Household Management Pt. 1 (a.k.a. What I learned from my Mother.)
Monday, April 5, 2010 by Lindsey
Have I mentioned recently that I love lists? Well...I do. To say that they make my life easier would be an understatement. My view on the matter is: God created lists so that that he could replace my sanity with an extra helping of creativity.
As passionate as I am about my artwork, and as much as I love my photography job, I am thrilled that I will soon be fulfilling the role of "wife" (and eventually, "mother") as my top priority. While I plan on continuing to work from home and pursue my artwork avidly, I find myself frequently daydreaming of weekends spent grocery shopping with my future husband. Yes, I'm easily pleased, but oddly enough...grocery shopping is something we enjoy doing together.
Managing a household effectively is something my Mother has devised many tools to do, and fortunately has passed along to me. It makes sense: she has six kids, works full time, and homeschools. She is the epitome of a triple threat, and while some of her tools are obviously not what Nathan and I will need right away, I am so grateful to have her wisdom as a launching point.
I have begun to develop a sort of "household list" of reminders for myself, so that we can be the best stewards possible of our home and resources. Otherwise, it would be mid-august and I would suddenly glance out the smudged window and see our 3 foot tall grass and think "oh yeah, I guess I should start spring cleaning and yardwork."
Household Maintenance List
It's not the day-to-day tidiness that really gets me as much as those occasional things that aren't incorporated into the weekly schedule. Washing the outside of the house and windows, having pest control spray for ants or check for termites, waxing the vehicle, central heat/air maintenance. I started my "household list" about six months ago, and have been taking notes from friends and family as situations arise that they have to attend to. Because the cold hard truth is: appliances break, and things need upkeep. There's nothing we can really do about this inevitable inconvenience except to keep things maintained and make sure we have an emergency fund.
My other household management project at the moment is a menu/grocery list system. I have seen how invaluable this can be for budgeting, as well as day-to-day sanity. It can provide structure without having to be rigid about it, and always allows for an answer to the question that invariably crops up once a day: "What's for dinner?"
Grocery List Spreadsheet
Nathan and I plan to really make it a priority to live a healthy lifestyle, we want that to be a core value in our family and to be the norm for our kids --- so, he's teaching me how to ride a bike, and play raquetball, and I'm pulling him into the world of delicious whole grains, no-sugar banana cookies, spinach quiches, and moroccan chicken dishes.
My plan is to follow my Mother's example and use Friday/Saturday for menu creation, and then do our grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons. I originally had pictured doing the grocery shopping by myself during the week while Nathan was at work...but to my surprise, he requested that we do it together! (And...may I add... I found it to be quite romantic. I'm easily pleased.)
2-week menu spreadsheet
I know myself well enough, however, to know that there will be weeks that I have crazy schemes, or get started on art projects, or swamped with photoshoots, and I just won't make a menu. Because despite my best intentions of doing things like that, sometimes I just don't. So, in addition to working on that particular character flaw, I've decided to also give future wife-Lindsey a gift: a database of Menus with corresponding grocery lists. I'm slowly but surely creating two-week menus full of delicious, well-balanced, simple recipes, and grocery lists. So that on those weeks that I'm busy, or just don't want to create a fresh menu, I have some to fall back on. That way, all I have to do is print out the grocery list, black out what we already have in the cupboards, and hit the grocery store.
Probably a way more elaborate system than is even necessary...I have a feeling that it will be quite a shock for me to be cooking for two people. TWO. But I feel like working on these projects now while I'm here in VA, and he's there in CA, means there is less for me to concentrate on when we are finally together. Plus, it's a nice distraction, regardless of the future implementation.
I'm sure that as life goes on, I will find other ways to optimize and manage our household tasks. I'm also certain that over the next 10 months leading up to our wedding, I will come up with more home-related projects that I'll be eager to share, which is why this is just Part 1.
Now, I really am going to go work on some photoediting before the day disappears and I wonder where all of my productive energy went. Lots of exciting things this week: I am I'm adventuring to try on wedding dresses with my friend tomorrow, hopefully finally getting my driver's license tomorrow or Thursday, and spending a "sister day" of dress-up, finger paints, and Pixar movies with the coolest 2-year-old on the planet.
Have I mentioned I'm widly, incredibly joyful, blessed, and crazy about the love of my life? I am.
-Lindsey
Hey Lindesy! =) I think that having some menus already planned out for busy weeks is a really good idea. I started out doing that but soon found out that I have several recipes (spaghetti, rice & veggies, and anything potato-related) that are healthy and easy and I tend to make like 4x as much as we eat in one meal during busy weeks. That way, we're set for lunches and an extra dinner or two.
Plus, you'll soon find that you won't really need a grocery list for things that you routinely buy (milk, eggs, flour, detergent, toilet paper) so I highly recommend getting a list-magnet-thing for your fridge! Best $1 I've ever spent! ^_~
Lizzie
Awesome, thanks! I'll definitely have to pick up one of those list magnets. My parents have one and it's always super useful.
I love making meals in advance, but I also like a lot of variety, so I'll probably make food in bulk, but then just freeze the leftovers for weeks to come so that we're not eating all the same meal more than 2/3 times in a week. :-)
Fortunately, I have lots of experience shopping/cooking for 8+ people, and it's much easier to scale down than it is to scale up.