Jennifer Godshalk [godshalkbl@yahoo.com] For those of us not born organizers, I found a website called FlyLady (Marla Cilley and Leanne Ely - author of Sink Reflections) which is a humorous, but effective concept of "you can do anything, tackle any project, 15 minutes at a time.  Though I don't always stick to my "schedule," this way of thinking helps me not procrastinate because of my perfectionism getting in the way. 

Verna Groger [verna@groger.net] One of the best facilitators for monitoring our emotional, spiritual and physical health is Solution skills, also known as developmental skills training.  This comes from the Institute in Health Solutions which is an outgrowth of U of Ca in SF.  It’s tremendously helpful for discerning and sorting out our feelings on any given situation, determining the reasonable and unreasonable expectations, finding a powerful and positive focus, accepting essential pain, and seeing the earned reward that awaits.  Also, Solution sandwiches facilitate peaceful resolution as they are all about the art of making a polite request or stating difficult things in a very positive and powerful way without letting negative emotions take over. You can explore more about these immensely useful tools in the Weight Loss section of my website.  They are there because Solution training has been found to be more effective than any other non-surgical method of reducing and maintaining weight loss over a period of 6 years because it brings emotional healing along with life tools for success in making good choices.  Even though it’s a secular program, it is based on scriptural principles.  The skills I have acquired are an invaluable help on a daily basis and my entire family has benefited as well. 

Stephanie Lutz  [StephanieL0812@aol.com] I have cultivated a hobby that I love and am good at, scrap booking.  That relaxes me and I will usually get to dwell upon the goodness of God in my life while reliving so many happy memories.  Many moms ask me how I have time for that, but women always make time for what is really important to them.  My husband is also really good at helping me destress.  He will take charge at times and let me shut my bedroom door and do something completely frivolous like read a novel (historical Christian are my favorite), or just take a nap.  The Fly Lady system of household organization has been my saving grace!  It gave us a routine for weekly and long term cleaning that completely set me free!!!!  Our home is not perfect, but it is better than it has ever been, and we are pleased and are able to entertain strangers/angels anytime without serious panic.  Spiritually speaking, I really just look for God to lead me to something that He wants to work on in me.  I take that nudge and run with it.  For about the past six months or more He has had me learning about His joy.  I read the Word, have done a Bible study, and journal. 

Martha McClanahan [jmcclanahan23@bellsouth.net] I wanted to offer a suggestion I recently read on the Duggers website.  If you aren't familiar with them, they have 17 children and a special on the Discovery channel.  I was looking for advice to help with order in our home too.  My own pattern for keeping house has been so far, ineffective.  I feel like I am always chasing messes rather than being on top of them.  I realized that as the day went on and school progressed and the baby and toddler played, that things just seemed to pile up.  There is always something more urgent going on it seems and by the end of the day, the work was overwhelming.  The Duggers commented that they have "quick clean up" times throughout the whole day to keep clutter under control.  Well, this last Sunday the house was peppered with Sunday clothes, coats, shoes and the occasional hanger.  There were dishes and coloring books and crumbs.  Sunday is the worst day because we're so exhausted after getting everyone to church.  We wanted to invite some friends over for dessert and we decided this at 5:00.  We had to leave again for church at 5:45.  We raced around the house, everyone pitching in and in 15 minutes the house was almost perfect.  Coming home after church that night, we walked into a clean, fresh smelling house and the joy was unspeakable.  Though I hadn't realized it at the time, I had implemented the Duggers suggestion about a "quick clean up" and it had worked beautifully.  Not only is it a lot of fun to race around and clean the whole house in 15 minutes (the kids think so too), it is such a nice feeling to have the house de-cluttered all day instead of just at the end of the day.  In the past, the house has been really clean only at night, when we were all asleep and can't enjoy it.  I plan on scheduling 3 times during the day for "quick cleaning" from now on and hopefully we can feel the delight of a clean house continually. 

Meagan Mitchell [mamcniel@hotmail.com] The best way for me to avoid a breakdown is to ask Jonathan for help. If he can't help, he will suggest someone I should call to ask. This is the hardest thing for me to do because I have to admit that I can't do it all, and then humble myself and ask for help. But what a blessing it is to receive it. I usually take a nap or run an errand by myself and then I am ready to approach life again. Just letting Jonathan know I am feeling overburdened is so helpful in that I don't feel alone, and he will lift me up and help me to bear that burden. When I don't ask for his help or let him know I am struggling, I begin to resent him, feeling like I do everything, etc and become very critical. Then I am overwhelmed with the children and dissatisfied with Jonathan and being REALLY prideful. That is the worst!    Also, asking sweet older women for advice and/or prayer is helpful. Finally, throwing out the chores and routine and doing something fun ( and by fun I do not mean a project -- I mean wrestling and tickling or running around outside or dancing and being silly ) with the kids really helps me to put everything into perspective. I remember how sweet and precious they are and can truly delight in them afterward. This also helps to take the edge out of my voice and soften my demeanor when I am tense from lots of little sin explosions!

Polly McConn [bandman53@yahoo.com] My biggest tip is that I ask the Lord to send me a little refreshing surprise in the day. He has done some wonderful things when I most needed to smile. Often for me this is something in nature. I'll look out my window as I am working on school planning and there I see a whole family of baby birds flitting right in front of my eyes. I recognize it as His gift and it draws me closer to Him. One day I was very sleep deprived, but a cancellation in my piano schedule provided a power nap from the Lord. Little did I know that I would be playing piano that night for a guest speaker at church. The nap enabled me to be coherent later for that responsibility. I sometimes am low on energy as I fix dinner at night. I find it is helpful if I can put on some worship music and direct my thoughts to God's goodness as I cook. Gratitude toward Him always refreshes me. Sometimes I take a minute to have a cup of tea with the Lord.
Hugs from my wonderful children are great refreshers for me!! Probably most important, though it will sound like I am trying to be super spiritual, is my morning devotion just after my shower. My thoughts are racing about my school plans for that day, but as I sit and pray or reflect in His Presence a peace comes over my day. I also like to pray a few scriptures from Beth Moore's "Praying God's Word" for myself and others that I intercede for just to get my thoughts lining up with His transforming truth. Often as I spend this time, the Lord will remind me of something I had overlooked in my school planning or even give me a better way to approach a teaching concept. It definitely pays off to set the course of the day with Him first, even on days when I am very sleepy.
 

Angie Payne [fivepain@yahoo.com]  Right now I am doing a Bible Study by Elizabeth George called Life Management for Busy Women.  I am only on the third chapter but finding it very uplifting and encouraging.  So far I have gotten from Elizabeth, (what I already knew but needed to be reminded of)  Bible study and prayer need to come before all else.  Don't sweat the small stuff - or another way to put it - don't major on the minors.  In our house of 5 and I am sure you will cover this being a larger family than ours, is that the children need and must be trained to do their part of the chores.  I find that working together as a family in one zone at a time is the most productive.  Having a messy house makes me crazy and stressed!  The exercise of cleaning up is good for relieving stress as well.  Exercise with your kids, walks, bike ride, shooting hoops etc.  Also, my kids don't like to sit down and eat without me, so when I am dieting or fasting it makes it so tempting to sit with them a graze! Instead, I read to them while they eat! Keeps my hands, mouth and mind occupied.

Becky Redmond [eredmond3@cox.net] 1) We try to stop the dirt at the door.  When my kids go out, they stay out until they're ready for a bath (exceptions of course for potty breaks), and then they stay in until the next day.  No coming in and going out.  Outside toys stay outside and inside toys stay inside.  I do keep a plastic basket inside by the back door for treasures like cap guns and cowboy hats so they are safe.  Shoes off inside for everyone, every time. 2) We put shoe cabinets/shelves by both the front and back doors (just a cheap bookcase in the back) for all the shoes.  No more searching for shoes when it's time to go. 3) Sometimes when my kitchen floor needs spot cleaning, I give a couple of kids wet washcloths and let them skate!  Fun for them, helpful for me!  4) I keep a stack of washcloths near the back door for washing dirty feet before coming in any further.  Saves time for me.  5) All the kids' dirty clothes go directly to laundry baskets in the laundry room, so they don't have to be collected from their rooms. 6) Towels and washcloths get their own hampers/basket to eliminate some sorting.  I use plastic ones because they are easily wiped out.  7) I toss toothbrushes, sink stops, and dish brushes in the dishwasher now and then to disinfect them.  Some plastic toys, too.  8) My sweet husband installed plastic coated tie racks above the bathtub areas for hanging wet washcloths.  They air out there until I collect them for bleaching--keeps mounds of wet, mildew-y washcloths from accumulating on the side of the tub, and it even looks tidy.  He did the same for my dishcloths in the laundry room.  9) I labeled plastic drawers and boxes with the types of toys, dress-up clothes, etc. that belong there.  All the family readers can pitch in to sort the kids' stuff back into usable order. 10) We bought a 5-drawer dresser for the living room.  Two drawers are for diapers, wipes, pull-ups, etc.  I keep grocery bags in one of the drawers, too, stuffed into an empty tissue box--works great!  Two drawers are for DVDs and videos, and the last drawer is for borrowed items--church or public library, family, or friends.  Easy to collect everything on library day! 11) I have a stack of plastic drawers (which hold 8 1/2"x11" paper) labeled for paperwork:  Mail-urgent, Mail-not urgent, Incoming checks/invoices (my husband is self-employed and I do the books), Receipts, Projects, Misc.  This helped us tremendously to handle the paperwork we both touch without losing any of it.   12) We cut through the back of a bookcase to get to an outlet to rig a shelf with a power strip for recharging the cell phone and Palm Pilot.  On this same shelf, my husband keeps all his pocket stuff (keys, wallet, change, etc.) so he has one stop in the morning before he heads out the door, and one stop to unload his pockets and belt gear when he comes in.  Anything he wants to remember to take along with him he puts here on top of his keys. We virtually never hunt for any of this stuff anymore, and we used to have to hunt frequently.  This was marriage enrichment for us! :-)  13) Bankers boxes!  They are great for so many things!  Taxes, homeschool portfolios, stacks and stacks of photos I'm going to organize one day, Christmas ornaments...  I label them very specifically (including the year and info like cars or homes purchased or sold) in thick marker on the front and one side and store them on shelves up high.  I also use them to organize the gifts I buy through the year for b'days and Christmas.  They are labeled Family, Extended Family, Extras (for on-the-spot surprises), Baby Showers, and Missions Projects.  I buy on sale and store these treasures for the right time.  I started a new project this year--a spreadsheet with all the family member gift occasions, and list which gifts I bought for whom.  It's taking the stress out of these occasions for me, and has really helped to restore the joy of giving!  14) When we discover we're gathering tools for repetitive jobs from different places, we try to make a "kit" for the job.  I have a gift-wrap kit which has scissors, tape, gift bags, tissue paper, pen, etc. all together in a plastic tub.  I can wrap quickly without hunting down any of the tools or supplies.  We buy duplicates of inexpensive tools (like scissors and tape) so each kit is complete.  This is a real time (and headache) saver!  15) My favorite:  My sweetie built me a laundry station where I fold clothes.  I fold in our room on our bed for the stacking space.  I have a tower of shelves, one per child, where I put their folded clothes as I finish each load.  (I keep a plastic shoebox for the youngest one's socks/tights so they are easily stored on the highest shelf).  The bottom shelves are assigned by height to the 3 older children.  They are responsible to put their own clothes away.  The little ones' shelves are up higher since I put their clothes away.  My husband also attached a clothes rod between the tower and the wall for hanging clothes.  I hang them in sections for each child.  The beauty of this system is that it completely eliminated the leaning piles of clean clothes that used to populate the couch and coffee table.  I can fold throughout the day and after the kids' bedtime and tuck everything away neatly in just a couple of steps, ready for them the next day.  One other tip: I spread a large sheet out on the bed before I put any laundry there.  If I'm too tired or busy to fold everything, at the end of the day I just pull up the 4 corners of the sheet and push my bundle on a shelf for the next day.  I keep a collection of hangers loose in the sheet, too, so hanging the clothes is easy.  When I'm out of hangers, the kids collect them from the closets and dump them on "the sheet".  It is amazing how much more efficient I am with the laundry now!  I actually enjoy it most days. :-)

Janine Sherman [shermgang@yahoo.com] I do have a few things I like to do. The problem is I don't stick to them. That there is lesson number one. Stick to whatever it is that works for you. What works for Suzy may not work for Jane. Whatever it is ...STICK to IT. Or have a variety of things to do. Just as long as you implement them. Things I like to do to take care of myself or destress... I like to get out and jog. While I am exercising sometimes I pray, sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I rant and rave to God about my frustrations, and sometimes I just listen to the birds chirping and the sounds of nature around me. Sometimes getting out and running seems too much work or time consuming so I jump on my bike. Just don't listen to a headset that is dangerous and illegal.  I also schedule into our day 30 mins after breakfast and before Bible to "straighten up." This way I am able to focus on the days schedule without worrying about "I have to do this, don't for get to do that..." If things are neat I can concentrate on doing school w/ the kids. We all do this together. Also just recently I have started writing my out of house chores on the blackboard. I write it there b/c it  is in the dining room where I can see it often. Also my kids are very good at helping me remember as well. (My day planner isn't is my face enough. I am a visual person.) It may be a meeting, ballet, dentist, bank, take dog to vet, etc whatever it is I list it on the board,  day and time. This way I can see my day and plan accordingly. This also prevents me from forgetting to be somewhere. Like I did last night. Remember a system is only good when used properly. For instance, yesterday, I forgot to check my calendar in the morning and write it down my meetings. Later in the day I thought I was forgetting something. I was going to check my planner but got distracted. This morning when I woke up I remembered the meeting I forgot yesterday. Oh well, that happens. It must be time to go running. : )  I ask my kids to make dinner. This may seem more stressful for some. Not only does this give me a break but it gives them a chance to learn. This  works best if you have older kids ....and you don't care what you eat. : ) My kids are 11 and 9. They usually make really good meals. Good and good for you too! 

Celeste Welch [geosulcata@hotmail.com] Well, I never knew this was my way of getting back where God wants me after the stuff of the world becomes too much until Craig pointed it out one day. I have a CD player in the kitchen and play music that reminds me of God's faithfulness and His promises. If Craig comes home and the music is on he will sometimes comment "rough morning" - but the great thing is that if it were not for the music playing he would know it had been a rough morning by the chaos in the house. When the girls come in the kitchen I take a moment to dance with them (which they LOVE). My best quiet times are in the van driving (our girls don't talk in the van - not sure how that worked out) - I talk to God during most of my drives and fill up during these times. For chores, we have a paper on the refrigerator that has two columns of chores - each girl has a bedtime chore (trash cans, laundry, dishwasher) and a table chore (pick up floor, spray off table, clean counters). Each girl has a laminate picture of themselves that has sticky stuff on the back - they rotate chores every Sunday night. All we have to say is "it's 7 o'clock" and they do their bedtime chore, put on pajamas, fill up water cups, grab a snack and brush teeth. The thing that dictates our days the most though is if I wake up first and spend time in the Word - these days are the best!