Managing My Household
As a work-at-home mom of one very active toddler, I recently
acknowledged that my household was quickly spinning out of
control. The housework was piling up higher each day and I NEVER
felt like I was even catching up, let alone getting ahead. So,
it was time for a makeover - an organizational makeover, that is!
When I was in the workforce, the only way I knew to get things
done by their deadlines was to make a list and keep working on
that list until I checked everything off. This was my first step
in re-organizing my household. I know there are a lot of great
scheduling software programs, but I find a paper day planner
works the best for me. I write down absolutely EVERYTHING in
this planner. I even schedule my shower! Why? I need to see a
complete layout of my day and how long each item is going to
take. If I've got an extra-packed day, I need to schedule that
wake-up call a little earlier.
The other benefit of writing everything down is that at the end
of the day, I have visible proof of all I've accomplished. One
of the hardest things for me to deal with on a daily basis is
the overwhelming sense that I haven't accomplished anything. The
house most often looks just as messy at 7:00 pm as it did at
7:00 am that same day. So if I can look at that list and see
"laundry", "dishes", "clean bathroom" and "run to the bank" all
crossed off, I will be rewarded with the reality of all the hard
work I did in addition to the other daily essentials of diapers,
meal preparations, etc.
Once I established my list, I did my best to prioritize the
items on it. There are the obvious things that HAVE to be done.
Then there are those "would really like to get them done but the
world won't come to an end if I don't" tasks. This gave me a
good starting point to work from.
Please learn from my biggest organizational mistake: Have
REASONABLE expectations. When the weekend comes and I know I've
got my husband around for the full 48 hours, my mind runs wild
with all the million and one projects we can tackle. Then I'm
hit with terrible disappointment on Sunday night when I realize
we only finished 1 of those many items. The truth of the matter
is I should be happy we got the one project finished - that's
one more than was completed 2 days before, right?
Another very important piece to this organizational puzzle is
the contributing help from other family members. No one person
should have to carry the entire weight of maintaining a home and
family by him/herself. My husband is great at chipping in
whenever he can. When my son is older, I will expect him to
contribute as well. For more on this topic, I highly recommend
you read "Family Management tip #1: Getting Your Family to Pitch
In" by Saro Saravanan which can be viewed at http://www.youngpare
ntsmagazine.com/articles/Family-Management-Tip-1-Getting-Your-Fam
ily-to-Pitch-In.htm.
Most importantly, don't forget to schedule the fun! I try to
take a few hours each week and treat myself to time spent only
on me. It usually consists of an hour to myself a few nights a
week reading a good book. It gives me a break, but at the same
time I don't feel guilty for neglecting my other household
duties.