An ORDINARY MOM's Blog: I Love You With My Life

I have been a mom for almost 10 years. In these years, through great joys and often difficulty, through willingness to allow God to change me so that my kids can know Him (especially through homeschooling)...I have had the privledge of learning to love my kids with my life. By that I mean that I have learned to pour out everything I know, including my experiences, into the lives of my children so that I could pass on everything God has given me. I teach them the skills I've learned, and use my good and bad experiences as illustrations of how God used or worked through situations and things to produce some great and unforgettable lessons in me.

I realized this week, through helping my oldest two work out their difficulties in the sports they are participating in, that this practice of pouring out my life is actually loving them with my life. Sometimes this love is painful. It is hard to watch our children struggle! However, I was reminded: who else loves them (& us) with His life? Christ. The diffeence between His loving my kids with His life and my loving them with my life is that His life in infinite. No beginning. No end. That's HUGE! And yes, He loves my kids, and us, with all of that infiniteness...

TIPS for ORGANIZING Your Space

The thing about my brain is that it thinks in boxes...The positive about this is that organiztion comes naturally for me. The negative thing about the way my brain functions is this: take me out of a routine, schedule, or box and I'm completely lost until I re-orgainize the change that's before me. So, for those if you who are interested, the following are the results of the positive aspect of how God created my brain:

TIP#1: Take an Internal Look
External order begins on the inside. Take a look at your definition of "order" or "neatness." This definition is your expectation of what the space around you should look like. Now, reduce your expectations. I don't mean that you should never expect the area around you to be neat. I just mean don't expect it to be perfect. Understand that order needs to be re-ordered. After much frustration, I have learned that the space I've organized will either: 1) stay organized for a limited time; or 2) need to be reorganized in order to adapt to the changes in my family.

TIP #2: Be Patient
Regardless of the point at which we each become frustrated with our lack of order, at some point frustration usually sets in. When that moment comes, instead of allowing that feeling to paralyze you, use it to motivate you.

TIP #3: Pick a Start Point
Take a look around your house, your closet, your desk - whichever area needs organizing. You may want to start small in order to avoid becoming easily overwhelmed.

TIP #4: Something is Better Than Nothing
I prefer to start only the projects I am able to finish, with no interruptions. I have learned that in motherhood, and often in life in general, this is an unrealistic expectation. After 2 years of living with a messy basement that started off in perfect order (until the day we moved in), I had enough. We had rented a dumpster for a home construction project, and I decided my basement would see order again by the time that dumpster was due to be returned. I accepted that I was only able to dedicate a short amount of time everyday to cleaning and organizing that area. I was surprised to find out that eventually, the job was done, and the basement was again, in order!

TIP#5: De-Clutter
The most important thing about organization is to minimize and localize your stuff. What do you REALLY NEED? Oddly enough, less is usually better. Take some time, (if your life is like mine it'll get done in spurts), go through your things, one closet or one pile at a time, and figure out what you NEED to keep. Then, throw out or give away the rest. In my house, when something is missing the first question I'm asked is: "Did you throw _____ away?"

TIP#6: Pick A Spot
If you're not reorganizing things in a specific area that already have a place, then pick a place in your home where you want these things to live. Do you need these things in a place with easy access, or can you store it away? Even if you can store it, will you need it again soon, in the distant future, or are they just memorobilia that you want to hold on to for when your children are grown? Do you need shelves? I have found that an area with shelves works best for me. I can fit more, comfortably, because I am able to store better upwards, with less hassle for getting to what is below.

TIP#7: Home Within A Home
Now that you have your stuff separate: 1) keep, 2) give, and 3) garbage; and you've picked a storage area; you can now figure out how you want your organized space to look like. Keep in mind that you will want to keep your things separate. This makes maintenance of your new order much easier. So, the next step is to pick what kind of storage bins to keep everything in... baskets? clear plastic containers? canvas bins? (I've found that the following 3 stores have the best selections and prices, depending on how decorative you plan to get: Wal-Mart, Target, or Home Goods.)

TIP #8: Final Breakdown
Break-down your "keep pile" into smaller, more specific piles, like: scrapbokking paper, construction paper, paints, gift wrap, etc., and seperate them into the storage bins you put aside in the previous step.

TIP #9: Final Step...you're just about done...
Now that everything is broken down into sections and put away into "homes", its time to put your containers into the area you're organizing. It is best to make this area neat (remember Tip #5!), and keep your containers labeled. The combination of both will make it easy for you to see what's what, and what's where.

TIP #10: Satisfaction acheived!
Now that you can stand back and feel like a load has been lifted, keep in mind Tips #1 & #2 in order to stay organized, and keep frustration at a minimum!

2 comments:

Tola OladipupoJul 28, 2011 11:59 AM
Awwwww... did I ever tell you I love it when you blog?! That thought about God's "infiniteness" is such a great reminder =)
Healing HeartsJan 4, 2012 11:05 AM
Hello Nydia, I once shared with you, I see you as a Proverbs 31 women and so glad you are in my life.
Also, LOVE the photo with the Feet! One day I would love to anoint your feet with Gods Gift from His Garden-Essential oils.
Thanks too for caring for my little grand-daughter SaharaRose at Sunday School.
Many Blessings,
Madeline C.

An ORDINARY MOM's Blog

About Me

Blog Archive

Video Bar

Helpful Websites

A Tribute...

Follow by Email

I Love You With My Life

2 comments:

TIPS for ORGANIZING Your Space

RECIPE FAVORITES

My Reading List:

Book Recommendations: for KIDS!!!