I had a “Come to Jesus” moment. Sitting on my couch, holding my phone and sending emotionally crazy texts to my husband and my friends Karen and Melanie – I felt like I was losing it. But what I didn’t realize – I was about to learn the gift of no.
If something didn’t change, I had a first class ticket to Crazytown…and it was a one-way ticket.
I’m so excited to let you guys listen to my conversation with Angela Coffman today about managing a home when you work outside of it. She’s the mastermind behind The Grocery Shrink.
I hope you enjoy our conversation. If you have any questions for either of us, please leave them in the comments and we’ll get back to ya!
If you want to sign up for Angela’s meal planning service, she is giving half off to Humorous Homemaking readers, making it only $5/month. If you’re struggling with planning meals, this is a great option for you. Eating at home will save you a lot of money and also gives you the opportunity to spend quality time with your peeps. Discount available through 9/16.
If you missed part one of our conversation with Sonja of Practical Stewardship, you can listen to that HERE.
“Stacy, all that chore listing and stuff is cool, but I work outside the home. Sometimes part-time and sometimes full time. I still need help managing a home – how can I get this place under control?!”
I homeschool my children and run our business here at home, so that to me feels like a full time+ job. BUT, I know I am here all day and that makes a big difference. It would be super easy for me to give you some tips on this matter, but in all honesty…I really don’t know what I’m talking about. It would be me giving you advice about something I know nothing of. [Read more…]
Inevitably, it happens. Someone poops. Or maybe gets a bodily injury. Worse, someone gets the snots. We often ask ourselves… what just happened here!? Nobody likes routine interruptions. Nobody.
But, life happens. Every day is different – especially with children. It’s easy to become discouraged when you have a homemaking routine and it seems like it NEVER goes according to plan.
It might be Cleaning Day and someone comes down with the Black Plague, so you head over to spend the day at the Urgent Care Clinic instead of cleaning out the dead-bug-filled window tracks in the living room.
Ain’t no thang, mama. Ain’t no thang. You CAN recover. You CAN pick up from this routine interruption and get back into the swing of life. [Read more…]
Wow! She looks exhausted – those kids are killing her. I guess that’s what homeschool does to a woman – makes her look like death warmed over. I could never do that. She’s got baggy eyes and she’s all slouched over. And I think that might be poop smeared all down her yoga pants. Not giving me the best impression of motherhood. No sirree, not me.
Have you seen her lately? Dude. Ever since she got married, she quit putting effort into herself. She’s really let herself go. I’ll never get married if that’s what happens to people.
Why is she so mad all the time? Every time I see her, she’s got a scowl. She used to be so happy. But now she spends all her time yelling at her kids and husband. I don’t think I’m going to call her to hang out any more.
I’m not one to really care too much what other people think about me. I don’t really care if people think I eat too much butter, drive a sub-par used van, or eat poorganic food. That doesn’t bother me a bit. But I DO care if I give a good impression to others.
A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1
As much as we would like to deny it, people DO judge us by our outward appearance. Thankfully, the Lord looks at the heart. But your friends at book club? Yeah – they notice you’ve quit wearing your contacts and only wear slouch clothes now.
Hear me – we should be most focused on what the Lord thinks of us…but we have more clout with others and can reach more people if we make a good impression. It’s hard to do that if we don’t take care of ourselves.
If people look at you and immediately think that motherhood/marriage/homemaking is killing you, does that make them want to pursue the same path? Or does that make them want to run away and hide in Bermuda?
Being a homemaker is our highest calling and the most important job we have is done within the walls of our home.
When people look at you, you don’t want them to see that motherhood is killing you – and that instead of a blessing, children are actually just something to wear you down until you’re fit for the loony bin.
Fact: children are a blessing and we can care for them AND ourselves.
When people look at you, you don’t want them to see that marriage is the place where love goes to die.
Fact: being married is awesome. It takes work, but the payback is amazing.
When people look at you, you don’t want them to think that being a homemaker is so dull and boring that they’ll instead be nomads and roam the earth.
Fact: taking care of your home is a worthwhile pursuit.
So, how can we fix this problem and instead give a good impression as a homemaker/wife/mother?
If you don’t get sleep, it affects everything about your day. You feel foggy. You are more easily angered. It’s hard to be clear to make good decisions. You drink more coffee – okay, so nothing wrong with that last one, but if you need more coffee to make it through the day, that’s where it becomes an issue.
Do you need to schedule in time for a power nap every day? My friend, Lexie Naturals, does that.
Do you need to go to bed earlier instead of staying up playing Words With Friends? DO IT.
Whatever you need to do, find a way to get the sleep you need. It does wonders for attitudes and baggy eyes.
Remember when you were pursuing your spouse and you used to get ready for them? You would wear their favorite clothing and perfume? Instead, since you got married you live in workout clothes and can’t even remember what perfume is.
Listen up – just because we get comfortable when we get married doesn’t mean we let ourselves go. Our spouse is still important to us. We should still be making an effort for them – even more so than people who might see us later on.
Put on clothes. I put on nice clothes daily – even though I live with children who like to use me as a napkin. I buy used clothes from Thred Up (Ohmygosh, I love Thred Up because I can shop from HOME which feeds my introvert necessity. Get $10 off your first order here) so I don’t freak out if they get stained here and there.
Getting ready for the day makes you feel better. It makes you feel like you can tackle the world. YOU ARE WORTH IT. Spend that time for yourself – put on clothes and change your whole attitude.
Okay, before you get mad, hear me out. I’ve heard it said that, “any ole barn needs some good paint.” Ha ha!
Let me tell you why I wear makeup every day – first, it makes me feel better about myself. I like how I look with makeup on. And when I like how I feel, I’m better able to tackle my day. If you feel super great about yourself without makeup, then you don’t need it. For me, it just makes a huge difference in my self confidence.
Second, I like looking nice for my husband. I got all prettied up for him when we were dating, so now that we’re married I don’t want to look like an old bag for him. Ahem.
I know that sometimes makeup gets a bad reputation because real beauty comes from within. You’re exactly right! My husband says that well done makeup only enhances natural beauty. Because girl – if you ugly inside, ain’t no amount of Covergirl gonna cover that mess up.
But maybe mascara makes you feel better. Make time to put it on. Lipstick makes you feel like you can conquer the grocery store…so slap that stuff on and go!
When you look nice and well put together (with a good attitude, because that’s critical), you make a good impression about your entire household. Not just yourself, but also your husband and children. They are the ones that deserve our best – not just random strangers we might run in to at the grocery store.
Woe is me! I’m a terrible homemaker and even worse cook! I can’t really bake anything that turns out. All my friends are in their home making their Pinterestworthy recipes with edible glitter and carved melons in the shape of Stonehenge and every time I try to bake muffins they burn on the bottom!
Ugh! I am so sick of cleaning this toilet. I clean it and then 20 minutes later, there is a splotch of poop that didn’t flush down and dribbled pee on the outside of the bowl. DO THESE PEOPLE THINK I AM A TOILET CLEANER?!
Look at all that I sacrifice for these people and they never ONCE said ‘thank you’ today. Not once. I worked my tail off until my butt was even sweating and this it the thanks I get?! [Read more…]
“If it’s important, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” -Daniel Decker.
That quote is one that really puts a burr in peoples’ saddles. ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?! I’M OFFENDED!
But really, it’s true. Managing your home well is important. But, I’ve also been in the place where it’s easy to excuse why I’m not managing well:
One of you said “I could not see myself waiting until the assigned day if it (chore) needed to be done right now.” Excellent point, my dear! Guess what? You don’t.
Within reason – writing a letter can wait a few days. Washing sheets can usually wait until Laundry Day. Meal Planning must not be done ASAP. But, a dirty pile in the floor? Yeah – do that.
There are certain chores that you need to do every single day to stay on top of things. Every. Single. Day. [Read more…]
Saturday is a day that seems to have a mind of its own. It’s kinda a day thrown in there that no one knows how it’s going to go. What?! Daddy is home?! Breakfast is later?! No school!!!!
The routine of Saturday is a little bit different for us than on other days. It’s a day I’ve chosen to use to get ahead for the upcoming week and also to make up for anything I might have missed during the previous week.
A lot of homemakers choose to make Saturday their Cleaning Day because everyone is home and able to help. Just use discernment for your family to know which day you need to schedule what on. [Read more…]
As homemakers, a lot of us grossly underestimate the importance of paper work and other home office chores. Or maybe we don’t underestimate it…but we hate it. So, we think, “Hmmmm, if I ignore that, it will just go away. La, la, la! I can’t see you!”
Has that ever really worked? It doesn’t work for me. If it’s working for you – let me know. Ha! My kids employ this method on occasion when they’ve made a behemoth mess.
I’m such a dork that I actually LOVE Office Day. #dorkalert [Read more…]
