Priorities equal Time

Now that the holidays are over and the New Year is upon us it is the traditonal time to reflect–the whole New Year’s resolution thing. Honestly I have never made a New Year’s Resolution and I will not this year. Instead I am culling. Every couple of months I need to do this in order to keep my sanity. We have 3 children, 2 cats and a dog in a 2 bedroom 900 square foot house. I love the closeness of our quarters, but it does take some organizing and there are times when it seems like someone is always underfoot–normally the dog.

The hard part is organizing on a budget. When you have all these bits and pieces lying around and no money to buy containers or shelves or such it can be rather frustrating. But it is also motivating. I realize that I just need to just get rid of the things we are not using. I told my mom that I am preparing bag for the epilepsy foundation and she said, “You’re not giving away clothes!” Sounds like my husband. But the fact of the matter is there are clothes that Avril has never worn that have been passed down to Mavis and she also has never worn them. I firmly believe most children only need about 3-4 pair of everyday pants, 5-6 shirts (either short of long sleeved depending on the season). In other words about 4-6 outfits. In my case anything more then that tends to get pushed to the back of the drawer or closet.

With my time to it is also time to cull. One thing I am trying to focus on is my time matching my prioritites. My number one priority is raising my family and staying connected to my husband. Everything else either helps me in my goals or hinders it. Some things are necessary even if they hinder. For example my work as a free lance writer can take time away from my children, but without that income I would have to look for part time work outside of the house which would take away even more time.

Farming is another example. It can take away time from our family, but we do it together. It is great to get out there with the kids working the fields and planning for a farm. Lately the children have been choosing to give up things like candy and other treats to save for the farm.

Before the holidays I was really busy with writing and getting ready for the holidays. It is all too easy to check out on the kids and leave the TV to babysit. Now I must reprioritize yet again. Last night I was doing a lot of soul searching. Here are the steps I came up with.

1. Limit work and try to confine it to a specific time of day, try not to let it spill over into an all day thing. This includes checking e-mails and making and returning phone calls.
2. Try to include the children in my work whenever possible. Today my household work includes making bread, sweeping the floors, laundry and sorting clothes. Note to self–children are not good and sorting things to get rid of, they will want to keep everything!
3. Schedule time for fun with the children. Make sure to plan time for stories, playing games, going outside, making cookies and just being together.

So my 1# goal today is to reconnect with the children and include them in my life on multiple levels–in short, to make my time match my priorites.