Is this simple mistake making a mess of your kitchen?

Is this simple mistake making a mess of your kitchen?  It sure was making a mess of mine!  Since the school year started, I have felt that the kitchen was always a mess, even though I was constantly cleaning it.

Disclaimer: If you do not have a dishwasher, take my sincere sympathy and respect, and click away now.

What was the mistake that was wreaking havoc in my kitchen?  I was running the dishwasher at the wrong time of day!  I had been religiously running the dishwasher after dinner, and at one time, I think that worked well.  However, emptying the dishwasher has become an after school chore.  

Realizing that I had dirty dishes in the counter and clean dishes in the machine, I decided to try the daily dishwasher run in conjunction with lunch clean up.  Voila!  A clean kitchen! All day I just put in dirty dishes, and after school the kids help me put away the clean ones.

Here's my formula for when to run the dishwasher: A) If it is full, run it.  B) If it is time,run it.  Figure time to run the dishwasher by deciding when the best time to put away dishes is.  Back track to the last meal before that.  Clean up from that meal is time to run the dishwasher, full or not.  

We are sneaking in some extra cycles now, and that's ok.  Modern dishwashers are extremely efficient.  My time in money more than pays for the extra bit of electric.  

Granted, I still put on some hours in the kitchen, but at least it looks like it now!  If you have another trick for keeping a busy kitchen clean, I would be grateful to hear it.

Seasons are Changing:Goals September 2014

Hi Friends,

If you are reading this post, it is probably because you are A) someone who regularly takes a personal interest in me.  B) someone who I have connected with as a blogger.  Either way, I consider you a friend.

A little more than four years ago my husband and I started a crazy project of rearranging our lifestyle.  This fall marks the first time since then that I would call our life normal.   Life is always uncertain, but as of three weeks ago we have the pieces to live the life we consider to be our dream.  

If my agnostic friends will bear with me a moment, I do believe that God has taken some very ugly things out of our life, protected us at vulnerable times and kept us fed, clothes and housed.

This blog has been a distraction from stress, and means for personal growth, and a way to connect with new people.  This summer I realized that I no longer "need" to blog, but I really like it.  I decided to try to become a little more serious...and ended up starting a new blog two weeks ago.  

Blogging Changes

ThrivingSTEM.com is devoted to the process of learning science and math.  I plan to write curriculum to sell and hopefully do some paid reviews as well.  I am extremely excited about this new project!   

In the mean time, this blog (WisdomKnowledgeJoy) is going to become a true Mommy blog that serves as a catch-all for thoughts that don't fit on Thriving STEM.  It will probably be sporadic and not read much, and that is fine.

One more fun new adventure though! I am extremely pleased to be joining Dollie Freeman's team at Teachers of Good Things.  Teachers of Good Things is a great resource for moms who want to teach their children good things in a beautiful way.  My first monthly post, How to Enjoy Walking with your Pre-schooler goes live tomorrow. It's a topic that is near to my heart, and I am so excited to be sharing on a larger blog!

August Goals

Blog:  I want to transition to  a .com and finish organizing my posts by topic so they can easily be found through pages. I have set a goal  of doing a Science Along the Way Post every week, and plan to do at least three other posts this month, including one on another blog. ThrivingSTEM.com is up and running, and my Ordinary Observations series is going strong. 

Curriculum:  I want to write one long math unit to sell on Teacher Pay Teacher, update the science unit I have already done, and do one short science lesson to offer for free.   I have all the pieces to the unit, I just need to sit and do some lay out work, not my favorite, but it will be worth it. 

Family:  Establish some good routines to support my older children's success during the school year. I think we're on track!

Home:  Finish putting up the decor we have on hand and sort through the last of the boxes.    I did the decor but the boxes are still sitting in the gargage.  Oops!

September Goals
Blog:  I am hoping to reach 1,000 views in the first month of ThrivingSTEM.  That's dependent on other sharing, so we'll see.  

Curriculum:  I need to do some lessons for a couple of real live students!  Once that's done, I would like to get my TPT store in shape.

Family:  I want to work on putting together some exploratory activities that my six-month-old will enjoy.  Also, my four-year-old could use some enrichment to supplement her pre-school experience.

Home:  Do my part in the garage.  My husband has been doing a great job, and my disorganization has been the undoing of the garage, including those boxes.  I hope to get it caught up this month!

Several great  bloggers are sharing their goals at MamaSmiles this month if you would like to take a peak.

Thanks for Reading!