lilith's dreams

Filling The Pantry

Canning season is picking up and we are beginning to refill the pantry.  We did some cherries last night to bring our total to 24 jars.  We have bought some and my DH has gleaned some.  He will try to pick some more today and I found someone online who is trying to get rid of some for a good price before the weekend.  Yeah!  I love good deals and when I don't have to spend a lot for produce to can. 

My total goal is 83 jars for the year, but I am also trying to add to our reserves so I would need 120 jars total.  I had 21 jars left over from last year, so I had to can approximately 100 jars.  This means I need about 125 pounds of cherries.

I do these calculations for all of our produce and meat needs for our family of nine.  I track them all on a spreadsheet.  I can even tell you how many onions, heads of garlic, and pounds of potatoes I need to feed our family for a year.  Some things I am able to get all of our needs met from the garden and some I have to do without or buy from the store. 

Our canned and frozen packages needs for fruits and vegetables is 1200 per year and I want to get to have two years worth on hand or 2400 packages/jars.  My goal this year will be to get to 50% reserves where last year we were at 30% reserves.  My problem now is where to put all the jars. 

I have a great canning room with built in shelves that was here when we moved in, but I am quickly out-growing it.  This year we will be shuffling things around to move some other food storage to another room where we keep freezers so that we can free more room up for jars.

Apparently I will need some strawberries also in order to meet our year's goals.  We froze many of our own, but it is not quite enough.  Today we will also look to U-pick some strawberries before they are all gone for the year.

Excellent Home Making Article

When I read the following excerpt from Managing A Home by Crystal Miller in the Homestead Happenings newsletter this morning, I just had to e-mail her and ask permission to post it here on the Front Porch.  Some of our new bloggers may not be familiar with Crystal's newletter or her Country Store, and I don't want anyone to miss out on the blessing of what she has to offer!  The article spoke to my home-maker's heart and was both an encouragement and a reminder that I need to be diligent in caring for my home and family.  Hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.

Blessings,

Catherine

Home Management and Making a Home
By Crystal Miller

When I think of the word “Homemaking” I think of the word as “Making a Home”. Homemaking is all that goes into making my house a home. Due to my home being a priority to me and perhaps because I have a large family I feel like much of homemaking is good home management. I have felt that it takes a well functioning home to feel like a comfortable home. A home where your family enjoys the time spent and others like to come to your home for refreshment and encouragement. I personally feel like it is hard for me to nurture my family and reach out to others if my life and home are not functioning as they should.

In order to manage a home you have to have a plan. You have to have a basic daily plan on how to keep the home flowing and the work done. A plan consists of routines, good time management, chores maintained, systems of organization, and tools to help you keep it all in order and keep the wheels moving forward in your home. Remember that one of the most important aspects of being a homemaker is creating a loving and peaceful environment for your family.

The housekeeping plan you use needs to be one that works for you and your life. I have read lots of books and read many ideas and used different plans, but ultimately these plans and ideas were not the end in themselves, they were the means to creating my own plan. My home is unique and so is yours. I don’t believe we could follow someone else’s plan exactly and have it work for us. We will tweak it and modify and then find something else and say, “Oh that might work” and try it and tweak that, etc., until after a time what you have is “your” plan.

Obstacles to Planning

Our Attitude
There are obstacles that can make a home management plan difficult. One is our attitude about cleaning a house. Being a homemaker is hard work and it takes a positive attitude and a lot of energy and determination each day. The beauty of it all is that with the right attitude caring for our home can be one of those areas in life where we can learn to get into the rhythm of the tasks and learn to appreciate things like warm soapy dishwater on our cold winter-time hands, the soothing hum of a washing machine going, the smell of dinner wafting through the home, the beauty of a shiny clean kitchen floor, the peace that comes from a home where all is clean and in order.

Any woman can choose to believe that their job is drudgery or they can choose to view it as a service to Christ. I believe that being a homemaker is a ministry of service and love unto Christ to those the Lord has given me to love, nurture and care for. My husband and family are the ones that mean the most to me; they are the closest to my heart. They are the first and foremost ministry in my life. If I begin to think of other things I would rather be doing then laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc., I realize that I have neglected to view my role from God’s perspective and that is as His servant. There is something humbling about serving others, washing the feet of our loved ones in these tasks; something that can, if we allow it, help to put our heart and attitudes in the right place. It can change our view of the work we do each day. If Jesus walked into your home you would do everything possible to serve Him while He was in your home. Well ladies, He IS in your home and you are serving Him each day as you go about your task of raising up godly children and caring for and keeping a home for you husband and family (Matt. 25:40 And the King will answer and say to them, ”Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me”).

Busyness
Many years ago when I began my quest to manage my home better I evaluated all the busyness in my life and looked at what things might be preventing me from managing my home better. I decided that if I am not able to take care of my home in such a way that shows that I have control over my domain then I may need to lessen what I currently have going on and not add any more to my schedule.

I have always been a person who would bite off more than I could chew so to speak. I don’t think I am alone with this either, as I talk to other women who deal with the same issue. I would take on more projects than I could handle, I volunteered for more than I should have, and I made plans that were beyond my abilities or time. The end result was always the same; something would suffer.

When I am too busy the first thing to suffer is always my home. It becomes a mess, laundry backs up, and clutter is a big problem. Then my children are next; attitude problems, discipline issues not being handled well, little ones not getting enough mommy time. Of course meals suffer; boxed cereal, instant, expensive and typically unhealthy food is served. All for the sake of not having my home under control.

The dividing line for outside busyness and effectively managing a home will be drawn in a different place for each of us. I am not saying that all outside activity needs to stop, that would be unrealistic. But rather when life has too much going on, it is much more difficult to manage a home as it should be managed. I had to make very different choices in my life in order to achieve my goals.

Time Management
Problems in good home management can also come from our time not being used as efficiently as possible. I know that it can be somewhat depressing for someone to look around and see that they don’t have control over their home or don’t have as much control as they feel they should and think it is hopeless, I might as well just continue on because I can’t ever get it under control. But let me encourage you that my experience is that as I have worked to organize, deal with clutter, create and implement systems of operation in my home and learn to use my time wisely that my skill level in these areas has increased, my efficiency has increased and I am able to train my children to work along side me and eventually move beyond the basics and accomplish other things in my life.

The first thing to remember is that there are only 24 hours in a day. We can’t expect to find anymore time available than this! We need to sleep a certain amount of those hours; we need wake up time and unwinding time and personal time. That calculates into only so many available hours to do all the other things we would like. These available hours should be viewed as precious time to accomplish the work the Lord has given us!

Be realistic about what you can do with the hours you have. Know your limits, your strengths and your weaknesses. I remember planting a huge garden one year. That was great except for the fact that I was due to have my 5th baby at the beginning of September. The same time all my tomatoes were ripe and ready. I personally did not have the energy to go from birth to canning in the same week! I was still struggling to care for my new baby (which was the 3rd baby in less in than 3 years) and recover and regain some energy. I was not very realistic about what I could accomplish. I wanted to do it all and I physically could not.

Recognize the things in our life that rob time from us. Over commitment, the telephone, the computer, laziness, hobbies that need to put off until the house is in order. Once you have a good handle on time management you will find it much simpler to accomplish the basic priorities.

In Summary
Time spent making and managing a home for my family will be a value passed on not only to my children but to future generations too. I think of the legacy left to me by my hard working, home loving, dedicated grandmothers and I know I can leave this same legacy for my grandchildren.

Managing my home is a mission that the Lord has given me. I always want to remember that homemaking is not a job to be avoided but a job to embrace and live to its’ full potential. This is one major area that is so easy to run from. It can be hard work to run a well managed home. This is a challenge that we as homemakers can embrace and be successful. It requires a determination to succeed and a plan. I don’t mind hard work and I don’t mind working towards these goals when I know that my hard work and my goals are for the purpose of something worthy. And certainly raising a family in such a way as to honor Christ is a worthy purpose.

An excerpt from:
Managing a Home: Tips, Organizational Advice and Practical
How-To’s from a Mother of 8
A new eBook from The Family Homestead

Happy Canada Day

new template - new day

I fiddle faddled with my template last night until too late, then I couldn't sleep - I'd better keep with my rule to turn off the computer by 9:00 p.m.! Today soon I'll be leaving to work at the thrift store. I didn't have time for my Bible study because I watered outside then came in and got on the computer - I need to keep with my rule not to turn on the computer until noon. It can certainly overpower everything else!

A high school classmate is trying to get all 23 (or less - some passed away) of our class of '69 to share their lives. One guy would like to have a 50th reunion - in 10 years that just may happen if we start now.

Featured Blogger~Mama Hen

Welcome to this weeks Featured Blogger!

Help me congratulate
Mama Hen!

Great posts
Lots of neat ideas
Pretty pictures
Very nice little home on the web
Go by and let her know you enjoy her blog

Blessings,
Chasity L. Burrell
Senior Editor Homesteadblogger
Heritage Acres Homestead

how to clean

Just thought this was very helpful information

Cleaning 19 minutes a day:

Kitchen, 4 ½ minutes daily - Start with sink - keep empty and shiny, will motivate to also clean counters, refrigerator doors, and the stovetop.

• Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes
• Wipe down the stove top and counters
• clean floor 

Bathroom, 2 minutes daily
Clean basin and around the edges of the tub and toilet.
• Wipe the mirror and faucet and spray show curtain

Bedroom, 6 ½ minutes daily - make bed first thing
• Fold or hang clothing and put away jewelry
• Straighten out surfaces and dust

Family room, living room, foyer, 6 minutes daily
Tidy sofa, pick up crumbs from it, dust furniture and straighten up

my home town - Main St.