Shopping For Time - BOOK CLUB!

This week's topic is "Balancing Life as a Mom." This is an area that I have been desperately trying to figure out for the past two months since I became a full-time stay at home Mom. I felt pulled in a hundred different directions between taking care of my home and my family. (How in the world did I ever find time to work before?) First I went back to some POH posts on "housekeeping tips." I prayed about how to best manage my house and for some practical ways to do it.

I finally decided that I needed to implement the same organizational strategies that I used in my classroom - just in my home. I am a very visual person and need the accountability of having things written down and scheduled. Otherwise, they just don't get done! I keep a notebook (think lesson plan book for all you teachers out there) for managing our house. Here are the sections that I have:

Schedule: Includes a copy of our (very general) daily schedule and a copy of Adeline's more detailed schedule. These are helpful for when others take care of the kids.

Chores: Includes a copy of my cleaning schedule (chores for each day), checklist of items to clean in each room of the house - otherwise we get dust hanging from ceiling fans and covering our vents...gross.

To do: I write a weekly to do list instead of daily. This way if I have a busy day - I can postpone some of the items to the next day. By the end of the week, I've usually found time to get them all done. I also keep a running list of "projects" I want to try with the kids. Currently includes making crayon shapes from melting old crayons! I also put any paper or forms needed to complete a to do list item (ie. insurance papers that need to be filled out TODAY!)

Grocery: This is where I keep a copy of my grocery list, the sale fliers from the paper, my grocery game lists and my shopping plan for Harris Teeter and CVS.

Forms: This is where I keep extra copies of Will's sticker charts (for potty training and staying in the bed), blank grocery lists, etc. These are files on the computer - but it is nice to have some already printed and ready.

Budget: Our entire budget, plus individual sheets to keep a tally of the categories I spend in. (Grocery, clothes, etc.) I'm considering making this section entirely on my computer. A friend gave me a spreadsheet that she uses to manage their finances. My husband is the one who pays the bills and balances the checkbook, but it is my job to be sure we stay within budget on categores from which I spend!

Info: This includes a copy of our important phone numbers, copies of insurance cards, credit cards, account numbers, social security numbers, etc. We keep copies of all this in a safe as well, but this is for me to have. How many times have I needed an insurance number, but couldn't find my wallet to get the card? Obviously, this information should be kept pretty secure. But since this notebook doesn't leave our house - I'm ok with it.

Addresses: A paper copy of our spreadsheet of addresses.

Gifts: A list of who we plan to buy Christmas/Birthday gifts for. The birthday list also includes their actual birthday - something I am terrible at remembering! I write on it as I find things throughout the year (on sale!) so I don't have to wait until the last minute or wonder what I need to buy. This prevents me from storing (or hiding if its for my family!) something I've bought for a gift and forgetting about it! I also keep lists from years past so we don't gift the same things!!

By keeping these things organized and staying ahead of the game - I feel like I have more time to just spend with my family not worrying about how much is left to get done.



Around the same time I was praying about how to balance my life as a Mom, I read about this book, Shopping For Time. It is written by the authors of the Girl Talk blog - the wife and daughters of CJ Mahaney. When my sister-in-law also mentioned this book to me as one of her favorites, I decided it must be time for me to read it! I was so encouraged by this book and gained so much practical advice. This book is so relevant to balancing life as a Mom and getting our priorities straight! It is based around five tips and to whet your appetite a bit, here are the chapters (it is a very short book - which I need!):

Chapter 1 - Shopping For Time
Chapter 2 - The First Tip: Rise Early (Joining the 5am club)
Chapter 3 - The Second Tip: Sit Still (Sitting at Jesus' Feet)
Chapter 4 - The Third Tip: Sit and Plan (Taking a personal retreat)
Chapter 5 - The Fourth Tip: Consider People (Evaluating Relationships Carefully)
Chapter 6 - The Fifth Tip: Plan to Depend (Being Productive in Daily Life)

It is for these reasons that we are going to use this book for our first ever POH Book Club!

We will spend the month of October discussing the book - in addition to other scheduled topics as normal. To get prepared, go ahead and get a copy of the book and read it! It is such a short (seriously, 90 pages), easy and FUN read - so no reason to procrastinate! Towards the end of September, we'll post more details about how we'll format the book club discussion.

Where to get the book:

You can check your local library - although our library here in Wake County does not have it. They may order it if you ask, but it might take several weeks!

The cheapest and easiest way to get the book is Amazon.com. It costs about $10. Tip to get free shipping: If you purchase $25 of eligible items you can get free shipping. You can also get free shipping if you temporarily upgrade your Amazon account to prime. The free shipping has no minimum purchase! When you check out - select the option for upgrade to Amazon Prime and your shipping will be free on this book! (Be sure to go into your Amazon account and cancel the upgrade immediately - or at least before the one month trial is up - otherwise it will charge your credit card the $79 annual fee for the prime service.)

We are really looking forward to trying this out on POH. We hope that you will get excited too and join as we use this book to become better "shoppers of time." Let us know if you plan on participating in the book club!