Search for a homemaking routine and you’ll find beautifully color-coded schedules that promise to help you keep a spotless home. The problem is that no one else’s routine can account for your home. Your family’s schedule, personalities, priorities, work hours, children’s ages—even the size of your home—all influence what your routines need to look like. …
How to Build Homemaking Routines That Actually Work Read More »
Nearly every day we are presented with the same kitchen questions: The same questions day after day, the never-ending line of decisions to make, can leave us feeling burnt out before we begin. It’s like we have to constantly react and we’re never prepared. The problem isn’t usually the cooking, it’s that we lack systems …
Four Simple Systems to Build a Calm, Manageable Kitchen Read More »
Last weekend things got a bit hectic at home. It began Friday afternoon with my husband leaving town for the weekend. Later that afternoon my teen child sprained her ankle and I spent several hours assessing the injury to determine if I needed to load all the kids in the car for a visit to …
Just about every year I’m surprised by how much summer changes the way we eat. Suddenly we’re outside all day or heading off to the beach or park, and my usual time for cooking seems to disappear. There are meals planned, but preparing them often takes away from the very things I want to enjoy …
Maybe you can relate — I’m perfectly happy to eat the same thing for breakfast almost every day. I like the simplicity, and I know I’m getting what I need to start the day well. My children, however, don’t feel the same way. They like variety. Which is fine — but it can also complicate …
In our house, snacks can feel like a bit of a necessary evil. They’re a problem when everyone is hungry and there’s nothing ready to grab. And they’re a problem when we’re out of the house and I end up spending extra money because no one planned ahead. However, I’ve learned that snacks are much …
Even with a list of simple, homemade meals (I share more about those here), there are still a few things that have regularly tripped me up. I have: And suddenly, even an easy meal didn’t feel so easy. A Simple Shift Almost by accident I found a simple solution. When preparing for a camping trip …
Don’t you just love a good weekend? There’s extra family time, sometimes dinner with friends or a special outing. We spend Sunday morning with our church family and often work on a project at home in the afternoon. And then suddenly, it’s Sunday evening — and Monday is right around the corner. For a long …
Daily cooking from scratch gets a lot easier when you aren’t starting from scratch every day. There was a time when my meal plans changed completely from week to week, and my grocery list followed the same pattern. It was filled with specific ingredients for specific meals — many of which I didn’t already have …
Have you ever felt like cooking from scratch takes over your entire day? For a long time, I found myself bouncing between two extremes — either no plan at all, scrambling at dinnertime, or overcomplicating everything and spending hours in the kitchen each day. What finally changed things for me was creating a simple kitchen …
