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A Focus on the Family and Home

An Introduction…

Many people feel that they are too busy to have the time to focus on the family get organized.

Are you feeling too busy to organize your home and family?

Then let me help you! Because being organized actually helps you create time!

Like the manager of any company, the more smoothly it runs with everyone doing their part at the right time, the less stress the manager goes through and she may end up with some time to play “golf” (get a massage, go out for coffee with a friend, go shopping on your own…).

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR YOUR FOCUS ON THE FAMILY?

Firstly in your focus on the family you need to think about your goals and focus. Do you want...

behaved children?
A Warm and welcome home
Healthy, happy family members
Productive activities and time

You don’t want to become a control freak but you do want to find your child’s immunisation records in less than an hour

You do want to know that you will have the ingredients in the cupboard when you choose the evening meal

You don’t want to feel nervous when you go to use your card because you are not sure how much money is in your account.

You do want a tidy house but not at the expense of your children not being able to enjoy playing with their toys.

Try taking this Family Goals SELF-ASSESSMENT to accurately help you assess what your goals for your family are and what changes may need to be made.

HOME ORGANIZATION GUIDELINES

When you focus on your family and home organization, you need to make sure you don't get caught up with how everyone else does things. You also need to know when enough if enough. So please keep to these guidelines...

1. No Perfection – Don’t even try to achieve it. It may create the wrong atmosphere in your home anyway. An enjoyable and liveable home is not a perfect one.

2. No Standard but your own – When you focus on the family, don’t compare yourself to other families home’s. Your home is all about what your family needs, what each of you are able to do to make a system work and what needs to be changed in order to create the atmosphere that makes you all relax and enjoy being together. That standard is going to be different for everybody!

3. No, not all done – No the housework is never going to be completely organized. You are never going to be finished trying to organize everything so just decide now not to let that frustrate you. The reason for this is life is always changing. People are always coming and going and you will want different things too. So be flexible, roll with the changes life brings and keep on using all you learn to create the home and family you love.

“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Saint Francis of Assisi

STEP 1: TEACH YOUR FAMILY

Your family is the team you work with. You can put in all the effort you want to organize your home and family but unless you have them working with you, you are going to give up very quickly.

If your children are too young to be a part of making these kind of decisions then you just have your spouse to work with. Easy for you! Your children will grow up with some of those expectations already there. So, make your first task to share your goals with your family, plan how it will work together and set the ground rules.

It’s important though to take the following steps when they do get to the right age because they need to know why you want things done a certain way. You want them to want to make the changes you make too. And you want them to do things well. But how do you do that? Try these tips for mums: 3 Step Teaching Plan

STEP 2: SET UP YOUR FAMILY PLANNER ZONE

This step of focussing on the family involves setting up your family planner workbook which you can download here soon and also the message station where all the family can be reminded of what needs to be done and who needs to go where.

Choose where your Zone will be:

Somewhere in the kitchen or an area that is regularly passed by all members of the family multiple times a day is the best place to set up the family planner zone. This zone will be the place you keep your family planner workbook which contains your menu plans, family calendars, quick contact lists, to do lists etc. Some people have used the spot where the phone is kept so it double’s as a message centre. This works very well if people want to try and book you in for an event or dinner you can quickly see who is available on the family planner.

NOTE: Always make sure you don’t commit other family members to appointments or events without checking with them first.

What you will need:

A pen holder and pens
Magnets if you are using your fridge to post your family calenders and rewards chart on
A focus on the family pin up board if you are using an office type area so you can put up the notices that everyone needs to see.
Coloured highlighters – a colour for each member of the family
Some type of table top or fridge top to hold pens, folder
Blank notepad for messages
Attractive closable box or tray to keep supplies in if on top of fridge. This will help reduce cluttered messy look. I have used a timber, country looking bread box which looks great. Anything that fits in with your decorating style. Another option is to use a nearby draw or cupboard to store these bits in
Phone books if near the phone

Make the system work:

Everyone needs to know how the organized focus on the family system works in order to use it. Especially as children grow older and they begin making their own plans. They need to know how to add their commitments to the calender and keep track of their own responsibilities. Give the family a ‘tour’ of the Family Planner Zone and make sure you ask for their input on how to set it up or any improvements that could be made. You want everyone to feel like they own it and can use it comfortably.

STEP 3: WORK THROUGH EACH ORGANIZE-OUR-FAMILY TOPIC

Each area of our focus on the family and home is covered in this website. There are always more ideas that can be added to each area so if you think of something, please let me know on the Contact Me page.

Right now though, select one of the following areas and begin putting into place the ideas that suit your home and family. Remember, don’t try to reach perfection and don’t try to bring too much change too quickly. It will be too hard for you all to keep it up. A small and simple change that becomes a habit is better than impressive changes that don’t last.

These areas are not listed in any particular order…So organize…..

STEP 4: SET ASIDE TIME FOR YOURSELF EACH DAY AND EACH WEEK.

This is hugely important if you are to have some stress relief and not feel like an overworked worn out rag. You need to check out the section ORGANIZE ME for ideas on how to give yourself a break once a day, an enjoyable activity once a week and some special moments with your husband once a week too. This is important because it will increase your passion for doing what you do. You need to feel like a cherished woman and wife and appreciated mother.

If you want to order the Family Planner – well it’s still to come and it’s worth waiting for! Subscribe to this page so that you won’t miss it’s release. You will love the difference it will make!

I wish you all the best in bringing an enjoyable atmosphere to your home as you focus on the family and the lifestyle you want to live together!

So, are you ready to take the first step? Let’s go!

SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE MONTHLY HOME ORGANIZATION TOOLS!!

Each month you will receive helpful tips in various areas of organizing your home and family as well as a FREE E-BOOK for you to download on some aspect of organizing your home and family. All free resources to help you create the home and family you need!

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

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