Being content at home~

I thought I would write a post on how I can be content as a homemaker. I knew many years ago that when I had children I wanted to truly be the one to care for them, to teach them and to help them to grow in areas that would help them to become well rounded people. I have been a stay at home Mommy for 14 years now. There are so many challenges when one chooses to work in the home. Some of which are, people seem to do one of two things...they seem to cut you down for not earning a pay check, or they put you on a pedistool, as if you are some kind of a saint. First let me say that the money I save our family by staying home, and giving our children truly good care, good wholesome meals that are cooked from scratch, and moments shared together, that could be forever lost had I not been here for them...are worth more to me than all the money in this world. Now it is a sacrifice of self to stay home in many respects, however this does not make one a saint of any sorts. How I see it, any choice that one makes comes with both reward and sacrifice...it is all part of life. One of the ways that I have found contenment in what I do, is to follow the advice my wonderful, and loving mother gave to me. She once told me to treat my housework as importantly as I did any job that I was getting paid for and I would reep the rewards. This has been true. We live in a clean and cosy little home that is a haven. It could not feel as nice, if I let the daily house hold chores go by the way side. One thing that has always helped me is to have a home and task organizer. This is just a simple black three ringed note book, in which I keep my lists. Every evening before bed I fill out a task sheet for the next day's work. This helps me to keep track of important events for the day and make sure that my time is budgeted well. I do allow myself to deviate from my lists when need be. I also keep a list of the two weeks going's on and then my special jobs list for each day. I find when I budjet my time, things run so much smoother than if I had not. I also like to keep a list of up comming projects that I need to work on, such as sanding and re-doing my two coffee tables or sewing a case for my mother's little media tablet. Having a place where all of these things are in one spot and neatly typed out, just helps me to feel better as well as function better. I will post a few photos of my simple little notebook. :)