Are Your Home and Family Getting First Quality?

I was attacked by a refrigerator and butter – no kidding! Two days ago I opened the refrigerator, only to be accosted by a freak accident from a relatively organized appliance.  As I opened the door, the top plastic compartment flung open, hurling a box of butter at me, which – in turn- emptied itself as butter cubes took flight across the kitchen!
So what?  It’s not the accident that was important, but the OUTCOME.  I recovered the unharmed whole and partial butter cubes, and put the empty butter package into the trash.  Somehow in the scuffle, the cardboard box mysteriously ripped the end off its own box!  Only ONE THING remained on the floor, right in front of my big toe:  the end of the butter box which said: “FIRST QUALITY”
Was it a sign?  What kind of message was the butter trying to give me?!  My mind raced to figure out the possible significance of this cryptic note.  Am I putting first quality into all I do?  Is my website getting first quality?  What about my home, my family, myself?
People tend to get caught up in trying to do so much that they end up spreading themselves thin.  We may get the meals cooked, the homeschooling done, the house cleaned, but did we give any one of those things our full attention?  I am guilty as charged – I try to do it all, but haven’t given my house or my family “first quality” lately.

How Can we Make Time for First Quality?

We’re all busy, it’s inevitable.  Homemakers, moms, dads, household managers: we wear so many hats, are responsible for so many people other than ourselves, and many times bear the weight of all these chores alone.  How can we possibly give first quality in any area when there’s barely enough time to get our work done and still have time to sleep?

1.  Decide what is most important.  Does it really matter if all the DVDs are alphabetized?  Is it essential that all the toothpaste streaks are out of the sink each morning after the kids brush their teeth?  If your answer is no, you can stand to simplify your list of responsibilities you have given yourself.

2.  Make a “now” list.  Write down all of the chores and responsibilities you have NOW.  Put a star next to the most important things.  Cross out the jobs that can go without making your life crumble!

Example:  Giving the kids a bath?  Star.  Volunteering for the PTA’s Thanksgiving Carnival?  You volunteered for Halloween already.  Cross it off.

3. Write a new list called FIRST QUALITY.  Write down all the starred items from your other list.  This new list should be much shorter and more focused.  Put it on the refrigerator, the bathroom mirror, or wherever you will see it every day.  This new list is to remind you of the things you give first quality effort to.

4.  Work hard on only the most important things.  Don’t feel bad if you spend extra time on homeschool lesson preparation, or do a fantastic job on organizing your kitchen.  If it’s on your list, it gets to claim your time.  If it’s not on the list, feel free to quickly breeze through it – or forget about it altogether.

5.  Don’t feel guilty. YOU design your life, YOU are in charge of your time. Feel good about the choices you make!

Every person’s First Quality list will look different, and that’s okay.  My list contains my top priorities, which are:

1. My marriage
2. My family
3. My businesses
4. My home organization and systems
5. My home cleaning

Notice that cleaning is last?!  Don’t get me wrong, I love a clean house as much as the next person.  However, since I also have two children and run two businesses, I’d rather spend an hour on a family meeting than cleaning dust bunnies from under my bed.  Make sense?

The butter attack gave me a great reminder: I need to keep my priorities in mind and NOT try to do it all.  Life is meant to be enjoyed, not hurried away.  It’s easy to feel good about hard work when you give it your all, your best, your first quality.  If you can look at your project and feel proud of what you’ve done, that feeling will fill you up and spill out to others.

Whether you give your all to your kids, your house, your job, your blog, your artwork – give it your best and feel great about delivering first quality.  Stop trying to do it all.  Then feel proud – you’ve earned it.