This is the view out of my north window this morning. We’ve gotten about 9 inches of snow since Tuesday afternoon, with lots of blowing and drifting. My husband has been outside for an hour trying to clear off our lane, which is as long as a city block. But isn’t the snow pretty?
A reader asked about the nicknames that I use for my family on this blog. I never use the actual names of my husband and children out of respect for their privacy, and for their safety. For reference:
DH is short for darling husband
Bee is our nickname for our 5-year-old daughter. We started calling her this when she was a baby because she has full cheeks, deep dimples, and a really big smile. My husband always joked that when she smiled she looked like the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee. We started calling her Bee, and it stuck.
Baby C is short for Babycakes, which is what we’ve called our 14-month-old since she was in the womb. There are lots of variations on this, including Cakes, the Cakester, and Cakesie. I’m concerned that she doesn’t even know her actual name, because she pointed to a picture of herself yesterday and said, “Cay-kee!”
Now, onto today’s work!
If you’ve completed your daily task list, it’s time to move on to the weekly tasks, and weekly work schedule. The weekly task list comprises all tasks that don’t need to be done every day, but should be done at least once a week. For me, these are:
-Clean kitchen and bathrooms thoroughly.
-Change bed linens.
-Make grocery list.
-Empty all trash cans.
-Dust.
-Vacuum.
-Pay bills and file papers.
-Errands: bank, post office, library.
-Clean out mini-van.
-Weeding and yard work (in spring and summer).
After you make your weekly task list, it’s time to set up your weekly work schedule. To do this, you need to write down all of your time commitments for each day of the week. This will help you get a sense of how your tasks should be distributed. For example, Tuesday is my free day and weekly grocery shopping trip. Nothing is scheduled for that day except daily tasks and 15 minutes of target cleaning in the current zone (more on that to come). I schedule grocery list making on Monday so that I’m prepared for the next day’s trip.
I schedule my errands on Friday afternoons because Bee is in school, so I only have Baby C. to take along. Because I schedule my bill paying on Thursdays, and my husband’s paycheck arrives in the mail on Friday mornings, I have everything ready to drop off at the bank and post office. You get the idea.
I want to encourage you to schedule Saturdays very lightly. This day should be reserved for fun projects or family activities. It’s my opinion that many people do very little throughout the week, and then squander family time by trying to catch up on the weekends. If you do a little each day, you’ll be free to enjoy your husband and children.
Also, try your hardest to keep Sunday for the Lord. This should be a day of prayer, rest and leisure. I know it’s hard, but it’s what God wants. The Bible says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” ~Exodus 20:8-10.
Tomorrow we’ll make the rest of our task lists, and complete the weekly work schedule.
Have a great day!
