Are you tired of running around and getting nothing accomplished? Do you feel like a frazzled mess at the end of the day? Do you dream of being cloned so you’ll have more hands to take care of your household?

One area of motherhood lots of women find challenging is keeping pace. This is just one reason why creating and maintaining a daily schedule for yourself and your family is important. Having a schedule will not only keep you on track and remind you of daily commitments, but it can help keep you sane, too.

Scheduling Tips

If you’d like to start a schedule but aren’t sure where to begin, here are some quick and easy tips to get you started.

Tip #1: Use a monthly planner.

If you write down each commitment as it occurs on a monthly calendar, you will be able to see everything at a glance. More importantly, this will help you prevent overbooking.

Tip #2: Set time limits for each child.

Depending on how many children you have, your time could quickly become eaten up by extracurricular activities. Allot a specific amount of time to each child. Once they’ve reached their time limit, discontinue any further planning.

Tip #3: Up the responsibility factor.

Your children are capable of helping with household chores. The older they get, the more responsibility they can handle. Whether it’s helping fold clothes, or sweeping the floor, share these tasks with every family member. Your child will learn responsibility and it will help build their self-esteem as well.

Tip #4: Start simple.

The most important thing to remember about creating a schedule is to be flexible and start simple. If you haven’t worked with a schedule at all, don’t try to create a time line to account for every half hour of your day. By doing so, you will only frustrate yourself when you find it difficult to stick to. Start simple, then build on your schedule as necessary over time.

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Now that winter is coming to a close and spring is in the air, you are probably more than ready to give your living room a thorough cleaning. Getting rid of the winter doldrums will breathe new energy into your living room and your life!

As you begin cleaning, it’s easiest to start from the top of the room and work your way down. Dust the corners of the rooms and the ceiling. Check the walls and baseboards and wipe them down or spot clean, as necessary. Don’t forget to get the fingerprints off the switch plates, door, and doorknobs.

Next, clean the ceiling fan and the covers to any overhead lights. You might be surprised at the piles of dust on your fan blade tops and the collection of dead bugs in your light shades. While you have the stepstool, clean any air vents that are up on the wall and take down the curtains or window treatments and clean them.

Clean your windows, inside and out, making sure to rinse the screens. You can use a vacuum with a small attachment to get the dirt and dust out of the crevices of the windowsill. Leave the windows open and let the fresh air be your motivator.

Now clean off the entertainment center or whatever houses your electronics equipment. Unplug everything and clean off any dust, drips, or spills. Remember to never spray cleaner directly onto anything electronic, instead spray it onto a cloth and just wipe down. Don’t forget to pick things up and dust underneath. Untangle the jumble of cords and make sure none have signs of melting or fraying.

Knickknacks, table lamps, and other decorative pieces, including mirrors, art, and pictures should be dusted next. Again, just use the spray on a cloth rather than spraying directly onto the surfaces of your pictures and artwork, to prevent liquid from seeping through onto your treasured photos and art.

Wipe off the tabletops and shelving, making sure to move everything and clean underneath. A vacuum attachment can be used to get the hard to reach corners. For shelving units, the top down approach comes into play again, so that any dust that falls will be wiped up on the next shelf.

Now it is time for a treasure hunt! Take all the cushions and pillows off the couches and chairs and see what has fallen through the cracks. You never know what mysteries the crevices of the couch may hold. Grab the vacuum and use a smaller attachment to get all the dirt and crumbs from the cracks and creases.

Clean the upholstery, cushions, and throw pillow of your couch and chairs, if necessary. Throw anything that is machine washable in the washer, as per the instructions. Use a spot cleaner on the fabrics that it is safe for or use an attachment on a carpet steamer if you find the entire surface needs attention.

Believe it or not, you are already in the home stretch for the living room. All that is left is to clean the floors and put things back together.

Grab all of the floor mats and throw rugs and clean them thoroughly. Shake them out, rinse them off, or launder them, as necessary. Consider having larger, more delicate area rugs cleaned by a professional.

If your room is carpeted, vacuum the room thoroughly, moving the furniture to get under and behind everything. If your carpet is in really bad shape, buy or rent a steam cleaner and get the ground in dirt cleaned out of the carpet.

If you have hardwood or tile, sweep up the loose dirt or use a vacuum on the bare floors setting, moving the furniture as you go. Mop or polish the floor with an appropriate cleaning solution and let it dry or wipe it down with a towel.

Once the floor has completely dried, you can put the couches back together and re-hang the window treatments. Take a look around and rearrange any of your knickknacks that seem to be out of place. Light a couple of scented candles, take a seat on the nice, clean couch, and enjoy relaxing in your fresh, clean living area.

Ready for more Spring Cleaning Tips? Grab your copy of the Hillbilly Housewife’s Spring Cleaning Guide today at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/springcleaning.htm

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by Angela Giles Klocke

These days, families are constantly on the lookout for ways to spend quality time together. Some real quality time projects take real thinking. Family trips are great, but not everyone can afford to take them all the time. But when you do, whether it is to the park or on a mountain hike, you can work together to preserve the memory.

My family keeps a family journal. After returning from family outings, the family gathers together, and those who can write take a turn to jot down his or her day and what each thought of it. The younger children talk about their adventure and one of us writes it down for them. We list the pros and cons of each outing and makes notes on whether we would like to return again and what, if anything, we have learned.

The journal is made accessible to the whole family so that they can look through it at any time. Once pictures from our outings are developed/printed, we place them in the journal also.

What will you need?

• One (or a few) regular notebooks OR;
• Loose-leaf notebook paper
• Construction paper
• Family photos
• Binder
• Blank Photo Pages
• Pens
• Markers
• Glue
• Scissors (for trimming photos)

It’s always best to try to work on the journal the same day as your trip, if feasible. If not, make sure you do it as soon as you can. Little ones tend to forget their excitement or what they saw if too much time lapses before they get to tell you their thoughts.

Journal writing time isn’t just limited to after taking trips, though. We work on our journal after fun days of school, interesting days of work, etc… This helps the family also keep up to date with how each other’s days went. Rather than just talking about our days, we are working together on a fun project and making memories to last.

Just as baby books are great for reading once children grow up, a family journal will always evoke fond memories of the times in the past as well as the time spent putting it all together. It will always be a cherished family heirloom.

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