Priorities - Decluttering – stuff in, stuff out

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To equip and encourage

mothers of preschoolers and their supporters

August 2008

Mother Maxim

Live according to your priorities. What is important in the Big Picture?

Mother Moment – Declutter: The Order of Order

“I know I had it here somewhere.”

I shuffled through the papers and cards on the desk beside my computer. I had written down their name and phone number, but now I can’t find it in my office ‘system’.

My ‘system’ works most of the time but every now and again someone else in the family tries to ‘find’ something or bangs the papers, meshed across the desk, which then avalanche to the floor. They may helpfully pick them up and put them back on the desk, but my system is altered and my notes become just a pile of paper. You see, the top ones were the ones I’d determined to deal with today, but no-one else probably knew that.

I confess, I’m a ‘messie’. I’m creative, even clean, but still a messie – married to a cleanie.

It’s difficult juggling order and children. And this is when expectations of perfection and pristine beauty inside your home need to fade away and be replaced with the joy of the day with your child. Gazing in the eyes of your littlie, reading and snuggling together with a book, or ‘chatting’ away face-to-face playing with toy blocks becomes more important than well-ordered rooms and a clean house throughout.

When the children are well-occupied or asleep, I sometimes grab five, maybe ten, minutes to sort through my papers in the office. It may seem a tiny step forward. I may have previously been able to take an hour to sort and clean, but now being able to divide tasks into micro-bites creates progress. Even if it's slow.

Work round your house is important, but it’s just part of your family picture and probably down the list of priorities in this short season of nurturing your under sixes.    -jmcw

Mother’s Heart

Oh Lord, how I need to keep the main thing the main thing. Help my ‘main man’ and me to be on the same page in regards to the division of household chores and raising the children at this stage of life.

Mentor Mum Moment

Tip : If one bag of ‘stuff’, including groceries, comes into the house, then one bag of same or bigger size goes out within a couple of days (whether to the rubbish, give away, or op shop).

MOPPETS

http://mopsnz.wordpress.com/2007/10/13/moppets/ - useful web links – colour in, tea parties, discipline tips, etc

From Last Time :

We love our neighbours, but there are boundaries.

MOPS Link

www.mopsnz.wordpress.com - see Central Baptist MOPS group, plus a few articles

www.mops.org - international website of MOPS

www.mops.org.nz - local NZ content for MOPS. Hoping for new groups in Wairoa, Mt.Wellington, and Wellington.

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MOPS (NZ) Inc, P O Box 12-307, Hamilton, NZ. - info@... - www.mops.org.nz