Questions for Better Home Management

Every morning when the alarm clock wakes us up, with or without realizing it, we begin one of the most important challenges we have as mothers, our job as HOME MANAGERS!

All of us, yes, all, dream about an organized house, that works and has order, so that we know where the school shoes are at 7:45 AM while we are hurrying to make sure the kids are on time. Yes, little things like this (not so little when we can't find the shoes) calm us down.

Order in the home allows us to transfer our tranquility to our husbands and children, helps us to be in a good mood and makes everything work better for our family. This will lead to happiness for you and your family.

Happiness, as Covadonga O'Shea (author of “The Value of Values”) says, "means to live in a manner that reflects our convictions and values". So, if it is important for us to have an organized house because we know it will contribute to our family's happiness, we must work on that. Let's not allow every day to pass by leaving us just as tired as the one before; let's make an action plan so the school shoes are in their place at 7:45AM!

How do we start working on managing our home?

It begins with asking some simple but difficult questions. Kathie and Mary Hunt suggest in their book, Home Advantage, 21 Topics to Streamline and Simplify Your Home, that if we answer the following questions we will know ourselves a little bit better and thus we will know what we want to achieve and how we can go about doing it.

Questions for Better Home Management:

1. How do I want to feel when I get home every day?

2. How would I describe the atmosphere that I want to create in my house?

3. What is the effect that the atmosphere in my home has on:

   1. the growth and development of my children?

   2. my satisfaction and peace of mind?

   3. the efficiency of my job and other activities?

4. What personality type do I identify myself with and how does it affect the way I manage my home?

   1. Organized

   2. Spontaneous

   3. Independent

   4. Cooperative

   5. Perfectionistic

   6. Experience-based

   7. Flexible

   8. Focused

   9. Multi-task oriented

In addition, I would insert the following questions:

1. How do you want your kids to remember their house when they leave for college?

2. Am I investing my time in what I really want to achieve in my home?

3. What would you like to have written on your tombstone? In other words, how would you like your family to remember you?

After answering these questions, you'll have a better idea of the home you want to manage well and how to get there.