It seems kind of odd to be putting on Martha on a Sunday when I’m supposed to be all about Mary, but I think putting on Martha CAN be a spiritual thing if it’s led by the Spirit. And for this Unorganized Olga, putting on some Martha allows me get in touch with the orderly part of the Lord and express His character through that order.
Today I’m going to share one thing I’ve been working through, thinking about and praying about for my coming semester. As a homeschooling family with a husband in academia, our home functions on the semester system!
Our dishes get out of control very fast!
We don’t have a dishwasher (well, not one that has ever worked, and we’ve been here for 16 years). And as the children have gotten bigger, our kitchen does not comfortably fit everyone (our table does, but our kitchen does not) so we tend to spread out for meals. I will confess that this means children tend to leave dishes all around or stacked in the sink, unwashed. Everyone is self-deceived believes that they actually DO wash all their dishes, but those pesky gnomes take them out of the cabinets, spread dried food on them and stack them on the counters, sink and stove. This is an area of FOCUS for this year!
THE PLAN:
Every time dishes are found anywhere other than washed in the dish drainer, EVERYBODY loses one entire day of electronic privileges. The children have permission to *get after* anyone who has left a plate or cup unwashed and anywhere other than the dish drainer. They may even come to Kevin and I with, “Mom (or Dad), you were planning on washing that, right?”
Normally, I wash and the children put away (depending on whose chore it is) although there are times when we do this differently and the children all take turns washing. But as they’ve gotten older and we seldom all eat at the same time or are around to do those chores because of busy schedules, this has become an issue for me.
I’m going to mark down on my calendar 1 week from now, 1 month from now and at the end of the semester to evaluate how this is going. I’ll let you know how we are doing.
So how does your kitchen function? Hopefully better than mine! I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
Blogs I might be linking to:
Menu Planning Monday, On The Menu Monday, Erin Branscoms, Marital Oneness, The Better Mom, Multitudes on Monday, Hear it On Sunday, Sharing His Bounty, What Joy Is Mine, Playdates at the Well, Back to School Monday, Domestically Divine Tuesdays, Time Warp Wife, Funky Planet Frequent Flier Club, Encourage One Another, Living Well Wednesdays, The Welcoming House, Legacy Leaver Thursday, What’s Up Wednesday, Thought Provoking Thursday, Hearts 4 Home, Thankful Thursday, First Day of My Life , Thankful Thursdays, Thankful, Thankful Thursday Brown-eyed Bell(e), Big Family Fridays, Faith Filled Fridays, Feasting In Fellowship Friday, Homemaking Link-up Week-end, A Little R&R
i just finished decluttering the counters and cleaning of mine – i need a little bit of BOTH Mary AND Martha!
Amen, Andi! I am generally ALL Mary — so putting on a little Martha is good for my soul! (not to mention my houshold!
) HOORAY for your decluttering!!! Thanks for coming by.
I think you’ve hit on a trouble spot for many–the growth that naturally comes as our children age but often the chore transitions don’t always follow. I’m glad you’re taking stock of how to deal with this better. I don’t always do a great job with this either. We are having some growing pains at my house as well, so this gives me motivation to deal with it head on! Thanks for a great post, Kate! I hope things work out for you and your new plans.
Thanks, Beth. I’ll be keeping the blog updated on how I’m doing. The word for this year is: Order! Thanks so much for coming by, Beth, and for your encouraging words.
A very good point. I think it’s all in the state of my heart. Amazing what putting on Martha can do for my spirit when I do it for Him.
Good job making some kitchen goals! Right now, my 13-year-old daughter does morning and lunch dishes and I usually help her with dinner dishes so we can start our family Bible study earlier. I’m getting ready to train her younger brother in dishes so I’m sure she’ll be happy for the break!
Thanks so much for linking with my Homemaking Link-Up Weekend. The new linky is up and I’d love to have you join!
Blessings,
Mrs. Sarah Coller
Kate…I put into place the Flylady plan of “shining the sink” before bed so we wake to a clean kitchen and it has stuck. Sometimes a dirty dish or two gets left but its never disheartening like a sink load of dirty dishes. What did we do? We put the rule into place that we do not create unnecessary work for others. If we see a need, we fill that need…another rule we follow. We’re not perfect but it does keep the kitchen dirty dishes at bay most of the time. I think you have a good plan in place as well. (By the way, we have a dishwasher that works but use it sparingly.) So glad you shared at WJIM. Blessings friend.