Do Less

A big part of our "Do More" challenge is doing more with our time.  When you sit down and look at how much time you spend on a daily basis doing absolutely nothing, or at least nothing that matters, it becomes pretty scary.  My challenge this week was to look at the things I spend my time doing and see if I could streamline them some.  Things I tackled in this challenge:

• Just Say No - I sat down and looked at my list of commitments and got rid of a few.  They were all worthwhile things, but some of the items on my responsibility list just didn't fit well into our current family goals.  Just because something is good and worthwhile doesn't mean I have to do it.  When I'm asked to be on a committee or help with a project, I always say yes.  I'm learning to say no.  This opens up my schedule to help with things that fit into our current priority list.   For me this week that meant I was able to volunteer at a local charity that has monthly missions sales and donates all the profits to orphan care.  More about this exciting group soon!
• Cleaning - I updated my cleaning chart and printed off a new, clean copy to put on my refrigerator.  Every day I have a few things I do to keep the house clean and organized without feeling overwhelmed.  It is amazing how much time that frees up and how less stressful it becomes!
• Cooking - I spend so much time each week trying to figure out what I am going to make for breakfast, what to pack in school lunches, and what to make for dinner.  It leaves me stressed and leaves hurried, thrown together meals for my family.  Not to mention all those trips to the grocery store because I didn't take out anything to thaw.  This week I finished a project I have been working on for an embarrassing length of time.  I now have updated my 12 weeks of full menus (breakfast, lunch and dinner).  I switch out the menu each week so each recipe only comes around once every 12 weeks.  When it is time to make my grocery list, I simply pull out the menu for the upcoming week, turn to each recipe (all recipes are numbered in a 2" binder, and each menu lists the page numbers of the recipe ), and write down my ingredients.  It takes just a few minutes to make the grocery list and since I'm planning ahead, only one trip to the store each week.  I cannot even tell you what a huge time saver and reduction of stress this is!
• Getting the kids organized - the kids all have cleaning and responsibility charts as well.  They are pretty, colorful and placed where they can see them on the refrigerator.  Each day they look at their chart and make sure they have done all their jobs around the house.  Not having to verbally go over the list (over and over and over again!) saves time and stress!  They know exactly what has to be done before they can go play outside.  

We have made other changes as well, but these few simple things have opened up our schedules to be able to volunteer more and do more that matters.  And I can't tell you how good that feels.