Having a clean, orderly house was always a high priority for me. In fact, before we had children John and I bought our first house and carpeted everything except the kitchen in off-white carpeting. The walls, drapes and carpet were the color of a pearl. When we started having children and found it necessary to purchase a larger house, we were smart enough to opt for a color palate that was more kid friendly, but I still wanted our home to be neat and clean. Keeping everything spiffy was not too difficult before I made the commitment to homeschool, but when I realized that for a sizable chunk of my day I was going to be sequestered in my schoolroom, I knew that I was going to need to set up a schedule for my housework that would be as unbending as my school schedule.
As I began working out my schedule, I realized that in order to get everything done I needed to get up at five-thirty every morning. This was hard for me. I was always up at six, but losing that additional thirty minutes of sleep seemed like a huge sacrifice. Nevertheless, until my children were old enough to help me with household chores, I was going to have to haul myself out of bed at five-thirty a.m.
When I got out of bed, the first thing I did was put on my makeup and style my hair. When I was dressed, I went into the kitchen and started cooking breakfast.
I had time set aside on my schedule for everything that I would do during the day:
- A time to make the beds
- A time to do the laundry
- A time to wash the dishes
- A time to sweep the floors
- A time to vacuum
- A time to dust
Because I had scheduled everything that I would need to do during the day, I never really had an excuse for not doing something. I could never justify saying, “Oh, well, I think I’ll let that go today,” because I knew each task had a time slot when it was supposed to be completed.
This may sound like a grueling life, but the schedule made it possible for me to spend the required time in school and complete my housework every day. Of course, in order for the schedule to be effective, I had to actually discipline myself to follow it, and this is where that thing called “habit” came into play. The word “habit” tends to carry with it a negative connotation. We attribute all sorts of unsavory behavior to bad habits, but we seldom attribute positive behavior to good habits. Yet, our habits dictate most of our lives. Each of us has bad habits and good habits; the key to success in any endeavor lies in minimizing our bad habits and maximizing our good habits.
By doing things in the same order every day I formed habits that helped me finish my housework quickly and efficiently. I never had to wonder when I was going to find time to perform a particular chore; I knew exactly when I was going to do everything because everything was on the schedule. Thus, performing the mundane household tasks that are an inescapable part of life became a habit. I no longer gave any thought to when or how I was going to perform any of my duties. I followed the schedule and developed habits that enabled me to complete my housework quickly.
During my twenty-five years as a homeschooling mom, I looked forward to the day when my last student would graduate, and I would no longer need to get up at five-thirty every morning. In the fall of 2000 that day finally arrived; however, I immediately began working at our family’s mortgage company, and I found it necessary to get up every morning at five o’clock.
I am still on a schedule so that every morning I know exactly what housework needs to be done on that particular day of the week before I leave for work. We then have breakfast, Bible reading, and prayer before I drive the nine miles to our offices where I arrive no later than nine o’clock. I rarely leave the offices during the day; most days I go home between five-thirty and six o’clock. By the time dinner is cooked and the kitchen is cleaned, I may have an hour for television before I go to bed—sometime between nine-thirty and ten o’clock.
My life has never been easy, but it has been possible because I trained myself to adhere to a schedule that allowed me to first pursue a career as a homeschooling mother and, later, as a businesswoman. Because I recognized that, as a woman, I would always bear the responsibility for cleaning the house, doing the shopping, and preparing the meals, I formed habits that enabled me to meet all of my responsibilities—not just for a few weeks or months, but for many years. I have now been working full-time in our mortgage company for twelve years, and the demands on my time are even greater than they were when I was homeschooling. I know that I could never have met those demands if I had not begun so many years ago by making a simple schedule that would enable me to take care of my house and family while I also homeschooled my children.
If you feel overwhelmed, I advise you to make a schedule that will enable you to do all of those things each day that are necessary for you and your family to thrive. Then, train yourself to adhere to your schedule. You will find that, in the long run, it will make your life easier and more enjoyable.
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