September means...

Finally got the chimney repaired! 

Today is the first day of September and that means fall is fast approaching.  The days are already starting to shorten, there is a crispness in the early morning air, and the first dry leaves are starting to carpet the trail near my home.

There is a sense of urgency to take care of projects while the weather is still warm and dry.  Do you get that feeling also?   Now is the time to get the yard ready for winter.  If you have outdoor painting projects, better get them started!  Gather all the kid toys strewn around the yard, clean them and store them until next spring...same with garden tools, equipment and outdoor furniture.  Harvest the rest of your garden veggies.  Any home repairs that need doing?  Don't put them off!  How are the tires on your car?  If worn, replace them before you realize you have no traction during a rainstorm!  (That happened to me last week during our first big storm of the season...not fun!)

Although we still have a month or so (if we're lucky!), it's much less stressful taking care of these things now instead of waiting until it's cold and nasty out.  Have fun!
  

It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it :)

Measuring the level of "sludge".  Gross!

Home maintenance isn't always enjoyable or even satisfying.  Spending an hour draining a water heater or vacuuming refrigerator coils is a necessary chore but when you're finished, no one can tell that you did anything at all.  The same is true with caring for a septic system (if you happen to live in the country, which we do).  The only sign of activity is a bare spot of dirt where you dug up the cover of the tank.   But I guess that's good.  Who wants to see someone's septic tank or drain field or worse yet, smell it!?!?!?!

Regardless, it has to be done every three years and that's what I spent an afternoon doing.  I'm thankful it wasn't raining! 

Covering up the evidence  :)

Catch-Up Day

Last night as I was trying to sleep, I started thinking of all the little projects, errands, and phone calls I needed to make.  Some of these things have been on my mind for several days (or weeks) and I just haven't gotten around to doing them.  So....

I just LOVE Costco hot dogs!

Today I got up with the resolve to tackle as many of these little nagging things as I could.  I got out my trusty spiral notebook, started furiously writing down all the obligations I needed to address and  set to work crossing off each item.  I paid bills, organized my financial papers so I could do my taxes, set up this year's files (so I'm a month late - I said I was behind!), made phone calls and wrote emails.  This afternoon I'm going to vacuum the furnace filters, clean out the fireplace and get a bedroom ready to paint.

Sometimes we just need a day to "catch up".  It's fairly easy to keep up with the usual routine of living but some things tend to get pushed aside.  Most of the things I neglect are little things that only take a short time to complete, which may be why I put them off.  But it feels so good to finally get them off my mind!  Maybe I'll designate an official Catch-Up Day every month and for dinner that night we'll have hot dogs, french fries and...catsup!

Here's to Catch-Up day!

Tidy Tuesday - A losing battle :)

It seems like work is never done because it IS never done!

When I went into the bathroom last night to brush my teeth, I noticed that a certain someone (who will remain nameless) dropped his clothes about one foot away from the clothes hamper.  Really?!  Just 12 more inches and it would have made it into its proper place.  It got me thinking about all the homemaking frustrations we moms deal with on a daily basis.  It didn't take long to come up with a list  :)

1. Well, let's put my example as #1...not putting clothes in clothes hamper.  The hamper is NOT a decoration!  It has a function!
2. Not covering refried beans (or anything that isn't a solid) in the microwave and leaving an exploded mess to clean up.
3. Advertised cleaning products that don't perform miracles.
4. Recipes that don't turn out ANYTHING like their gorgeous pictures.
5. Tomorrow's dinner ingredients eaten as a midnight snack.
6. Putting damp towels in the hamper.  Isn't it funny that the dirty clothes end up on the floor and the wet towels are put in the hamper?
7. Burning a new pan or scratching a new non-stick pan.
8. Not using a cutting board on the kitchen counter.
9. Forgetting shirts in the dryer so they get all wrinkled.
10. Not noticing the gel pen in the pocket of the shirt going into the washer.
11. Not putting the lid on the blender!  And then not cleaning the splatter off the ceiling  :(
12. Produce that gets "lost" in the refrigerator until you come across an unidentifiable liquid mess puddling the shelf.
13. The "new, improved" design of Costco milk jugs.  Hint...transfer the milk to a gallon pitcher.
14. Sharpie marker in the hands of a preschooler.
15. And of course, the ever famous...stepping on a stray Lego in the middle of the night!  Ouch!

This list took only about 10 minutes to think up.  Given a little more time, I'm sure I could write pages and pages...

How about you?

Tidy Tuesday - The good ol' days

When was the last time you darned socks?

Years ago, I came across a little treasure of a book, written in 1909  entitled,"When Mother Lets Us Help".   It was written to help young boys and girls learn how to properly take care of their home.  Let me just say...times have  changed!  We might think housekeeping is a pain but have you ever considered what it would be like without electricity or modern plumbing?

In the chapter on tidying the bed room, the author gives instructions on how to empty the wash bowl and slop jar.  What?  Gross!  There is also a reminder about taking care that your candles are long enough to burn until the next morning.  I don't think I'd ever sleep if I thought a candle was burning somewhere in the house!

Gotta polish that silver!

Did you know that you're supposed to polish the silver every week?  Apparently so.  I don't even OWN any silver  :)

Have you ever heard of an ice box?  That's what people used before refrigerators.  It looked something like a refrigerator but kept things cool with a big block of ice.  In caring for your ice box you are supposed to clean it twice a week and be sure that the inside stays below 50 degrees.  50 degrees is considered totally unacceptable by today's standards!

The ice box

Your stove would be fueled by wood in 1909 and you'd have to know how to adjust the heat and keep it going and not burn down the house.  In fact, your whole house would be heated by wood...which is probably why they made such a big thing about Spring Cleaning.  Houses got really dirty during the winter with smoke and soot and stuff like that.  Oh, and the books notes that chimney fires are common...just pour table salt down the chimney from the roof!  Aargghhh!!!
 
Does this give you an idea of how blessed you are today?  I love indoor plumbing, my furnace, electricity, my vacuum and of course, my refrigerator  :)

I don't believe in allowances

I was never a big fan of allowances.  Don't get me wrong...I think it's important for kids to understand about using money wisely but I also think money shouldn't be the main motivation for getting kids to do something.  Of course, having eight children and giving them all a generous allowance would have made it hard to pay the bills and put food on the table  :)  Really though, I think there are certain things that children should be expected to do just because they're members of the family...and that includes basic chores.  Everyone should be responsible for cleaning up their own messes and taking care of their belongings and helping keep the living areas clean.  I don't believe in paying kids for those kinds of things.  I don't believe in taking advantage of our kids either.  There are things that should be compensated in some way...whether it be in money, extra privileges, or something else agreed upon by both parent and child.  These include deep cleaning, extra babysitting, out of the ordinary yard work or periodic work projects.

Doing chores isn't fun for anyone but kids need to see that when everyone contributes, everyone reaps the benefits.  And we do certain things because we're a family.

Gotta have time for fun too!

Work is not an evil word

From the time they're young, children need to learn how to work.  I'm not talking slave labor here (although some kids think that ALL work constitutes slave labor).  I'm talking about the normal, routine taking care of the home, taking care of personal belongings and pitching in when extra hands are needed.   It is probably easier and quicker for you to take care of everything but you lose out on the opportunity to teach your child valuable skills and let him feel like a contributing member of the family.  Young children love to imitate Mommy and Daddy and want to be helpers so let them feed the kitty or fold some towels or sweep the kitchen floor.  Be creative! Be positive!  There are a number of small tasks that children as young as preschoolers can help with.  The time will come when they're not so eager but hopefully by then they will have started building habits that can be expanded upon.   And as they grow, their abilities and skills grow and improve too.   Don't sit back and watch them work but be there working alongside them.  Show them by your example that everyone contributes to the family.  Strange as it may seem, some of my children's fondest memories are of times where we worked together as a family.