Home Management
Home Management 101
by Cheryl R. Carter
Many mothers will first have to organize their homes before they can realistically make plans to work at home. As I have struggled to maintain a household, I have discovered that managing a household involves an understanding of two key elements: inventory and maintenance. Everything we do falls into one of these categories. Inventory items keep the family moving and spontaneous. These items are their needs. Most times these things cannot be delayed. They include food, clean clothes, etc. I have to feed my children. They need to wear clean clothes. I have to pay the electricity bill, because I need lights. These things cannot be delayed. Maintenance items can be delayed. The kitchen floor may be sticky, but the family will still function. Your windows may be full of grime, but you can still see out of them. I don’t advocate sticky floors or grimy windows but I hope you get my point. Inventory items should be taken care of first in your home. This will free you to address maintenance issues.
Laundry
One important inventory item is the laundry. This is a job with various steps. Often we neglect to think through the whole process; therefore, we do not complete the laundry in a one-time segment. Reduce the steps you take when doing laundry and you’ll see what I mean. I hate doing laundry therefore I do it everyday. No, its not some redemptive character building spiritual exercise, I simply hate dealing with the volume of laundry so I try to do it everyday so it doesn’t pile up. With a husband who goes to the gym daily and three active kids this is actually quite easy for me. Also get help from others. Train little ones to sort the laundry and older ones to help. Teenagers should definitely be doing their own laundry. My kids have their own laundry baskets, so they fold and put away their own clothes. We have had a only one floods in the basement when the kids wanted to surprise me for Mother’s Day by doing the laundry.
Meals
The other area in the home that is of major concern is meal preparation. This too is a multi-faceted task. It involves shopping, planning, preparing and cooking. The time spent in this area also can be reduced. You should only be going to the grocery store once a week or less. This can surely be accomplished with some planning. First, visit the store you frequent the most and write down the items in each aisle. Next, type it up, if possible. Photocopy it. Write your grocery list on it; it will reduce your shopping time. You can post the paper in the kitchen when you notice you are low on an item you can simply write it on the list. This will keep you from running out of items and from going to the store so frequently. It also speeds up the time when you are in the store. You should also write out tentative menus for a week and go shopping for these items at one time. For working moms, there are so many great cookbooks with simple meals that do not take long to prepare. Take time every Saturday to plan the next week's meals. I try to plan for two weeks worth of meals. Do not forget the kids’ snacks and lunch foods. You can also cook double portions when you cook; freeze the second portion. You may also cook for two weeks, or even a month at a time, if you have the freezer space. Usually I purchase prepared foods when they go on sale. This helps at times.
by Cheryl R. Carter
Many mothers will first have to organize their homes before they can realistically make plans to work at home. As I have struggled to maintain a household, I have discovered that managing a household involves an understanding of two key elements: inventory and maintenance. Everything we do falls into one of these categories. Inventory items keep the family moving and spontaneous. These items are their needs. Most times these things cannot be delayed. They include food, clean clothes, etc. I have to feed my children. They need to wear clean clothes. I have to pay the electricity bill, because I need lights. These things cannot be delayed. Maintenance items can be delayed. The kitchen floor may be sticky, but the family will still function. Your windows may be full of grime, but you can still see out of them. I don’t advocate sticky floors or grimy windows but I hope you get my point. Inventory items should be taken care of first in your home. This will free you to address maintenance issues.
Laundry
One important inventory item is the laundry. This is a job with various steps. Often we neglect to think through the whole process; therefore, we do not complete the laundry in a one-time segment. Reduce the steps you take when doing laundry and you’ll see what I mean. I hate doing laundry therefore I do it everyday. No, its not some redemptive character building spiritual exercise, I simply hate dealing with the volume of laundry so I try to do it everyday so it doesn’t pile up. With a husband who goes to the gym daily and three active kids this is actually quite easy for me. Also get help from others. Train little ones to sort the laundry and older ones to help. Teenagers should definitely be doing their own laundry. My kids have their own laundry baskets, so they fold and put away their own clothes. We have had a only one floods in the basement when the kids wanted to surprise me for Mother’s Day by doing the laundry.
Meals
The other area in the home that is of major concern is meal preparation. This too is a multi-faceted task. It involves shopping, planning, preparing and cooking. The time spent in this area also can be reduced. You should only be going to the grocery store once a week or less. This can surely be accomplished with some planning. First, visit the store you frequent the most and write down the items in each aisle. Next, type it up, if possible. Photocopy it. Write your grocery list on it; it will reduce your shopping time. You can post the paper in the kitchen when you notice you are low on an item you can simply write it on the list. This will keep you from running out of items and from going to the store so frequently. It also speeds up the time when you are in the store. You should also write out tentative menus for a week and go shopping for these items at one time. For working moms, there are so many great cookbooks with simple meals that do not take long to prepare. Take time every Saturday to plan the next week's meals. I try to plan for two weeks worth of meals. Do not forget the kids’ snacks and lunch foods. You can also cook double portions when you cook; freeze the second portion. You may also cook for two weeks, or even a month at a time, if you have the freezer space. Usually I purchase prepared foods when they go on sale. This helps at times.
