Last week I talked about these large Presidential homes and why they were so big. But it also got me thinking about how they were run. Some had staff or slaves to help them, but some like John and Abigail Adams did not. Houses now aren’t built or run like they used to be.

Think About This

Our homes are small businesses. By that I mean we, our homes, contribute to 68% of the economy. We buy food, clothes, and products to run and repair/improve our homes and function of daily life. Why don’t we run our homes with strategic focus on our priorities instead of trying to equal out daily tasks that will never be done anyway? AI is coming for the house last. We need to be empowered by objectively looking at our homes as an economic unit; a small business. When we have that perspective, we will make better choices. We are managing our work life and our small business (our homes) and the cognitive load is too great. You need to learn to defer tasks so you are working on the most important task. Think, what needs to get done? By when? In what order? And what things, if they don’t get done, are not going to be a big deal?

The Household Manager Room

I have always said the only reason I would consider building a new house would be to put the master bedroom on the main level and to finally get the household manager office I have dreamed about. We used to have this planning desk, but as I’m sure many of you have also experienced, it’s not big enough. I want a whole room. So as I started to explain out loud all my organization and reasoning for where I have different papers for taxes, my project closets, Greg’s memorabilia, Warrior MAMA Binders, my Sunday Basket®s, picture frames, and some of Grayson’s stuff, it started to sound like a hot mess. I laughed, but in my head and on paper it’s very organized. The only way I would improve their locations is to have this one room that the primary focus is to efficiently run my home. We should all be so lucky to have one space dedicated to the running of our homes.

You Are the American Economy

Our homes are like startups. Very little money in the beginning, but the systems help us to focus and eventually turn a profit. The less goals at one time that we are focused on, the more productive and profitable our economic unit will be. We need to have managerial mindsets. In our homes, we have finances and operations. No matter if it’s just you, you are married, with kids, or even a multigenerational home. The focus is no longer divvying up tasks, it’s productivity. You take a leadership stance. You can only control and change you and your mindset. Decide what you want to do and lead by example. Oddly enough, others usually follow suit and fill in the gaps. When I decided I was no longer grocery shopping and cooking, Greg stepped in and our “food life” is even better now. And keep in mind as our family’s grow, our roles will change too. As your kids grow, instill chores or hire help. Just like in business, people quit and systems change; so will your small business. It’s good to do an audit of your home every couple of years. And as a leader with goals in mind, decide how to move forward effectively, productively, and profitably.

Going into the next 5 episodes, I want you to think about the systems you have in place and how they can make you productive from a leadership standpoint. And how to run your home through strategic planning instead of a reactive mode of just trying to even out the workload.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

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You guys know I’m a history nut and this episode is all about homes from the past and our current homes. I live in the purple state of Ohio. Fun fact, more Presidents have come from Ohio than any other state; 8 Presidents to be exact. I’ve toured Presidential homes in Ohio many times. I was even the greeter at Stan Hywet’s home. It’s so funny for me to think about homes in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s versus homes today and how we use them. And I absolutely drool over the libraries. These were successful people and successful people read. Homes in that time were multipurpose. They were large. Not for the sake of large rooms, but for the sake of having space for entertaining and working. It’s so easy for us to forget how much harder things were in the past to travel, work, entertain, to just live!

Eating

If you stop and think about life in the 1800’s to early 1900’s, there weren’t easy travel paths. There weren’t restaurants, nor were there hotels. If you had guests, they were likely not there for just the afternoon. It’s so interesting for me to think about the need for eating areas for workers, family, and formal entertaining spaces to have meals with guests. He even had a morning breakfast room! Meals were long, too. There wasn’t tv, movie theaters, or public spaces to hang out. So long dinners it was. And due to the architecture of the homes, the guests never saw the kitchen or the other eating areas. The largest room would often be the entertaining space. Owners may have entertainment and the whole community would be invited. The talent would stay with the owners.

Sleeping

These homes were so large with so many rooms. On top of all of the entertaining and eating rooms, they needed to sleep. One of the President’s homes had the owners' wing with bedrooms, another wing for live-in workers. There was a wing of rooms, kind of like a hotel for guests. Remember, guests were probably there for a week or longer and your workers lived there, too.

Working

The doctors, lawyers, and other professionals of that time didn’t have big fancy offices they drove to each day. No, they worked from their home offices that usually had separate entrances. Some of the doctors had a secretary office that you would enter, then proceed to the doctor. I think the reality is we are all working from home nowadays. We all, well not Greg, but most have email on our phones or are checking on something at the office if you do have a brick and mortar you report to each day.

Ponder

Do our homes reflect how we use them? On the podcast years ago, I asked Jay Papasan, who co-wrote The One Thing, when did we get home manager offices in every home. He snickered and said architecture is the last thing to change, and that’s granted we all agreed on what we want! That’s why all of our homes are fairly similar to that of the 1950’s, after the war. Until next week’s episode, I want you to ponder some spaces in your home. I want you to think about your formal spaces and if you use that space often. Have you allocated space to an activity you don’t do like entertain guests? Lots of times we meet at restaurants. So are you using your spaces effectively, functionally for your life today? Are you using your house functionally to eat, sleep, and work?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sunday Basket®

• The Paper Solution®

• The Productive Home Solution

• Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!