Slowing Down--what has worked for you?

[momacacia]

I want to slow down our household pace this year. More time for couch reading, leisurely taking in learning, not living under the pressure of the to-do list.

 

We don't have a lot of outside activities. In fact, I think my kids need more outside exercise, whether that is organized or things like hikes, jogging with a parent or family swim time. But aside from adding those in, we're not overscheduled outside our home. But, I feel like getting school done, and finishing housework and food each day and other household chores on the weekend just keep me running and running and not really engaging my kids. Have you done anything that works for you to improve this?

 

Thinking about the New Year and being more intentional....

Edited December 21, 2015 by momacacia

[Gil]

Batch cooking so that I'm not cooking every day and keeping the house clean, rather than having to clean up, are my two main strategies for getting more out of my time with my kids.

 

 

 

[TammyS]

Get a tiny pad of paper (that you can fit in your pocket) and set a timer to beep on your phone every 15 minutes.  For a few days, when it beeps, write down what you've been doing.  We all waste way more time than we think we do, and we spend more time on tasks than we think we do, for ex: you don't think it takes 20 minutes to start a load of laundry, but getting the laundry together, stopping to instruct a child, tell another to behave, put the hamper back...that can take 20 minutes.....so if you have 3 of those "small tasks" you've lost an entire hour.

 

Awareness of where your time is going is the first thing, IMO, to getting life under control (I have to do this periodically).

 

Then just make a list of priorities and work it down through the day.  You might not get to all of them, but at least you'll have started at the top.

 

Lots of people like "morning time", which they find helps them get that slow feeling.  We do lunch time, but same concept.

 

ETA: after nearly 20 years, we finally got a dishwasher 2 years ago....best thing ever....we were literally spending 2 hours a day doing dishes.  So, you might consider if there are any big time savers like that for you to get.

Edited December 21, 2015 by TammyS

[kewb]

I don't know how slowed down we are but eliminating stressors from my life have helped make the home more relaxed.

 

1. I stopped watching the news. I read the paper.

 

3. Lowered my clutter expectations. True friends don't care what your house looks like. They are happy to be with you.

 

4. Taught my kids how to prepare their own breakfast and lunch.

 

5. Forage night for dinner once or three times a week. Breakfast for dinner is also popular.

[Ellie]

I want to slow down our household pace this year. More time for couch reading, leisurely taking in learning, not living under the pressure of the to-do list.

 

We don't have a lot of outside activities. In fact, I think my kids need more outside exercise, whether that is organized or things like hikes, jogging with a parent or family swim time. But aside from adding those in, we're not overscheduled outside our home. But, I feel like getting school done, and finishing housework and food each day and other household chores on the weekend just keep me running and running and not really engaging my kids. Have you done anything that works for you to improve this?

 

Thinking about the New Year and being more intentional....

 

No regularly scheduled activities outside our home *with other people* until 3 in the afternoon. No exceptions. Sports, dance, etc., would be with community groups and not other homeschoolers, who always think it's great to do ballet or piano at 9 a.m. o_0

 

Weekly field trip *with just us* every Thursday; field trips with the support group only if they're on Thursday, or they're once a year and they require a large group of people. If I want to do something that requires a group, then I invite just enough friends to meet the minimum.

 

Major cleaning on Fridays, including laundry. A monthly park day. No school stuff. No cleaning on weekends (except for basic upkeep).

[JustEm]

For me I did one major declutter that took about 2 months(konmarie method.) After I found a spot for everything we own it became easy to keep the house organized. Two quick 15 minute clean ups a day with all 4 of use, 5 if dh is home keeps the house in the order I need it to not feel bogged down. I usually spend another 30 minutes daily doing cleaning by myself.

 

Meals are made very simple by cooking ahead of time and having leftovers for lunch. My 7 year old will also make lunch or breakfast for himself or all of us depending on if others want what he can make( eggs over easy, oatmeal, sandwiches, cut up veggies.) He's gotta to the point where I don't need to supervise from the kitchen so I'm able to start laundry while he's making breakfast or get the baby down for a nap while he makes lunch.

 

Christmas is going to throw the flow off a bit because they will be getting a lot of new toys from family so I'll spend the 26th organizing that and then I'll help them learn where those new things belong when they are done with them.

[Julie Smith]

Perhaps lower your expectations for house cleaning and food?

 

Get the kids to help more?

[KungFuPanda]

Schedule your unscheduled time. Seriously. Put it on the calendar and make it a priority. Don't chip away at it with school work or housework. It won't magically happen if you don't prioritize it and respect it.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I've been thinking about this too and am eager to see all the responses. My goal is a slower, simplified, more peaceful 2016. I've spent the past week or so really thinking about how I can achieve that.

[BarbecueMom]

Also wondering and listening in. I'm being eaten alive by the 2-minute tasks. Diaper changing, going to the bathroom, between-cleaning-days soap dispenser refills, writing things down on the shopping list, figuring out where the random screw on the floor came from, wiping up spills, switching laundry, stopping what I'm doing to deal with a kid, filling the humidifiers, cleaning up cat puke. Some things I can "bulk together", but most of them are random and urgent, and then I can't get it together again or remember what I was doing before!

 

I feel like I'm being pecked to death. I need a better flow to my day, with bigger intervals of time for tasks. And if that's not reasonable... too bad, I need a better flow to my day.

[helena]

When its cold out, I like to use our fireplace as a way to re-group, calm down, and be peaceful together. This is best done when everyones comes in from brisk weather and are ready to just sit and stare at the fire for a bit. :)

 

Sometimes it turns into game night, or hot drinks. Sometimes it sets the tone for a peaceful, simple evening. 

Sometimes it rejuvenates us and we get a second wind. :/

 

Classical music playing in the kitchen. Candles. 

 

This sounds silly, but ever since I put up outdoor twinkle lights on a timer, I find it easier to end my work day.

They go on, and it's like, "twinkle time!! Yay!" The sun is going down, time to wrap it up. KWIM? 

[Samm]

I've made two major changes since June 2015:

 

People around here got used to eating unfussy meals. One bowl type meals and maybe a salad.  Nutrient dense.  I don't make any snacks or appetizers.  That's what fruit and cheese are for.

 

I declined invitations to perform (kids are musical) where I knew the performances involved a lot of group rehearsals.  I just haven't got time to run to rehearsal for a 5-minute individual segment.

 

Slowing down only means doing more of the things we want to do, less of the things society tells us we should do.  I am not sure if in fact we are mellower, but it seems that way.

[momacacia]

Wow, these are such lovely, great ideas! Thank you everyone. I'm open to more, of course. :)

[lllll]

nm

Edited December 30, 2015 by w11

[tm919]

 

Schedule your unscheduled time. Seriously. Put it on the calendar and make it a priority. Don't chip away at it with school work or housework. It won't magically happen if you don't prioritize it and respect it.

I agree -- at one point I realized that the main person I needed to protect my kid's time from was myself! I needed to schedule in:

 

*15 -30 minute leisurely "nature" or "going someplace close" walk with kids every day if the temperature is 40 or higher and it's not raining

*At least 1 hour outside with the children (unstructured) if the temperature is 50 or higher and it's not raining, plus

*At least 1 additional hour unstructured time, preferably with other children since my kids are very social (no electronics), plus

*1 hour of time or reading alone, listening to music, or whatever (no electronics), plus

*30 minutes of being read to by a parent

 

The end result is that there are 4 hours of the day when the feeling is "doing nothing," even though I know for myself they are scheduled. My husband also does "game night" with them -- they play pokemon cards or board games.

 

I do wonder at what age they need less "relaxed time" time -- my daughters want to join everything but with that 4 hour block of time out of every day, there are a lot of limitations.

 

 

Edited December 22, 2015 by tm919

[regentrude]

I want to slow down our household pace this year. More time for couch reading, leisurely taking in learning, not living under the pressure of the to-do list.

We don't have a lot of outside activities. In fact, I think my kids need more outside exercise, whether that is organized or things like hikes, jogging with a parent or family swim time. But aside from adding those in, we're not overscheduled outside our home. But, I feel like getting school done, and finishing housework and food each day and other household chores on the weekend just keep me running and running and not really engaging my kids. Have you done anything that works for you to improve this?

 

What exactly is it about housework and food that has you running around and stressed? I am not being snarky, but asking sincerely.

 

I cook one warm meal from scratch per day. For us, that is lunch. Dinner is sandwiches/salad/leftovers, breakfast used to be bread or cereal or yoghurt, now the kids grab their own.

I don't find that I spend a lot of time on housework. Machines do most of the work - I have a dishwasher and a washing machine. A load of laundry can wash while we are eating breakfast, and I can hang it before heading for work.

Little clutter means very little time needed for cleaning. When the kids were little, I would restrict food to the dining area/kitchen. No shoes in the house. That cuts down on dirt.

 

I recommend you take notes for a day or a week and write down where exactly all the time goes. This is great to identify periods where time is wasted.

 

You can schedule outdoor exercise time for every afternoon - when school is done, you head outside for an hour or longer. Just make it a priority and don't do anything else instead.

 

Also, with your kids' ages, school does not have to take more than four hours per day (less for the younger one). Get up so that school can begin at 8am, and you are done by noon. You should have plenty of time, especially since you have no outside activities.

Just get.up.every.day and stick to a start time; it is easy to dawdle and waste an entire morning, and then it feels as if nothing gets done and everything is hurried.

Edited December 22, 2015 by regentrude

[SKL]

I have a different approach.  I take the kids and go do stuff together.  It avoids the issue of cleaning, and maybe even cooking.

 

I don't know much about "slowing down."  We seem happier when we keep busy.

[Chris in VA]

A deep clean day once a month, then lower standards the rest of the month, with a weekly big clean and daily little cleans (but still lower standards...).

Simple food most of the time--stuff that isn't elaborate and doesn't require a "recipe"--and then fun, complicated things from time to time to spice it up a bit.

 

Also, check your curriculum for overlap. Can you use history as a writing time?==No handwriting curriculum, just do copywork of the narrations in history and you've killed two birds with one stone, for example.

[Liz CA]

I used to assign time frames to work, i.e English from 1 - 2p.m., etc. so we didn't spend two hours on something that should have only taken one.

Agreeing with Panda, schedule your free time specifically, i.e. reading, taking a walk, etc.