Getting It All Done With a Little Fun

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters..."... Colossians 3:23

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My buddy, Dolores, asked how I keep up with housework. I've been a bit of a slouch lately (being on winter vacation, shall we say...), but I have kept the house straightened.

While sitting around like a slug, one doesn't want to gaze for hours at piles of clutter, right?  :)

So here are some ideas and you need not only associate them with housekeeping. Go broader, ok? These can help anyone do anything.

First idea: Mix it up. Ruts can, if not kill you, kill your creativity, enjoyment and your 'want to'.

Some days I do my housework/blogging/whatever during tv commercials. I'll watch a couple favorite shows, pop up from the couch during their ads and quickly peck away at tasks like loading the dishwasher, sweeping the kitchen, feeding the cats, gathering clothes for laundry etc., (such an endless list, indeed). If my program has no commercials, I pause it every few minutes.

(This also works when you pause between chapters of books. Been there, done that a zillion times.)

When it comes to ironing or clipping coupons, I do those during tv shows and I pay bills while listening to terrific radio retro-tunes.

Some mornings, I set a timer for ten minutes and play Beat The Clock while playing music. Often I can straighten our tiny house in that short time, but even if I can't, it's fun to try.

If I complete a task, especially a procrastinated one, I reward myself with extra reading or computer or playing outside time. Or, ok, a snack and a tv show.  :) (Fill in the blank your favorite reward _____.)

I keep a list on the refrigerator for tasks which need to be done and find pleasure in crossing them off. Other days I just tear off a tiny piece to write down what must be done that day (or else!) and set it in the middle of the counter. (The refrigerator list is always crazy-long and easy to ignore.)

Occasionally I keep a typed-up Monday-through-Sunday list of chores and some ideas for fun and creativity, spreading tasks evenly. My favorite thing about this is, when Friday comes along, I can grab this list and quickly run around so to complete unfinished chores.

Lists. A homemaker's best friend. Also, I spend lots of time asking myself, "How can I make my job easier around here?" I often look for short-cuts to housework online and in old-fashioned homemaking books.

Quoting the verse, above, greatly helps. So does (especially as one grows older) repeating, "I can do this. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And carrying God's presence while doing whatever we must do. This changes everything.

Learning to receive Grace for doing everything--that's huge. God's mercy is new every morning, as well as His measures of creativity, inspiration and the will to make each month/year/decade unique and rut-free.

At least, that's what I believe.

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Still need some inspiration for keeping house? This blog might help. But oh, there are a ton of others out there, as well!


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Wondering about Tom over in South Africa? He's doing fine. Mostly. A water line did break in the ceiling outside of the bathroom he shares with a roommate and while they (and others) cleared the water, he strained his back a bit. He moved in with someone else, but will probably return to his room today.

We do chat over Skype daily, but we're unable to use the see-the-other-person feature because his signal over there is weak. Oh well. At least we do get to talk each day, even for a few minutes.


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