House Habits

Well until I figure out the whole new page posting dilliwicker I guess here is where you're going to be following my newest adventure. Getting control back over my house. Years ago I was a housewife. I can't say I was ever a great housewife but that was my job in life and it was a daily practice. For the past few years (since being divorced) I've found myself a little lost and floundering some when it comes to what my daily practices should be. Keeping house doesn't seem as important when you don't have someone coming home to your hard work so it got put on the back burner. Sure I eventually got into the Monday and Thursday kitchen cleaning habit but mostly because I really picked up the joy of cooking and the kitchen was my favorite place to be. Sitting in the living room isn't as nice when it's just you, especially after having someone around for so many years to sit with you at the end of the day. So the kitchen, cook, create, eat. Now that life has gotten a little busier and I'm gathering a new me, reinvention is what that self-help book calls it. Years of learning and wondering and coming back again. 

So I joined www.flylady.net this is the place to get back that lost control when it comes to the house and home. It's a good site. She emphasizes on not getting burnt out on the task of getting back on track; 15 minutes at a time. The house didn't become a mess in one day so it'll take more than one day to get it back in order. I'm sure none of you have that problem. :)

Yesterday was day one on the adventure. Flylady gives daily tasks called BabySteps when you're first starting out. Day 1's BabyStep is shining the kitchen sink. That is what I did yesterday and low and behold it's still spotless. 

It's not beautiful but it's clean. I'm not going to show you the rest of the kitchen counter though because it's still a tad bit behind. :)

Flylady has a Morning Routine that I put to practice this morning. I gotta say I feel a little more in control of my day so far. 

Here's the morning routine:

1. Make your bed as soon as you get out of it. 
2. Go into the bathroom
3. Shower and clean the bathroom while you are there.
4. Swish the toilet and leave the room never to return till later. It is clean and you can forget about it for now.
5. Leave your bedroom with a load of laundry in hand and go straight to the washer. (her idea is a load a day keeps the chaos away)
6. If you did the Before Bed Routine (I'll tell you about that later) the kitchen is clean (I only got part of the Before Bed Routine done last night so I'm a bit behind) and all you need to do is empty the dishwasher.
7. Make coffee and start breakfast. (this morning was a dutch baby [I'll tell you about that one later too])
8. Feed critters
9. Feed the family (including myself) 
10. Check your calendar
11. Make your list of what you are going to do today
12. Thaw something for dinner
13. Checkbook balancing 
14. Reboot the laundry (put in dryer)
15. Hit the hotspots. (I'll tell you about those as I learn about them, basically it's where things tend to pile up like the coffee table)
16. Take your vitamins and medications. 
17. Sit down.
18. Eater breakfast (I did that earlier when the kids did)
19. Morning Meditation: God, Imagination, Focus, Thanksgiving (GIFT) 
20. Now reward yourself with some computer time. Check your e-mail.

I got the first 14 steps done before 10. I'm slow and on the learning curve. I skipped to step 20 cause I wanted to share. :) Now to learn about step 15, do step 16, 19 and wrap up step 20. 

My to do list:

1. Water the Garden
2. Plant 6th and 7th corn squares
3. Fold and put away laundry (yep gotta actually put it away, no more living out of a basket)
4. Shave the dog
5. Do today's BabyStep (I'll let you know what that is after I get it done)
6. Make lunch
7. Work on this weeks "Zone" (this week is the living room but every week it changes to a different part of the house so you're sure to do a thorough cleaning of all your house every month [handy huh?])
8. Milk the goats
9. Make dinner
10. Chat with Mr. Right-for-me
11. Before Bed Routine

It's not a long to do list but it'll take up the rest of the day. There's another blog in that list somewhere I'm sure and probably a nap. I better get at it

P.S. I met Mr. Right-for-me. :) (I'll tell you about that in another post)

the unemployed housewife

Being a housewife is a career choice for some women. We give up college, career and spur of the moment freedom to settle down, be mom to kids, be the keeper of the home, doer of the laundry, dishes, floors, lover of the husband, balancer of the books, driver, cook, teacher, comforter, doctors assistant. To some women being a housewife is a pleasure and pride, contributing to the world by always being home for the kids when they need her, being companion for her spouse and taking care of the home chores. It’s more than a full time job, it’s a lifetime job. The chores never end but that’s ok. The demands never end but that’s ok too. We don’t get paid, we don’t get sick days or paid vacation, we’ll never see a retirement plan; if we’re lucky our spouse will have good life insurance so we won’t be left without when he dies. We become dependent on our spouse to provide for us.

Being a housewife wasn’t my career of choice growing up. I spent a year in college earning general ed. credits, and then spent another year in college studying horses (horse breeding and stable management) my goal was to cowboy on some ranch and eventually become a horse trainer and breeder. Well love got in the way of that dream. I met a boy and together we started a family. I was always a firm believer in the mom’s place was in the home, so once we had our first child that was the end of my paid employment days. I wasn’t a natural housewife or mother but I took my job seriously and learned both (lots of trial and error). I learned the art of making a great meal, learned that sometimes you have to scrub the kitchen floor on your hands and knees if you want it clean. Learned that bleach should be used in less than moderation unless you wanted to toss out whatever you were cleaning. Learning to be a housewife and mom isn’t something you take college classes for, hopefully you had a mom to teach you the ropes growing up but for me all I learned from my mom was what NOT to do.

So here I am. Divorced. Nearly 8yrs of being nothing more than a home maker, mom and wife. I’m no longer the wife, I am still the home maker and mom but without the spouse working and bringing home the bacon I’m literally unemployed. Of course my need to stay home and raise my kids is still upmost on my list of responsibilities. It’s a sticky place to be in, like anyone who’s unemployed you wonder how you’re going to make ends meet, how long you’ll be unemployed, if your next job will be as good or better and you hope to not let down those who depend on you.

So this is me. An unemployed housewife working to make ends meet, find a better job than the previous one and hoping not to let my kids down in the mean time.