This monthly article will be a helpful reminder of irregular work. Some of the chores are 5 minute chores for one person; some are family projects that might take a couple of hours. Some are done monthly, some seasonally, biannually, or annually. Some are for the safety of you and your family, some save you money in the long term. Some won't affect you and your life due to your home, climate, appliances, etc.

The chores are matched to the area of the home you are already scheduled to work in for the most part, or are planned to correspond with the "day of the week work", according to the yahoo group announcements. If it doesn't suit you then schedule it for a different day but do your best to fit it in sometime.

Remember, when you have a big project scheduled, get a good night's sleep, plan a crockpot meal and a period of rest afterwards. Assign different tasks to your children, they will take ownership and pride in their contribution to the family. Don�t cheat them of this; they are learning to be responsible adults when you include them in this type of work. They won�t be left in a quandary as untrained adults.

Do not play catch-up except with checking the fire alarms, these tasks will come around again.� Start right now with today and move forward.

Learn how to use many delicious spices to improve your holiday meals!

Practical Produce gives many delicious recipes for many types of produce, it will be an invaluable resource in your kitchen

November Home Maintenance

November

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������������ Week 1

������������ ������������ Laundry Day

Finish the seasonal clothing switch, throw out the unusable, store the best, give away the marginal.

������������ ������������ Kitchen Day

Plan these Seasonal Foods into your menus-apples, pumpkins, squash, cranberries, and pomegranates.

Be sure to make lots of chicken broth for the freezer! You'll need it for the upcoming cold and flu season, winter soups and for holiday recipes. Very basic broth: In a large pot put chicken bones (save them in your freezer from roast chicken), onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. Add 2 T of vinegar for each carcass to leach important minerals out of the bones. Cover with water. Simmer all day, strain, freeze.

������������ ������������ Office Day

Update your holiday mailing list; add buying Christmas cards and paper to the Town Day list.

Place mail orders this day for gifts; waiting any longer is risky.

������������ ������������ Town Day

Buy cards and paper for the holiday letters.

Buy air filter for furnace.

������������ ������������ Cleaning Day

Change the air filter on the furnace. Clean air makes for healthier kids and helps those with allergies a lot!

Whatever the day and week call for, give it a hearty cleaning, no �lick and promise�! Get the house in tip-top shape before the holidays!

Deep Cleaning- do likewise, this is not a slack month, on Saturday-Putter and Pretty, do any decorating traditions.

 

������������ ������������ Gardening Day

Clean off the dead flower beds if you haven't yet.

������������ Week 2

Laundry Day

Plan holiday event clothes for each person-dressy, semi-dressy, and casual. Add to the Town Day list any needs. Assign these clothes a special place so that they don�t get mixed in with the play clothes. Have a child make a tag or card for the hanger or shelf place that labels it �dressy� etc. Explain the system to all of your children.

������������ ������������ Kitchen Day

Prepare meat loaves and meat balls and freeze for fast meals.

Have the children clean and polish the silver. Children love this task.

������������ ������������ Office Day

Address envelopes for the holiday letters; get your children in on the job.

Add buying stamps to the shopping list.

������������ ������������ Town Day

Get rid of stale spices (give them the sniff test); buy needed holiday spices. Freshly ground whole nutmeg is wonderful; grate it with a fine grater.

Buy stamps for the holiday letters.

������������ ������������ Cleaning Day

Whatever the day and week call for, give it a hearty cleaning, no �lick and promise�!

Deep Cleaning- do likewise, this is not a slack month, on Saturday Putter and Pretty, do any decorating traditions.

 

������������ ������������ Gardening Day

Wash front of house, windows, and door.

 

������������ Week 3

������������ ������������ Laundry Day

Evaluate towel and bedding for each bed and bath, would this be a good year to give the children �special towels� or �new� bed dressings? Do you have overnight guests coming? Think about this now and prepare. Add needs to your shopping lists.

������������ ������������ Kitchen Day

Brown a lot of ground beef and freeze for fast meals in the holiday season.

Look over the grocery lists for Thanksgiving and check that you have enough of everything in the pantry and freezer.

������������ ������������ Office Day

Write Christmas letter, try to keep it to one page, sign, stuff, and send. Employ the children to help!

������������ ������������ Town Day

Buy table service additions if you will be hostessing, paper products for busy days and fast clean up

������������ ������������ Cleaning Day

Launder mattress pads, pillow covers, spreads, and covers in hot water to kill dust mites, this will help a lot of allergic children. This will make a few extra loads; wear a timer to keep you and the children on track through the day with the laundry.

Whatever the day and week call for, give it a hearty cleaning, no �lick and a promise�.

Deep Cleaning- do likewise, this is not a slack month. On Saturday Putter and Pretty, do any decorating traditions.

 

������������ ������������ Gardening Day

Walk up to your home as if you were a guest, is it inviting? How can you make it more hospitable?

Prepare a centerpiece for the table-have your daughters help you and assign them to keep it fresh through the holidays.

 

������������ Week 4

������������ ������������ Laundry Day

Work hard at getting current and plan to keep current with laundry.

Iron the cloth napkins and table cloths.

Kitchen Day

Prepare mashed potatoes galore and freeze in gallon sized ziplocs to have ready for hearty fast meals and holiday meals. Mashed potatoes and �Party Potatoes� freeze great, this is an old trick of my mom's, defrost and reheat in the oven or crockpot.

������������ ������������ Office Day

Set out a basket for the Christmas letters you receive.

Make place cards for the Holiday table-once again, employ the children, add seasonal stickers, scripture verses, quotes from our forefathers (this is also a homeschooling project!).

Town Day

Stock up the freezer w/meats, fruits and veggies for December when you don't want to take the time to fight the crowds.

Shop for produce. When you get home, sharpen the knives (or assign it to a big boy) and do the chopping for recipes now instead of at the last minute. Put the veggies in Ziploc bags for later. A great task to assign to the children.

������������ ������������ Cleaning Day

Whatever the day and week call for, give it a hearty cleaning, no �lick and promise�.

Deep Cleaning- do likewise, this is not a slack month! On Saturday Putter and Pretty and do any decorating traditions.

 

������������ ������������ Gardening Day

Take down the fall d�cor and put up the winter d�cor.

 

Thanksgiving will mess up your daily work a bit, especially if you are hostessing and have overnight guests. Give yourself and the children a break from your regular school schedule and fit in the extra work. Keep the Read Aloud time though for a nice break from the work, read Thanksgiving stories such as Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla and Stories of the Pilgrims by Margaret B Pumphrey.

 

Thanksgiving countdown for the hostess (Depending on what day you hostess Thanksgiving, Sunday will fall on one of the days, simply spread that work to the day before and after):

Day 7

Make your table centerpiece with your children.

Day 6

Make pie crusts and freeze.

Day 5

Put the turkey in the refrigerator to defrost. ~5 hours for each pound.

Day 4

Iron the cloth napkins and tablecloths.

Day 3

Plan easy meals for the next few days when you will be doing double duty in the kitchen. Use your crockpot for supper so you don�t have to think about �what�s for supper?�

Day 2

Make the cranberry sauce. The flavors blend and enhance when made ahead.

Dry out bread for the stuffing.

Day 1

Determine seating arrangements. Set the tables if you can. If the tables are needed before the meal, then talk to the table setters and prepare them for what to get out and how to set the table tomorrow.

Buy your fresh produce so they are at their best appearance. Wash and cut immediately so the prep time will be fast tomorrow. Save the moist veggies (cucumbers and tomatoes) for cutting immediately before serving.

Fill the sink with hot soapy water and wash as you work, or assign the children turns at the sink.

Prepare the stuffing and refrigerate.

Defrost the pie crusts, make the pies, and bake.

Defrost the mashed potatoes you made earlier in the month.

Defrost stock that you made earlier in the month for any casseroles or gravy needs.

Make stock with the giblets for gravy tomorrow.

Assemble other dishes such as casseroles and refrigerate until tomorrow.

What time are you planning to eat? How big is your turkey? Count backwards to determine what time it needs to go in the oven.

Assign the children tasks ahead of time and post them with the time schedule for the tasks on the refrigerator for tomorrow.

 

Thanksgiving Day-remember to have your children help!

Stuff your turkey if you�re not baking it separate. Put the turkey in the oven.

Chill your beverages.

Count backwards from your eating time and plan when to put what in the oven. Usually, there�s not enough oven space for everything and you need to employ crockpots for reheating the mashed potatoes, baking the casseroles, etc. Make a chart of what time things should be turned on. Remember that with prepared food that has been refrigerated, you will need to add time.

Prepare coffee but do not turn on until 20 minutes before dessert time. Push the button, last thing before sitting down.

Have the children do table setting chores.

Fill the sink with hot soapy water and wash as you work, or assign the children turns at the sink.

Prepare appetizers and set out for guests.

Put the lettuce salad together.

When the temperature of the turkey is 180 degrees at the thigh, remove and let rest for 30 minutes.

Make the giblet gravy.

Heat the dinner rolls.

Call the men to carve the turkey.

Set out the food.

Call the guests.

Turn on the coffee pot and put the pies in the oven to warm.

Give thanks!

Feast and Fellowship!

Date: 11/05