The biggest battle that every mom faces is the finding a time to do everything. Whether you work at home or work outside the home, the duties of the house seem to fall under your jurisdiction. It doesn’t seem quite fair but there it is. So, we have to pull double duty sometimes.
On a good day, it’s not easy to get in the mood to clean house. For one thing, it is always in the back of your mind that as soon as you get things straight, someone will come along and mess it all up again. It’s like that story of Sisyphus in the Underworld. He rolled the stone up the hill only to have it roll back down and he had to do it all over again day after day after day.
Since cleaning is a necessary evil, enlist the aid of some able-bodied helpers. I’m referring to the family. Create a family cleaning day where everyone participates to make the job faster and easier. For example, let’s use Saturday morning.
Each person can get up early before any other activities take place. Assign each person a task. Even the smaller kids can put their toys up and throw trash away. Allow a five or ten minute break every hour so no one gets too tired. With some sort of organization, each job gets done. The motivation here is that you won’t have to tackle all the housework alone.
Certain household jobs can’t wait until the weekend. If I washed my dishes once a week, the smell from the kitchen would be unbearable. Not to mention the fact, that there wouldn’t be anything to eat or cook with. The same goes for washing clothes. My boys go through so many clothes each week that they would have to go to school wearing dirty stuff.
For tasks that you can’t put off, build them into your day. No one likes to do these tasks, but if you tackle them in the morning, when you are already energized to start the day, you are more likely to get the job done. The morning always makes me feel hopeful—like the day is full of promise. That is the best time to get going on activities you would rather avoid.
Tell yourself that the sooner you get finished, the more time you will have to work and to play with the kids. Do what you like later and longer.
About The Author
Cara Mirabella is manager and founder of The Household Helper (http://thehouseholdhelper.com), a site providing tips and resources for cleaning, organizing, meal planning and more. A former “domestically challenged” wife and mom, Cara now coaches other moms, whether working outside the home or a WAHM, to help them save their time, money and sanity when managing their home and family. More information about home and family management coaching can be found at http://thehouseholdhelper.com/Coaching.html
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