Simple Living in Practice, Lesson #8
Yesterday we started tackling the issue of household chores managers. Let me expound on that a little.
Composing a well working manager is not done in a day, or even a week, since many things you are doing every day (or every week or every month or every year) will slip your mind when you first start listing them all. Don't be frustrated by that, don't be discouraged and think your manager has failed if you have to add to it and re-do it practically every week. That's normal. Allow your manager to grow, and keep it open for things to add or delete. This is why using a computer spreadsheet program is so handy, especially in the beginning - you can easily add to it or delete things, you can re-group and re-organize chores, and just print out the latest version when you are done. But if you enjoy drawing grids or use pencil and eraser well, you can make one grid go a long way without using a computer just as well.
One small "feature" of our manager I find very helpful is having room to tick off chores or enter changing payments. Part 1 of our manager states the monthly chores and payments on the left, with empty fields for every month to the right, two fields for the two-monthly chores. Into them, I enter the monthly amount for gas and electric, for example, and I tick off what has been done already this month, so that I do not need to remember all that, but can just check on the manager what's still due. Besides, it gives you a quick overview of your energy expenses, if you are not on some kind of budget plan, and will further your ability to simply know how much money is needed for what, which in turn will help you in setting up a realistic budget, with the help of quicken, for example.
All these little organizational things dovetail nicely: Keeping track of finances and usage of energy, keeping track of chores and who does what, keeping track of what will be cooked and baked and of prices for groceries, so that no waste will occur there - all these things will give you a good idea of what you need and what you have, and where you can still reduce, save, be more efficient.
So much for this week - next week we will continue with lesson #9, and it will be about keeping stock, like a prudent housekeeper does.
Enjoy the Sabbath, and have a good start into the new work week on Sunday.
Technorati Tags: simple life, household chores manager, track keeping, God's creation, nature, homesteading, self sufficiency, separation, SAHM, plural marriage, polygamy, dominion covenant, multi-generational family, Joshuah's House
Composing a well working manager is not done in a day, or even a week, since many things you are doing every day (or every week or every month or every year) will slip your mind when you first start listing them all. Don't be frustrated by that, don't be discouraged and think your manager has failed if you have to add to it and re-do it practically every week. That's normal. Allow your manager to grow, and keep it open for things to add or delete. This is why using a computer spreadsheet program is so handy, especially in the beginning - you can easily add to it or delete things, you can re-group and re-organize chores, and just print out the latest version when you are done. But if you enjoy drawing grids or use pencil and eraser well, you can make one grid go a long way without using a computer just as well.
One small "feature" of our manager I find very helpful is having room to tick off chores or enter changing payments. Part 1 of our manager states the monthly chores and payments on the left, with empty fields for every month to the right, two fields for the two-monthly chores. Into them, I enter the monthly amount for gas and electric, for example, and I tick off what has been done already this month, so that I do not need to remember all that, but can just check on the manager what's still due. Besides, it gives you a quick overview of your energy expenses, if you are not on some kind of budget plan, and will further your ability to simply know how much money is needed for what, which in turn will help you in setting up a realistic budget, with the help of quicken, for example.
All these little organizational things dovetail nicely: Keeping track of finances and usage of energy, keeping track of chores and who does what, keeping track of what will be cooked and baked and of prices for groceries, so that no waste will occur there - all these things will give you a good idea of what you need and what you have, and where you can still reduce, save, be more efficient.
So much for this week - next week we will continue with lesson #9, and it will be about keeping stock, like a prudent housekeeper does.
Enjoy the Sabbath, and have a good start into the new work week on Sunday.
Technorati Tags: simple life, household chores manager, track keeping, God's creation, nature, homesteading, self sufficiency, separation, SAHM, plural marriage, polygamy, dominion covenant, multi-generational family, Joshuah's House
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