The Most Important Thing of All (31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking)

If you're just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

Friends, we have so many responsibilities.  I can tell you that when I put together my daily schedule, everything on it barely fit, and I wasn't trying to stuff in any extras.  Between homeschooling, trying to keep the house clean, and feeding my family healthy food, my days are full.   I can't waste a single minute of my day or things start falling apart pretty quickly.

I'm sure many of you know exactly how it is to be loaded down with responsibilities.  You've done everything you can to reduce unnecessary things in your schedule, but you still feel like you're barely keeping up with everything that needs to be done.

Because you're so (legitimately) busy, maybe you're neglecting the most important thing of all.

Maybe you're not finding time for God and His Word.

You go, go, go from sunup to loooong past sundown, and you certainly don't feel you have the energy to get up any earlier to read your Bible.

But you can't do this without Him!  Because you are so burdened down with responsibilities, you need Him even more!

You probably know the story of Mary and Martha.  Martha was scurrying around trying to get all the work done, and Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet, soaking up everything He said.  Jesus rebuked Martha and said that Mary had chosen the “good part”.

You have all those things on your schedule that are going to make you a good wife or mom — after all being a good wife or mom means keeping your family in clean clothes and keeping their bellies full, right?  But what your family needs most of all is a wife and mom who shines the light of Jesus into the home.

Okay, okay!  Stop making me feel guilty!  What am I supposed to do!  I'm tired and frazzled, and now you're trying to tell me that I'm unspiritual too just because I'm trying to take care of my family!

Dear friend, you need Jesus desperately.  You're tired and frazzled, and you need Him more than ever.  Stop trying to do this in your own power.  Somehow, some way, make time for God.  When you're folding the laundry, listen to scripture on a CD or on your phone.  When you're cooking dinner, listen to music that is based on the Word of God that will speak to your soul.  There is a list here of many more ways you can find time for God even though you're incredibly busy with life's responsibilities.

You see, the object is not to have a relationship with God in spite of fulfilling your responsibilities well; it is to fulfill your responsibilities well because of your relationship with God.  Put Him first.  Every day.  Then watch your home transform from a place of chaos into a haven of peace.

Sure, you'll still get behind on laundry and your family might eat cereal for supper sometimes.  But you will have the joy of responding with a sweet attitude even on the busiest and most stressful days.  You will have the wisdom to know when it's okay to feed your family cereal for supper because it's late and they need to get to bed or when you should stay up a little later to finish preparing the meal you started before that unexpected ER visit.

So, dear Imperfect Homemaker, if you only complete one challenge in this entire series, let it be this one:  Learn to be like Christ by spending time with Him every day.  There is no better way to change the atmosphere of your home.

Today's Instagram Challenge: Post a picture of one way you are making time for God!  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)

Deep Cleaning Doesn’t Have to Be Hard (31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking)

It's day 4 of 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking!  If you missed any of the other days, you can go back and catch up right here.

Deep Cleaning.  I'll be honest.  It's something I skip far more often than I should!

I have this notion in my head that the house has to be perfectly straightened up before I can do anything “extra”.  The problem is, with 4 small children running around, my house is never perfectly straightened up!

I look with disgust at the grime accumulating on the windows or light fixtures, but I tell myself I'm not allowed to clean them right now because there's so much other “regular” cleaning that needs to be done.  So the grime accumulates more and more, making my house look like an absolute dungeon, even when I have somehow managed to get it all straightened up (i.e. after the kids are in bed.)

Today's Challenge: Choose one thing to deep clean and just do it! 

I don't care if there are toys spread all over the floor or if the laundry's not all folded; those things will always be there for you to do over and over. If you wait until they're done, you'll never get any of your other deep cleaning done.  Don't choose 3 or 4 because you do need to get to the regular work at some point, though!  Just choose one and get it done!  You'll like the quick and noticeable results so much you'll probably want to do it again tomorrow!

Here is a list of ideas to get you started:

Today's Instagram challenge: Post a picture of something you deep cleaned!  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)

Menu Planning to Save Money (31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking)

It's day 3 of 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking!  If you missed either of the first days, you can go back and catch up right here.

Fridays during this challenge will be all about frugal living.  It's easy to get careless and skip over things that could be saving your family money, so I've added a few things to this challenge that you can do quickly and easily to help shave down your family's budget.

Ready?

Today's Challenge:   Make a menu plan.

Menu planning is one of those things I always tell myself I can skip, but I always regret it when I do!  We go back and forth to the store to pick up missing ingredients, or we snack on junk because I do the 5 o'clock scramble and everybody's hungry while I try to come up with some type of meal.  It really only takes a few minutes to make a menu plan.  It doesn't have to be complicated.  I like to use Build A Menu‘s service (it's great for special diets too like gluten free and THM!), but you can use a piece of notebook paper and a pen.  Look in the fridge and see what you already have.  Write down any meals that use those ingredients.  Then write down a few more meals that your family likes.  Now, get another scrap of paper, and write down all the ingredients for the other meals you just wrote down.  And you're done.  How hard was that?  Why do we skip it and act like it has to be done some fancy way?  (Granted, you can save even more money by taking a little more time, but you're not saving any money if you don't do it at all!  If you want something a little more involved but still quick and easy to do, I highly recommend checking out Build a Menu.)

 

Now go get that list made!  And while you're at it, save it.  Do it again for the next 3 weeks, and you've got a month's worth of meal plans!  Make one big menu, and one big shopping list, and you can re-use it month after month!

Today's Instagram challenge: Post a picture of this week's menu plan!  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)

Time Management 101 (31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking)

If you missed the introduction as to what this is all about, you can read the whole thing here.

In a nutshell, this is a series for women who are easily overwhelmed (me!)  We don't have time to do things perfectly, so we don't do them at all.

During this series I'll be giving you one simple task to complete each day, and we are going to do it together!  Anything we do, no matter how imperfectly, will bless our family more than doing nothing at all!

Are you ready for the first challenge?

The first challenge is the hardest.  I promise.  If you can do this, the rest of the challenges will be a piece of cake.

But it's also the most important.

We are going to get our act together regarding time management.

Part of the reason you're feeling overwhelmed is because you're trying to cram too many things into your day, or you're wasting time (and possibly don't even realize it), or both.

If you're tired of having a messy house, feeling like a failure as a wife and mom, and discouraged that you're not finding time to cook healthy meals, you need to manage your time.

Not too long ago, I got up and looked at the dark circles under my eyes in the mirror and said to myself, “I feel like I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck when it comes to my time.”  In other words, I felt stretched too thin and it was stressing me out.

The word “paycheck” struck a chord in the recesses of memory, and around came the word “budget” to the front of my mind.  “Budget.  Yes…A time budget.  I need to tell my time where to go instead of letting time be my master.”  A few more seconds and the lightbulb stopped flickering and came on in full force.

“Tell Your Time!  That's right!”

You see, Tell Your Time is an eBook that changed my life.  At least it did a while back.  I had been praying for some solution to the very problem I just described.  The very next day this eBook went on sale, and the minute I opened it, I knew it was the answer to my prayer.  In a couple short hours, I had been guided clearly into determining my priorities, what things I needed to cut out of my life altogether, and where to fit it all into my day.  It changed my life — until my schedule and priorities shifted a little.  Then life got out of whack again.

Thankfully, all it took to get back on track was another couple hours, and boom!  I had a smoothly running schedule again.

I've put this challenge first because just by completing this, you will reduce a huge amount of your overwhelm right away.  You will see that everything you need to do can fit into your day!

I promise the other challenges will not take this long, but you cannot afford to skip this one.

Today's challenge: Purchase Tell Your Time and work your way through it.  (Yes, that is a referral link, and no, I am not just trying to make money off this post.)  In fact, I feel that this assignment is so important, that I'm going to give you a link that is not an affiliate link — right here.  If you can't get your act together and just can't seem to fit everything into your day, do not skip this assignment.  It's only $2.99, and worth every single penny.  Put the kids to bed early and work your way through the exercises in the book – it won't take you more than a couple hours.  In the morning you will feel the stress lifted off your shoulders as you know exactly where you're going and how you're going to get there!

Before  you go, let me leave you with this thought: “If not now, when?”  If you're not going to get your act together right now, when will you do it?  Stop saying “I don't have time” and just do it!

Now go get busy with your challenge!

amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “imperfect08-20”;
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “manual”;
amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”;
amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”;
amzn_assoc_region = “US”;
amzn_assoc_design = “enhanced_links”;
amzn_assoc_asins = “B005F0H7BK”;
amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit”;
amzn_assoc_linkid = “4a1b5346bb41b17458bc3f98c600c5a3”;

Today's Instagram challenge: Post a picture of your daily schedule!  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)

31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking

I didn't name this blog Imperfect Homemaker for nothing.  Before I started blogging, I enjoyed reading other blogs, but often would walk away discouraged.  On one blog I would see these wonderful ideas for organizing and decorating, on another I would see all the things I should be doing for my husband and children, on yet another I would see so many healthy changes I needed to make for our family.

I was overwhelmed!

And it paralyzed me.  I couldn't do anything because I didn't know where to start.

So I created this blog as a place where I don't pretend to have it all together.  If I post a recipe or craft, it's because I found something easy.  If I can do it, I know you can too!  If I post some spiritual encouragement, it's because the Lord revealed a weakness in my own life that had to be addressed.  If I post something about cleaning or organizing, it's because I'm desperately trying to figure out how to keep my own home clean and organized!

A couple years ago, I had a theme on the blog for an entire year called “Anti-Procrastination Year”.  I challenged myself to do one thing every day that needed to be done but always got shoved to the bottom of the pile, and I blogged about it. In spite of simultaneously battling chronic fatigue, it was one the most productive years I have ever had!

But it's so easy to fall back into the rut of overwhelm.  Of constantly saying “I need to do {fill-in-the-blank}, but I just don't have time right now.”

The truth is, I do have time.  I just don't have time to do it the way I'd like.  I don't have time to organize every cupboard in my kitchen, so I leave them all a mess.  I don't have time to prepare the coolest craft ever for my kids, so I don't do a craft with them at all.  You get the idea.

I have a feeling I'm not the only woman out there with these struggles.  No — I know I'm not the only one.  I've seen your emails and your comments on Facebook.  And you are not alone.

So here's what we're going to do.  We're going to overcome our overwhelm!

We're going to serve our families, even when we don't have time to do everything exactly like the picture-perfect (unrealistic) ideals in our heads!

I'll be giving you one simple task to complete each day, and we are going to do it together!  Anything we do, no matter how imperfectly, will bless our family more than doing nothing at all!

The  challenges will be in the following areas:

• Sunday – Your walk with the Lord
• Monday – Loving your husband
• Tuesday – Taking care of your own and your family's health
• Wednesday – Ministering to your children
• Thursday – Taking care of yourself
• Friday – Managing your finances
• Saturday – Housekeeping

Be sure to subscribe to email updates so you won't miss them!  You can customize your subscription to only receive the areas that interest you.  (During this series, the homeschooling category will include anything at all having to do with kids, so be sure to check that box if you need encouragement for your mama heart.)

Ready to join me?  Sign up below!

I'll be adding the link to each day's challenge to this page. If you happen to miss a post, just click the “31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking” button on the sidebar and it will bring you here!

Challenge #1: Time Management 101

Challenge #2: Meal Planning to Save Money

Challenge #3: Deep Cleaning Doesn't Have to Be Hard

Challenge #4: The Most Important Thing of All

Challenge #5: Showing Love to the One You Love

Challenge #6: One Easy Way to Boost Your Health

Challenge #7: Loving the Little People

Challenge #8: Use Your Brain

Challenge #9: Simple Ways to Save Money

Challenge #10: Quick and Easy Decluttering

Challenge #11: Scripture Memorization

Challenge #12: The Way to a Man's Heart

Challenge #13: One Step at a Time

Challenge #14: Who Cares if You're Not Crafty?

Challenge #15: Taking Care of Yourself

Challenge #16: Shop Ahead and Save

Challenge #17: Throw it Away

Bonus! Follow along on Instagram with the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker and encourage other members of this community throughout the challenge!

Pumpkin Recipes Made with Real Food Ingredients

I cooked up a bunch of pumpkin over the weekend, and I knew I needed to check with some of my favorite healthy living bloggers to see what they had in the way of real food pumpkin recipes.  Once again, they did not disappoint!

Here are some of the links they gave me:

Beverages:

Real Food Pumpkin Spice Latte

Superfood Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Breakfast:

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes

Grain Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Main Dishes:

3 Healthy Main Dish Pumpkin Recipes

 (Crab and Pumpkin Quiche, Stuffed Pumpkin or Acorn Squash, Autumn Stuffed Pumpkin)

Pumpkin Soup Recipes

 (Roasted Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Soup, Apple Pumpkin Bisque, Autumn Pumpkin Stew)

Snacks:

Sourdough Pumpkin Bread

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Recipe

Desserts:

Pumpkies (GF, DF, EF, NF)

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Panna Cotta

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Pie Mini Tarts (Gluten Free)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm pretty sure I'm going after those Pumpkies first!  Which recipe are you going to try?

(If you missed the apple recipes, you can check those out here.)