Our homes should be a blessing to our family… and whether we like it or not, we moms/wives/ladies can make it or break it! We need to strive to create an environment that is welcoming, peaceful and cozy for all who enter. A clean, well kept and organized home will make these elements much more easy to obtain. As the ladies of the house, when things are out of order and chaotic, we too feel that and then in turn present that through our actions, attitudes and behavior… “if mom’s happy, then everyone is happy,” is too true a statement! In “Sink Reflections”, by Marla Cilley, she talks about having a Home Blessing (another Buzz word). What this basically refers to is our Mission Statement for our home as women, wives and mothers… it our goal for what we want our home to be… what we want it to reflect. I took this very seriously because I have high expectations! One thing to remember in all this is that even though we have routines and schedules, we must be flexible… we are not drill sergeants, even though I have been accused of that, we are still mommy and need to teach and train with a tender hand so our little helpers want to help and get excited about the process as well. If you have children you fully understand what I am talking about… I have had some really good plans drawn up, but when the baby is puking up a storm from a sudden flu bug… zone cleaning comes to a sudden halt… so be what the Lord has us to be first… woman, wife and mommy! Enjoy yourself in your organizational quests, otherwise it won’t last and it will be just another burden!
Here is my Daily Home Blessing…
GOAL: To train our dear children in the Fruits of the Spirit and how to apply them to their daily life… not just our
dear children, but also myself.
- Each day is assigned 1 to 2 fruits- 9 fruits of the Spirit in 7 days of the week.
- That day at lunch we review the Bible verse, let them say one that they remember, how many; what book; etc.
- Each one of us focus on one area to work on that day: IE. Sat- Temperance/Self Control: Kyle work on self control with reading materials… devotions above hunting/sports; Ethan work on self control by doing a job even when he doesn’t feel like doing it… and so on for each family member.
- Give each other encouragement- work together.
- Try to create a more peaceful, happy environment~ especially for when dear husband comes home from working.
- BREAKDOWN: Sunday- Love; Monday- Joy & Peace; Tuesday- Long suffering & Gentleness; Wednesday- Goodness; Thursday- Faith; Friday- Meekness; Saturday- Temperance/Self Control.
“But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy ,peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such, there is no law.” Galatians 5:22, 23.
Zone Cleaning the Office: this is my weekly schedule unless otherwise noted.
*Dust ~around all ceiling lines and down corners of the room;
~inside wall pocket as well; dust shelf and all furniture- Book shelf, desk, all file cabinets, dresser, printer, computer and computer desk, white cabinet, all pictures/frames, knick knacks, lamps.
*Wash windows and ledges; take down curtains first week of month and wash
*Clean off all table top surfaces; organize all papers that need it; put all catch all stuff in proper places; file papers accordingly; clean up bulletin boards.
*Change garbage.
*Vacuum carpet.
Here are some tips on Storage and Organization that I use in my office… now please take into consideration I do all the paper and book work for our farm: meat/egg purchases; 50 member CSA; produce purchase; organization of what my growers will produce; my fields and gardens; seed saving & ordering; I am the Market Manager for our farms Winter Farmers Market and I have over 70 vendors and all the paperwork that goes with that, write three blogs, not to mention all my household stuff… and so on and so on… so I do a lot in my office. It does get out of hand at times… especially when ‘other’ people start putting things in my office and on my desk.
*Because I technically deal with five different elements within our farm and dozens of sub-categories within each element I need to keep things separated and very organized. I have 3 file cabinets that help me with this.
~ One is for all Household Documents- such as tax papers, appliance manuals and warranties, large item receipts of purchase, bank statements, policies, and any other things that would fall into this category.
~One is strictly for our farm- one drawer for CSA and the other for market stuff/meat.
~The other holds catalogs, and any ‘other’ paperwork that I need space for.
*I use baskets to store a lot of stuff- they are cute & decorative and very functional. I steer clear of round baskets- they take up more space then they provide. I like shoe box size rectangle and square baskets. They sit nicely on shelves and look very neat. Books stand nicely in them and most containers fit as well. I have a five shelf bookshelf in my office that holds some office supplies; reams of paper, envelopes, files, etc.~ several baskets that hide containers of stapes, pens, rubber bands, paper clips, index cards and such.
*This shelf also houses many of ‘my’ books- mostly the crafty ones, my cookbooks and several of my scrapbooks. 
*On the top shelf I have a couple more baskets that hold all my rubber stamps and stamp pads… I don’t do stamping very often and this is a good, out of the way place for me… not to mention the baby hasn’t figured out they are there yet!
*On the floor under the bottom shelf I have two more of those large rectangular laundry size baskets that hold back issues of my favorite magazines… Martha Stewart Living, Country Gardens and Organic Gardening in there. I do a lot of referencing in these for blog ideas.
*I have a really neat old drop leaf table that is painted a light tealy green… this is my desk where I do my field plans, pay bills and keep my day planner. I have several family pictures, and other containers that hold pens, and misc. office supplies on it.
Some key tips that I like to use in my office is to keep current! Don’t hang onto years worth of catalogs… With my seed catalogs I keep the current year and one year back to compare. With us being a farm, I get oodles & oodles of catalogs… If I don’t shop them, I don’t keep them! Recycle them and do everyone a favor.
*Paper work can be so troublesome! My philosophy is pitch anything 3 three years or older. With exception of tax & bank documents, large purchase receipts with warranties and any thing else you will REALLY NEED!
*I have two bulletin boards: one is above my PC desk and this has any current and due bills for the farm, CSA group name list & schedules, and of course some inspirational sayings, cards and photos… it has to be cute!
*I keep a wall calender right beside my office chair which is between my desk and PC counter, I only write ‘family’ appointments on this one. I keep my day planner on my desk as well as a full size desk calender on my desk top. I use my day planner for everything; farm related, family and personal- it is my tell all! The full size desk calender is where I keep my hired girls hours and any other farm related appointments. on. They are all together and can be easily cross referenced. Day planners are a girl’s best friend!
1/4 cup shredded Colby jack cheese
1 everything bagel, split
2 slices of an Heirloom Tomato
2 Tbsp. fresh Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. season salt
2 large green Tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
Shortening for frying
2-3 Tbsp. butter, softened
8 slices french bread, cut 1/2 inch thick if not already sliced
2. Coat each tomato slice gently, one at a time in the bag of cornmeal mix; remove from bag.
3. Heat shortening in a large skillet over medium heat; fry tomatoes until golden on both sides; remove from skillet onto several layers of paper towel to absorb excess oil; pat dry.
4. Spread butter on one side of each bread slice; arrange 4 slices, butter side down in skillet; top with tomatoes and remaining bread, butter side up and fry each side until toasted golden on both sides.
Jean
For Dragonflies And Me 