There are many ways we can improve our homes. More natural light, kitchen gadgets, or new decor. Many of the places on the internet highlight how these things will give you a better home. Our goal is to highlight the things underneath those items. The habits, the simplified life and caring how we spend our time. Here we have five ways we chose to simplify life so that our quality of life is better.
PHONES AWAY
Our goal is that the phone would not steal our time. Or to whisper to us that it is time to check notifications. To do this better, we have our phones put away during morning until after chores, meals times, and bedtime. These times are for us to focus on the people in our home.
Some of our reasons is to make sure our children know they matter. They are learning that we will make time to listen and play with them. We want to model good phone and communication habits. This has meant, over the last few years, removing games, social media apps and even email from my phone.
Now we do also use our phones often. For grocery orders, communication with family or for business, shopping, YouTube or podcasts. It can be a huge distraction or used to fill the house with noise. With three, nearly four young children, the house has enough noise.
One way we are looking to improve are more specific rhythms of phone usage. Changing the narrative in our home from when the phone is put away to when the phones are out.
READ BOOKS
Our goal is to be well read adults. As well as children who have been exposed to a great deal of literature. Some of the reasons we want to do this are to take advantage of benefits of reading. Benefits of learning through non-fiction and stress relief of fiction. Reasons we read to the children is to help them with vocabulary expansion, improved letter sound recognition and a love for books which can’t be replaced.
Due to a narrow reading list we doesn’t always have an exciting new book ready when the current book is finished. We often creates a situation where one of us not reading a new book.
One way we are looking to improve would be to add more fiction books to our reading lists. This would create a well rounded reading list to keep us engaged and excited about reading.
MEAL TIMES
We use our meal times intentionally. The morning is for memorization of scripture or devotional. Lunch is for read aloud of a fiction book for the children. Among others we have read Charlotte’s Web, Trumpet of the Swan and Little House in the Big Woods. Dinner is for conversation. Practicing how to talk about our days, ask interesting questions to other people and add valuable content to a meal time. We don’t want to waste our time around the table so we are being intentional with the use.
We are not always helpful in coaching the conversation or getting the read aloud out. It takes even more intentionality to make sure to have the study materials available. One of the main areas we want to improve is breakfast. We simply need better planning through the day to make sure mom sits down with everyone at breakfast and lunch. For a truly better home we need to be prepared with a reading plan, scriptures or other items.
sabbath
We have not done this very well, but the days we have committed to a whole day without work, extra chores, laundry… have been surprisingly relaxing. We love good food – so that is a main part of the day. Think late breakfast, charcuterie for lunch and a three part dinner, bread making happening in-between. We want to have a day where we are just filled with good conversation, good food and good drinks. To be refreshed and renewed for the week ahead. Ahead we see days filled with playing games, puzzles, bread making, walks, reading, naps and eating good food. It sounds like how the family of my childhood spent Christmas Day, but that is just once a year. What if we do it regularly? Once a week is the goal, but what if it starts with once a month.
TIDY UP
This is a daily goal, but also an overall goal. We want our main living areas tidy, as well as storage areas. This means we have one or more times daily that we put toys away and clear surfaces. Then regular times in the year to clear out storage areas.
When the counters are cleared, peace radiates through the house. Knowing that – it still doesn’t happen all that often. We also want consistent ways to get old and unused items, returns and clutter out of the house. The clutter gets stuck at the bottom of the stairs and it does not work anymore. My hardest pain point are the items I could sell for $50 or more if the right person on Facebook Marketplace saw it!
We all want a better home. The less we look around on social media and instead consider or imagine how we would like our own home to feel – the closer we will get. One example of making other simple choices is our Christmas gift guide for boys, which you can find here.
