A Nanny Review of Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing a Large Family by Kim Brenneman

Weekly Trip to the Library for Nannies and Au Pairs

Any nanny, au pair, or mother of any faith might learn how to organize the running of a busy household from reading Large Family Logisticsby Kim Brenneman. But, it is written for Christian, stay-at-home mothers, and in particular, mothers that home school. If you are a faithful Christian looking for spiritual guidance in running a home, the discussion of "the Proverbs 31 woman" won't bother you. The first half of the book includes scripture readings and how they relate to family situations. If you aren't looking for scriptural inspiration, you won't relate to the bulk of the book.

I do like that in Large Family Logistics, Kim Brenneman recommends organizing the household work load into seven days. Day One is Laundry Day, Day Two is Kitchen Day, Day Three is Office Day, Day Four is Town Day, Day Five is Cleaning Day, Day Six is Gardening Day, and Day Seven is Sabbath Day. Although I don't need to read about Gardening Day or Sabbath Day I have found breaking down chores in this manner helpful for my nanny job.

For example, while the author does laundry most days (like I do), on Laundry Day she devotes that day to finishing her ironing and her mending.

On Kitchen Day, she cooks up some beans in the crock pot and then freeze them to use them later. Like the author, I have found this the best way to organize a menu for my employers for my nanny job. On Monday, I plan my menu, go grocery shopping, and make large batches of food, some to eat this week, some to freeze for another time. Like the author, I cook every day, but focus on menu planning and shopping primarily one day per week.

I also like the two chapters devoted to Cleaning Day and how to easily keep the home clean for the family.

The suggestions for Gardening Day and tips on making the Lord's Day go more smoothly are not relevant to me.

I would highly recommend this book for Christian, stay-at-home mothers, and Christians that work as nannies, or work as au pairs looking for spiritual guidance in managing a household. For mothers, nannies, or au pairs of other faiths, a few tips are practical, but the bulk of the book might be a waste of time.