Black.png%22%3E%3C/a%3E%27%3B%0Adocument.getElementsByTagName%28%27body%27%29.item%280%29.appendChild%28div%29%3B%0A%3C/script%3E"));

Thursday 12 August 2010

Homemaking for Dummies











Okay, so I have a deep desire to be a homemaking goddess in the non-heretical kind of way. I love home decorating, love cooking, even love cleaning. I just need to somehow get it all together and become a domestic diva with a house which wouldn't look out of place in Country Living. That is the hard part. I do try. I hardly ever sit down. I am busy, busy, busy. I cook, I clean, I do all kind of homemakingey type jobs,... all to no avail. At this current moment I have given in. The washing up is piled in the sink, the floor is covered in crumbs and I am way too tired to care. All week I've stayed up until after 11pm tidying and cleaning so that when we rise the next day we will go downstairs to a haven of cleanliness and orderliness. Tonight, however, the energy has escaped me and I just can't be bothered.

In a bid to overcome this situation occuring on a regular basis, I am trying hard to get organised. I have bought myself a lovely pink binder which will become my 'Home Management Binder'. So far it has a calendar to the end of the year, a weekly planner, a home ed planning section and a recipe and meal planning section. I am working on the chores section and have laminated some chore cards for the boys which will live in map cases I purchased from Poundland. They have an opaque section and a transparent section. Each child will have a selection of chore cards in the opaque section and I will bring forward the cards for each day into the transparent section. I am paying them in beans, which will then be traded in at the rate of 1p each. I am hoping that this will alleviate some of my jobs and help the house run more smoothly.

The thing I am really enjoying is getting back to the meal planning. I am currently using the More with Less Cookbook which is a frugal cookbook produced by a group of Mennonite Christians. I have to say that I am loving it. All the recipes are super simple yet delicious and nutritious. Even the boys have eaten them without too much complaining.

I am also dreaming of revamping my dining/family room and have purchased a lovely green and white spotty oilcloth to protect my table as inspiration. I am going for a Cath Kidston meets attic 24 look. All girly and floral but bright and cheerful too. It is all a long way off, but at least I can dream. In the meantime, I am crocheting a granny stripe blanket to cover some of the felt pen marks on my lovely Laura Ashley sofa.

I grew up in a fairly chaotic single parent home. It wasn't my mum's fault; she worked all hours to provide, but it was pretty bleak at times nevertheless. Consequently, I am determined to provide a different experience for my boys. It is very difficult because of my lack of previous experience BUT I know that it is very important and that "I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me" Philippians 4:13. By his grace I will succeed; if you have a moment, please pray for me and those like me, who are pioneers in this strange but wonderful country.