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The lifelong quest for less chaos


Life in ministry tends to be chaotic… we’re dealing with human nature, after all!

So, we have a constant quest for organizing our household to minimize chaos in at least one realm of life. We have had bookshelves made, with custom measurements to help us get more organized. We try to learn from everyone’s household, especially households with lots of family members. The children constantly thwart my efforts as I make systems to complicated for the 20 month old to follow. He’s not quite ready to sort items into the appropriately labeled bin… maybe next month. :)

So this month, I bought a huge basket in the market from the basket man, Alex. It’s really a pretty basket and it’s huge… so on impulse, I emptied all my not-nicely-sorted-bins of toys into this one huge basket. And it’s working! The children are all able to comprehend “throw ALL the toys into the basket.” Even the big trucks and balls fit into the basket. I keep art supplies separate (another eternal quest – Ana is QUITE the artist and goes through SO much paper – right now it’s all in bins – ideas welcome!); books, puzzles, blocks, and toys in sets are separate in our homeschooling closet in bins with lids (which we brought from the USA) and the children have to ask to get those activities and clean them up before they go on to another one.

This huge basket is in the living room, looks pretty with the lid on when company comes over and by the time Daddy gets home, is an “easy” clean-up at the end of playtime, and doubles as a basketball game (smart thinking, Ana!)… A good solution for this stage of our lives!


So why is this missionary doctor blogging about organization? If I can’t organize my house, I cannot venture outside my home for ministry and expect to have a peace-filled home. If I can’t keep my home organized, I can’t expect to be satisfied with people helping me in my home. If I can’t figure out ways to let my children succeed at helping around the house, then I can’t expect to train them. And that, after all, is the point of being a parent: training and sheparding our children’s hearts!

Comments

Andrea said…
I like this, Abby! I'm on the same quest--new ideas every day. And then some work and some don't :)
10:35 PM
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