10 Ways to Create a More Peaceful Foster Home

There are many pieces of advice that you can follow for peace. There is a peace that removes all of your troubles temporarily, like a tranquil getaway with your husband or an evening of dancing on a date. I get peace when I go to the store alone or stay up late to watch a television episode that I love. But my troubles and issues are still waiting for me when I’m back to ‘mom mode’. I need more peace., so I thought long and hard about how to create a more peaceful foster home. I came up with 10 ways to create a more peaceful foster home that does not cost any money but can yield great rewards.

Here are the 10 Ways to Create a More Peaceful Foster Home

10. Put your bills on auto-pay each month. I did this with my mortgage, car payment, JCPenny card and so much more. Every month my bank will send out the payment without me having to do anything. I still do utilities but I’ve been thinking about trying a budget approach with them too. I’d look at my water bill and estimate the monthly payment, add $50 and then see if I can get ahead just in time to add water to the pool.

9. Early bedtimes. The earlier the better for these little ones. Children need good, quality sleep. I did a series on sleep and routines and you can find that here: I also recommend stacking the bedtimes. For example, the 0–3-year-olds go to bed at 7:30 pm. The 3–6-year-old children go to bed at 8 pm. 7–12-year-old children go to bed at 830pm. The rest of the children go to bed at 9:00 pm. This allows you to spend a little extra time with the older ones or watch a TV show that is more geared to them.

8. Plan your grocery shopping and pick up each week to be on the same day. I did a post segment about this here:

7. Mozart is peaceful. Not only are routines peaceful, but so is Mozart. Play it during the day when you are doing chores or studying. We played Mozart each evening while the children are falling asleep in their rooms. Studies have shown that Mozart has an effect on brain activities. Read this book for more information:

Routines:

6. Create morning, afternoon, and evening routines. Creating the routine is difficult. Teaching it to children can be difficult, but once you have the routine down and the kids are adjusted to the routine, you have just created a more peaceful foster home! How to create these routines are found in this post: https://impressingminds.com/creating-essential-routines-for-the-foster-family/

Planning:

5. Plan your monthly calendar out on the last Sunday of the month. Use Sundays for planning each week. Plan, plan, plan, and then check the plan.

Ways to create a more peaceful foster home

4. Declutter that foster closet or any closet. I used to have the mindset that I wanted to keep all the things related to fostering because I may need it later, for the next placement. Now, I would rather declutter and donate. Find a foster closet that will accept your items in exchange for getting items that you need with the next placement. Donate and exchange. It is a wonderful way to declutter and have more peace in your environment.

3. Organize meals with a simple meal plan template. I have created one that I discuss in this post. You’ll thank me later. You will have more peace knowing that tomorrow is Taco Tuesday. You need some basic things to crank out that Mexican dish but don’t worry, you bought those on your last grocery trip if you followed tip number 8. For more information read this post: https://www.artfulhomemaking.com/essential-homemaking-habits/

Cleaning and Resting

2. A cleaning routine can be a lifesaver. With a cleaning routine, you decide what day you want to clean and how much cleaning needs to be done. For example, Thursday evenings are my evening to clean. I do the bathrooms and clean the living room. The rest of the week the children do chores that make the house more peaceful and neater looking. They each have chores to do with the kitchen that is done every evening after dinner. I’ll say, “After dinner chores” and they know what to do. One daughter sweeps, one does dishes in the dishwasher, one puts leftovers away and clears the table. One will Wet Jet the tile.

1. Rest on Sunday. This is a day that is set apart as unique. You may attend your church services and then come home to eat. The afternoon is spent doing an activity or napping. It is your free day to make what you want. We like to do a baking activity some Sundays. Some Sundays we go out to eat. It is a day of rest and relaxation as well as a family day.

Bonus Tip:

Bonus tip to have a more peaceful foster home: Turn off the TV. Television and its programs could be putting unnecessary stress on you or your children. Turn off the programs that do not provide a sense of peace for your foster home. The children need to learn to occupy themselves with something other than electronics. Have Legos, puzzles, board games (which could be played on Sunday), or let the children go outside – even when the weather is not optimal. Fresh air and exercise are far better than that TV program they are addicted to. We usually record shows we want to watch so we can fast-forward commercials. This saves time and focus.

Which one of these will you implement first? Let me know in the comments.