The Homemaker's Guide to Creating the Perfect Schedule {Book Review}

I've been drafting posts about routines and scheduling for a couple of months, but nothing I haven't gotten anywhere with it.  And I need a schedule.  Desperately.

There truly are many resources and printables out there, and I've found several that I like, but usually I don't even get around to printing them.  Forget about actually implementing them.

So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Amy Roberts' The Homemaker's Guide to Creating the Perfect Schedule.  

Like I said,

I need a schedule.

Amy from Raising Arrows, is a homemaker AND homeschooler to 6 children.  Six!  If she can do it with six, then surely I can do it with one.  Right?

The amazing thing about this book is that Amy outlines steps to follow in creating a schedule.  And instead of starting from scratch, she encourages you to work from where you are.  I always had the mindset that my schedule should be the perfect ideal, and that I should just make up what I thought would be ideal.  Well, Amy takes a different approach, and I like it.

No creating drastic changes.

No adherence to specific times if that doesn't work for you.

No one size fits all mentality.

This book outlines your organizational type, the schedule creation process, example schedules, how to involve children in homemaking, and tips on how to stick with it.  The second part of the book covers scheduling for homeschooling.  Baby Prez isn't old enough to even think about schooling, but more on that later. 

As soon as I opened my review copy, I literally sat down and read the book cover to cover.  I didn't even intend to, but I couldn't stop reading!  And now I am following the steps outlined in the book.  I will admit that it has only been a few days, but already I am feeling better about my schedule/routine.  Now, unlike any time before, I am truly convinced that this will work. 

The first question the book asks is: Are you a schedule person or a routine person? 

My honest answer: I have no clue.  But I want to be a schedule person.  I've tried to be a routine person, and that hasn't worked particularly well (not that I really stuck to my routines anyways).  The good news is that both types can have an effective, but different schedule.

So I'm working on the steps and plan for a schedule person.  Since weekdays are not alike at my house, I have my handy-dandy notebook for recording my activities and drafting my tentative "I'm already doing that" schedule in Step 1.  Today was my first day to record my activities for the two days a week that my little guy is in daycare.  So, I won't be able to put the tentative daycare-day schedule into place until next week, but it felt like a good exercise to keep track of what I'm actually doing each day.  The exercise was beneficial not only in terms of creating a schedule, but also in terms of understanding where and when I'm wasting time.  I don't know about you, but too often, I get to the end of the day and wonder what I even did during all my waking hours.

Not only are the steps and exercises in the book useful, I was also struck by this quote at the beginning of the book:

"Let me entreat you to consider the God you serve and His attributes in this respect (remember, we are created in HIS image).  God set forth timing and order to nearly everything.  Our day is 24 hours, with a sunrise and a sunset.  We have a 7 day week, with a day set aside for worship.  The tides, the seasons, the revolutions and rotations of the planets are all in a set order.  Even God’s plan for mankind’s salvation and reconciliation to Himself was set forth in a certain order.  God is not a God of chaos." - Amy Roberts, The Homemaker's Guide to Creating the Perfect Schedule

Isn't that an amazing thought?

That God created the first schedule.

And it is incredibly inspiring to me.

These are a few of my favorite tips from the book:

• Daddy's Comin' Dash - Implement a 15 minute mad dash around the house at 4:30pm to get the house ready for Daddy to come home.
• Age-appropriate children's chores - It's time to start teaching my 10 month old to put his toys away and to turn lights on and off!
• Start with what you've got - And tweak, tweak, tweak.
• Chore cards - Hoping to get Baby President in on these as soon as he is old enough!
• And Prayer - praying for the right attitude about homemaking really can make a difference.  How did I not think of that before?

I also want to mention a bit about the homeschooling portion of the book. . .

Baby Prez is obviously not old enough for us to start any kind of schooling, but the idea of homeschooling has come up a time or two. . . or three.  If we decide that homeschooling is right for us, I will most certainly be referring back to The Homemaker's Guide to Creating the Perfect Schedule.  Probably every day.

Amy gives incredible advice, at least in my own inexperienced opinion.  She includes example schedules and resources for when family dynamics change.  My favorite piece of advice is this,

"I believe every homeschool parent should be working themselves out of a job.  When children are young, it is so vital we teach them to love learning so much they seek it with every inch of their little bodies! " - Amy Roberts, The Homemaker's Guide to Creating the Perfect Schedule

To finish up, I want to point out one more time, the incredible benefits I've found in reading The Homemaker's Guide to Creating a Perfect Schedule:

• The actual schedule-making process is provided
• Example schedules from the author's own life are available as resources
• Multiple scheduling methods are presented with each being unique and valuable
• Advice on how to make the schedule stick is right there!  (And I tell you what, that has always been a missing piece for me.)

You want to buy her book immediately, right?  Trust me, you won't regret it!

The Homemaker's Guide to Creating the Perfect Schedule is available right now as part of an 87-book homemaking bundle that you can purchase for just $29.97!  The book is $4.99 if you purchase it separately, so why not buy the bundle?

It is one of 8 books and 2 sets of printables on homemaking.

You can find more information about the bundle HERE or purchase it now:

The book is also available to buy separately at RaisingArrows.net, but if you purchase the bundle, you'll save nearly $700, plus receive bonuses worth $200!

*This post contains affiliate links.