Well, the promised help hasn't been as fruitful as I had hoped.  Sun night dh was going to grill dinner while I knocked out some sewing...but he got a phone call to run out to the base...35 miles away.  He didn't get back home until after 8pm.  sigh  Then Mon night he did vacuum during dinner!  That was wonderful.  I had gotten the checkbook balanced, laundry done, some gardening done, bathrooms cleaned, and my clothes ironed.  I hadn't gotten to the floors, so that was a big help.  I postponed cutting out the fabric for the next costume because he wanted to vacuum that area first.  That took awhile so I looked for little things to do.  Then I asked if he could wash floors with our new machine (purchased in Jan).  DH is the only one who has used this, a couple of times before.  I'm that bad at getting to washing the floors.  He hasn't shown me how to use this gizmo yet.  I don't like using a mop (hurts my back) or get on the floor (a few years ago I ripped a muscle behind my knee and it hurt to walk for a few years).  Sadly, after all was done, the floors were dirtier than when he started.  ????????   sigh  So Tues morning I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed what I could of the dirt off the floors.  That machine really pushed a lot of dirt into the porcelain tile.  I was heartsick and my arm was killing me.  Last night dh did fix my soaker hoses...with my help.  He needed me to give him the tour of all the hoses and explain what I meant by their "spraying all over the place"!  lol  Then he went to get more cypress mulch for the vegetable garden.  Those bags are too heavy for me to lift, so I am grateful he did this.  Now I need to make time to lay it out in the garden and lay out the rest of the soaker hoses.  That will be done in the morning.  I can't work in the heat and sun.

Although dh was willing to help, he is really tired when he gets home from work and would rather crash.  I know I would too if I had to drive his 35 mile route while dealing with insane traffic.  Tues morning, I was really discouraged (next to tears actually) wondering how I'm going to get things done.  One of my goals this summer is to get back in the swing of organization and making the most of each moment...work and rest!  My favorite organization books, like More Hours in My Day, are by Emilie Barnes. (Check her store where her books are.  I don't pay for the online newsletter but I love her books!  I'm more of a hands on gal.) She presents the idea of homekeeping in a lovely, feminine, Christian way, encouraging us to honor our families with the gift of an organized home.  I've been so overwhelmed for years, I've lost focus. 

Anyway, I was trained by my mom to do all housekeeping on Mondays.  Then do light touch ups as needed during the week.  That's a difficult schedule to keep if my dc need me "now."  Emilie Barnes suggests filling those 5 minute chunks of time with 5 minutes of productivity.  For example, when I was waiting for dh to vacuum the living room floor so I could make more mess cutting up more fabric, I put away the stuff laying around from the costume I had finished Sunday night.  I put the pattern pieces away and put the pattern away.   I sorted through the fabric remnants.  There is about one yard left over that will make a lovely blouse for dd!  The rest I threw out!  I studied my Latin vocabulary cards for the week, etc. 

Emilie Barnes also explains how to get rid of clutter.  Now this I am pretty good with, however dh and the dc are another story.  Nevertheless, Monday afternoon I started a new paper bag of trash.  I went into my fabric cabinet, which needs to be organized again!  I have an awful time throwing away fabric.  But if it's not 100% cotton, my preferred fabric for quilting, it goes into the trash unless large enough to use again.  The dc had used one of my fabrics for covering their Year 2 TOG notebook.  I put those remnants back, except the little pieces got thrown away.  I just did a quick 5 minute throw away since I did not have dedicated time to pull out the entire closet.  Emilie has wonderful tips for how to do this, working 15 minutes a day.  She suggests where to start.  She suggests 3 boxes, which is pretty much how I do things but with paper bags:  one to throw away, one to resell, one to give away.  I have my children do this too a couple of times a year.  I'll probably showcase this in more detail later in the summer.  But for now, I'm off to water some plants while my dc get ready for school.  If the plants are done before them, I'll knock out a few more minutes of sewing a costume! 

Instead of being overwhelmed with all the things there are to do, I am trying to focus on tasks that can be accomplished in small chunks of time.  Here's to making the most of each moment!