One Drawer at a Time...

One Drawer at a Time, Sweet Jesus

My mom spent many years humming, singing, or saying the words to the song… “One Day at a Time” … and she brought this up during a recent conversation.

When hard times pressed her down as a single, working mother of four daughters, I’d hear parts of that song.
“One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that’s all I’m asking of You” and so on. When her Daddy was in a hospital bed the last hours of his life, he couldn’t sleep unless she held his hand. She was tired already because she was in nursing school full time and spending every other available moment with Grandaddy. She grew so tired at one point, she grew fearful that she wouldn’t be able to keep it up.
She thought to the Lord… “One moment at a time, sweet Jesus” and He gave her the strength to not let go.

My first year of homeschooling four children from 5 years up to high school years, I wore myself out in a matter of weeks. A mentor, friend, and our Pastor’s wife (all one lady) exhorted me to only focus on one day at a time. “We can handle one day” , she shared. It served me well.

Most of the time, there is a touching story to go with one whatever at a time but I’ve found myself thinking of it in simple homemaking!

It is easy reach a point where you don’t feel strong enough for the task. The dishes, laundry, muddy floors, spotty windows and what feel like decades of dust can seem to be bigger than one person. They usually are and for those of us with kids --- we shouldn’t be doing it alone in the first place.
Regardless, even though my kids have chore list, rooms to take on daily, dinner and after meal clean up duties and so on… a lot order ends up on me. Sometimes I do better than others… smiles.

Anyway, things need to be done for thousands of reasons and jobs can only be put off for so long. I am back to tackling an area or room a day until the whole house is shining again… or at least offering a gleam or glow.

Today it was my little writing room here along with some of the kitchen cabinets. I worked most of the day and into the evening and tackled it one drawer, one shelf, one area at a time. I covered a great deal more than I realized I would and hope to pick it back up tomorrow.



I removed everything from four shelving areas and gave the tops, sides and bottoms a good scrubbing. I then organized and changed some things around for better functioning. The sweet and sticky things (smaller containers of honey, molasses, corn syrup, agave nectar and so on) fit nicely in one of my less often used baking dishes. All spices are together, baking basics are gathered, and food storage items grouped together.

I managed six drawers, too! One wide drawer has held my dry measuring cups, measuring spoons, Mason jar lids and biscuit/cookie cutters. It has always been hard to keep orderly. Today, I found Christmas cookie tins that fit perfectly in my drawer in rows of three! I have six small "dividers" and a large tin along with two round. Blake even loved this idea:)

How are you doing on homekeeping? Are there duties you have put off and been too overwhelmed to tackle? Ask the Lord to get you through one piece of it at a time and see what a difference it makes!

I’m going after the addictively vintage saying of everything having a place and everything being in its place. This is one of my New Year’s goals --- to find a place for every single thing or send it to another loving home.

Book recommendation: 15-Minute Home and Family Organizer by Emilie Barnes. This was one of the first homemaking books I read from start to finish and I still love it.

One Day At A Time

I'm only human--
I'm just a woman.
Help me believe in what I believe
and all that I am.
Show me the stairway
that I have to climb,
Lord, for my sake,
teach me to take,
One day At A time.


One Day at a time, sweet Jesus,
that's all I'm asking of you.
Teach me today, to do all the things
that I have to do.
Yesterdays gone, Sweet Jesus,
and tomorrow may never be mine.
Lord, for my sake,
teach me to take,
One day At A time.


Do you remember,
when you walked among men?
Well, Jesus you know, if you're looking below,
It's worse now than then.
There's cheating and stealing--
violence and crime.
So for my sake -
teach me to take
One day At A time.
Marijohn Wilkins and Kris Kristofferson