really</i> hard for me. *chuckle* I prefer instant success. *laugh* I have always spent this first week thinking, "I can't do this...I can't maintain this pace...this is too much..." This is another example of one of those things that I wish were different but it just isn't at this stage of the game, so I'm learning to go with the flow better. We all need to adjust to having more structure and restricted free time again after summer. We need to learn the new daily & weekly jobs, settle in to this year's curriculum, get creative with how to move kids along, get the computer curriculum bugs worked out, and adjust to new bed times and wake times. <i>Then</i> we can re-evaluate how well this schedule will work for us.<br /><br />By having a schedule in place then I can make the changes we need, from plan 'A' to plan 'B'. I can come up with something specific and implement that, and change that specific thing later if I need to, rather than just feeling like our day is "Just not working out" in general, and without the ability to target a specific problem and solution. <br /><br />After just a few days in our new schedule Karen had already told me that it felt good to her to be back in a routine, working on curriculum, doing good work again after a break in summer. *smile* Always music to my ears. It can be rough these first few days, but we're working towards a good end goal that will come soon. We'll persevere - and I'll pray a lot, asking God for extra joy, peace, patience, and faithfulness that I've felt I run out of so quickly in my own ability, and He is so faithful to meet me where I am. I encourage you to invite the Lord in to your efforts and plans. He so desires to love on you as you serve Him.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><u><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like to have any of my charts, lists, or schedules that I've shared you can download those from <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qdvdoowoi046cwk/AAAD-zK3Zpz7sfhq9td96Ng8a" target="_blank">this link</a>. </span></u></i></span></b></div><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blessings on your efforts,</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><i><b>You may also enjoy reading:</b></i></u></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">Scheduling & Routines: You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It, too, Part 1 of 2 </a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">Scheduling & Routines: You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It, too, Part 2 of 2</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html">Productively Occupying Young Children - Inclusion in Homeschooling </a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/large-family-organization-scheduling.html">Scheduling Babies</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/03/family-time-managment-managing-my-time.html">Managing My Time</a><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><i><b>Recommended resources:</b></i></u></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100">Managers of Their Homes</a>, Maxwell</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1110">Managers of Their Schools</a>, Maxwell<br /><a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1150">Managers of Their Chores</a>, Maxwell </div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-7351476803269017992016-07-18T11:30:00.000-07:002016-07-18T14:01:55.879-07:00De-Cluttering: The First Steps to Organization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">~ Strategies & methods for de-cluttering</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">~ De-cluttering principles to keep in mind</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">~ Where to begin</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">~ How to be careful with others family member's spaces</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uyAEHbuPDRg/VIETAMVCNDI/AAAAAAAAGA4/sh5pnhlpMpU/s1600/self-storage-closet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uyAEHbuPDRg/VIETAMVCNDI/AAAAAAAAGA4/sh5pnhlpMpU/s1600/self-storage-closet.png" width="320" /></a></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bob and I had an experience that transformed our ability to de-clutter our home effectively. We have always been strong advocates of trying to clean-out things we no longer need, especially since we’ve always lived in small homes and we’ve desired all the space we could get. But when we put our house on the market for sale several years ago, we became what we thought was</span><i style="font-size: medium;"> temporary</i><span style="font-size: small;"> extreme de-clutterers (yes, I made up that word) through the use of a rental storage unit; but this actually transformed us in to </span><i style="font-size: medium;">master</i><span style="font-size: small;"> de-clutterers! *chuckle* Our home needed to look and be more spacious. And by de-cluttering well, one can literally double the amount of space in a home. Even the smallest of spaces can feel and look spacious if it’s not cluttered and is organized. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">We live in an 1,100 sq. ft. home that nicely fits our family of 11. If you'd like to see our home you may visit our </span><b style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/04/large-families-on-purpose-our-home.html" target="_blank">Home Tour</a></b><span style="font-size: small;">. </span><i style="font-size: medium;">By sharing our strategies with you<b> I hope to offer hope, encouragement, and vision.</b></i><span style="font-size: small;"> *smile* I encourage you to live life on purpose! You’ll have more space for the children to play in, more space for homeschooling, more space for relaxation, more space for company, more space for more children – more space to live in! </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Strategies & methods for de-cluttering </u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8k4yyPAlLCE/VIEjvgE1MII/AAAAAAAAGBU/QBabCmT5P10/s1600/Clutter31-300x238.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8k4yyPAlLCE/VIEjvgE1MII/AAAAAAAAGBU/QBabCmT5P10/s1600/Clutter31-300x238.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Probably the biggest reason it’s so hard for people to stay organized, is that they have too much stuff. People can spend enormous amounts of time managing stuff, which is overflowing and therefore can’t stay organized. People then feel that their efforts are fruitless and pointless and they stop trying, or acquire great stress trying to keep up with it all, which affects something of far greater importance – relationships. If we expend our life’s energy managing too much stuff, it takes away from the time that could be spent with our kids, our spouse, and our friends. It’s so good to be able to open wide the doors of your home and invite people in! Rather than living in fear that someone will come over.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When we were preparing to put our house on the market for sale, it was far easier for me to de-clutter when we thought we were taking things out temporarily. We were putting things into boxes to go to <i>storage</i>, rather than getting rid of things permanently. This made a huge difference in how willing we were to let go of things because we didn’t think it wasn’t going to be permanent. Here’s what we did. We put away</span><span style="font-size: small;"> everything that I wasn’t going to use within the next 6-8 months, and things that weren’t really necessary to have out</span><span style="font-size: small;">:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Bed & bath linens that were extras (we only really use our very favorite ones anyway, right?) I kept 2 sets of bed sheets for our bed, cooler ones and warmer ones.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Kitchen items that were extras and duplicates (i.e. Tupperware, cookware, counter-top appliances, plastic sippy-cups…). I only keep about a dozen Tupperware pieces of varying sizes. Realistically I never use more than this.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Decorations that sat around collecting dust or that cluttered up walls, shelves, and floors (except for my very favorite things).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Books we hadn’t read in the last year, and that we never actually referenced , loaned, or re-read as intended (there's too much new material to read!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Extra picture frames.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Extra office supplies and craft supplies we never used.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Furniture that I liked, and hoped to have a better place for in a different house some day, but didn’t have room for now.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Clothes, shoes & coats I never actually wore no matter how nice they were (again, I only wore my very favorites).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Out-of-season clothes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Toys that weren’t played with much.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- I threw away things like McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, that aren’t really educational, and don’t get played with more than about 2 days after getting them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Everything that was stored behind doors or underneath furniture (unless it’s organized that way and out of view from the doorway, for example we keep all of our gift wrapping supplies under our bed in a box, and some seasonal clothes in boxes, too).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- We had been wanting to <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/03/television-in-home-good-bad-does-it.html" target="_blank"><b>not have a TV in our home any longer</b></a>, this was the perfect opportunity to sell the huge entertainment center that took up a lot of space (holding a TV, DVD player, VCR player, lots of VHS and DVD’s, and our stereo equipment). We bought a smaller stereo cabinet, got rid of all of the VHS tapes, and when we watch a movie once-a-week we use the computer monitor in the family room and the stereo speakers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>De-cluttering principles to keep in mind:</u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WFgyFOEmaSM/VIElJqqlKEI/AAAAAAAAGBg/XF6vvWSmGrI/s1600/index.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WFgyFOEmaSM/VIElJqqlKEI/AAAAAAAAGBg/XF6vvWSmGrI/s1600/index.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">- We personally don’t let the kids keep “garbage” to play with (toilet paper roles, food containers, cardboard boxes), as we just don’t have space for them in our small house. I don’t keep anything around that doesn’t have a “home”, a place for that thing to be put away into, and I’m not willing to store garbage.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- We also now keep a cardboard file box, marked “Value Village”, in our garage to put items in to when they need to be given away. When I come across that clothing item that no one wears, and stuffed animals that are always over flowing on to the floor and no one uses – items to be given away – they need a ‘home’, too. When our box is full I put all of the items into a tall kitchen garbage bag and donate them, and the box is then empty again and available for more things to be put there. (And I get a 20% off coupon from Value Village every time I donate, then use to<a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/01/becoming-master-used-clothing-shopper.html" target="_blank"><b> shop for our family!</b></a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">- <i>Before buying an item</i> decide where it’s ‘home’ will be. Sometimes in order to bring more in to our home we need to take something else out to make room.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">- Don’t be afraid to throw things away! Pitch it, toss it, get rid of it and free yourself from being buried by it! Don’t let your stuff manage you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">- For us, piles equal disorder and clutter. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">- This may sound cold, but I would encourage you not to keep an item just because it was a gift to you (I used to be an elementary school teacher, and so received a lot of random trinket gifts from very generous, well-meaning parents during the holidays). If you absolutely love it, and it has a ‘home’, keep it – otherwise don’t. You’ll just have to manage it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">- If items don’t fit in to our home <i>in an orderly way</i>, then they don’t fit in to our home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">- We began thinking to ourselves, <i>If we haven’t worn it or used it within the last year then it goes.</i> This turned out to be an excellent way to determine what to keep or not; and we never regretted that cut-and-dry decision making plan. It helped us make quick decisions about just about everything.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">- It’s a good plan to de-clutter a space, wait 30 days, then go back to that area and re-evaluate things you kept and de-clutter again. There is almost always even more that can be let go of, and once you’ve started you can get on a roll and build up enough courage to continue!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After our massive de-cluttering project we looked around our house and said, “Heeeyyy…this feels SO GOOD.” The floors looked clean because there was no stuff underneath furniture or shoved in to corners. There was nothing propped up behind doors. We had lots of open wall space, revealing a nice wall color that is attractive and soothing. The house smelled fresher with no dust-collecting decorations such as dried flowers on the walls or floors, and no piles on the floor that I vacuumed <i>around</i> because they were too much effort to constantly move, which meant dust in and behind those as well. Linens in the linen closet were in smaller, straight piles because the piles weren’t so high that to remove any item caused the pile to topple; and I could see every item in the linen closet which meant it got used (or it was given away). I was no longer wasting time re-stacking Tupperware or shoving it back in to the cupboard as it came falling out because we only kept the dozen or so pieces that we use all the time. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">When I looked in to our clothing closet I knew I could choose to wear anything that I saw, because all fit the current season, and I only kept my current size compared to the 5-sizes-worth I had before due to many <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/12/closely-spaced-pregnancies-children.html" target="_blank"><b>back-to-back pregnancies</b></a> and <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2013/05/losing-baby-weight-part-1-diet-plan.html" target="_blank"><b>fluctuating weight</b></a>. This is our closet now, and it really always looks like this because it all fits into the space easily (and is hung up *wink*).</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bbtq5uiV0T0/U43lxkvpWbI/AAAAAAAAF1E/92FwJ7VRi2g/s1600/IMG_1280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bbtq5uiV0T0/U43lxkvpWbI/AAAAAAAAF1E/92FwJ7VRi2g/s1600/IMG_1280.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I no longer had the disappointment and frustration associated with looking in to a closet each morning full of items I could only actually wear a few of. I was no longer picking up hundreds of miscellaneous toy pieces that our toddlers love to spread around the house, but which no one actually plays with… We lived in this nice, new arrangement for a few months before we took our house off the market just before our 6<sup>th</sup> baby was to be born, and we thought we’d put it back on the market when baby was a few months old. We ended up keeping everything in storage for a year before realizing that we were paying money to store things that we didn’t really need or miss! <i>We more enjoyed the spaciousness and ease of maintaining order, than we enjoyed those items</i>. When we cleared out the storage unit finally we kept only a few things (box fans for summer time, some of Bob’s tools, a stroller), sold the larger items, and gave the rest away. Aaah. *smile* So, if you are now saying, “That sounds nice…But where do I <i>start?</i>...” Here’s my suggestion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Where To Begin</u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E64sDK5AF2A/VIEr2AgJrOI/AAAAAAAAGB4/MOXQYgg0tng/s1600/Kansas-City-Closet-Organize-Organized-Closet-Before-and-After5367bc7ad77c9.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E64sDK5AF2A/VIEr2AgJrOI/AAAAAAAAGB4/MOXQYgg0tng/s1600/Kansas-City-Closet-Organize-Organized-Closet-Before-and-After5367bc7ad77c9.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nF7jR4-rFns/VIEoSnlfWAI/AAAAAAAAGBs/EqxTHqPFYrk/s1600/childcloset.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">First, let me say that it’s important to get “buy in” from your husband before you start de-cluttering (more on this below). Next, I encourage you to start with one, small room or space, and one that is primarily “yours.” If you begin with the garage – probably the most massive space to be done in the entire house – you may give up, or you may plow through but it could totally fry you and you wouldn’t want to do any more of the house. It’s more do-able to start with the master closet, or a linen closet perhaps. If you start with one of these personal areas you’re also likely to not have others in the family adding to the space you’re trying to clean out. You’ll have a sense of accomplishment and a success to enjoy. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While sorting through items I encourage you to divide them in to four separate categories: (1) things to throw away (have a garbage bag at your side), (2) things to give away or sell (another garbage bag at your side), (3) things to keep for immediate use, and (4) things you’re not sure you want to get rid of yet. And know that most of the future-use items you probably don’t actually need to keep. I had all kinds of ideas of how and when I would use sooo many items, but in reality I hadn’t used them in 12 years! Ask yourself when was the last time you used that thing? Again, our principle, if we haven’t worn it or used it within the last year – it goes. For your items that you just can’t quite permanently get rid of yet, I’d put them in to a box, label it, and put it in to “storage” in your garage for 6 months. Pretend your house is on the market and it needs to look spacious. Then you have freedom to get those items back out if you <i>really </i>miss them after 6 months or a year. I still do this periodically, when I haven’t actually used an item for ever but I really <i>like</i> it – my husband says, tongue-in-cheek, “Okay, just put it in the garage for a year then”, and usually I chuckle and pull up my courage to just let it go. It’s actually very freeing. *smile* Now as you’re thinking through which areas of your house to tackle first, before you get over-zealous do consider the other members of the family, too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nF7jR4-rFns/VIEoSnlfWAI/AAAAAAAAGBs/EqxTHqPFYrk/s1600/childcloset.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nF7jR4-rFns/VIEoSnlfWAI/AAAAAAAAGBs/EqxTHqPFYrk/s1600/childcloset.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>How to be careful with other family member's spaces </u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Before you begin, consider who has had dominion over the space you’re thinking of de-cluttering. It’s almost always easier to look at other people’s stuff first, before your own, and get aggressive with getting rid of things. But consider, has the garage been your husband’s space? Has a child’s bedroom been their own space, to be done with as they please as long as the door is closed? How will your spouse or your son or daughter react to your becoming a whirlwind and changing everything in “their” space one afternoon without consulting them? (Not that you ask your children for permission to organize your home, but I think it’s good that they be included in decisions when they’re old enough to do so, especially when that’s been the understanding thus far.) There also needs to be submission to a husband’s desires for the home. If he likes things the way they are but it is disorderly and cluttered, try agreeing on a direction towards more order; you could ask about compromise. If the garage has been “his space”, consider dividing it in to two parts. Leave his stuff as it is if he’d like, and ask if you may clean out the other areas. It’s important to get “buy-in” by those other family members when appropriate. You could give a time frame within which changes could be made. You could invite them to watch what you do in “your” space (that which you’ve had sole dominion over, perhaps your desk, or your closet) and then invite them to join in with the new de-cluttering and organizational plans for other spaces. But take responsibility for your own space first. You can testify as to what and why you’re changing things, and then let them see the “fruit”! *smile* Also, <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/family-participation-chores-for-kids.html" target="_blank"><b>training children to keep things in order and put things away</b></a> really needs to begin <i>after </i>you’ve de-cluttered. They can’t be expected to put things away if there is no known and established ‘home’ for those items.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After much practice, my husband and I have become very proficient de-clutterers! *smile* Yes, we organize, but that’s not so difficult once you’ve first de-cluttered. I still donate a tall kitchen garbage bag full of give-away items<b> </b>about every other week to Value Village (I don’t know where the stuff comes from!). Sometimes the kids’ spot items in the bag to be given away and they balk at the idea; but when I explain why I’m giving that item away (i.e. no one <i>ever</i> plays with it) then they’re fine. They like a clutter-free home, too. I’ve known some people to encourage their kids to periodically clean out their own toys and select items to give away on their own, say after Christmas or a birthday when gifts have been received and more things are coming in to the house. Organization really is not such a mystery in a home when you are good at de-cluttering. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By the way, for the items that you’ve decided assuredly to get rid of, de-cluttering in April (right now) is the perfect time to do this, just before garage-sale season in summer! If you choose to have a garage sale, I encourage you to price things to be gone in 5 minutes. Have in mind that all that stuff <i>will go</i> (either be purchased, or given away) and you’ll end up with some money for organizational projects. Last summer we had a garage sale and we priced things to move on the first day, the morning of the second day we made everything 50% off, and then near the end of that second day we mark everything FREE. Make it walk away! (And we still earned $850!)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BdXO6E_vzDU/VIEiHIlRduI/AAAAAAAAGBI/reh3yB3uek0/s1600/photo%2B1%2B%288%29.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BdXO6E_vzDU/VIEiHIlRduI/AAAAAAAAGBI/reh3yB3uek0/s1600/photo%2B1%2B(8).JPG" width="400" /></a></span><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-StYWNCkHmXc/VIE3f6r_s0I/AAAAAAAAGCE/Irw_LpjEzFY/s1600/IMG_3065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-StYWNCkHmXc/VIE3f6r_s0I/AAAAAAAAGCE/Irw_LpjEzFY/s1600/IMG_3065.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;">I hope you have caught some vision for de-cluttering at home if you need to! I would <i>love</i> to hear about your de-cluttering or organizational adventures! For</span><span style="font-size: small;"> organizing newly de-cluttered spaces, see the links below! *cheer!* </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blessings on your efforts,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><br /><u><i><b><br /></b></i></u><br /><u><i><b>Recommended resource:</b></i></u><br /><a href="https://www.christianheritageonline.org/product-category/speaker/erika-shupe/" target="_blank">CD - My RECORDED CONFERENCE WORKSHOP of this post. </a><br /><br /><b><u><i>Book Recommendation</i></u></b>:<br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clutter-Free-Quick-Steps-Simplifying/dp/0736959130/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1467480234&sr=8-1&keywords=Clutter+Free:+Quick+and+Easy+Steps+to+Simplifying+Your+Space&linkCode=sl1&tag=largefa-20&linkId=85c1724f60181267dced241c9211d2f8" target="_blank">Clutter Free</a>, by Kathi Lipp<br /><br /><u><i><b>You may also be interested in reading:</b></i></u><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/orderliness-closer-look.html" target="_blank">Orderliness: A Closer Look </a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/organizing-home-principles-tips-for.html">Organizing a Home: Principles and Tips for Organization, Part 1 of 2</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/organizing-home-more-tips-for.html">Organizing a Home: More Tips for Organization, Part 2 of 2</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/organization-thinking-outside-box-with_20.html" target="_blank">Clothing and Storage Access, Thinking Outside the Box </a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/10/sleep-better-how-to-make-your-bedroom.html" target="_blank">Sleep Better - How to Make Your Bedroom a Better Place to Recharge</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/10/rotating-seasonal-clothes-large-family.html" target="_blank">Rotating Seasonal Clothes - Large Family Style</a></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-83097751636089968432016-07-08T13:15:00.000-07:002016-07-08T13:50:17.477-07:00Large Family Practical How-To’s: Professional Photos, Meals, Errands, & Bathing Kids<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We personally love to network with other large families for ideas that enable us to be more organized or more time efficient. It’s encouraging, and it helps give vision for what large families can be like. If some people are reading our blog only because they’re curious about what large families are like, then by sharing what our family is like we hope to dispense wrong assumptions, and give a beautiful inside view. *smile* Welcome to our family!</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZjrT5eBv8k/TY-RYLIl9_I/AAAAAAAAAYw/PXQha2EM5Yk/s1600/Baby+bath.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZjrT5eBv8k/TY-RYLIl9_I/AAAAAAAAAYw/PXQha2EM5Yk/s400/Baby+bath.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">In “<b><a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-family-practical-how-tos-part-1.html">Large Family How-To’s, part 1</a>”</b>, I shared how our family of 11 does five practical processes: laundry, transportation, one-on-one time with kids, birthdays, and hair cuts. In part 2, I’ll share how we do:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Bathing kids</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Errands</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Meals</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Professional photos</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you go about bathing so many kids?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">The oldest children of course shower themselves daily. When we had a lot of "littles", I bathed them two kids at a time when possible, and we did showers rather than baths for children 3-years-old and older. With so many kids to bathe, and to preserve my energy to get them all done in one morning, I consider it an on-task time, not a play time. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We do encourage the old-enough children to have “Play baths” during the week, during a time of day that they can just enjoy playing in the water for 30-60 minutes independently. When they have play baths it’s always one child at a time, and in the upstairs bathroom near the family room and kitchen areas so that I can be close by to easily monitor them. With only one child playing in the tub at a time I can make sure the water stays in the tub (a requirement if they’re going to be allowed to have play baths). They also have room to lie down in the warm water, they can have bubbles, and have all the toys to themselves. It’s a very soothing, quiet time, our children really love doing this as an activity, and it’s easy for me to set them up with.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">During shower time I bathed a couple of our boys together, and I bathed our middle daughter by herself (for modesty). A small space heater is used during the colder months so that kids are cozy warm, which always adds extra smiles throughout showers and baths. I reach my arms into the shower and one person at a time, wash their hair thoroughly, then wash their ears & face with a wash cloth. I use Johnson’s baby wash on the boy’s hair and bodies because I then don’t need to worry about shampoo getting in their eyes and stinging them. Then they can just stand underneath the shower water to rinse freely – I’m keeping it as simple as possible. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">With our daughters I used Panteen shampoo on her hair because it’s longer and I like it to be shiny and silky and smooth. After I’ve washed their hair and head, I put soap on a pouf ball, and they wash their whole body with that. The whole shower for two kiddos takes about 7 minutes. For our toddlers I would put 2 of them into the bath together and wash them both; one gets to play in the water with a few toys while I bathe the other. And I bathed our infants one at a time on a bath sponge in the tub (no large bath tub to store). </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Our downstairs bathroom has a door to the laundry room adjacent to it, so on the back of the bathroom door and the laundry room door I have hanging towel racks where 4 towels can dry. The oldest girls use a separate bathroom upstairs so their towels dry there. Bathing the 7 youngest kids took about an hour and a half at the very most.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZjrT5eBv8k/TY-RYLIl9_I/AAAAAAAAAYw/PXQha2EM5Yk/s1600/Baby+bath.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZjrT5eBv8k/TY-RYLIl9_I/AAAAAAAAAYw/PXQha2EM5Yk/s400/Baby+bath.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Here’s<b> <i>a valuable hair cleaning tip for older kids!</i></b> We found that when our two oldest girls began puberty, all of a sudden they were not able to get their hair clean! They would scrub their hair, I would scrub their hair – we could not get the thick oil off their scalp! *cringe!* I was <i>totally mystified</i> and frustrated. I finally called a friend of ours who owns his own hair salon and who was knowledgeable about these things. He told me how to get the hair clean and then keep it clean! Hallelujah! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Here's how we did it. When our daughter’s hair was dry I mixed on to the top of her scalp where it was oily Paul Mitchel’s “Cleanse - Shampoo Three" (meant to strip chlorine or heavy oil out). I then sprinkled a lot of baking soda on to her hair and scalp and massaged them in thoroughly. She let it sit for 20 minutes and then washed it out. And ta-da! It was CLEAN!!! Now at first we had to do this 3 times a week to keep it clean – ugh – what a hassle. After a few weeks of this I called the same friend back and asked how long we might have to do this process. He told me that all grocery store shampoos contain wax, which for our girls locked-in the hair oil. We had to switch to a salon-quality shampoo and conditioner (we chose Paul Mitchel for the quality, but also because it goes on sale 50% off a couple of times a year for the large liter sizes), and although more expensive, we have had clean scalps ever since. Looks nice; smells nice, shiny and fluffy. *smile* Aahh. We’ve just had to consider it a necessary expense. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you get errands done?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">I always used to do the weekly shopping while having the children with me because I desired to get it done during the week, leaving the weekend then free of “have-to’s.” I did this with up to 5 kids. And I always kept them with me, never utilizing the “child care” center offered at some stores. This was for safety reasons, but also to avoid sickness spread there, and to be able to train the children’s behavior enabling them to be enjoyable while shopping with me. When I was expecting our 6<sup>th</sup> baby, and the older ones were all younger than 10-years-old, I could no longer lift little ones in and out of the cart or in and out of the car easily. At this point I began doing the shopping with just one of the children at a time, and during a weekday evening or on a weekend when Daddy would be home with the others. This also became a special one-on-one time for whichever child's turn it was and also a for me. <b>(<a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-family-practical-how-tos-part-1.html">One on One Time</a>) </b> If you would like much more detail on how I do this you can read my post, "<b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/large-family-meal-planning-shopping.html" target="_blank">Large Family Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping.</a></b>"</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“What are meals like at your house?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">For years we had an average-sized table that seated 6, until we had folding chairs crowded around that and simply no longer fit. So eventually we purchased a large dining room table that seats 10, which is a huge blessing to our family. We do meals there, homeschooling, and table activities (<a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html"><b>More information about table activities</b></a>). </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">When we have another family over for dinner it still works well with a little forethought and a plan. We serve all of the youngest children at the table first while the adults and older children have hors d'oeuvres, then the younger children are cleaned up and the adults and older children eat next. During the summer months when it is warm and dry outside, we serve all of the children out in the yard or on the deck on picnic blankets, and the adults eat either outside with lap trays or inside at the table. One day we hope to have a larger house and another table this size to put end-to-end and seat 18 people all together, making better space for company. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">When we had toddlers and babies we did not use highchairs as we did not have room for them in our tiny house. Instead we strapped booster seats (<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OOWAK8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=largefa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002OOWAK8">Space Savers</a>)</b>, which we purchased used through craigslist.com, to already-existing dining room chairs. This worked beautifully for us, and it enabled all of the children to be included at the table together. We could also easily remove the booster seats and have more seating for adults when we desired.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5CG1MYiJs4k/TY-TlGa8E3I/AAAAAAAAAY0/qHpYXVAnwp4/s1600/Meal+at+the+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5CG1MYiJs4k/TY-TlGa8E3I/AAAAAAAAAY0/qHpYXVAnwp4/s400/Meal+at+the+table.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We serve three plentiful meals at our house and two snack times: breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, dinner, and a mid-afternoon snack (no sugar snacks such as fruit chews, or white-flour such as Ritz crackers which do not help children feel their best and behave their best all afternoon until dinner). </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We do not prepare different foods for children who say they don’t care for what is served; everyone eats the same meal. They learn to eat whatever is prepared for them, and to be thankful for it. *smile* It also enables us to prepare one meal, serve it and clean it up, and then we all leave the kitchen together to move on to the next thing in our day. I do not spend all day in the kitchen preparing foods according to who ever is hungry, whenever they feel like eating. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We serve fruit with breakfast, and everyone eats the same type of fruit otherwise we would be spending a lot of time preparing several different kinds, catering to different people’s preferences. We would also have to shop for many different types of fruit each week, rather than purchasing 2-3 types of fruit in large quantities and at low prices from Costco. Instead we vary the type of fruit we purchase each week. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We also used a "</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000067Q6J/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=largefa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000067Q6J" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><b>Food Mill</b></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">" to puree the same foods that every else is eating for babies who were not yet able to eat table foods. So food preparation is done in larger quantities, but actually pretty simply. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is unnecessary to live and work in a kitchen that is a mess with food and dishes all day long, but I also cannot easily manage children’s behavior while cleaning-up. Therefore all of the children stay at the table during a meal and during the clean-up of that meal for breakfast and lunch, especially when there was only one adult in the house, and therefore only one “manager” of everyone. Much of the clean up, however, happens after everyone has been served and is eating, so it does not take very long to clean up the rest at the end. We also utilize older-child booster seats (</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000056J2D/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=largefa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000056J2D" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><b>Cooshee Booster</b></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">), too, to enable those children to stay on their bottoms during the meal or during homeschooling. We’ve found that this greatly minimizes the amount of spilled food, it keeps children off of the table, and encourages good manners.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Before we had children old enough to help with food preparation and the serving of meals, I would plan time to prepare food for and feed the baby first at each meal, <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html" target="_blank">while other children were occupied with something specific</a></b> (I could not gracefully manage children’s behavior and activities while feeding babies). Then I would prepare food for all of the older children, and clean up the kitchen while they were all eating. This took longer, but worked very smoothly. *smile*</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you get such beautiful professional photos results with so many kids?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">This is a two-day process *smile*, but we have a successful plan that works for our family. I first go online to <i>The Picture People</i> <b><a href="http://www.picturepeople.com/">website</a> </b>to find what kind of coupons they have available, usually they have one for a FREE 10x13 or 8x10 (with no sitting fee)! So once-a-year or so we would have free professional photos taken! Yay! (The Lord was adding children to our family at least once a year, sometimes twice, so our group is changing drastically all the time and we like a current photo on the wall.) </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">If that coupon is not available then I’ve used their $30 coupon for a nice-size photo package, and we share the cost with grandparents who share in the package. The Picture People have always done an excellent job for us, and they have very reasonable prices, however I do still always utilize one of their coupons. The day before our appointment I make sure every one has clean clothes that match well (sometimes I make<b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/01/becoming-master-used-clothing-shopper.html" target="_blank"> a trip to Value Village</a></b> to pick up a denim shirt for one of the boys, so they’d all match), and clothes get ironed. Everyone has baths, bang trims where appropriate, and boys have hair cuts if necessary. Since the nearest Picture People location is 60 minutes away, on the day of the appointment we have just enough time to get everyone dressed, lunch & diaper bags packed when we used them, and travel down and back between baby feedings and naps when children were younger. So everything else needed to be done in advance the day before.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">The morning of our photo appointment we have breakfast with everyone still in their pj’s so that no food spills on their selected outfits. *chuckle* *smile* One of our oldest children packs a picnic of healthy but clean-to-eat foods for lunch at the mall (The Picture People location) just after our photo appointment, so everyone is full and feeling their best before driving home. With young children we packed string cheese, crackers, and apples (which satisfy thirst, but doesn’t cause lots of people to have to use the bathroom often); with older ones we pack protein bars (that are <i>full</i> of great protein and good fats), still apples and whole grain crackers, and a treat such as licorice. I and our oldest children would stay in their pj's in the morning to feed the twin babies their bottles, so that if they spit up it won’t ruin our outfits, either. *laugh* Worked great. No stress.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ar8jM_kVnyg/TY-VTOH5hDI/AAAAAAAAAY4/GEAs0O7eT8Q/s1600/feeding+twins+in+nightgowns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ar8jM_kVnyg/TY-VTOH5hDI/AAAAAAAAAY4/GEAs0O7eT8Q/s400/feeding+twins+in+nightgowns.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">When we had a 2-year-old we made sure they had a “onesie” undershirt on so that he could not access his diaper with his hands (not a good day to deal with that!). While children were waiting to go to the car we have one of the older children read them stories on the couch (sitting for this has been trained on every other day of the week, so it’s enjoyable, and a regular occurrence which is easy to implement at other times as well.) This way the children do not get out tons of toys just before we leave the house, which takes time to clean up or leaves a mess to come home to, and during stories they all stay quite and avoid getting wound-up. If anyone has a cold we give them a decongestant so that they’re not goopy during the photo. We grab an audio book to take with us on the long drive in the van (helps make sure everyone is still in a friendly mood when we arrive at the appointment, and not mad at a sibling for some reason), then everyone heads down to the mud room in the garage to get on shoes and coats.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UtCSKSI9x18/TY-VnhIFCPI/AAAAAAAAAY8/zPAg_Q8vdU0/s1600/kids+getting+on+shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UtCSKSI9x18/TY-VnhIFCPI/AAAAAAAAAY8/zPAg_Q8vdU0/s400/kids+getting+on+shoes.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6AFzw9jIOD4/TY-VziE56NI/AAAAAAAAAZA/wLdjXD0xEuo/s1600/kids+lined+up+in+garage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6AFzw9jIOD4/TY-VziE56NI/AAAAAAAAAZA/wLdjXD0xEuo/s400/kids+lined+up+in+garage.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dABeF03KcDQ/TY-V-_9P3xI/AAAAAAAAAZE/xbgMT9V0GPY/s1600/kids+inside+the+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dABeF03KcDQ/TY-V-_9P3xI/AAAAAAAAAZE/xbgMT9V0GPY/s400/kids+inside+the+van.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dKq7OHHs-78/TY-WY7GKq5I/AAAAAAAAAZI/VmS5-s_VXuM/s1600/kids+standing+outside+the+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dKq7OHHs-78/TY-WY7GKq5I/AAAAAAAAAZI/VmS5-s_VXuM/s400/kids+standing+outside+the+van.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">With babies I would have the 2 little baby’s hats in my purse so they don’t get lost. I would put two diapers for our 1-year-old and 2-year-old in to the 3-mo-old twins diaper bag so that I don’t have to bring in more than one diaper bag. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">In the van ride down south I write on a post-it note to myself things we need to remember to do just before the photo: have people take their glasses off, put the baby’s hats on them, make sure the boys shirts are tucked in, wash anyone’s face who needs it with a baby wipe, and put chap stick on anyone who has white-dry lips. Every day we strive to help the children learn self-control, following directions, sitting still some times, etc., so they have the skills to do things like have a family photo taken. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">If any of the real little children were having a hard time this day – being uncooperative or crying – and they were not responding to verbal directions as they usually would do pretty well, then I did have Tic-Tacs in my purse so they can suck on one, which brings a smile. (Shhh *wink*). This is one of my all-time favorite secrets for getting a great photo! *laugh* We train for obedience all the time, of course, but it is such a big deal to prepare all 11 of us to get a family photo taken, and is such a long drive to get there, this is not the day to be doing additional training during the photo shoot or have the photo ruined because a teething toddler is not feeling his best. And our photo shoots are taken only once a year or every two years, so the littlest kids won’t remember that they were once given a tiny piece of candy to help them behave well. *chuckle*</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLUl15RkjlQ/TY-W0y867MI/AAAAAAAAAZM/kZmpLenh5vE/s1600/preparing+for+photos+at+PP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLUl15RkjlQ/TY-W0y867MI/AAAAAAAAAZM/kZmpLenh5vE/s400/preparing+for+photos+at+PP.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">After the photo shoot, we have our picnic lunch in the mall while awaiting the development of the photos we just had taken. The Picture People produce the finished results of our photo shoot while we wait! Instant gratification – so fun – and we don’t have to make another trip to pick the photos up. *chuckle* </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yBfKnkt8OdI/TY-XECCWsvI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/iMlMaCrrrCI/s1600/lunch+in+the+mall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yBfKnkt8OdI/TY-XECCWsvI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/iMlMaCrrrCI/s400/lunch+in+the+mall.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Then we head home, relieved, and pleased to be bringing home a wonderful family photo. And the Picture People are usually so amazed that such a large group of children could have such a great photo shoot, that they usually ask us to sign a release to be able to use our family photo for advertising or in-store posters. *smile* We’re honored to comply. (click on photo below to enlarge and see closer up)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_i3BAMZNzLA/TY-XcywXKxI/AAAAAAAAAZU/ikaCm4kD8-w/s1600/Me+with+framed+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_i3BAMZNzLA/TY-XcywXKxI/AAAAAAAAAZU/ikaCm4kD8-w/s400/Me+with+framed+photo.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We’re not “super parents”, and we have normal, rambunctious children. We just implement a good plan for how to prepare the family in advance and for how to enable the children to be successful and pleasant. Because of homeschooling we have the time and opportunity to be training their character every day, and the fruit of that effort carries into every day life. We do family photos, just like all other areas of life, on purpose. *smile*</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Blessings on your efforts!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><u>Other “how-to” posts I’ve written that might interest you:</u></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-family-practical-how-tos-part-1.html">Large Family How-To’s, part 1</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">How we plan our daily routine</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/family-time-managment-managing-my-time.html">How I manage my time</a>, parts <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/family-time-managment-managing-my-time.html">1 </a>& <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/family-time-management-managing-my-time.html">2</a> (to-do lists, bills, calendar, charts for the kids…)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/scrapbooking-family-life.html">How I capture photograph memories</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-family-organization-creating-food.html">How we get by with such a small kitchen</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html">How we occupy young children during the day</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/charts-lists-that-save-my-sanity.html">How we manage chores</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/recipe-organization.html">How I organizing recipes</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-39820453013827332972016-07-03T17:00:00.000-07:002016-07-08T13:49:03.861-07:00Large Family Practical How-To’s: Transportation, Birthdays, Hair cuts, 1-on-1's, & Laundry!<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">When people see our family of 11 people out and about doing life, they often tip their head to the side, get a puzzled look on their face, and ask, “…How do you do_____?” This always makes us chuckle because we’re “just us”, and we’ve become the larger group of “just us” gradually, one person at a time, so we don’t often think about the every day things as being unusual these days... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ER-0hGcHD9Q/TYu_ubNjZSI/AAAAAAAAAXc/sqUcinMaKfE/s1600/MofF+03+11+2011+103.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ER-0hGcHD9Q/TYu_ubNjZSI/AAAAAAAAAXc/sqUcinMaKfE/s400/MofF+03+11+2011+103.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"> (Eating lunch while we visited the Museum of Flight)</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">So these two posts just share some practical strategies for how we get stuff done with our 9 children. I’ll share with you how we do:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Laundry</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Transportation</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- One-on-one time with the kids</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Birthdays</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- Hair cuts</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/03/large-family-how-tos-part-2.html" target="_blank">part 2</a></b>,</u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I’ll share with you how we do bathing of kids, errands, meals, and even a large family professional photo. *smile* </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you do laundry?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">When we had only a couple of children I used to do laundry once a week. Then those children grew to an age where they could be helping more with laundry. Not just helping me move laundry from the washer to the dryer, or folding wash cloths, but really wanting to help by independently folding the whole basket and putting the clothes away. So I needed to keep the size of the task to a moderate amount both for their sake and for mine. We have just one washer and one dryer, and a very small laundry room, so laundry needs to be kept to those proportions. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">As the Lord continued adding children to our family, our laundry quantity began exceeding 1 load per week, so we moved to doing laundry two times per week to keep the job simple each time. When laundry quantities continued to grow because we added people, and those people's clothes got larger, we moved to three times per week, and then eventually to four times per week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We have 2 dirty clothes hampers in our house, one in the master bedroom for our clothes and one in the single <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/organization-thinking-outside-box-with_20.html" target="_blank">large family children's closet</a></b>. I keep a single dish tub on top of our dryer where we put clothes that are wet, or clothes that have been treated with stain remover and are awaiting the next laundry day. This keeps wet or treated items off of the top of the washer or dryer, the tub is easily washable when necessary, and it keeps items out of sight and out of reach from younger children. (If there is a large amount of wet items that don’t fit in the dish tub then I just wash a load.) Each laundry day I gather both hampers. I sort the clothes into two piles of “lights” and “darks”, sometimes towels as an additional load, and I run them through the wash and dry cycles first thing in the morning. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Since we had our 8th & 9th babies (twins) I've found that there's so much on my mind now and I'm usually in a hurry to rotate laundry, that I can easily forget to remove items from the washing machine that shouldn't go through the dryer; things that should be hung to dry instead (I try to have very, very few of these items, but there are some). So I now keep a small tablet of paper and a pen on top of our washing machine where I write down any items in the lights or darks that shouldn't go to the dryer so that I remember to look for those things and hang them to dry. When laundry is all washed and dried, two of our children each fold one full basket of laundry during and put the items away. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YypAb2CAfNU/TYvAFPlT20I/AAAAAAAAAXg/qBF2JcA-Hos/s1600/laundry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YypAb2CAfNU/TYvAFPlT20I/AAAAAAAAAXg/qBF2JcA-Hos/s400/laundry.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">They put away all of the children’s clothes in the <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/organization-thinking-outside-box-with_20.html" target="_blank">children’s clothes closet</a></b>, and they put Mommy & Daddy’s folded laundry on our bed for me to put away. Laundry never sits around for days in dirty piles, or in clean ones – we choose to be time-efficient, and we don’t have room in our small house for piles anyway. We get it out to be washed, rotate it through, fold it and put away. Done. And it’s then available for use immediately which means we don’t need to own and manage large quantities of clothes per person, either.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you do transportation?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We currently own a full-size, 12-passenger Ford Econoline van – which we <i>love</i>. We even chose a license plate and rim that are a great ministry opportunity, and they make a statement for being on purpose about family. The plate and rim are a great conversation starter; we’ve even had people ask to take a picture of it. *smile*</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p5I4w6f3qSE/TYvAVFEKJQI/AAAAAAAAAXk/BQUoqjjvaZo/s1600/Kids+outside+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p5I4w6f3qSE/TYvAVFEKJQI/AAAAAAAAAXk/BQUoqjjvaZo/s400/Kids+outside+van.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UOFXslKJgro/TYvAtu5x5cI/AAAAAAAAAXo/IGNfp3hfZZU/s1600/home+shots+2-7-11+015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UOFXslKJgro/TYvAtu5x5cI/AAAAAAAAAXo/IGNfp3hfZZU/s400/home+shots+2-7-11+015.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sYuEVtl125Y/TYvA7DJXTsI/AAAAAAAAAXs/v6kj9Fna9_k/s1600/van+lic+plate+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sYuEVtl125Y/TYvA7DJXTsI/AAAAAAAAAXs/v6kj9Fna9_k/s400/van+lic+plate+002.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Not only does it fit all of us, but the inside is spacious enough to move around in, older siblings can help little ones get situated and buckled, or we can eat a picnic lunch in it if necessary. (We don’t eat in the car as a general rule as it makes the inside of the vehicle really gross and difficult to clean). We like how we can all go out to the van and climb inside out of the rain, snow, or heat, and <i>then </i>get situated taking off coats or whatever. We like how everyone enters the van on the same side so that we don’t have little ones out-of-sight on the other side of a vehicle in a busy parking lot, or walking all around behind the car unattended, or running out in to the street. With so many kids it is so nice that they can go strait to the door and climb inside – no one is in danger, no one is wasting time running in to the cul-de-sac. The task of getting 9 young children in to the car is time-efficient and safe. The van is full of car seats, however, and holds just 10 passenger children (we have 9 currently) so if the Lord chooses to bless us with more children then we’ll trade up for a 15-passenger.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">When we need to go somewhere as a family, the older children all participate with making sure younger children have their coats and shoes on. When the children were all very young we either send an older child down to the garage to get everyone’s socks and shoes and then bring them upstairs so we can get every one ready in the family room, or we just all head down to the garage as a group to get ready there. We have turned ¼ of our 2-car garage in to a “mud room”, which is well-lit, carpeted (no pad, just carpet over cement), and organized for shoes and coats, so this is a <i>very</i> nice, large place for all of us to come and go from the van. The carpet there also serves to capture all of the dirt, rain water, sand, or snow before the children all enter the house, greatly minimizing the amount of effort we need to put out to keep the house clean. One of our favorite strategies when we had a lot of babies and which made the process of getting ready to go somewhere <i>much easier</i>, is to keep a pack-n-play open and available in the garage so that we have a clean, safe place to put a toddler or baby while we’re all getting ready. *smile*</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-85FwtqFm3MU/TYvBOy4SA3I/AAAAAAAAAXw/C9knC6croes/s1600/Mud+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-85FwtqFm3MU/TYvBOy4SA3I/AAAAAAAAAXw/C9knC6croes/s400/Mud+room.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_Rcn_g-sz0g/TYvBe3PXe4I/AAAAAAAAAX0/7ipdzKZk5no/s1600/Adult+shoes+%2526+coats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_Rcn_g-sz0g/TYvBe3PXe4I/AAAAAAAAAX0/7ipdzKZk5no/s400/Adult+shoes+%2526+coats.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JNMycVULIE0/TYvBrZZJxmI/AAAAAAAAAX4/8vyoA-Vqk7k/s1600/children%2527s+shoes+%2526+coats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JNMycVULIE0/TYvBrZZJxmI/AAAAAAAAAX4/8vyoA-Vqk7k/s400/children%2527s+shoes+%2526+coats.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you have one-on-one time with so many kids?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Since we are homeschooling, we are actually together having quantity time all the time, but we still make a point of making sure the quality is there, too. We love to be together as a group (most of the time *wink*), and the children learn to work together, enjoy each other, serve and care for each other, and include all ages of children in their activities (and it <i>is </i>a learned skill, but the fruit is <i>priceless</i>). But one thing that doesn’t necessarily happen automatically is one-on-one time with children – we purpose to make this happen. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We intentionally plan those times regularly during the week, and my husband and I also make a point to scoop them up here and there for additional individual one-on-one times. I take just one of the girls with me to do the weekly shopping every Saturday (they rotate who’s turn it is), and we often share a soft pretzel or a sandwich while we’re out. Daddy takes one of the boys at a time to do any errands he does, and they sometimes share a treat while they’re out as well. (This also helps financially to be able to treat the kids without having to purchase treats for 11 people every single time.) While at home, Bob and I make a point to draw an individual child in to snuggling on the couch, baking cookies, doing wood-working in the garage, playing a game, reading a story aloud, or just walking to the mailbox together (you can read about how we have time to do this in the posts, “<a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html"><b>Scheduling & Routines</b></a>” <b>parts <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">1</a> & <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">2</a></b>, and “<b><a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html">Productively Occupying Young Children</a>”</b>). And we schedule into our week, and encourage the spontaneity of our children having one-on-one time with each other as well. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Another thing we work on with the children is making sure they’re able to have <i>alone</i> time for a while most days, with so many people in one house! *chuckle* Without needing to always be with someone for entertainment or interaction.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--wJ73yTWnZk/TYvB89xL59I/AAAAAAAAAX8/jO476H1uVCQ/s1600/one-on-one+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--wJ73yTWnZk/TYvB89xL59I/AAAAAAAAAX8/jO476H1uVCQ/s400/one-on-one+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_77-v78vsvY/TYvCJ45f6sI/AAAAAAAAAYA/0HpDP9g9pjk/s1600/one-on-one+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_77-v78vsvY/TYvCJ45f6sI/AAAAAAAAAYA/0HpDP9g9pjk/s400/one-on-one+2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you do birthday parties?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We have chosen to make birthdays a wonderful celebration of each person’s life, while at the same time keeping it simple; not overwhelming, inexpensive, and not too self-focused. In the past we had lots of children over for parties, but we found that once we purchased food, themed decorations, and gift bags for all of those people is was just too large of an expense for us to be doing several times a year. In addition, we were also finding that other children’s birthdays were becoming more and more commercial, renting play facilities, renting party rooms, renting <i>huge</i> inflatable yard toys…and the expectation was growing to match that size of party for each of our children’s special days. Not that party rooms or inflatable toys aren't fun or bad in and of themselves, but it can quickly amount to several hundred dollars for that one day, for us 11 times a year, every year! With even moderately expensive parties our children were becoming increasingly discontent with what we provided – comparing their celebrations with other children’s – and the joy was lost, the expenses of what we were doing was not appreciated, and there was too much focus on me-me-me that day (or month!). So, we decided to cut back on expense and commercialism, focus on celebrating their life, and just stick with our family and one additional family for each party (as well as having an extended-family party as well). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We have enough people for a good-size party with just us, and 11 times a year at that. *smile* Our children pool their money to buy one or a few inexpensive gifts for that person, together with something from Mommy & Daddy. A package of 8 party supplies is perfect for our family size right now (the oldest children don't need all the stuff), so we go to the nearest party supply store and buy some themed decorations for that person, while still keeping it simple, and decorate our dining room while they’re sleeping the night before their birthday. We buy lots of inexpensive crêpe-paper streamers for the ceiling, one package each of party blowers & hats, curly streamers to be thrown, and balloons from the dollar store. The children color a “Happy Birthday” banner for the wall, make a happy birthday crown for the birthday person, and we have a special birthday plate made from one of those paint-your-own ceramic item places, which that child loves to use all day. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Cs4QwwsvbS0/TYvCi283ujI/AAAAAAAAAYI/1OGXP714dHU/s1600/B-day+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Cs4QwwsvbS0/TYvCi283ujI/AAAAAAAAAYI/1OGXP714dHU/s400/B-day+1.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-P-y08ll2sW8/TYvCoj4CpYI/AAAAAAAAAYM/BKSdBSHuOgg/s1600/B-day+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-P-y08ll2sW8/TYvCoj4CpYI/AAAAAAAAAYM/BKSdBSHuOgg/s400/B-day+2.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rrm3CgtgFsM/TYvCuio2Y6I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/lObPfuaTUqw/s1600/B-day+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rrm3CgtgFsM/TYvCuio2Y6I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/lObPfuaTUqw/s400/B-day+3.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CH5i9O0Y-tI/TYvCcatb-tI/AAAAAAAAAYE/FISgIuDLA6c/s1600/B-day+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CH5i9O0Y-tI/TYvCcatb-tI/AAAAAAAAAYE/FISgIuDLA6c/s400/B-day+4.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">The birthday person chooses what they’d like to have for dinner, and chooses their dessert. We’ve had traditional desserts…and not so traditional. *laugh* After a while they get tired of cake...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lx5WsNUitKM/TYvFOIudRxI/AAAAAAAAAYU/JsRV_cY6NyE/s1600/b-day+cakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lx5WsNUitKM/TYvFOIudRxI/AAAAAAAAAYU/JsRV_cY6NyE/s400/b-day+cakes.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jdgU5me3D0c/TYvFb6u27YI/AAAAAAAAAYY/cRamv2qMvwM/s1600/b-day+pudding+cups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jdgU5me3D0c/TYvFb6u27YI/AAAAAAAAAYY/cRamv2qMvwM/s400/b-day+pudding+cups.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">And we make a point to take a few pictures of just that child with Mommy & Daddy for the scrapbook (here Bob is making a silly face *chuckle*). And I <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/scrapbooking-family-life.html" target="_blank">scrapbook those photos</a></b> of the party to capture the memories. *smile*</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qEAEchKhqIo/TYvFpdsfszI/AAAAAAAAAYc/WRq9rYAChV0/s1600/Brandon%252C+Daddy%252C+Mommy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qEAEchKhqIo/TYvFpdsfszI/AAAAAAAAAYc/WRq9rYAChV0/s400/Brandon%252C+Daddy%252C+Mommy.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">We usually all go to the park or the beach, or sometimes to Jungle Play Land (simple and fairly inexpensive) – but we go with just our immediate family which is not too overwhelming, and we keeps the expense to a minimum. And the memory is impressed in that child’s mind that they are loved, and treasured, and very, very valuable. The kids <i>love</i> their special day, anticipate it with great excitement, and appreciate the simple gifts, and the time and money spent for them. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">They also have memories of how people can do birthday parties no matter what their income is for when they have their own families some day. There have been years when there has been more money than usual to spend on our family party. There have been times when finances were tight and we’ve paired the party down to an even simpler event at home. Either way the children are very celebrated, and that has become the focus and the joy instead of the amount of commercialism involved.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“How do you do so many kids’ hair cuts?”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Our oldest daughters have a hair cut every few months, but I take them to get it done one person at a time to spread out cash flow. Our youngest girls have straight hair to their mid-back, so that is easy for either our oldest daughter or myself to cut. Their hair can grow out 2-3 inches before they really need a cut again every 6 months or so. I trim their bangs once a month or so if they have bangs. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">For our four boys, Daddy has learned to give them a nice “high and tight” clipper cut every couple of weeks at home in our garage. He has purchased a clipper set from Wal-Mart or online for about $25, which includes the clippers, a few guards, a cape, scissors, clipper oil, clamps for the cape, a couple of combs, and a box. There are great tutorials on You Tube for learning to do boys hair cuts! We just sit them up on the garbage can, put a cape on them, and have our very own barber shop for free! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-neIVdkagYYw/TYvGVItskVI/AAAAAAAAAYk/5-OP3vqEXfQ/s1600/Hair+cut+%25232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-neIVdkagYYw/TYvGVItskVI/AAAAAAAAAYk/5-OP3vqEXfQ/s400/Hair+cut+%25232.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XXGXr9Azq4A/TYvG8o9v8fI/AAAAAAAAAYo/QwGhEm7XJ7c/s1600/Hair+cut+%25233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XXGXr9Azq4A/TYvG8o9v8fI/AAAAAAAAAYo/QwGhEm7XJ7c/s400/Hair+cut+%25233.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w5o7OLyytJM/TYvHYkQ1hgI/AAAAAAAAAYs/x6SLwzbgGTc/s1600/Hair+cut+%25234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w5o7OLyytJM/TYvHYkQ1hgI/AAAAAAAAAYs/x6SLwzbgGTc/s400/Hair+cut+%25234.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">I am so appreciative that Bob has taken the time to learn to do this really well (it has been a learning curve, and we’ve had some great laughs over the years, but he does a <i>great </i>job now). Keeping the children looking attractive, clean, and clean-cut is important to us, but with good strategies even with our 9 precious children so far it has been a very minimal expense. *smile*</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">I hope these “how-to’s” have been helpful and/or interesting. *smile* Please do share any additional ideas or strategies that you have for your own family! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Blessings on your efforts for your family,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><u><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Some other “how-to” posts I’ve written that might interest you:</span></i></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/05/large-family-laundry-strategies-how-i.html" target="_blank">Large Family Laundry Strategies - How I Keep 9 Kids Clean and Why That's Valuable</a></span><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/06/large-family-laundry-strategies-more.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Large Family Laundry Strategies - More Tips & Practical How-To's</span></a><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">How we plan our daily routine</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/family-time-managment-managing-my-time.html">How I manage my own time</a>, parts 1 & 2 (to-do lists, bills, calendar, charts for the kids…)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/scrapbooking-family-life.html">How I capture photograph memories</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-family-organization-creating-food.html">How we get by with such a small kitchen</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html">How we occupy young children during the day</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/charts-lists-that-save-my-sanity.html">How we manage chores</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">- <a href="http://largefamiliesonpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/02/recipe-organization.html">How I organizing recipes</a></span></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-58167277669300744272016-06-24T16:00:00.000-07:002016-06-24T16:38:27.975-07:00Scheduling & Routines: You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too. - Part 1 of 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">In this <b>part 1</b> we will look at:</div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Why</i> I began scheduling</li><li><i>How</i> I began scheduling</li><li>My overall scheduling framework</li><li>Additional benefits to scheduling</li></ul><div style="text-align: left;">In <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html" target="_blank"><b>part 2</b></a> I will cover:</div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Winging it vs. planning it</li><li>The blessings of planning</li><li>Common road blocks</li><li>Additional benefits of scheduling</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s8pkzIGBWGw/Uha8zAK2eMI/AAAAAAAAEGU/TVGo4GgggWo/s1600/cakd+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s8pkzIGBWGw/Uha8zAK2eMI/AAAAAAAAEGU/TVGo4GgggWo/s320/cakd+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: left;"></ul></div><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You can’t have your cake and eat it, too. This is what we desire in life, though, isn’t it. To have the fruit of a well-disciplined life, yet to be whimsical and do whatever we want simultaneously and without accountability? *smile* Well here’s how I faced the reality of this dilemma with parenting & marriage, and learned a great strategy for success - living life <span style="font-size: x-small;">ON PURPOSE.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><u><b><i><br /></i></b></u><u><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Why</i> I began scheduling</span></b></u><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tyr764yhLaI/VmOZAhiICzI/AAAAAAAAISM/qQUTbduzaZk/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tyr764yhLaI/VmOZAhiICzI/AAAAAAAAISM/qQUTbduzaZk/s200/1.jpg" width="192" /></a><br />In 1997 I married the love of my life, and 5 months later Bob and I learned we were expecting our first baby…and then our second baby... 13 months apart! I was struggling with trying to learn to be a parent, working through difficult pregnancies and deliveries, and learning to be married simultaneously. We had always wanted children, but this pace of adjusting to marriage and parenting was also driving me into fear of my inadequacy and anticipation of failure in both areas. I called a dear friend and said, “Help!” She thrust into my eager and desperate hands a book called, <a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100"><u><b>Managers of Their Homes</b></u></a>, by Steve & Teri Maxwell, a strong Christian homeschooling family with 8 children of their own. It was <i>life-changing</i> for us, literally. It gave scripture and wisdom for how to successfully approach my days with the children, which then freed me to be the wife I always wanted to be. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My first personal dilemma was, “<b><i>How do I get it all done??</i></b>” (Incidentally, this is also the most common question I get from moms.) I had great stress in trying to keep our home clean, trying to decorate it with things I could purchase inexpensively or make myself, train and nurture the children, provide them educational experiences at home, make sure they had adequate exercise, shop for and prepare low-budget yet healthy meals, participate in church ministry, develop friendships, practice hospitality, get exercise myself, study God’s Word, and make sure I got enough rest to avoid sickness! Needless to say I was not a peaceful wife and mother, patient, calm, or quiet. I was stressed out, and full of fear of failure... and not at all the wife and mother I always thought I would be. And it was breaking my heart.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>How</i> I began scheduling </span></b></u><br /><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMybKDZ2k48NQeA5UqepcTLIAPTUjMSm8iBXplZMQGGumP7_-l" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="rg_i" data-sz="f" name="iRG2Laa4cEXowM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMybKDZ2k48NQeA5UqepcTLIAPTUjMSm8iBXplZMQGGumP7_-l" style="height: 176px; margin-top: 0px; width: 117px;" /></a><br /><br />My daily plan used to be my single-woman-without-children strategy, making long to-do lists for myself and plowing strait through it uninterrupted. *chuckle* I would end up brushing the children aside out of frustration most of the day while trying to accomplish my goals – not what the Lord had put before me, but what I had put before myself. I was expecting 28-hour days out of myself, and of course then failing. Not only did the children not have my heart, but my poor husband had a wife who did not smile very much, who was not enjoying life, who only saw the difficulties, and struggled greatly with depression. <i>Our expectations in life completely and hugely effect how we approach it. </i> As I’ve walked through the learning-to-schedule process step-by-step I’ve learned a far better plan. I initially did not think I would learn very much from this book, but in actually I was spinning way too many plates to do any of them well. But I was pleasantly surprised to learn <i>so much</i>.<br /><br />The book is written with principles that can be applied by any one, whether they love organization or know nothing about it, whether they are an urban family or rural, large or small. I learned <i>why</i> being in a regular schedule and routine is valuable, why it is scriptural, and how different families can apply these principles in their own home. This understanding gave me great hope and determination to create a weekly plan that would be a blessing to my husband, to our children, and to myself. <b> <i> </i></b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>I learned how to be <i>proactive</i> in planning our time instead of <i>reactive</i>; how to not let the urgent take place of the important. <i>I learned to have the freedom to live on purpose.</i></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Beginning this process, before making changes, my days were so chaotic and stressful that I could not even find time at home to read the <u><i>Managers of Their Homes</i></u> book! So I made some weekday evening and Saturday day trips to Starbucks where I could study and plan uninterrupted, while my wonderful husband took care of our children. <i> I prayed and asked the Lord for direction and guidance – and He was so faithful to do this, as he always is when we ask him and then submit ourselves to him. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">First, I took time to analyze all that I was doing, all I desired to do, how to prioritize, and how to begin to puzzle together a balanced week for the children and myself Monday through Friday. I did not presume to schedule my husband, but he was very supportive and excited about our new plans and he chose to participate in the routine when he was home – activities after afternoon naps, during dinner time, bedtime routines, etc. Now I had time for house cleaning, exercise, Bible study, enough sleep, a little reading or scrapbooking, and homeschooling the children (and we were now expecting our third baby). I had time to cook healthy meals, enjoy quality time sitting on the couch with my husband in the evenings, and I could rest in the fact that all of the things I wasn’t doing at that very moment had a time scheduled for them to happen so I didn’t need to worry. And I no longer went to bed every night with so many regrets, not being able to remember the last time I simply sat and read stories to our precious children.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IZX42jSgGnw/UtYbJBrJjLI/AAAAAAAAFOE/8LXVjDzEjzg/s1600/IMG_4810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IZX42jSgGnw/UtYbJBrJjLI/AAAAAAAAFOE/8LXVjDzEjzg/s400/IMG_4810.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">(Learning to <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/family-participation-chores-for-kids.html" target="_blank"><b>involve the kids with jobs</b></a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s_UY0yeh2Jk/TUGnHmkVaDI/AAAAAAAAAKU/1E8tAYSmfJc/s1600/K+M+folding+laundry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s_UY0yeh2Jk/TUGnHmkVaDI/AAAAAAAAAKU/1E8tAYSmfJc/s400/K+M+folding+laundry.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now this transformation of learning to budget our time and plan proactively took <i>time</i>. It took me trial and error, practice, perseverance, faithfulness, and several drafts of schedules over the course of a few weeks until I worked out our first schedule that was a comfortable fit for us. Soon, however, I was able to do a new schedule in a couple of hours, and then make one revised copy before it’s good. I create an initial schedule, give it a few days for every one to learn it, and then determine what changes need to be made – and there are always changes. (Here's one of my posts on<b> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/large-family-scheduling-for-fall-how-i.html" target="_blank">how I create schedules</a>.</b>)<br /><br />In a new routine the first couple of days or so are usually spent just learning what should happen when. We’re practicing, preparing for activities and cleaning them up, learning the routine, without often getting anything of substance done at all because all of our time goes into the practicing! *laugh* When we begin our homeschool schedule for the year we don’t get very much done academically for a couple of days because we’re just learning the schedule first. Then things begin to flow.<br /><br />With the first draft of a schedule I usually find that I did not allow enough time in certain places, and I need to go back in and create more realistic time frames. Learning to create these schedules means the development of a new skill. I develop a plan for our week, and for that season of the year, for the children at their current ages, or until our next baby is born and then things need to change to incorporate baby as well. I need to make appropriate adjustments as these things change and then settle in to a slightly different schedule again. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sometimes our schedule lasts for many months without change, sometimes for only one month before we would need to make some adjustments. For example the baby drops a nap and spaces his feedings out more, or the school year ends and summer begins. I then spend a couple hours at the computer with the schedule template I made (next paragraph) to create a new plan and then we’re rolling along again. I make a hundred choices for our days in advance, and then I am able to rest in those decisions and go with the flow all week as long as we're in that schedule (usually now our whole school year). *smile* <i>This frees up so much time and energy it’s really astounding. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The children and I can see from our schedule on the refrigerator what everyone is supposed to be doing at each time of day. They know what to expect and what is expected of them, and it is predictable and consistent - and as a result, successful. I can avoid planning two people to be on the computer simultaneously for example, make sure every one has done all of the most important things for them in their week, and make sure they have balanced amounts of time for work, school, play, serving, family, Bible, etc. I can plan proactively what each person is doing when I need to feed the baby and <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html" target="_blank"><b>make sure younger children are productively occupied</b></a> with something specific instead of being free to disobey, then requiring me to stop feeding the baby to discipline when necessary.<br /><br /><br /><u><b><span style="font-size: large;">My overall scheduling framework </span></b></u><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U1Jsx1F27ng/VmGrITWUAoI/AAAAAAAAIRo/3_LvSY1sKbs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U1Jsx1F27ng/VmGrITWUAoI/AAAAAAAAIRo/3_LvSY1sKbs/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a>So here is the overall framework for how I create our family’s schedule in the computer. </div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><li><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I use Microsoft Excel (see photo below) to create a template and I work from that each time. This way when I need a new schedule it’s easy to make changes without wasting time creating a whole new framework. Much of the schedule stays the same all the time: meal times, nap times, sleep times, baby feeding times, morning routine with daily jobs before breakfast, etc.</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>When I was first learning to schedule out time I wrote down for every person - each of the children and myself - all of the things I would like for them to do in a week, and about how much time each of those things take. Then I use the Maxwell’s strategy (taught in their book) to puzzle all of those pieces together into one family schedule.</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>I put the children’s names & ages across the top of my Excel chart, and times of day in 30 min. increments down the left side. Not everything we do takes 30 min., but very little takes less time realistically when we include transitions in and out of the activity, getting things out and cleaning them up. (There are examples of many other types of families schedules in the book, too, which I thought were very helpful).</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>If there are short activities to be cone then I plan two 15 min. activities together into one 30 minute block (for example a spelling lesson with one, and then reading-aloud to me for a kindergartener). </li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I choose to shade-in the baby feeding time blocks so that I can easily see them and plan everyone else accordingly.</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I also choose to shade the 3 meals of the day because this helps me see the day in over all chunks: before breakfast time, then the main homeschooling block between breakfast and lunch, then the between lunch and dinner time, and then the evening after dinner.</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>If multiple children are doing the same activity during one block of time, I try to blend those cells into one large cell just to simplify the appearance of the whole page, rather than writing the same thing on all 3 or 6 cells. This enables me to quickly see at-a-glance what a group of kids is doing.</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Every morning the children do one cleaning job which takes less than 30 minutes. On my schedule it looks like more time because there’s a list for each day Monday through Friday in that block, but most of the morning jobs don’t need to be done more than once-a-week.</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I type the school items on the schedule in bold so that I can easily see how much school we’re doing. It was easy for me to feel like it's all just business - but when school is in bold I can say to myself, "Oh look, we actually did a lot of academics today."</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>We have cleaning times every day, but what we clean varies per day and week (here's my post on how we do <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/family-participation-chores-for-kids.html" target="_blank"><b>chores for kids</b></a>). We have creative time, but not always painting; exercise time, but varying types; play-alone time, but with different toys each time. The children have time to do their school work, to have a table activity, to have “towel time” (here's my post on <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html">managing small children’s time during homeschool hours</a></b>), to play in a pack-n-play, spend time with a sibling, have some play-alone time, etc.</li></ul><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>And I print one copy of our schedule for the refrigerator and one for my binder where I keep old schedules for reference. I often refer to these to remind myself what children were doing at specific ages. For example what age they were when they dropped a nap, or to remember what activities a 2-year-old child is able to do so that I can plan well for the next child that age when it’s time. <b><i><br /></i></b></li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is a sample schedule showing what divided up boxes in mostly 30-60 increments can look like. And which children are sharing the same activity in a certain block of time, as it spans two or more children's columns. I like to shade the meal time areas because it helps me at-a-glance to see what is happening during blocks of time between those meals. (Click to enlarge one or two times)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7tACXnsDOpc/VmGpX0--ajI/AAAAAAAAIRg/cMdRC3fQeZw/s1600/Schedule%2BSample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7tACXnsDOpc/VmGpX0--ajI/AAAAAAAAIRg/cMdRC3fQeZw/s320/Schedule%2BSample.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Additional benefits to scheduling </span></b></u><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lpuYnYmCK6U/VmOZAjhKMxI/AAAAAAAAISQ/5ujV9oI1FWI/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lpuYnYmCK6U/VmOZAjhKMxI/AAAAAAAAISQ/5ujV9oI1FWI/s200/images.jpg" width="120" /></a>There are additional benefits to having a weekly schedule in place. For example, when my mom watches the children for 2 days while we attend the annual<b> <i><a href="https://www.christianheritageonline.org/events/2016-annual-conference/" target="_blank">Christian Heritage Homeschool and Family Discipleship Conference</a></i></b>, we have a great plan already in place for her – she <i>loves</i> this and relies heavily upon it. Our schedule helps her know what the children are used to doing and when, how long to expect things to take, when they are used to eating, napping, playing, what their responsibilities are that would help her out, and the children stay in their natural flow of things without chaos. It could be very difficult for an outsider to step in to a family of 9 children and know any of this otherwise, and this would not only cause that person stress but the children as well.<br /><br />When we have a baby sitter, she also knows what to expect and what the general plan is. If I am sick in bed with the flu and Bob is home with the kids, he can still have a peaceful, enjoyable day with everyone. When I was on bed rest for 5 weeks during my pregnancy with the twins, the friends who came to help me during the day could also easily step in to our day and really enjoy themselves and the children. I received so many thanks and words of praise from those friends who were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to step into a large family and really enjoy them selves. (Not that our children are well-behaved all of the time. *chuckle* We have plenty of character training going on over here just like any family needs to.)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So if you are interested in creating a schedule for your family, I would like to reiterate that there is much to be learned about the <i>reasoning</i> behind scheduling, and about how to fit a schedule to fit your particular family’s needs in order to be successful. I had one friend try to just jump in and make something up without having read the book, but she felt unsuccessful until she got the book for Christmas and then she said she really was able to take off. I am sharing with you here how <i>we</i> create schedules for <i>our </i>family - but you will probably do things differently to fit your own family. I really encourage people to buy the <b><a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100"><u>Managers of Their Homes</u></a> </b>book and learn for themselves.<br /><br /><i>Note: </i> With the purchase of a new copy you will also have the benefit of participating in the Maxwell’s online help and ideas resources (if you purchase a used copy you would need to pay $10 extra to receive the online help when you need it - which would probably then bring you up to the cost of just having purchased a new copy). Blessings on your efforts with your family. *smile* *hugs*</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><u><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like to have any of my charts, lists, or schedules that I've shared you can download those FREE from <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qdvdoowoi046cwk/AAAD-zK3Zpz7sfhq9td96Ng8a" target="_blank">D</a>ropbox. </span></u></i></span></b></div><br /><br />Blessings,<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s_UY0yeh2Jk/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/M6ESpxBdaqs/s1600/Erika.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s_UY0yeh2Jk/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/M6ESpxBdaqs/s1600/Erika.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><br /><br /><i><u><b>Recommended book:</b></u></i><br /><a href="http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100">Managers of Their Homes</a>, Maxwell<br /><br /><i><u><b>You may also be interested in reading my posts: </b></u></i><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html">Scheduling & Routines: You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It, too, Part 2 of 2</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/scheduling-just-few-kids-what-to-do.html" target="_blank">Scheduling: Just a Few Kids </a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/scheduling-what-to-do-with-weekends.html" target="_blank">Scheduling: What To Do With Weekends</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/large-family-scheduling-for-fall-how-i.html" target="_blank">Scheduling for Fall - How I Create Our Schedules</a><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/03/family-time-managment-managing-my-time.html">Managing My Time</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-57521580988701909332016-06-17T15:53:00.000-07:002016-06-17T16:53:03.185-07:00Naps & Play-Alone Times<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our sleep principles </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Older children who need less sleep</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A young child who needs unusually little sleep</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 or 3-year-old's who "quit" napping</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Enabling naps, not forcing them</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Napping alone</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Napping twins</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sleeping in on Saturdays</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My "play-alone time" strategy</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2mvJJlvBKf8/US96COlUpAI/AAAAAAAADrA/fDao25v2Gm8/s1600/Sleeping+baby+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2mvJJlvBKf8/US96COlUpAI/AAAAAAAADrA/fDao25v2Gm8/s400/Sleeping+baby+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I gave birth to our third baby our two oldest girls were ages 3 and 4, and at age three had begun balking at taking naps. Trying to get them to stay in bed and sleep became a daily struggle. And yet I was desperate for that rest time myself, and the girls actually felt better and behaved much better in the afternoons and evenings if they had a nap that day. I asked a friend what I should do, and she lovingly pointed me towards Steve & Teri Maxwell's books, namely the<u> <a href="http://www.titus2.com/managers-of-their-homes.html" target="_blank"><b>Managers of Their Homes</b> </a></u>book. Teri Maxwell (homeschooling mother of 8) explained that they require that their children nap through age five, and she shared why that was so valuable and how they did it. *whew!* I was so relieved! And we have implemented those strategies for 9 children so far. I will share with you a good strategy of what can be done, and what the older children can do for similar benefit.</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We have found that in our family having a daily nap or independent quiet time for every person is an absolute necessity. We all feel physically refreshed, as well as mentally and emotionally. We have required and enabled all of our younger children to nap through age 5, while the older children and myself have a 2-hour "play alone time". We all rest. No one is talking to each other. Children play independently without anyone taking their toys or interrupting their play or their thoughts. I am not managing anyone's relationships, and no one is talking to me. *smile* And the children learn the skill of being alone and quiet, without needing outside entertainment or companions every minute (which in this day in age is a skill to be acquired). </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>As a side note:</i> I have known many adults who have said that they hate to be alone, or always need music playing, or the TV on, or ear phones in, and they are actually very uncomfortable with quiet and being alone. But it hasn't served them well. They tend to be pretty high-strung and nervous with out noise. But people need to be quiet sometimes, comfortable with our own thoughts, and Christians need to be able to listen to the Lord's speaking in to our lives. Not that we sit in silence and without occupation during those two hours. *chuckle* But while we are spending time by ourselves we can hear the Lord's still, small voice when He speaks to our hearts. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So when we have this quiet 2 hours every day of either a nap or an alone time, we emerge with the difficulties of the day somewhat erased and ready to begin a new, we are ready for interaction and relationship a fresh, we are eager once again to be with lots of people (in <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/large-families-on-purpose-our-home.html" target="_blank"><b>the small space of our home</b></a> *chuckle*), and we eagerly anticipate the rest of the afternoon and evening together. It's so good. So let's look at some logistics for having kids nap through age 5, and for how we do "play alone time" at our house.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><u><i><b>Our sleep principles </b></i></u></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When we went through the<b> <a href="http://gfi.org/" target="_blank">Growing Families International</a></b> (a.k.a. Growing Kids God's Way) classes as new parents we were taught not only how much sleep to expect for varying ages of children, but also to consider the amount of sleep a child needs within an <i>entire 24-hour period</i>. With this knowledge we can decide how much sleep to give them at night, and how much to give them for a nap. Or, how to enable them to get the full amount of sleep needed at night so that they do not need a nap. Most children between the ages of 1 and 10 or so need about 10-11 hours at night, with a nap for children 5-years-old and younger; and for us our teenagers need about 8-10 hours of sleep per night. And a child's total amount of sleep can be worked with to help make sure that they do not suffer from being either overly tired, or under tired, either of which can disable him from sleeping well and from napping.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If a child is <i><b>overly tired</b></i> - meaning they do not get enough sleep - they may be crying, restless, falling asleep at odd times of day, or even may behave hyperactive. If a child is <i><b>under tired</b></i> - meaning they are given too much sleep (or time in bed) - they are being expected to sleep more than they need. This naturally causes them to fight the designated sleeping times, and also can produce a child who may seem tired (or overly whiny or "faling apart" during unusual times of the day because they were not able to fall asleep quickly or easily at the designated times. We need to help them find the balance, and the amount of sleep that is ideal for them as a general rule. (A good resource for learning more about this is Malia Jacobson's,<b> <a href="http://www.maliajacobson.com/" target="_blank">The Well-Rested Family</a> </b>website and blog!)</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So in considering how much sleep our children need total in a 24-hour period, we first <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/11/large-family-interview-with-malia.html" target="_blank"><b>implement a regular bed time for all of the children</b></a> at the same time. For a long time that bedtime was 8:00 pm, however during that season of life Bob was getting home from work around 4:00 pm so we had a nice amount of family time in the evening together still. With my husband's current work schedule, however, we did not have that much evening time together so we chose to make an adjustment on our early-to-bed and early-to-rise plan. Now the children go to bed at 9:00 pm and get up between 6:00 am and 7:30 am depending on each child's age. Not only is it good for the children's "body clocks" to know when it's time to sleep each night, but Bob and I need to know when we're "off duty" for the night. *smile* So no matter their age they are all in bed at the same time every night, from the 2-year-olds to the 14-year-olds.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've been asked many times if I need to lay down with a child to help them fall asleep. Routinely I do not do this at either naps or at night time, however I love to once in a while. We enabled the children from the time they were babies to put themselves to sleep, so they are used to lying down, quieting their body, closing their eyes, and going to sleep by themselves. Sometimes a sibling or I will snuggle with a napping child for a few minutes at the beginning of nap time just because it's a sweet time, but doing this is not <i>required</i> to get a child to go to sleep or stay in bed.</span><br /><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u>O</u></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><u>lder children who need less sleep</u></i></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To accommodate older children who do not need as much sleep as younger ones, we tell them they may get up earlier in the morning if they need to, but not stay up late at night. Staying up late always has a certain seduction for both young people and adults alike, but really generally nothing productive is accomplished late at night and precious time is wasted by the TV. Unless they have something they need to talk to us about; but generally it's bed time. So we tell the older children they need to be in bed at 9:00 pm, but they may rise early if they would like to and get in to their day with a shower, beginning homeschooling, etc. They may choose to get up early as long as it does not effect their countenance, pleasantness, and their ability to be productive through out the day. If a young person chooses poorly and is overly tired and crabby during the day then mom and dad will choose their wake up time to be a little later so they'll get more sleep. *smirk* </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The children then have free time in the day when their responsibilities are completed. If they rise earlier and finish their responsibilities earlier then they have free time earlier. In our home we work first when we're all fresh and at our best; and play later. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><u>A young child who needs unusually little sleep</u></i></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We did have three different 3-year-olds who needed less sleep than <i>any </i>of the other children, and then when they turned 4 they were sleeping normally again like the rest of the children. Before they turned 3 we were giving them 10 1/2 hours of sleep at night just like the rest of the children needed, but then they started not sleeping for an afternoon nap (and I desperately needed these little guys to nap). They would also be awake at night until 10:00 pm! This was then causing major problems for the <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/10/siblings-sharing-bedrooms-you-have-how.html" target="_blank">siblings they shared a bedroom with</a></b> at night, and for myself as I did not have any break during the day. So we considered little one's 24-hour sleep needs. In 30 minutes increments (for a week at a time) we took 90 minutes off of his night time sleep, which eventually caused him to both need an afternoon nap and to fall asleep easily at night. For a while that meant they stayed up with us at night until 10:30 pm (playing quietly by himself in the family room until then), and got up with the rest of the kids in the morning at 7:30 am. These children then fell asleep quickly for a 2-hour nap every afternoon. *Aaah* Child feels better having had a nap, and I feel better having had a break during the day. And the child falls asleep by them self both times.</span><br /><br /><br /><u><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">2 or 3-year-olds who "quit" napping</span></span></b></i></u><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We do not allow children to quit napping. *smile* *chuckle* Around age 18-months to 2-years our children often discover that they are able to climb out of their crib or twin bed, and because they heave learned a new skill they therefore have to develop a whole new level of self discipline to go with it. It doesn't usually mean they don't need the sleep any longer, it simply means they have to learn self discipline much more than they had to before. But it's important for their lives that they begin learning self discipline very young, which begins here. And the fruit of what they learn will help them in all other areas of their little lives as well. We help them learn this by sitting with them while they fall asleep to offer accountability (but not generally lying down with them as that then becomes a "crutch" that they need <i>to have </i>to fall asleep, and does not require that they really learn <u><i>self</i></u> discipline), and by later using a baby monitor as a second step in holding them accountable. If they climb out of bed they have a consequence, consistently, until they receive that message and stay in bed for sleep times. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We experienced this differently with our 2-year-old twin girls. *sigh* Twice as difficult because they have each other to play with, and to entice each other to disobey. They always slept together at night, but at nap time they needed to be separate. There bunk beds used to be adjacent and perpendicular to one another with a square "window" between the beds, and the twins play coffee shop there. *chuckle* One goes to the window and says to sister, "White chocolate mocha!" (which is my favorite coffee beverage to order once in a while), and sister says, "Okay!", goes and "makes it" and brings it back. Disobedient during sleep times, but so funny; we have to bite our lip to avoid laughing. </span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><u>Enabling naps, not forcing them </u></i></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For whatever reason each of our children has at the age of 3 decided that they no longer want to or need a nap any longer. We have persevered over that hump every time and after some adjustments if necessary (which is not always necessary, but simply an attitude adjustment is required *wink*) that child continues napping through age 5. If we determine after at least a few weeks that a child simply does not need as much sleep as they used to, then we take some sleep off of their night time like I mentioned above to enable them to need that 2-hour afternoon nap. And I explain to that 3-year-old that sometimes kids feel like they don't want to nap any more when they are 3, but it's time to lie down now anyway because all Shupe kids get to nap until they turn 6. *smile*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Before adjusting a child's night time sleep we would wait a few weeks or more to make sure something else isn't causing the problem. We considered if they're just in a phase, were they having teething pain that was keeping them awake, or being tempted by something in the room to be up (such as toys), were they the right temperature while they sleept, that they didn't have to go potty or that they didn't have pooey pants (or need to) regularly right when it was time to sleep. If there appeared to be no cause to their lack of sleep, then we'll adjust their night time in order to help them nap.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We also tried to be very consistent as to what time of day the children napped each day. That consistency helps their little body feel ready at the designated time. That time for some may be right after lunch around 12:30 or 1:00. For us our children's nap time was between 2:00 and 4:00 pm because for so long we have had babies taking 2-3 naps a day, and that was one of the blocks of time the baby needed to sleep, and I needed our other children to nap at the same time so that they were all down together. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's important that a child <i>needs</i> a nap if we expect them to have one. And they generally need to be given that time 7 days a week. Of course after about age 3 the children could miss a nap here and there if they absolutely need to for an event such as a wedding, or a party; but only for one day or maybe two before they start to have a "melt down." *chuckle*</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Napping through the age of 5 is also very beneficial when it comes to moving directly in to "play-alone times." Typically around age 5 our children have been learning to read books, and they have developed their ability to pretend for a longer duration and to a greater depth than a 3-year-old does, so being able to play alone for 2 hours is very reasonable and do-able.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><u><i><b>Napping alone</b></i></u></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Another key aspect of successful nap times if having kids each be <i>alone</i>. During nigh time sleep the children are ready for a long, deep sleep, and they can do that together successfully. We have a boy's bedroom with 4 brothers in it, and a girls bedroom with 5 sisters in it. But during afternoon naps it is light outside, there are other noises around the house, and they simply don't sleep as deeply. Due to these facts our children have always needed to nap separately from one another. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If a child has a crib them we have them sleep there as usual, but they need to be alone in the room. Siblings are designated different places to sleep for naps, each in a separate room. A younger one can sleep in a pack-n-play in our bedroom; a slightly older sibling can sleep on the floor in another room, or if necessary can sleep in the family room near to me for accountability. We've had two children who needed a nap, but could not do so successfully without the accountability of being right with me. So I made sure I had my computer time at the beginning of nap time, I dimmed the lights in the family room, spread out a beach towel on the floor with a pillow and a favorite stuffed animal, and that little one was required to stay lying down beside me until they fell asleep. Once they were asleep I was free to go do other things, but that little child just seemed to lack the self-discipline to stay lying down long enough to fall asleep by themselves for that year or so. So I helped him or her that way, and all was good-to-go. *smile*</span><br /><br /><br /> <u><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Napping twins</span></b></i></u><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When our now 2-year-old twins were in cribs, they were in adjacent cribs (so they could be together when they wanted to, but sleep undisturbed also when they waned to) and could nap in the same room together just like they have their whole lives. This has been our exception so far for kids napping together. We bought another set of <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/08/large-families-on-budgets-making-more.html" target="_blank">bunk beds</a> </b>and moved the girls from their cribs in to the twin-size bottom bunks. *smile* It was SO cute. We didn't know if they would be able to continue sleeping in the same room together or not, but we wanted to try to make that work for them. We tried a system that worked well at least for a while. They were each put to bed for naps in their own beds, and an older sibling spent the beginning time in their room with them giving them accountability to stay there and go to sleep. She sometimes took her laundry to be folded in there and did that while waiting for them to fall asleep, or she read a book, or listened to music or a message with head phones. This worked well, with a little "help" from mom as well. <span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="color: black;">Here was their room set up.</span></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFqRWo01AHs/VdpV6IZqppI/AAAAAAAAIGQ/FJF3STo1wvQArTMPimRxwcn_D4_QK1fYQCKgB/s1600/IMG_7864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFqRWo01AHs/VdpV6IZqppI/AAAAAAAAIGQ/FJF3STo1wvQArTMPimRxwcn_D4_QK1fYQCKgB/s400/IMG_7864.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-efi8qPSNfeU/VdpV63u2_lI/AAAAAAAAIGc/UmnLwGgTg6gkPoMxZZVSM5xImwWpHtY_ACKgB/s1600/IMG_7865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-efi8qPSNfeU/VdpV63u2_lI/AAAAAAAAIGc/UmnLwGgTg6gkPoMxZZVSM5xImwWpHtY_ACKgB/s400/IMG_7865.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-94Km5Lqauig/VdpV7uKf0GI/AAAAAAAAIGg/_FxeB-1srno57392vyfm6LouJRK406blgCKgB/s1600/IMG_7866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-94Km5Lqauig/VdpV7uKf0GI/AAAAAAAAIGg/_FxeB-1srno57392vyfm6LouJRK406blgCKgB/s400/IMG_7866.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And the boy's room looked like this:</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b1wS3sZ5uLQ/VdpV47tw5DI/AAAAAAAAIGM/XbTKDDrPSbsZ72ffQUPFMP_jQ7uwmcG9QCKgB/s1600/IMG_7829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b1wS3sZ5uLQ/VdpV47tw5DI/AAAAAAAAIGM/XbTKDDrPSbsZ72ffQUPFMP_jQ7uwmcG9QCKgB/s400/IMG_7829.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQwNG15Izy0/VdpV4nmogrI/AAAAAAAAIF8/2X89I2Fyt0sJDfHzP2z0TZwN3aqGj9u9ACKgB/s1600/IMG_7828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQwNG15Izy0/VdpV4nmogrI/AAAAAAAAIF8/2X89I2Fyt0sJDfHzP2z0TZwN3aqGj9u9ACKgB/s400/IMG_7828.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A5eG4q3DT1Y/VdpV4krsHcI/AAAAAAAAIGI/dmyE5sDwizgiZ_i1Hlt-ECBPzPHaybnmACKgB/s1600/IMG_7830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A5eG4q3DT1Y/VdpV4krsHcI/AAAAAAAAIGI/dmyE5sDwizgiZ_i1Hlt-ECBPzPHaybnmACKgB/s400/IMG_7830.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When the novelty wore off they were be able to continue sleeping in the girls bedroom together as long as someone was there to help them stay in their beds for a while. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><u><i><b>Sleeping in on Saturdays</b></i></u></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On Friday nights Bob and I are able to have a "home date" where we may have a treat to eat and watch a movie together with the oldest children after the younger children have gone to bed. I can stay up late that one night because we get to sleep in a bit on Saturdays.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We generally let every body sleep in on Saturday mornings as long as they like. That means about 2 hours extra sleep for Bob and I, depending upon what's going on Saturday, and before we need to be up to get the littlest children up who have already then slept in an hour or so, but that is still priceless time. *chuckle* So we are up in the morning by 7:00 am or so instead of 5:00 am. But that's actually about good for me anyway, otherwise I'm not tired enough to go to bed at a decent hour Saturday night, which makes getting up on Sunday morning difficult (and staying awake in church miserable). So we sleep in - but in moderation. </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">The children also stay up late if we have company over on an evening and our families are all still up visiting until late into the night, and they stay up late for certain holidays, but other than that they're always in bed by 9:00 pm. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u>My "Play-alone time" strategy</u></i></b></span><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After our youngest 4 children were all down for naps, our oldest 5 children each went to their desired play area, usually in the same spot every day. A couple of older ones are usually in the family room, dining room table, or kitchen to bake. The same space that I occupy, but we just consider each other to be alone and don't talk much, and they appreciate this alone time, too. Often they use a CD player, iPod, or iPhone and head phones for music, or an audio book, or a message to enjoy their time but also to help us each stay in our own world for those 2 hours. Someone was in the master bedroom; another played in the family room floor, usually with a disc player to help her remember not to talk to other people; and someone younger played in the play room because they needed big motion and play space for some noise.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our youngest ones practice play-alone time as well but they have theirs during our homeschool morning. One would play in their room with activities for an hour, with a baby gate up to help them "remember" that they're supposed to stay there. *wink* And sometimes an older sibling doing her school work in the hallway outside the room to offered further reminder if the younger was tempted to go exploring. Another child played in another bed room for 30 minutes with the same activities that the first child used. I keept the closet doors locked so that they could not unload them as an activity. Here are some ideas for how we locked closet doors closed. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With a hold drilled through both doors and a long nail inserted through them. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KYaXhfuhfLM/TvEYwtAbh-I/AAAAAAAABIg/UPoKO8Mlf9Y/s1600/12-19-11+135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KYaXhfuhfLM/TvEYwtAbh-I/AAAAAAAABIg/UPoKO8Mlf9Y/s400/12-19-11+135.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f8kritSyWyY/TvEY1qdpfZI/AAAAAAAABIo/g66Kn0CYJrs/s1600/12-19-11+136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f8kritSyWyY/TvEY1qdpfZI/AAAAAAAABIo/g66Kn0CYJrs/s400/12-19-11+136.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALI5lCTo4OI/TvEY6Dp3g2I/AAAAAAAABIw/2Gw8W29OGZU/s1600/12-19-11+137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ALI5lCTo4OI/TvEY6Dp3g2I/AAAAAAAABIw/2Gw8W29OGZU/s400/12-19-11+137.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or by using an extendible shower curtain rod to hold it closed. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaDRrQrVgZU/TvEY-bMu2OI/AAAAAAAABI4/TvYaL-SwlL0/s1600/12-19-11+139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaDRrQrVgZU/TvEY-bMu2OI/AAAAAAAABI4/TvYaL-SwlL0/s400/12-19-11+139.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or with<b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P635T2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000P635T2&linkCode=as2&tag=largefa-20" target="_blank">bi-fold door locks</a></b> I purchased for a few of our closets around the house. *smile* Awesome.</span> <br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sYl-5sOeyyg/US_ovr8KEaI/AAAAAAAADr0/xfMq7MMCnko/s1600/IMG_5561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sYl-5sOeyyg/US_ovr8KEaI/AAAAAAAADr0/xfMq7MMCnko/s400/IMG_5561.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We don't have dressers in the bedrooms because <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/organization-thinking-outside-box-with_20.html" target="_blank">we created a children's clothing closet for all of them in the garage</a>,</b> but if you do I encourage you to bolt them to the wall so that they cannot tip over on any little people, and children should not be allowed to empty the drawers all over the place. One solution for this when I did have dressers in their rooms was to use the push-down cupboard or drawer locks, which worked well for us for years. I also recommend that if you have any free-standing shelf units in the room that those also be bolted to the walls in case kids kids climb them. With these safety precautions taken, children's rooms can be a great place to have some play alone time.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our little 2-year-old twins also had individual play alone times in the girls bedroom for 30 minutes each from the time they were about 9 months old. First they played in their crib, and then at about 18 months they moved to their bedroom. I just removed the bunk bed ladder so they couldn't climb up and fall. When they did learn to climb they did not have room time until they were older and able to choose to stay off of the bunks.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So for all the children the main rule we had was that everyone stayed in their own area and did not come out until play alone time was over. To not talk to anyone, not to ask questions, to get drinks of water (having made sure they have plenty all day on either side of play alone time), not to get extra activities more than what they already have - only to use the bathroom and then return to their space. All of the other things can wait until later. And they knew (although they needed reminding periodically) that they needed to have everything they desire to use during alone time already with them when alone time begins. If children were coming out to do<i> anything,</i> the others hear them and assume there must be a party they're missing and they all started coming out. So, the plan is that no one comes out. If they do come out to tell me something or say they need water (which 90% of the time means they just want to see what other people are doing), I simply smile, turn them around and point them back to the play room or wherever they came from. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The only exception for having play-alone times was if we had been unusually busy in a day, or perhaps hadn't been home until nap time and the children hadn't played together that day in which case I we allowed them to pair up and play together. This was also a nice one-on-one time with a sibling that they enjoy. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our children all <i>love</i> to have some time to be quiet, to play without having to share, and to just be alone. *smile* I love that. We've had other friends of our implement this practice with their older children even though they didn't have any nappers and their whole family just loved it, too. It's just a nice break in the day.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I hope this has been helpful for you, reading about one way a large family can have breaks during the day time whether they have older children or younger ones, with naps and play-alone times. It's not a mystery really, just takes some vision and the implementation of a good plan. <i>I would love to hear how more of you also do naps or quiet alone times, and how you've handled varying children's needs to enable them to be successful with the family's plan.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Blessings on your family's well being,</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></a> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><u>Recommended resources</u></i></b> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.maliajacobson.com/" target="_blank">Website and blog: <i>The Well-Rested Family</i></a>, Malia Jacobson, sleep specialist and author</span> <br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><u>You might also enjoy reading my related posts:</u></i></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <u>On SLEEPING</u>: </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/10/siblings-sharing-bedrooms-you-have-how.html" target="_blank">Siblings Sharing Bedrooms - "You have *how* many per room?!" </a></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/11/large-family-interview-with-malia.html" target="_blank">A Large Family Interview With Malia Jacobson</a>, Sleep Specialist and Author</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/10/sleep-better-how-to-make-your-bedroom.html" target="_blank">Sleep Better - How to Make Your Bedroom a Better Place to Re-Charge</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/10/motherhood-with-vitality-part-1-of-2.html" target="_blank">Motherhood With Vitality!, Part 1 of 2</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/scheduling-what-to-do-with-weekends.html" target="_blank">Scheduling: What To Do With Weekends? </a></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <u>On PLAY-ALONE TIMES</u></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/02/family-audio-books-with-on-going-list.html" target="_blank">Family Audio Books - With an On-Going List of Recommendations! </a></span><br /><br />Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-69905193311957379762016-06-09T15:30:00.000-07:002016-06-09T15:54:49.517-07:00Large Families On Budgets - Making More Out Of Less, Part 2 of 2<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In </span><u style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/08/large-families-on-budgets-making-more.html" target="_blank">part one</a></b></u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I began addressing the topic of how a family can do life well on a small income. </span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Large family - small income - can they co-exist? The answer: <i>absolutely.</i> I would love to share with you what we have learned from the Lord on this topic. * smile* There are two parts to this post; Here is the <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/08/large-families-on-budgets-making-more.html" target="_blank"><b>first part</b></a> if you'd like to be thorough.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u><b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/08/large-families-on-budgets-making-more.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a></b>:</u> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Principles</span></b></i> for making a smaller income stretch further.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u><b>Part 2</b></u>: A<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> list of<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">practical ideas</span></b> </i>that we implement to make an income stretch further. And a link to the conference <span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>video</i> </b></span>of my presentation of this material.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YPtw8Wy3mw8/V1nzpXc80oI/AAAAAAAAJUw/w_sWL8cycIs0FxK0BiEYHgMVpEX0p-pQwCLcB/s1600/USpennyInGodweTrust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YPtw8Wy3mw8/V1nzpXc80oI/AAAAAAAAJUw/w_sWL8cycIs0FxK0BiEYHgMVpEX0p-pQwCLcB/s320/USpennyInGodweTrust.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~</div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is one of the many questions I've received on this subject:</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Hi Erika, I'm a single mother of seven and I am having the hardest time with budgeting, trying to figure out how to make $2000 a month work. If you have any ideas I would greatly appreciate it." ~ S.M.</span></div></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>PART 2</u></b> </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> list of <i><b>practical ideas</b> </i>that we implement to make an income stretch further.</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <a href="https://signup.netflix.com/logout" target="_blank"><b>Netflix</b></a></span> - Our family has a weekly movie night, where we watch one family movie, and Bob and I have a weekly date night where we watch a movie at home together, plus our children watch documentaries some evenings while I prepare dinner. So having a Netflix account to be able to receive movies in the mail each week saves us a ton of money compared to renting movies. Also, Netflix has a <i>huge</i> selection including all of the family-friendly ones as well as new-releases, where the movie rental places do not have hardly any of the movies we would like. <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/03/television-in-home-good-bad-does-it.html" target="_blank">We don't choose to have a TV</a>, </b>so these selections from Netflix are all that we watch and it's served us very well.</span></span></div></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cVyBIVbcEbU/UCWBe6luQCI/AAAAAAAAB_k/ft3iX5SU0W0/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cVyBIVbcEbU/UCWBe6luQCI/AAAAAAAAB_k/ft3iX5SU0W0/s400/003.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">~ Buying grocery items in bulk</span></b> - We purchase any staple foods items that we can in bulk at either Costco or Winco, which saves a lot of money. We purchase wheat berries in bulk and grind the wheat flour ourselves and make our own bread. We have a few delicious recipes we love, but one <i>yummy</i> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/01/favorite-recipes-daily-delicious-whole.html" target="_blank"><b>whole wheat bread recipe</b></a> in particular that we bake every week to eat with our <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/01/green-smoothies-excellent-whole-foods.html" target="_blank">green smoothies</a> </b>with<b> </b>breakfast. Making our own bread is healthier for us, and far less expensive than buying bread already made. </span><br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ukCIpkVANwQ/UCWBvdbpBAI/AAAAAAAAB_8/HjNWgL0rKfo/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ukCIpkVANwQ/UCWBvdbpBAI/AAAAAAAAB_8/HjNWgL0rKfo/s400/006.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I also sometimes purchase one extra bulk item for our deep storage pantry, where we have additional food that will last for a long time but which we can use if cash is particularly tight for a time and we need to cut back on groceries. Item such as canned soups, steel-cut oats, wheat berries, whole wheat pasta, flax seed. I don't buy a lot of extra things to stock the pantry at once, but I can purchase one item at a time here and there which doesn't make a huge difference in our grocery bill that week, but which does help build up a surplus for our use when we need it. Some non-bulk items I may purchase when they're on sale to have on hand in our regular pantry are things like spaghetti sauce, condensed soup, nuts, trail mix.</span><br /><br />We also buy our additional bread items at the local bread outlet: hotdog and hamburger buns, bread for french toast, and corn chips. And it doesn't matter if the breads are near their expiration date, or even a day past, because we freeze it all until we use it (see below). This saves a lot of money.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />~ <b>Having a large, chest freezer or upright freezer</b></span> (which we purchased used off of Craig's List) - Here is where we store many of the bulk bread items that we purchase. And again, we can purchase bread that is near it's expiration date or just past it and freeze it, and we never taste the difference when we use it because the age of the bread has been stopped in the freezing process. We also store bulk quantities of fresh spinach (<i>way </i>cheaper from Costco than the grocery store!) and frozen berries from Costco (for our <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/01/green-smoothies-excellent-whole-foods.html" target="_blank"><b>green smoothies</b></a>) in this freezer, as well as frozen pizza from Costco for our once-a-week movie night, frozen vegetables from Costco such as green beans and corn which we add to dinners often, and the bulk shredded cheeses also from Costco (co-jack and parmesan). We separate the cheese in to ziplock sandwich baggies so that we can bring out and thaw (on the counter in just minutes) managable amounts of the cheese at a time. This also saves a great deal on the cost of cheese. We also purchase and freeze butter from Costco and store the extra here.<br /><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MNuteZ4lQ1Q/UCa0vYH7QqI/AAAAAAAACBQ/fpG45n7fJxo/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MNuteZ4lQ1Q/UCa0vYH7QqI/AAAAAAAACBQ/fpG45n7fJxo/s400/006.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Eating the pantry</b></span> - When we are unusually tight on cash due to unforseen circumstances, we do what we call "eating the pantry." *smile* This means we eat what we already have in the pantry and I do not shop for additional recipe ingredients. That week I only shop for the perishable items (fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs) and we create meals from what we have on hand. I usually have a few cans of soup that aren't enough for an entire dinner (we rarely eat canned soup because it's expensive and not as good for us as homemade, but have it on hand for "emergency" dinners when we need something fast or if I'm not home to prepare a dinner - also very rare). I sometimes have left over boxes of pasta from a recipe when I didn't use the whole box. We make oatmeal for dinner, or pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, maybe burritos if I have dry pinto beans to cook, things like that. The meals are not "complete" like I usually make them, with an entre and a side dish necessarily, they're more hodge-podge and seemingly odd to my mind. But the kids don't necessarily notice, and they think it's fun in it's oddity. *chuckle* We also eat from our deep storage (see below). This way I can spend very little on groceries that week. And this is also a great opportunity to use all those miscellaneous items in the pantry that otherwise would not have gotten used.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Click here to learn <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/03/large-family-organization-creating-food.html" target="_blank"><b>how we made this pantry from a coat closet</b></a>!)</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_MvngNkFO4/TXvQw9OQwFI/AAAAAAAAAWA/VCM7cD_pFOM/s1600/pantry+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_MvngNkFO4/TXvQw9OQwFI/AAAAAAAAAWA/VCM7cD_pFOM/s400/pantry+001.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Developing deep storage</b> </span>- Our deep storage is not <i>nearly</i> as big as we would like, due to both cost and space, but we hope to develope that in the future. For now it contains only items that would last for years if stored properly. Canned soups, canned chicken and tuna, brown and white rice, dry beans, lentils, wheat berries, steel-cut oats, rolled oats, jarred baby food, etc. When we "eat the pantry" we use this as an opportunity to not only save money on buying groceries but also to rotate some of the food items we have stored so that they do not get too old. It does take some thought to create a deep pantry, considering what recipes you like to make and would be able to make using certain non-perishable ingredients; but again, it's a time commitment and not so much a cash commitment. (The baby wipes box isn't wipes, it's food. *smile*)<br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KqDfdIBVvh8/UCWBjkVxKnI/AAAAAAAAB_s/Hp8Rbd_mXVs/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KqDfdIBVvh8/UCWBjkVxKnI/AAAAAAAAB_s/Hp8Rbd_mXVs/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cxBOBPJDGx0/UCWBpEinvPI/AAAAAAAAB_0/Xv3xbKp1tgQ/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cxBOBPJDGx0/UCWBpEinvPI/AAAAAAAAB_0/Xv3xbKp1tgQ/s400/005.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Do-it-yourself</b></span> - You may think that doing something like baking your own bread would take forever and that you don't have time. I thought for the first 14 years of our marriage. *smile* But really, doing things yourself instead of paying someone else to do it for you can save a lot of money. Yes, it's a time investment, but it doesn't take cash. We can choose to invest our time when we don't have the cash. One of my ways to contribute to saving money for our family is by doing things myself when I can. (And encouraging our daughters, who love to bake, to do things like this for our family).</span><br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E7AC6wiYkl4/UCWBZyVh3cI/AAAAAAAAB_c/M6a-HkQ_-WE/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E7AC6wiYkl4/UCWBZyVh3cI/AAAAAAAAB_c/M6a-HkQ_-WE/s400/001.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Coupons </b></span>- I do not clip coupons, except for food items that we already need to purchase and from stores that I'm already going to. I shop at Costco weekly, so I always cut out their coupons but I only use the coupons when I need to purchase that particular item (I don't purchase items simply because they're on sale or I have a coupon for it). It is very easy to save a little money by shopping according to coupons, but then spend that money for gas driving around to all the different stores to purchase the items! Instead,<b> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/large-family-meal-planning-shopping.html" target="_blank">I plan meals frugally</a></b> and save money through my planning instead.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Buying used clothing</b></span> - Another thing I can personally do to save <i>a ton</i> of money is shopping for our family's clothing used. All of our clothing is purchased at either Goodwill or Value Village, and we still have very nice clothes (I think *smile*). If you'd like more information on my strategies for doing this, you can read my post, <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/01/becoming-master-used-clothing-shopper.html" target="_blank">Becoming a Master Used Clothing Shopper</a>.</b></span><b><br /></b> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Using lists</span> </b>- By keeping careful lists and sticking to them, I can help ensure that I do not over spend when I shop for our family's groceries each week. I use a<b> <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/charts-lists-that-save-my-sanity.html" target="_blank">Master Grocery List</a></b> to do our grocery shopping. I also have on our refrigerator a <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/charts-lists-that-save-my-sanity.html" target="_blank"><b>dollar store list</b></a> of items that we buy that are available at our local dollar store, so that when I need something I can peruse that list to see if I can get it at the dollar store rather than at Wal-Mart. (Now I don't use this list as often as I used to because it seems that Wal-Mart has taken notice of items that are popular for people to buy at the dollar store and Wal-Mart has started offering those same items for about 97 cents at their own store; but it's still a good idea if that's not the case where you live.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b><a href="http://www.samaritanministries.org/needprocess/" target="_blank">Samaritan Ministries</a></b></span> instead of paying for health insurance - Samaritan is a type of voluntary Christian co-op, providing coordination for all the membership to be able to pay off each other's major medical expenses. </span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For a family our size, medical insurance would cost $1500-1600 per month; with Samaritan we pay $355 per month, and our major medical expenses have been taken care of. <i>It's far more involved and thoroughly explained on Samaritan's website</i>. I would encourage you to check them out. (And if you sign up with them, if you mention that you heard about Samaritan through us then we receive a credit towards our monthly share.) It's an excellent website. If you scroll through their tabs at the top you'll find what you need to know. And we'd be happy to give more of a testimony if you desire.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Avoiding credit card debt</b></span> - We do not use credit cards for anything except for making a few online purchases (such as for school curriculum) once in a blue moon, for items that cannot be purchased via cash or check. People pay a price for borrowing money on credit, and with credit cards the interest rate is a killer. If we have an emergency purchase to put on the credit card such as an automobile repair, then we immediately start putting every extra pennies towards paying that off before any discretionary spending. We get out of that debt ASAP. </span><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Being prepared with gasoline</b> </span>- We have a full-size, 12-passenger van, and to fill it up costs about $80-90. So instead of letting the tank drain down to empty, we fill it as soon as it reaches half empty, thus spending only $40-50 per week on gas or so, which helps our cash flow. Of course we spend the same amount of money on gas over all, but our cash flow is helped by spending only $40 at a time instead of $$90. This practice also helps us during those times when money is unusually tight because we always have at least a half-tank of gasoline and do not <i>need</i> to fill the tank that week. If we only drive for the necessities around town and to church, we can stretch that half tank of gas for a couple of weeks. Then as we can we get the tank back up to full again.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">~ </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Using unexpected income wisely</span></b> - This is a <i>hugely valuable tip</i>. When ever we have extra income we use that money very carefully to set ourselves up to be able to do even better on a smaller income. Extra income may come from things such as a Christmas bonus from work, tax returns, birthday money, maybe an insurance settlement from a car accident, maybe an inheritance. With this money we do practical helps - not a vacation or an experience. We've purchased things such as:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> * A <u>privacy fence</u> for the back yard, enabling the children to play outside all the more freely without adult supervision, and enabling us to be using our back yard to it's fullest extent and not feeling the need to go other places that cost money. I can get things done inside (when I'm not out with the kids), and they can get exercise safely.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> * <u>Yard activities</u> <u>for the children</u> to play with, such as toys for the "dirt box", balls, badminton or croquet games, a volley ball.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> * Upgrading our <u>Costco membership</u> to a "Business Membership", enabling us to get a percentage of our spending back each year. This has equaled a $150-200 return for us usually, which not only is extra money we can use but we are also able to pay for our annual membership fee of $50 with that money. So Costco membership is in essence "free" for us now.</span><br /><br /> * Our <u>full-size van</u> with cash, and we could purchase a van with low miles and was in great condition and which should last us for many years.<br /><br /> * A <u>food processor</u> for the kitchen, enabling me to more easily prepare large quantities of soups and many numbers of recipes from home instead of purchasing them already prepared. I can make lots of things from scratch much more quickly, easily, and pleasantly. And a simple blessing like this does effect my attitude about making more foods myself, and provides more time for me to be with the family. *smile*<br /><br /> * <u>Organizational items</u> such as containers for the bulk items in the pantry or <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/03/large-family-organization-creating-food.html" target="_blank"><b>building a pantry itself</b></a>, or <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/organizing-home-principles-tips-for.html" target="_blank">clear tubs for the children's toys, shelving for a closet</a>, <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/organization-thinking-outside-box-with_20.html" target="_blank">building a large closet itself</a>,</b> or <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/recipe-organization.html" target="_blank"><b>organizing recipes</b></a>. All of these organizational projects do cost money - but then you have a home that is <i>so pleasant</i> to be in! Not overly cluttered or cramped, causing people to want to leave the house a lot, which costs money finding places to go. Staying home is very inexpensive. *smile*<br /><br /> * <u>Other things for the home</u> which also make it a more enjoyable place to be, such as a new CD to listen to, a scented candle or reed diffuser, books, games, even some nail polish so I can feel pretty but do a manicure for myself at home. <br /><br />* <u>Christmas gifts</u> and <u>homeschool curriculum</u> - With our tax return every year we first pay off any debt we may have (we pursue not having any debt and basically do not use credit cards, but sometimes there are baby delivery costs or crisis such as car repair), and then we set aside <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/11/large-family-christmas-birthday.html" target="_blank"><b>budgeted money for Christmas gifts</b></a> that year, and also for homeschool curriculum.<br /><br />* An <u>upright freezer</u> - for lots of additional food storage, items puchased in bulk and/or on sale. (see above photo)<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is our approach for spending extra money wisely. When the money comes, we come to an agreement about how long the money will sit in check form before it is deposited and spent. Maybe a month. Then we make a list of all the possible places the money could go, and how much each of those things cost. We then let the time pass and think and pray about that list. We ask the Lord how He would have us spend the money? Paying off debt is always the first priority Biblically, but then what is the wisest way to spend the rest. And we need to be open to the Spirit's lead and guidance. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is very common for the Lord to show me different priorities than I originally started out with. Perhaps something that I really wanted actually was not that important compared to the other items on the list, once the "shine" wore off a bit. *chuckle* Or maybe something that I really desired to have but didn't think it would be prioritized over the other things, actually did have increased value for us, and my husband would say to, too. *smile* Then when it's time to spend the money there is most importantly agreement between Bob and I as to where the money should go, and there is peace in knowing that we're in agreement as best as we can be with the Lord's desires for the money.<br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Be aware of the little purchases</b></span> - Things like purchasing coffee every morning on the way to work may seem like a small thing - but it really adds up. Here in WA, buying a latte every day at $4 each would add up to $120 per month. And like wise, saving just a little every time you shop, also can really add up as well.</span><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Paying off medical debt</b></span> - The one debt we've incurred on a fairly regular basis (but have paid off completely each time) has been debt from baby deliveries. When we had great health insurance (we no longer do through Bob's current employment) our remaining portion of the bill that was our responsibility equaled about $2000. We would first apply for financial aid through the hospital and after our application was considered (income vs. family size, etc.) they would reduce our hospital bill by about 60%. Then we arranged to be on payment plans for the 5 different places we owed money to: hospital, doctors for me, doctors for baby, anesthesiologist, and lab work. And we paid between $10-40 toward each of these until the bills were paid off which took about a year. </span><br /> <br />With Samaritan, for the hospitalization and doctor bills for the miscarriage we had in May of 2012 we paid the first $300 towards our total published "need" (which is all of our bills combined for a single medical need, such as this miscarriage). The rest of the more than $8,000 in bills is being taken care of through the co-op. <i>Miraculous.</i> *smile*<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">~ <b>Doing side jobs</b></span> - My husband is quick to look for side jobs he can do on weekends to earn extra money. He is a "handyman" and can do minor remodel work on homes, construction work, computer work, automotive work, photography. And the Lord has blessed us by sending good work for him to do when we've been in need. I encourage you to consider what gifts the Lord has given you to work with and see how you can develop those to earn a bit of extra money.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have another close stay-at-home mom friend who would go very early in the morning (before her husband left for work) 3 days a week to clean a hair salon and earn some extra money that way. </span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some other dear friends of ours encourage their children in interesting income-earning endeavors so that their children can help purchase things they need such as clothing and also have quite a lot of discretionary income to do with as they choose. One daughter sells Avon. Their son walks some neighbor's dogs, does lawn mowing and landscaping, and collects recycling. Another of their daughters makes darling frosted cup cakes and sells those once a week or so to kids coming off the school bus in their neighborhood.</span><br /> <br />All of these ideas do take time. And that can feel hard often times, because if my husband is working more than so am I at home of course. But we are doing our very best to work with what the Lord has given us. And I pray a lot, and lean on Him for strength and perseverance.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />~ <b>Selling things</b></span> - When there are times of extra-tight cash crunch, or we have a specific cash need that we cannot meet, then my husband just starts selling things that we do not <i>need</i> right at this minute or can live without. For example, Bob is a great photographer and he has some very nice equipment (he's purchased used from Craig's list over time), but he has sold all of his equipment probably 3 different times over the course of our marriage because we needed the cash. (He purchased equipment used again years later each time when we had a little gift money.) He loves photography - but we can't eat his camera equipment. *smile* <i>Bob is such a good example to me of holding lightly the material things we own, and keeping things in perspective</i>. It always makes me sad, but he just shrugs, and smiles, and says, It will be okay. He has also sold some car stereo equipment he had purchased used, and a riffle he owned and the ammunition. We've sold furniture we didn't really need but were storing in the garage because we liked it. Things like that. We do what we have to do. <br /> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />~ <b>Possibly consider moving</b> </span>- This may be a hard thing for many people to hear, but it needs to be mentioned. We've heard many people say that this just wouldn't be an option - but really what they're saying is, That's too much to ask. Or that would be too hard. But the Lord does not call us to do only the easy things. We need to follow Him no matter what the cost. *hugs* Sometimes a family has a small income, or the income has shrunk significantly due to changes in circumstances such as the loss of one job in a dual-income family, or a career change, and they then need to make big changes. Changing the area one lives in can make all the difference. Cost of living in different areas varies <i>greatly</i>. <br /> <br />And, with a move there can actually be huge blessing being in a like-minded community, where most everyone else is also single-income, values family and children, maybe home schools. We made a move like this and it was so, so good. Thankfully we did not have to move away from family, but we did move to a completely different geographical area and we've been way, way better off.<br /><br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">~~~~~~~~~~</span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Lord promises to take care of His children. *smile* But we need to align our mind with His. We need to prioritize what He prioritizes. Choose contentment and thankfulness in what He has given us. Sometimes we need to adjust our expectations and go with the flow better, and stop fighting His plan. We need to share our gifts and abilities with others in need (not always without any compensation of course, as there is a time to be paid for our work efforts and a time to just offer them as a gift - after all, the Lord gave us the gift of the abilities in the first place). We need to immerse ourselves in His Word so that we can find peace and comfort there, instead of worrying or becoming overly fretful about our financial situation. </span><br /><br />And we need to make wise choices with the finances the Lord has given us. Not that it's not good to pursue improving our financial situation as we go through life. Doing so is a healthy use of our growing skills and knowledge. But we do not need to fear or become distraught about current financial situations we find ourselves in. <br /><br /><br />Blessings on your efforts,<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><u><i><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Recommended resource:</span></b></i></u><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.christianheritageonline.org/product-category/speaker/erika-shupe/" target="_blank">CD - My CONFERENCE RECORDING of this post.</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><u>You may also be interested in my related post:</u></i></b><br /><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/05/marriage-our-high-priority.html" target="_blank">Marriage - Our High Priority</a> (smaller income or not *smile*)</span><br /><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710971761137905435.post-7007891959943664692016-06-03T12:00:00.000-07:002016-06-03T12:27:32.722-07:00Large Family Matters: Parenting Young Children While Successfully Managing Your Home<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/search/label/Large%20Family%20Matters" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PXCY9PXvetc/UBFm6zpiUzI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/7b6Arf6wMrg/s1600/Large+Family+Matters+button+-+pristina.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><u><b><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is the question I will be answering this time:</span></i></b></u></div></div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>"</b><i>I was wondering if you had any insight to those hard years when you have a lot of littles [only] but still need to teach the foundational subjects. I'm looking for practical helps. I'm really struggling right now. My children are 11 mo., 3 yrs, 5 yrs, 7 yrs, and 9 yrs. old No matter what I use as far as [homeschool] curriculum, <b>it's the day to day management of home, cleaning, school, training, nursing, putting out 'fires', etc. that I can't seem to get a handle on</b>.</i>" ~ A Mom</span></div></blockquote><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I would love to sit down and talk with you, and through the internet I am kind of able to do so! *smile* With the wonder of the internet I am able to not only talk with you but also other moms who can answer my own questions and help me with the things I'm working on as well. Out of one such relationship the idea was born to share both of our experiences with you; answering questions we get together. We get to have fun writing about the issues that mom struggle with and you get the benefit of two perspectives on the same subject. If you would like more of these dual-answered posts you can click on our topic, "<b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/search/label/Large%20Family%20Matters" target="_blank">Large Family Matters.</a></b>"</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sherry Hayes of </span><a href="http://ladyofvirtue.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Large Family Mothering</b></span></i></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b>and I are calling our team writing project "<i>Large Family Matters</i>". As the name implies, we will be writing about large family matters because large family matters to us and to many of you. *smile*</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First of all, may I just validate these moms in feeling that this season of having a bunch of little muffins and no big helpers <i>is a lot of work</i> *hugs* - but the fruit of your efforts when children are just a little older can be so very sweet. I remember it clearly. I was <i>so busy</i>, really doing everything myself. *smile* And life is still very busy for me today as a mother of 9, but now some of our "littles" have grown to become great </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/family-participation-chores-for-kids.html" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>contributors in the family functioning</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, which is so good not only for practicality, but for their own <b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/08/character-training-for-children-core.html" target="_blank">character</a></b>. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is what I would encourage you to consider doing as a mom of many "littles", and in this order:</span></div><ol style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Make sure you get <b>enough sleep</b></span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spend time in <b>God's Word</b> every morning</span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Drawing on <b>husband support</b></span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Eat <b>healthy foods</b></span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Implementing some <b>child management</b> strategies </span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Implementing a <b>weekly routine</b></span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>De-clutter</b> and <b>organize</b> your home</span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></ol><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now I know this looks like a lot of huge things to tackle - <i>please try not to be overwhelmed! </i>*smile* And I know that just finding the time to seek help for yourself by reading posts like these can feel overwhelming in itself. Just take one piece at a time, and each one can improve life and your outlook on it and help you get to the next step. I also hope that mine and Sherry's posts can bring you vision and hope for your future, which in itself can lift one's spirits. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'll expand on each of these steps below, but here's the reasoning of this approach: (1) Getting enough sleep can help you feel like you can cope with life in general. This means getting to bed at a decent hour so that you can rise early and get a good start; and it may mean taking a nap daily. And (2) you'll then be able to stay awake for some time in God's Word every morning, starting your day off with the Lord who loves you and can guide you. His Word will bring direction, information, peace, blessing, and strategy. (3) Eating good, whole foods will bring you more energy, vitality, and minimize your time in the kitchen because your children won't be hungry (or falling apart) so often. (4) By implementing some child management strategies you can keep kids safe and your house from being destroyed while you're adjusting to a new life approach. *smile* Now, (5) you need a proactive plan for your entire week. Instead of <i>reacting </i>every day, hoping that the important things get done such as meals, quality time with kids and husband, and a clean home (which rarely do happen in reaction-mode), you can <i>budget your time</i>, and make sure that all the important things get done every week. Then (6), when you can plan a daily time to work a bit at a time on de-cluttering and organizing your home, then you can move yourself towards maintaining an orderly, pretty stress-free home, instead of drowning in it. And (7), my husband, Bob, encourages you to ask for support from your husband, as you take on a new plan for your family. Now I'll break these steps down in to more detail for you - don't worry. *hugs* *smile*</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><u><b>1.</b> Make sure you get <b>enough sleep</b></u></i> </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'll tell you up front, this takes discipline. *smile* You may not realize it, but it does. Because staying up late to </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">watch TV</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, or do projects that you never get to otherwise, will not serve you well in your daily responsibilities. Of course there needs to be time to rest and relax, though! It's important to have a balanced life. But there must be time for that during the day time, or early evening, or weekend, so that you can get to bed in time during the week to enable you to get up early in the morning. It's important that you be able to stay awake to have time with the Lord every day because He loves you and He will guide you in all of your decision-making. It's also important that you have a shower <i>before </i>the children are up (*wink* yes, you heard me correctly), and do some morning tasks such as making the bed, opening up the window blinds, making coffee if that's what you desire - getting ready to receive and serve your little crew with dedication, commitment, and a smile because you're well-rested and ready. When a mom is rested, the world is a new color. *smile* It's the beginning of </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/10/motherhood-with-vitality-part-1-of-2.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>being a mom with vitality</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is some good information on </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/10/sleep-better-how-to-make-your-bedroom.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>sleeping better: how to make your bedroom a better place to recharge</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>. </b>Here's one of my posts on why getting sleep is valuable and </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/11/large-family-interview-with-malia.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>how to accomplish it with a family of any size</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>. </b>In fact I'd like to recommend a blog to you on this subject called, </span><a href="http://www.maliajacobson.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The Well Rested Family</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, by sleep expert Malia Jacobson. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s1ashsaaOHY/UA8nIGSCxnI/AAAAAAAAB64/SIB5KaiRSEA/s1600/mom+sleep.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s1ashsaaOHY/UA8nIGSCxnI/AAAAAAAAB64/SIB5KaiRSEA/s400/mom+sleep.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <i><b> </b></i></span><br /><br /><u><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>2.</b> Spend time in <b>God's Word</b> every morning</span></i></u></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is so very important. I've heard it said many times that it is <i>the </i>most important thing you can do to improve life in general, for anyone (but of course you need to be able to stay awake to do so, which is the only reason it is second on my list for you). Through God's Word you can receive encouragement, direction, ideas, learn to prioritize, make decisions for both yourself and your children that are honoring to the Lord - which brings blessing. We can get a better perspective when we spend time with the Lord. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNQGzIGOzrk/TyjIs0KCE8I/AAAAAAAABTg/OiXJs55y7fA/s1600/Bible+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNQGzIGOzrk/TyjIs0KCE8I/AAAAAAAABTg/OiXJs55y7fA/s400/Bible+2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You <i>do not need</i> a book study or store-bought study with homework to follow. Just read part of His Word - His letters to you - every morning. Without leaning on the Lord's strength and direction you are trying to do life on your own, by yourself. But there is no need for that. If you're not spending time with the Lord every day of course you're feeling like you can't do life! You can't! <i>Without Him</i>. *hugs* But with Him,</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"[You] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [you]." ~ Philippians 4:13</span></i></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><i><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>3.</b> Drawing <b>husband support</b></span></u></i><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My husband, Bob, suggests also requesting support from your husband for both mom and children. For example, he could take the children out for a little while even if only for a drive in the car so that mom can have some quiet time, maybe a nap, or time for home projects, etc. It's good for the kids to get out anyway and they will love exploring the world with dad. If nothing else it will give mom a chance to get a breath. We have done this Sundays after church or occasionally on a Saturday. Sometimes Bob will take the kids out for a little walk on the bike path near our house, or he's taken them to a state park to build a camp fire, or to explore the woods. These times even if they're only for an hour or two make a huge difference for me in recharging.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D16coMXoZ5c/UBFOlG352pI/AAAAAAAAB7o/a2HQIccdK74/s400/Marblemount+Hatchery+101409+020.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <i><b> </b></i></span><br /><i><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>4.</b> Eat <b>healthy foods</b></span></u></i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I grew up eating healthy food and learning all about the benefits of it, and have done even more research and learning in my adult life. Mine and Bob's most recent discovery is<b> </b></span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/01/green-smoothies-excellent-whole-foods.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Green Smoothies, and "Whole foods"</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b>as a category - and by this I mean whole grain and whole wheat, raw vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts. These enable people's bodies to feel satisfied for long periods of time, they are filling, energizing, helping people feel alert and awake, and just plain good in general! *smile* Processed foods made with white flour (which turns to sugar when it hits our saliva) and sugar sap people's energy, make their brain tired, weaken their immune system making them vulnerable to sickness and much worse, and result in feeling hungry again in about 90 minutes. Many people even find themselves </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/07/freedom-from-sugar-addiction.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>addicted to sugar</b> </span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in their diet, and this is a very powerful and detrimental habit for a mom and her family.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you desire to serve your family meals four times each day - breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner - and not be spending unnecessary hours in the kitchen, and have children who are satisfied and feeling good longer, whole foods can get you there. We eat at each meal until we're full, and then we leave the kitchen until the next meal. Done - movin' on. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook - but I do not like to waste time being in the kitchen all day long unnecessarily. *smile*</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-djJYLSVgI/TWs5Hw4Gv-I/AAAAAAAAAUA/IwUklJTk504/s1600/LFOP+baking+Irish+Brown+Bread+023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-djJYLSVgI/TWs5Hw4Gv-I/AAAAAAAAAUA/IwUklJTk504/s400/LFOP+baking+Irish+Brown+Bread+023.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>5. </b>Implementing some <b>child management</b> strategies </span></u></i><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now we are all about training our children to be obedient, but we have also found that when there are lots of little ones in a family it can be hard to keep up with the speed and magnitude with which children can get in to trouble. We have 9 children close together in age, and the youngest four were all born within 22 months. It really feels like quadruplets with that part of the group. And when one gets in to trouble, the other 3 are right there to multiply the disobedience four fold in just seconds. It's one thing to train one baby or toddler towards safety and obedience in the home; it's a whole different ball game to train a bunch simultaneously.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So when the Lord blessed us with these little muffins so close in age we had to start thinking about parenting a little differently than we did with just two children. We needed to start implementing some child management strategies to save my sanity. We began using baby gates, door knob locks, cupboard locks, and adding additional structure in their day to help the children be safe and productively occupied. Now the children still have plenty of opportunity to learn self control around the house with opportunities to reach books, desk/office supplies, kitchen utensils (safe ones), etc., and when we get a handle on those a bit then we'll remove some of these child safety devices so that the children can continue developing self control and not need these extra things. But I've not been able to do it all simultaneously without the help of some child management tools.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Below, for example, you can see how we used to put up a baby gate at our bedroom door which did a few things for us. It provided a sanctuary for mom and dad so that the master bedroom is not full of toys and child-proofing because children do not play in there; it gave me a place to allow the twin babies to have some floor time without the risk of being run over or played with carelessly by well-meaning young siblings; and it allowed our small home to still feel open with the doors open.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2-rzUDiP1HI/T7M37G3MSsI/AAAAAAAABl4/9vejiDbnBUs/s1600/6-21-11+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2-rzUDiP1HI/T7M37G3MSsI/AAAAAAAABl4/9vejiDbnBUs/s400/6-21-11+034.jpg" width="300" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For more detailed information on how we imlement child management strategies you can read my post on </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/productively-occupying-3-year-old-boys.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>productively occupying 3-year-old boys</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and my posts on scheduling, namely </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html" target="_blank">productively occupying young children</a>.</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2-rzUDiP1HI/T7M37G3MSsI/AAAAAAAABl4/9vejiDbnBUs/s1600/6-21-11+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></b></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><i><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>6.</b> Implementing a <b>weekly routine</b></span></u></i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This concept of having a weekly schedule has literally changed our life: how we approach the daily needs and responsibilities, and acquire <i>balance</i> in life. Time to work and time to play, time to rest, time to exercise, time to read, homeschool, do a hobby, clean the house, serve outside of our family, build a marriage, etc. It's all a matter of budgeting one's time, and prioritizing in advance when everything will get done.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I had our third baby I cried out to a dear friend for help with how to do life, she pointed me to </span><a href="http://www.titus2.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Steve and Teri Maxwell's books</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, namely</span><a href="http://www.titus2.com/managers-of-their-homes.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>The Managers of Their Homes</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. Their book teaches people why scheduling is God's best plan for them with tons of scripture pointing out why. And then the Maxwells walk a person through, step-by-step, how to put together a weekly schedule for any type of family: rural, urban, farming or not, large or small. Anyone can apply these principles and have success when they decide to embrace it and dive in! *smile*</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now you may be thinking, as I've heard countless times, "But I'm just not a scheduled type of person; I want to just wing it and take life as we go." Well, here is a post I've written for you to read then, </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/01/scheduling-routines-you-cant-have-your.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Scheduling and routines: you can't have your cake and eat it, too</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>.</b> Here I will lovingly walk you through coming to see how some sort of plan for your days is really necessary, how it will bless you, and bring <i>great freedom </i>to your life. And if you would like to see examples of the schedules we used to use when we only had real young children, you can do that in my post, <a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/09/scheduling-just-few-kids-what-to-do.html" target="_blank"><b>Scheduling: Just a Few Kids</b></a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A weekly schedule can also bless your marriage <i>greatly</i>. With a weekly routine you can have the home clean and dinner prepared when your husband arrives home from work. You can have a smile for him (no small feat, I know), and be ready to have some daily quality time when he gets home from work. I've heard miraculous things from couples who have embraced having a weekly schedule! Marriages can be transformed, and many people we've known have even decided that they would like to have more children (where before the husband was too overwhelmed by the home, children, and marriage to be open to it!) Bob and I choose to make </span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/05/marriage-our-high-priority.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>marriage a high priority</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and this can make life so very sweet, as the Lord intended it to be.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With a plan for your week you <i>can</i> learn how to get it all done. *smile* You can learn to be <i>pro</i>active with your time and energy instead of <i>re</i>active, which takes way more time and energy. To live live ON PURPOSE. I have written many posts on scheduling and routines if you would like to read more. To read much more on this topic you can go to "<b><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/search/label/Schedules%20and%20Routines" target="_blank">Schedules and Routines</a></b>". *smile* You can go,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">From this... </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-12oXtWyZQ20/TXP51FVxPEI/AAAAAAAAAU8/Y2kfDPPvEuo/s1600/Unorganized+life.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-12oXtWyZQ20/TXP51FVxPEI/AAAAAAAAAU8/Y2kfDPPvEuo/s400/Unorganized+life.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">...to this. *smile*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-brFXH5ocXS0/TXP6bmuqu1I/AAAAAAAAAVA/w_S08Z_vK5g/s1600/Orgnaized+life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-brFXH5ocXS0/TXP6bmuqu1I/AAAAAAAAAVA/w_S08Z_vK5g/s400/Orgnaized+life.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KcZqSbrAUOM/UA8nHkbkncI/AAAAAAAAB6w/uPkV5xpFMfA/s1600/MOTH.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KcZqSbrAUOM/UA8nHkbkncI/AAAAAAAAB6w/uPkV5xpFMfA/s400/MOTH.png" width="400" /></span></a></div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></u></i><i><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>7. De-clutter</b> and <b>organize</b> your home</span></u></i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is typically a <i>great</i> need in families, and even more so with many small children that we're trying to provide for. We pretty much all tend to collect <i>way</i> too much stuff, and the more children, usually the more stuff. *smile* But there's hope!</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Believe it or not, you can have a home that is uncluttered, spacious feeling, orderly, and fairly easy to maintain. I'll show you how to do so, and suggest the learning of some new habits that can set you in motion for a new life style. We live in an 1100 square foot home (plus a 2-car garage) with 11 of us in our family. You can take<b> </b></span><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/large-families-on-purpose-our-home.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>a tour of our home</b></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> if you would like. *smile* It's not fancy, but it is not chaotic either, and it feels spacious for it's size because we keep it very uncluttered and organized; and it is truly our favorite place to be. (Not that it doesn't get covered with toys and activities when the kids play, but when it's time to clean up everything gets cleaned up and everything has a "home".)</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/large-families-on-purpose-our-home.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ze-E649_pO0/TZqdc4KHSEI/AAAAAAAAAeI/vmhJNBOYZOQ/s400/Home+Shots+056.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The reason I have made this step last is because once you have put in to place these other steps then you can have time and energy to de-cluttering and organization in your home. You can take one step at a time, one room at a time, and have a certain block of time to dedicate to it every single day. *smile* <i>I'm telling you, this can transform a home in a huge way</i>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I do specify de-cluttering and <i>then</i> organization in that order because it can be a fruitless effort to try to organize a space when it is full of things that one doesn't need. And it takes too much time to manage too much stuff. But you may be asking, "How do I know what to get rid of? Where do I begin?" I will show you. *hugs* With lots of pictures, and ideas, and resources. Being disorganized is a waste of our time, our energy, and our finances. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have written <i>many</i> posts on organization and de-cluttering a home. It is truly my passion! I would rather organize than eat! *laugh!* Here are a few links to some of my posts if you would like to look in to the when's, why's, and how's of de-cluttering and then getting organized.</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/de-cluttering-first-steps-to.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">De-Cluttering: The First Steps to Organization</span></a></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/04/organizing-home-principles-tips-for.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Organizing a Home: Principles and Tips for Organization, Part 1 of 2</span></a></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/orderliness-closer-look.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Orderliness - A Closer Look</span></a></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><li><a href="http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2012/05/orderliness-closer-look.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Family Participation: Chores for Kids</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ze-E649_pO0/TZqdc4KHSEI/AAAAAAAAAeI/vmhJNBOYZOQ/s1600/Home+Shots+056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You can also go to the Topics list near the top of our blog home page, on the right hand side, and click on "Organization" to see a list of all of my posts on this topic. But again, take it one step at a time. Try to see the trees through the forest. One step, one room at a time. And you and your family will be delighting in your success before you know it!</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">~~~~~~~~~~</span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I know that this is a lot of information when you're on the front side of it. *hugs* And I know that I linked to a lot of additional posts to read. But this was a big question, and again I'm trying to give you hope and encouragement that there is a way, and vision for how it can be done. I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to give you patience (with both yourself and your family as you adjust), and perseverance, faithfulness to do what you can towards your goal each day, and to try to keep your eye on the end goal. <i>Life will still be busy with a passel of little muffins</i>, but it can be doable, manageable, balanced, generally peaceful and enjoyable. You can feel successful at the end of your day, and rest knowing that the things that didn't get done that day have their place on a different day and will be accomplished as well. Have courage sweet friend. The Lord is with you. This is one of my very favorite verses in the Bible,</span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." ~ Isaiah 41:13</span></i></blockquote></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here is a suggestion for how to begin approaching any of these 7 areas I've listed. Use a "snow ball approach". For example, for de-cluttering don't just jump in and take on the whole house, or even the garage (the largest area of the house and the most complex). *wink* Write down small steps for yourself for how you might progress. Like this. Goal: de-clutter every room of the house. Start with the main floor rooms. Beginning with one room, or even just one small space such as a closet or a kitchen drawer. This will bring quick success and encouratement. Work for 15-30 minutes every day. Once you've done this for a few days, you'll increase in ability and pretty soon you'll have more time to put towards it because you've gotten faster and better at it and you have a little more time on your hands because there is less clutter to manage in your home, and you could work for 30-60 minutes. See how it snow balls? *smile*</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://ladyofvirtue.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-thrive-with-many-little-children.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xLH5nrMA1UM/UBFVXzmP27I/AAAAAAAAB8M/Lk2_qKlpZlw/s400/Large+Family+Mothering.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Blessings on your efforts with your family,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZebhZCpmv8/TUw1fecGfNI/AAAAAAAAAMw/MrdkHl7Tfk8/s1600/Erika.png" /></span></div>Erika Shupehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00888749387962898925noreply@blogger.com