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Today’s Real Food Wednesday optional theme is about how we pull off all the things we need to every day in order to feed our families Real, Traditional, Nourishing Food. Hopefully a lot of you will jump in for RFW and share your secrets for getting it all done, (or just share your Real Food topic about anything you feel like!)
Keep in mind as you read this that there are many others who are much more organized and streamlined in the kitchen than I am. Also keep in mind that while some things I’ve added since my “food conversion” do take extra 
steps, many just aren’t that time consuming. (Making yogurt & cream cheese, for example, take just a few minutes. Same for Soaking nuts and soaking grains – but each of these provide many extra nutrients!) Yes, some do take up more time, but it’s all up to you as far as how many new routines you’re ready and willing to implement into your life. Take it slow!
Here are my basic keys to making this work:
1. Appreciate a Helpful Husband – I’ve said it many times…I’m very thankful to Kent’s Dad & Mom for raising a good guy. One who isn’t afraid to cook, clean, and everything in between. He’s my toilet-cleaning, story-reading, weekend-cooking, do-what-has-to-be-done kind of guy, and I couldn’t keep on top of any of this without him. My Mom did it with very little help from my Dad, and she had five kids and worked full time, too. So I know it can be done, but it surely wouldn’t be easy, and writing a blog would be out of the question! If your husband isn’t like this, don’t give up, just ask for a little help here and there, and be sure you say thank you…be creative (wink, wink). Also keep in mind that Kent works regular hours, not all husbands do, so they may not be able to help as much.
2. Find a network of neighbors and friends that help each other – we’re blessed to know many people who are also growing with us in our knowledge and commitment to a healthier lifestyle. These are all ideas for you to implement with your friends:
- We alternate trips to the farm for our healthy meat (half hour away).
- If one is going to Costco or to a health food store across town, we’ll call the other to see what they need.
- Recently Sue was getting some maple syrup from a guy way out of town, and she picked up 15 gallons of syrup for various friends.
- Sonia gets me eggs from a farmer by her Mom.
- We have a raw milk carpool set up so nobody drives more than once a month.
You get the picture – find like-minded friends! (Don’t know where to look? Start going to your local WAPF chapter meetings; get to know your neighbors – start by taking them a plate of your favorite Nourishing Traditions treats! Have you had the Almond cookies? I tried those at our last chapter meeting and they were soooo good.)
3. Working at home really helps (I have a part-time home day care besides this blog) – as I said above, if you work full time outside the home, it doesn’t mean you can’t cook healthy meals for your family, but it is definitely more tricky. You most definitely have to plan ahead much more than the average person.
4. My PALMER! I couldn’t function without this little gadget to help me remember it all – it actually IS my brain most days! Whether it’s kid’s schedules, a note to make more yogurt, or everything in between. Here’s my palmer: Sony Clie PEG-SJ22 Handheld
5. My fast food list is invaluable for nights I just didn’t get supper going when I should have or for days I don’t have time to cook. There are some days that I’m in the kitchen ALL afternoon, but not many. I’m not a fancy cook, and I just can’t spare a whole afternoon very often.
6. Multi-tasking. There is rarely time to dawdle. (Although I purposely don’t plan as much on the weekends so I can have the luxury of moving at a slower pace.) If I’m folding or loading the dishwasher or chopping for a recipe, I’ll also make a phone call to catch up with a friend, or quiz the kids for their spelling test, or listen to another one read to me, etc.
7. I get my kids to help! God gave us kids so we could work ‘em, right?! (Only joking…sort of.) If there’s something that requires a lot of chopping or busy work, I’ll get the kids involved. And I’ll often have them do things like unload the dishwasher, fold clothes, empty trashes, etc., because that’s stuff they can do, while I’m doing all the other stuff they can’t do.
8. Some meal planning, but I don’t do as much of that as I probably should, to make things more smooth. I use my family favorite meals list more – a list of meals everyone likes that I always have the ingredients on hand for.
It is surely not easy to keep up on things, but somehow it works, with lots of help from above, and I only pull my hair out occasionally.
Yet something always has to give…
As much as I try, I still can’t do it all. Here are the things that I have let go in my life to give priority to other things, like being a wife, Mom, & blogger:
- Reading. I absolutely LOVE a good book or magazine, but often my stack just sits there since starting this blog.
- Sleep. I try to be smart about it (getting sick spending too much time writing a health & nutrition blog wouldn’t make much sense would it?), but I certainly don’t get 8 hours every night. I can’t write when the kids are up, for obvious reasons.
- Volunteering. I used to volunteer for a lot more than I do now, I was always in charge of 1 (or 5) things at church. But I can only do what I can do, and for now, since my blog takes up so much time, I know that adding more to my plate would only make me a stressed out, ornery Mom. I figure that someday when all my kids are in school I may be able to do this again, but not now. So these days I have to really stop and think before I say yes to anything and weigh it carefully. If I can pull it off without a lot of stress, and often I can, then I do it. If not, I don’t, and I don’t feel bad about it. It gets easier to say no when you know it’s OK. Like Jennifer from Conversion Diary says, “To say no is to protect what you’ve said yes to.”
- Cleaning! Not that I’ve ever been great about this. Keeping things picked up is a priority for both Kent and I, but keeping things dust-free…not so much. We do it when we have to, and not one bit more!
Now I hope you’ll go to today’s RFW post to read about how others pull this off, and add your own comments or add a link to your post with Mr. Linky – tell us what things you do, and what you’ve had to let go! Also there you can read the question from a reader that started all this!
- If you go to this previous RFW carnival post and scroll down, you’ll find 22 sites listed with more great info: Your Time-Saving Kitchen Tips
- Still feeling overwhelmed? You’re not alone!
- My favorite Kitchen Gadgets
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I think that #3 of your “what you do” list is crucial. I believe that much of the problems with the way our society eat stem from mothers not staying home to care for their families. There is a reason God told us to be “keepers at home.”
Shannon’s last blog post..Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Caper Butter
Thanks for the great tips for “getting it all done”! And I don’t even have children! But the full-time job, sometimes at home, but sometimes in the office as well, does make it “tricky,” as you said.
Space is also an issue. Countertop space, space to keep the fermenting foods and all the pots, pans, cooler, etc. for making the good foods.
I like the idea of shared errands, especially to get the best nourishing foods. The problem for me is the friends I have who enjoy and want to follow nourishing traditions are spread out geographically around this part of Florida, so coordinating our efforts in an efficient way will take a little more thought and planning.
While I may not share the same religious inclination, I do believe that a homemaker, regardless of whether it is the man or woman in the relationship, is imperative. Running a household is no different than running a company. It takes management skills and being on-site — so important when children are involved. My husband and I would love to have our own “nanny” and come home to good meals and a clean house!
Eleanor K. Sommer’s last blog post..Spring Edible Plants
If you’re interested in a fast and easy (and fun!) way to add at least *some* dusting back to your list – try an ostrich-feather duster! I can dust my whole house in about 15 minutes, which I usually do while on the phone, because it’s quiet. You can buy a very good quality one on the flylady.net website – if you can only buy one, buy the larger one!
Blessings – J
Jill, I’ll have to check that out!
Eleanor (do you go by Ellie as I saw on your site?), you know what I dream about? An “Alice” like on the Brady Bunch! When things are crazy nutty at my house, I’d yell, “Aaaaaliiiiiice!” and she’ll come running to help me with everything!
Shannon, I feel very blessed that I’ve been able to be home, but I know some Mom’s really, truly, just can’t do it, as much as they might want to. My solution worked great for me: opening a home day care. I think more should consider that if at all possible, it enabled me to stay home with my own kids, and also provide them with fun little playmates, too!
Yes, I do go by Ellie. I’d like to mention something about finding time to read. I love to read, and I found that as life has gotten more complicated and full with the property and “semi-homestead” lifestyle, that I have less time for reading as well. I finally bought a small MP3 player (an inexpensive Sansa from Radio Shack) and have discovered Audible. I can exercise the crazy yellow Lab and myself and listen to a book. I can do my part of the house chores, rake leaves, or plant seedlings, all while enjoying a book of fiction or even nonfiction like Romantic Poets or Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (although that one took a bit more concentration!). I also use CDs from The Teaching Company. You choose course that is divided up into 30 minute lectures. You can listen to easily while running errands and some of those courses area available for download on MP3 players as well. And the Teaching Company CDs are often available at public libraries for FREE!
Eleanor K. Sommer’s last blog post..Spring Edible Plants
Thank you so much for this. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately and it helps to hear the “Baby Steps” message.
Jendeis’s last blog post..Typing at A Mile a Minute
“To say no is to protect what you’ve said yes to.”
That is some very timely advice for me, and I thank you for it. I’m going to remember that quote in the future — I’m not very good at saying no, and subsequently I’m not the only one who suffers for it.
Stacey’s last blog post..Menu Plan: Week of April 13, 2009
I miss my palm!! Oh, man, my life was so much easier and better organized with it! When it died (from exhaustion, hubby claims) I resorted to a three-ring binder system, but I don’t keep that up nearly enough to be helpful.
Local Nourishment’s last blog post..Plan the work, work the plan
Neat post, Kel!
I will quickly share with you my secret for getting it all done:
My secret: I don’t.
I do what I can, and I let a lot of stuff slide.
1. I buy my milk in bulk. I go every 3 weeks to pick it up and store all the milk, cheese and butter in the fridge. I am getting a second freezer so I will only have to go every 6 weeks.
2. I am going to start buying all my meat in bulk and store in the freezer.
3. I have lots of easy meal ideas I do that don’t take much effort — hummus with bread and a salad, rice pasta and meat sauce, etc.
3. My favorite productivity tool is made for a MAC
It’s called OmniFocus.
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/
It’s a very visual way to organize your tasks based on Dave Allen’s GTD (Getting Things Done) system: http://www.davidco.com/
There is an iPhone app for OmniFocus I think — I just haven’t downloaded it yet. But I do schedule tasks in my calendar and sync them with my phone.
4. I don’t have a husband who has time to help like you do (he works as much as I do — usually 12+ hours per day, weekends too), nor do I know any of my neighbors very well. We don’t have that network built yet.
So we have a housekeeper who comes twice a week and a gardener who comes once a week. We can’t live without them. Katie also goes to daycare. This is working for us now — although when my work slows down some I hope to be able to have her home a couple days a week.
But for now we need all this help — we work too much. But we are grateful to have work and be so busy in this down economy. (And I don’t really like doing laundry anyway.
)
CHEESESLAVE’s last blog post..Got Osteoporosis? Drink Raw Milk!
Eleanor -
Good tip! I use my iPhone as an mp3 player. I LOVE listening to books and podcasts! It really helps me get reading in when I’m cooking, doing dishes, driving, working out, etc.
CHEESESLAVE’s last blog post..Got Osteoporosis? Drink Raw Milk!
Kelly, I would be interested to hear more about how you see your vocation and giving of your time and talent to God right now in your life. As a Catholic, I would love to be more involved in my parish but feel that since God has called me to be a wife and mom, those are my priorities before my parish community. But I still struggle in feeling I’m not active in more ministry specific activities. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well!
Ellie, the problem is, I’m never alone in the car, or anywhere else! Oh wait, I used to download stuff onto my mp3 for when I run…I should do that again…
LN, get another one, FAST! You can get them pretty cheap now, a basic one will do, GO!
Kara, here’s how I look at it: “for everything there is a season” – when our oldest was our only, we were able to be involved in everything at church. It was fun to feel like we were making a difference for God and His people. But as much as I love being a Mom most of the time, often it doesn’t bring a lot of “job satisfaction”, especially for me lately with my teen who gripes a lot, our toddler who is at that demanding, “I want it NOW” stage, and our 2 school-aged kids in between who we’re always helping with homework, or repeating ourselves over and over for them to make their lunches, etc., etc., you get the picture. But yet this is the “time and season” for this stage of our lives. When we can do more again, we will. Saying yes to a bunch of stuff at church, school, or wherever, only makes me more overwhelmed than I already am at times, and that’s not how I want to be for my husband or kids. I can only do what I can do!
If you have anymore specific questions about that, let me know. I can ramble on and on about practically anything.
I LOVE Sean Croxton’s Underground Wellness on podcast. I just downloaded them all and I am ADDICTED. He has the BEST information. And yeah, Kel, just use it when you go to the gym! Or how about when you’re cooking? If you get a little portable one, you can put one bud in your ear and stick it in your pocket.
Here’s an interesting thing I heard on one of Sean’s shows (paraphrase):
Read one book a month and you will be an expert in your field in five years. Read one book a week and you will be a LEADING expert in your field in five years.
I LOVE that idea! And it’s true — all the really successful people I know read.
I’m going to sign up for Audible. I have a Kindle and I get my podcasts but I’d love to get more books on audio.
CHEESESLAVE’s last blog post..Healthy Banana Bread
Kelly,
I have REALLY enjoyed reading all of the different replies to this. THANK YOU so much for tackling this topic!
I loved this post!
I am not a wife or mother. Actually, I am a husband and father (hopefully a helpful husband!). But I can implement these tips too. Of course, I would need to tailor them to my particular situation.
I forwarded this post to my wife. She already does some of these things. But, it is great to be affirmed in your efforts, and we can always improve.
I think this post will generate a great discussion. Thanks for writing it!
Jeff Young’s last blog post..Summer Steaks
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