Starting an action plan takes paper, ink and introspection

Two weeks ago, I wrote about meeting Heather Allen, a family coach through Family Manager. A coach helps busy moms conquer clutter, get organized and achieve goals in their homes.

With two small children, I often wonder if there will ever be a day when it does NOT look like a tornado has swept the entire contents of the toy box onto the living room floor.

Although she’s already honed her homemaking skills, Heather was empathetic and gave me hope that I can effectively learn how to manage my home.

A few days after my assessment, Heather e-mailed me an action plan.

“Don’t let this overwhelm you,” she wrote. “It’s 47 pages long.”

Forty-seven pages? I’m a little old-school when it comes to reading that much from a computer screen, and we were out of paper, so I waited to print it. After getting the paper, the printer ran out of ink halfway through printing.

I told my husband: “Maybe I’m just not supposed to be a better homemaker! I can’t even get my action plan printed!”

Once I replaced the ink cartridge, the printer started randomly shooting pieces of my action plan all over the floor.

“Isn’t this supposed to help our house be less cluttered?” my husband asked. “What’s all this on the floor?”

Once I finally read my plan, I found some really helpful hints.

The plan was divided into seven different categories: home and property, food, time and scheduling, finances, family and friends, special events and personal management.

After Heather analyzed my needs based on my response in an online questionnaire and in-home assessment, she listed my top three priorities for each category. She then provided a list of three areas to tackle now and three areas to focus on later. She gave me solutions to my weak areas and helpful hints to motivate me.

My action plan also included lists of time-robbers, quick fixes and other tips. One tip was to always keep office supplies in stock. That would’ve saved me from the printing frustrations moments!

I’m already learning about myself while working on my action plan, I’ve realized I’m an all-or-nothing person. It’s an odd version of perfectionism, and it’s really to my detriment. 

When I’m determined to make something happen, I spend all my time and energy making it happen. If I can’t do it right, I don’t do it at all.

There’s nothing wrong with striving for perfection, but unless we start out small – with perhaps even a few failures along the way – we will never accomplish anything in life.

And I’m giving myself grace. No one is perfect, so while I can aim to better myself as a homemaker, I need to have realistic expectations and realize that sometimes it’s OK to have a tornado of a mess in the living room floor.

Family Manager creator Kathy Peel said: “Clean and orderly are important, but so are warmth and welcoming. When children grow up, they won’t remember if the towels were perfectly folded and the floors were spotless. They will remember if home was a good place to be.”

And that’s what I want my kids to remember about how their mom managed their home.