I’ve collected here a few samples.

For the detailed, check out Crystal’s morning routine, tips on developing a schedule, and her sample schedule.

Or maybe you prefer something a bit more visual and creative.

Maybe you’d be most inspired opening up a beautiful planner you yourself have created.

Here’s another example of a home management notebook. (And check out the related links!)

Getting Things Done is a book with great ideas on organizing your thoughts and life. (Though written for the office exec, the principles are easy to apply.)

Now that you know which direction to go, check out all of these free downloads!!

Lastly, you may enjoy reading 36 ways to be more productive.

What about you? If you have a link, share it in the comments!

I don’t know about you, but there are few things I dislike more than having my oven and gas burners on in the summer between the hours of 3-7pm, the hottest time of the day. Even when I force myself to the task, I must admit that it’s rather disheartening to toil over a hot stove, sweat beading on my forehead, only to have the family push the food around their plates with their forks because they’re just too hot to eat.

So when this question came in last week, I could definitely relate!

I was wondering if you all could give some suggestions for… summer menus. This is my first summer back in the North and [with] no air conditioning in the house which makes for a, not very hungry for hot food, family. I would love any help I could get!

One thing that’s great to do in the summer when cooking in a hot kitchen is unpleasant is to take advantage of the all the fresh produce that abounds this time of year. When else can you gorge yourself on freshly picked strawberries because they only cost $1.20/quart? And when else is it affordable to hand your kids a bunch of organically grown carrots that you bought at a local farmer’s market to snack on? The great thing about fresh produce is that even when it feels to warm to eat a full meal, fruit and veggies are still appealing.

Of course BBQ’ing is fun and most everyone likes food cooked on the grill, but if your family is like ours and you don’t usually eat meat every night of the week, hamburgers or chicken on the grill only works every so often. One great solution is to grill marinated veggies that can be eaten plain, as sandwich filling, or over pasta and rice instead.

A standby meal around our house this time of year (it’s quick and easy on hot, busy summer days) is saute’ed garlic and veggies (whatever’s cheap that week: bell peppers, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, etc.) in oil. Top pasta or rice with the veggies and then generously sprinkle parmesan cheese over it all. So, so good.

I also love to make salad the main dish in the summertime. Lots of greens, cheese (any kind on hand will do!), nuts, and some tuna or chicken topped with a good salad dressing needs nothing more than a loaf of tasty bread to satisfy. A bowl of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers marinated in oil and vinegar is absolutely delicious. And, of course, fruit salads are loved by everyone.

Find recipes that require less cooking time so that you don’t heat up your kitchen (and house) too much. I whip up this simple egg casserole and serve it for dinner frequently in the summer because it only takes 25 minutes to bake in the oven. Homemade pizza is another good idea, especially when I remember to get the dough started before it gets really hot or– even simpler– when I use english muffins instead of standard pizza crust. Tacos (beef, chicken, or bean) are also a great option.

What are some of your favorite summer menu items? Please share!

I think we as people tend toward routine and even crave it– some more than others, of course. (I would be one of those who craves it… :) Growing up, if we did something twice (sometimes even just once!), it was Tradition! As a mom, it’s interesting to note my children establishing their own methods and routines for things: how to eat a sandwich, where to sit when a movie is watched, what order they will brush their teeth in, etc.

Here are a few blessings I think come from having a measure of routine in our days:

1. Better Prioritizing
Having a daily routine or schedule can be very helpful in making sure you do the things that are really important to you. When we live our lives flying by the seat of our pants, we often miss out on the things we really want to do because we’re just doing the thing that’s right in front of us. For example, I have found that although I very sincerely want to be taking time to help my children memorize Scripture, if I don’t establish Scripture memorization as a routine part of our days, I get to the end of the week only to realize that I never found time for it.

1. Stability
Predictability isn’t always fun, it’s true, but a certain amount of predictability lends itself to order and peace because we know what to expect. It can be something as simple as always following your morning shower with coffee that can yield peace!

2. Productivity
When we do things in similar fashion repeatedly, we get better and faster at those things.

3. Spontaneity
Yup, you heard me right! The truth is, if you stay routine in doing your laundry, when an opportunity for a spontaneous overnight trip presents itself, you’re ready to pack your bag and go. If you cook meals routinely, your husband can usually bring home a dinner guest or two without it throwing you into a tizzy.

Having considered some of the blessings of routines, we are faced with the question of how to establish daily routines. There isn’t a pat answer because what works well for me might not work well for you, and vice versa. Also true is the fact that what works well for me now very well may not work well in a few months. We are changing people living in changing environments. Certainly we can be inspired by and learn from one another, but we need the heart of God regarding how to invest our time.

I recommend that you begin by considering your goal. What does God want your days to look like? If you’re married, talk with your husband about what’s important to him in a day, such as shared meals or family devotions or playtime with the kids. Determine your own hopes and priorities. And figure out the most important things first. If Gabriel used play-doh at the same time each day but I wasn’t getting a chance to shower, I’d be frustrated, to say the least!

As for how you maintain daily routines, there is no “right” way. Personally, I like to work through my day like it’s a flow chart. The only things I really attach specific times to are waking/sleeping (including naps) and meals, and even then it’s not entirely uncommon for me to put the kids down for naps at 1:30 or even 2pm instead of 1pm like I aim for. After establishing those more time-specific things, I simply aim for doing other things in a particular order around those times.

For example, in the morning I wake up, have my quiet time, dress the kids, shower and dress myself, make breakfast. One day you might come over and find that we’ve woken up extra early and I’m showered at 7am with laundry started and muffins in the oven baking. Another day you’ll find me with my wet hair wrapped in a towel as I help Gabriel set the table at 8am. Either way, I can almost guarantee that everyone will be dressed for the day before we sit down at the table, because that’s a routine that’s important to me because it helps me feel more ambitious and motivated.

This is what works for me. As you establish your own routines, be sensitive to and prioritize the people in your life– husband and children, roommates, parents, etc.– so that your daily routine includes their needs and hopes. Understand your limitations and your unique abilities. And, above all, ask the Lord what He would have you doing with your days and how He would have you do it.

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

Whenever people come to my house, it isn’t long before they’ve stopped in front of the refrigerator and are reading my Housekeeping Schedule. Questions usually follow, especially from male parties who spy out this slip of paper (you’d think it was written in a foreign language, it’s so mysterious to them!).

Having a weekly housekeeping routine was something I began shortly after my second child, Bronwyn, came along. I remember well those first several weeks after her birth. While they were blissful in their own right and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, it wasn’t all pretty. I had an 18-month-old and a newborn to take care of and, consequently, the house was getting far too neglected during the weekdays. We put up with a progressive mess day after day and then on the weekend, when Daniel was home from work and could help care for the kids, I turned into Crazy Woman, running around the house with dust cloths and window cleaner and toilet brushes. It wasn’t a working system, not for any of us. I would cry all week long about how messy everything was, and then I would totally neglect my husband when he was around because I was too busy catching up on all the things I needed to do.

That was when it dawned on me that chore charts don’t have to only be something a mom assigns to her children, but are also something I can assign to myself. Right away, I put together a plan, and then I started putting it to action.

The amazing thing?

It worked! When I didn’t try to complete all the jobs that needed to be done in one day– which almost always resulted in my little ones feeling neglected and/or getting into mischief while I melted into a bucket of frustrated tears– but instead tackled them in bite-size chunks, by the end of the week, my house was altogether rather clean. Suddenly, coming home from vacation or ending a whirlwind weekend didn’t mean discouragement on Monday morning as I took a look at how disheveled things were. I knew that if I just started doing my chores each day, by Friday things would be back to normal. I also knew that if a kid-tastrophe happened on Tuesday, cleaning the bathroom was on the schedule again in 3 days, so I could just let it go in order to tend to my little ones.

This is my current Housekeeping Schedule:

Monday:
1. dust & vacuum downstairs
2. wash, dry & put away laundry
3. wash & dry my bedding; remake bed
4. weekly menu planning

Tuesday:
1. clean my bedroom
2. wash & dry diapers
3. clean bathrooms
4. mop kitchen floor
5. weekly grocery shopping

Wednesday:
1. deep clean kitchen (shine sink, clean fridge, etc.)
2. wash, dry & put away laundry
3. clean laundry/mudroom
4. bathe kids
5. wash & dry bath towels

Thursday:
1. wash & dry kids’ bedding; remake beds
2. wash & dry diapers
3. wipe down dining chairs
4. dust & vacuum downstairs

Friday:
1. clean bathrooms
2. mop kitchen
3. wash, dry & put away laundry
4. ironing

Saturday:
1. prepare Sunday food
2. wash & dry diapers
3. clean kids’ & guest bedrooms
4. bathe kids
5. set out Sunday clothes

I make a new Housekeeping Schedule 3-4x/year. This helps me regularly re-evaluate what days I have time for what sorts of jobs and it keeps things fresh so that I don’t get lazy and stop following it. I also use this schedule to draw from when I am making chore charts for Gabriel and Bronwyn who, at 5 and 3 (almost 4, she daily reminds us!) years old, are able to do small jobs around the house with me (i.e. folding diapers, sweeping the kitchen, dusting, etc.).

Each day when I get up, I make my daily To Do list after checking to see what chores are on my schedule. In addition to what’s scheduled, I list the miscellaneous things I need to accomplish, such as refilling Aubrey’s Rx, returning books to the library, making a birthday cake, and watering the garden. My Housekeeping Schedule provides the big picture framework so that I can better prioritize and order my days.

This schedule is one of a handful things that truly does help me keep my life and home ordered, but when all is said and done, it’s a tool and nothing more. I don’t cater to the schedule; I make the schedule to cater to my family’s needs. The important thing is taking care of the housekeeping element of homemaking so that I still have plenty of time and a peaceful environment for the cuddling, reading-aloud, and quality time elements of homemaking!

Today I want to talk a bit about how menu planning helps me stick to my budget:

1. First of all– and this has nothing to do with menu planning, but I thought it worthy of mentioning– it really helps to decide ahead of time what the grocery budget will be. Whether it’s a weekly, bi-monthly or monthly figure is up to each shopper, but the simple truth of the matter is that there is no money-saving replacement for having a predetermined amount to spend. You may have to track your normal grocery expenses for a bit in order to come up with a workable budget amount, but it’s worth it!

For me, I prefer a monthly budget. This way, if I have a week or two in the month when there is family visiting from out of town or special holidays/events, I can spend extra there and then plan very inexpensive meals the other days/weeks to make up the difference. My goal is not to spend exactly $x.xx per person every single day, but rather to stick to $xxxx.xx/year in groceries.

2. “Mix ‘n Match” meals. In other words, when I plan a meal like salmon, I will almost always insert it between two less expensive meals (i.e. lentil & rice tacos, potato soup, vegetarian chili, egg & spinach casserole, etc.). This way, at the end of 3 days, our average dinner meal expense is fairly low. Once again, an inexpensive meal in my home might be expensive in yours; but I think you get the gist.

3. Keep breakfast and lunch meals nutritious yet simple. I really get away with this right now because my children are young and like repetition. They actually get disappointed when I don’t serve them PB&J for lunch and their absolute favorite breakfast meal is oatmeal (baked or regular)! You may like a bit more variation in your home, of course, but you don’t have to be fancy to make sure you’re eating whole grains (cereal, oatmeal, whole wheat bread), fruit (bananas, pineapple, apples), veggies (baby carrots, celery sticks), protein (peanut butter, tuna, eggs), and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) throughout your day.

4. Have a Master Menu List. This is a compilation of all the foods I like to make/my family likes to eat/I want to try, which allows me to salvage some creativity in my weekly planning (personally, I don’t think I could handle a rotating menu due to boredom issues) while still, well, planning! When I sit down on Monday afternoons or evenings to plan my menu, I pull out my calendar and my Master Menu List, which has all my favorite foods broken down by category– beef, chicken, fish, beans, cheese & eggs, sides– and plot through the week, marking down items I need to buy as I go. The money-saving aspect of this is that I can utilize what’s on sale at the grocery stores better than if I had a predetermined menu from weeks and weeks ago.

Regardless of what we eat and how much it costs, I think we all can agree on how great it is to save money, especially at the grocery store. I hope these tips help/encourage you in your efforts to be a wise steward of what God has given you!

I certainly don’t get to this every week, but my week goes so much better when I do. Here are some of my reasons for planning my meals ahead of time:

1. Fewer trips to the grocery store on an already-busy afternoon.
2. Fewer outings to restaurants due to an obviously half-hearted reply to “What’s for dinner?”
3. Actually making dinner: knowing what’s supposed to be served in the evening means that when life is peachy for an hour in the morning, I can work on getting dinner started. And then grab 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there… rather than requiring an entire 2 hours of prep right before the dinner hour (which, of course, would be impossible.)
4. Avoiding that terrible experience of just not knowing what on earth to make on any given day.
5. Saving money and time by planning to re-use leftovers, and basing our weekly menu on sale items.

One of the things I use to help with my menu planning is a file I keep with recipes I’ve tried — and recipes I’d like to try. This way, when I’m a bit stumped, or am in a recipe rut, I can jump-start my imagination!

Most of these dishes are simple and inexpensive, and call for ingredients I generally have on hand: rice, potatoes, pasta; chicken, eggs, cheese, beans; onions, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, spinach; etc. Some of these dishes also morph into something else, so leftovers are a bit more than just leftovers (i.e. chicken rice casserole can become a stew the next night.)

I often read cookbooks and such for fresh inspiration. I’m also trying to be more and more inspired by the seasonal availability of fresh produce grown locally. This, I think, ends up saving money, because I’m buying less out-of-season produce in the middle of winter. Probably (at least, in my simple logic) if canned and frozen veggies are the only things “naturally” available for several months a year, then those will deliver enough nutrients to our bodies to tide us over till spring comes again. But that’s a bit of a random thought, thrown in here for free. :)

To sum up, I guess, meal planning can be a real time and money saver (and aren’t we always looking for those?), and also can aid in being good stewards of our family’s health, as it allows you to think carefully about what will be eaten each evening — with less chance of a frozen pizza being whipped out. But, incidentally, if you should find yourself eating frozen pizza, I recommend California Kitchen. They’re the yummiest.

And so I thought it might be fun to write a bit about the Easter traditions we had growing up. I know it’s now only a few days before the event, but if nothing else, this will be fodder for next year’s celebration!

Probably the biggest key to helping your family understand and anticipate Easter is knowing yourself that it’s a big deal! The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is crucial to our faith. Without it, we, of all people, are the most to be pitied. If Jesus did not rise, then our faith is in vain. If, however, He is alive, then we shall live with Him — and that changes everything!

As long as I can remember, Easter celebrations began with Mom singing a little children’s chorus:

Jesus is alive! the angels say
Be glad, be glad
It’s Easter Day!

This happy little song set the tone as we prepared for Easter.

About a month before Resurrection Sunday, we would dig out the boxes of Easter decorations that Mom slowly accumulated through the years. In the North Country, there is nothing more wonderful than festooning the house with floral garlands and silk sprigs of forsythia in the dead of winter! Chicks, bunnies, lambs, and eggs were nestled on window sills, hanging from doorways, congregating on mantels.

And then the hymns would begin: Mom would begin to play Were You There, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, Low in the Grave He Lay, and Christ the Lord is Risen Today until we knew all of the melodies and most of the words. Eventually we were old enough to gather round and sing in 4-part harmony, but even when we were small, those melodies said, “Jesus is alive!”

One year, we made figures out of cardboard tubes, scraps of fabric, and papier-mache, and acted out the Easter story with our homemade Peter, John, Mary, Angel, and Jesus puppets. They now have taken up permanent residence amongst the other decorations. And what a good idea that was! Not only did we get art credit for such a project, we also grew up with more than just eggs and bunnies — and good luck on finding a resurrected Jesus figurine in the store!

Other years we did other crafts — eggs cut out of paper and colored with “intricate” designs (we were still in primary grades!); tombs with a stone affixed with a brad, and an empty space underneath; daffodils out of muffin liners, etc. Simple or complex, there was something that demanded we all invest energy and enthusiasm in the celebration.

I’m about to get to the few set-in-stone traditions, but as you can see, creating a sense of excitement about Easter did not necessarily require weeks of work, and a demanding roster of annual traditions. Songs, stories, and visual reminders — and parents who would jubilantly exclaim, “Jesus is alive! We are going to heaven!” — these are the things that shaped my own excitement, and helped me, even when I was young, to recognize how important the resurrection was.

The week of Easter, the anticipation and preparations increased exponentially. First, there were the clothes. Some years, all new dresses. Other years, special white dresses, reserved for Easter. There were tights to be found (or ankle socks on the warmer years!), ties, white cardigans for everyone, and special barrettes. By Good Friday, everything from slips to hair bows was assembled.

Meanwhile, the baking began.

Easter dinner has changed over the years, but there are a few constants, without which Mom would have a riot on her hands! (Which is why, by the way, you should be careful about what your must-have traditions are!!)

There is cheese braid for breakfast. Beautiful braided cardamom bread accompanies dinner. A whipping cream chocolate torte — all six layers! — is for dessert. Always!

Saturday night, there were baths for the younger ones — which was once all of us, and now is only Merrick! This started late in the afternoon, and Mama brushed our hair smooth, and sometimes braided it, so it would dry crimped. We dressed in clean nightclothes, donned sweaters, and then all gathered to watch the Jesus movie. Now, I’m not going to tell you that crimped hair is the answer to a successfully celebratory Easter, but this whole bath time ritual of making sure we were especially clean and well cared for was intentional: Easter Sunday was a big deal.

Sunday morning came bright and early — or rather, dark and early. Given that pastoral duties always required us to be at church hours early, our morning’s festivities began promptly! Mom and Dad would wake us with an Easter greeting: “Hallelujah, He is risen!,” to which we would reply with a groggy, “Hallelujah, He is risen indeed!” (Only there was never an exclamation point in our voices, I’m afraid.)

Then we would all head downstairs, and the treasure hunt would commence. Dad and Mom would write clues — rhyming clues, of course! — that would eventually lead us to our bounty: Easter baskets overflowing with all the chocolate we dreamed of! (Mom always got us the good stuff, too!)

Then breakfast: juice, coffee, and cheese braid, served on pretty Easter paper plates and napkins, so as to make clean up swift. At some point, a wrapped book at each of our place settings entered the must-do traditions, one I especially loved.

A flurry of getting dressed and getting hair done, and then we would descend the stairs, where Dad would ooh and ahh over each of us, and be duly impressed by how twirly our dresses were. One year he even surprised us with wrist corsages, and didn’t we feel like princesses!

Don’t worry, it wasn’t just the girls. The boys got spiffed up, too. Jamie even experimented with creating his own traditions at one point, but no one was crazy about them: one year, when he was dressed to the nines in a new suit, shirt, tie, socks, shoes — everything — he sat on an open toilet and fell in. The next year, once again dressed to the nines, he was perched on the edge of our bathtub (which was full, of course), lost his balance, and fell in.

We nixed that tradition.

Then there was the year that Mom served grape juice with breakfast — which wasn’t dangerous, because remember that we’re not in our Easter garb at that point. Brietta found a way around that, however, and waited until she was wearing her new white Easter dress to suddenly throw up all of her breakfast, including the grape juice.

See? We were a normal family!

After church, we would come home to the already-set tables (a Saturday chore). There were always guests — sometimes a family, sometimes college students away from home — and we crammed as many place settings as we could around those beautiful tables! We pulled out all the stops: china, the good silverware, the linens that were especially for Easter. Mom hustled and bustled and managed to get a huge, wonderful meal on the table in a timely manner, something which still befuddles me. (Honestly, I’m sort of stumped on that one. Maybe you can write about how to have dinner ready after church, without using a crockpot, and without having a house full of sisters to help?)

I remember Easter Sundays as being full of light — that wonderful, spring light, with the long shadows of Daylight Savings — shining on the pink napkins, glistening off of the crystal candle sticks. I remember laughing and laughing, eating, drinking, and laughing some more. I remember Dad always serving the chocolate torte, because Mom hates cutting cakes, and I remember laughing when he used a ruler to make sure every piece was perfect.

I remember spending lazy hours slowly cleaning the kitchen, taking a walk after everyone had left, and going to bed full of happiness — a kind that I only ever felt on the evening of Easter Sunday, after we’d spent a whole day rejoicing in the life of Jesus.

I’m sure we’ll write plenty more about traditions, because they are a big part of our lives. For now, let me just encourage you to start. Start small, but start. Celebrating as a family helps communicate the importance of special days, and is a tool with which to tie heart strings.

Happy Easter to you all!

This morning was one of those hoped for “snow days” - even the institutions of higher education canceled classes. The college boys woke up to text messages and e-mails alerting them of an instant holiday. This called for spontaneous celebration!

Off to the fridge I went. Hmmm… plenty of eggs, an assortment of cheese, and all the basics. Looks like we’ll take the ol’ standby recipe, tweak it to fit the ingredients on hand, and have a nice breakfast.

I’m including the original recipe below. The pics will include comments regarding today’s variations. This is how to cook on a budget - using basic recipes, replace the required ingredients with the things on your shelves. It will afford an inexpensive and interesting dish, guaranteed!

Egg Casserole

4 eggs, beaten
1/3c milk
1/4c all-purpose flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/8tsp garlic powder
10oz shredded cheese
1c. pepperoni, sausage, spinach, broccoli, ham, and/or whatever you feel like!
1c light cottage cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.

2. Combine eggs, milk, flour, baking powder & garlic powder in medium bowl; beat until combined. Stir in 8oz shredded cheese, pepperoni/sausage/spinach/etc. & cottage cheese.

3. Pour into greased 9-inch pie plate and sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, 25-30 minutes or until golden and knife inserted into center comes out clean.

4. To serve, cut into wedges.

I typically make four recipes to feed my crew (there are alot of hungry mouths around here) and prepare them in a variety of ways: pepperoni and garlic, bacon and broccoli, red pepper and mushroom - but we had pizza last night and most of the fun things were gone.

I found instead an assortment of cheeses. Ricotta and feta cheeses were added to the cottage cheese. Mozzerella, colby, and cheddar comprised the shredded cheeses - even so I was still a bit short on cheese so there was none to sprinkle on the top. I added some leftover green beans to one of the cheese pies as well.

As they baked I remembered the container of leftover pizza sauce. Perfect accompaniment! It was quickly heated, grated Romano was set out as well, and we enjoyed our Egg Casseroles Italiano style! A fresh fruit salad, juice, and coffee rounded out our festive morning meal!

I’ve gotten better… Marginally. I still like a well-made bed, and I refuse to get into anything other than smooth, tidy sheets at night. (Yes, I’m one of those people who, even if I’m in bed sick all day, will make the bed before climbing in and falling asleep for the night. I’m convinced my sleep is better when I do this.)

A well-made bed for me, though, starts with carefully folded sheets. I guess I also have a reputation for best sheet-folder, because somehow I’ve been nominated to offer you this “how to fold a fitted sheet” tutorial.

(And, by the way, this chore is much easier if you have a sister to help you out, which is one reason to make folding laundry a joint chore for your daughters!)

Grab your sheets, and let’s go!

Got it? Good! Now, go forth and fold away!