Not enough hours in the day
Last week, I ran into a co-worker at the grocery store. It was lunch hour, and she gave me an empathetic look across the produce aisle. As she came closer she said, “Quite a thing, isn’t it? Why break for lunch when we could do errands instead?”
She’s so right. I rarely take breaks that involve Calgon moments. While I’d like to say that being pregnant gives me a get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to household responsibilities, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for lounging around in the manner that I would like. They’re all seemingly small things: keep the house stocked with food and make meals and maintain a tidy/clean home. But when you break it down, we have: grocery shopping, cooking breakfast and supper, prepping lunches, baking, laundry, making beds, vacuuming, dusting, washing windows, loading and unloading the dishwasher, hand-washing pots and pans … oh my. And we all know that isn’t even the half of it.
I’ve dabbled in family schedules over the years, ones that dictate which chores to do on which days, or charts that guide your meal planning so you don’t have to rush home and scramble to throw something together, but I have yet to find a system that sticks. Depending on the day, my achievement level hovers somewhere between loads-of-projects-all-the-time like these, and utter disarray.
I know a lot of these tasks are habit forming; if you do it day-in and day-out, it just gets done. My best friend, for example, makes her bed every morning; she would never dream of leaving dirty laundry on the floor and she does dishes as soon as she’s finished eating. What novel concepts!
With two weeks remaining in June (umm where the heck does the time go?!), I’ve decided to create a list of goals (I know what you’re thinking; again with the lists?) to accomplish that will set us up properly for a new weekly schedule. By July 1, I intend to be totally caught up on general daily chores like laundry, so I can establish a weekly schedule that suits our family’s needs and keeps us all on track. Some intentions include making beds each day, making a rough meal plan ahead of each week and plotting specific weekend times for bigger jobs.
Makes sense right? Do you have a rule of thumb when it comes to getting everything done?
Never get where I should be....
Submitted by crazyindartmouth on June 21, 2012 - 2:41pm.
I just try each day to ensure that everyone is clean (as much as possible), fed and healthy. I figure if we get to the end of the day with all those in place - we did pretty well.
I too have a whole list of wonderful things that I am going to accomplish and put better processes in place so that we don't continue to live like this....but I never seem to have enough time to get there.
As a full-time working mother of four children under the age of 11, I constantly feel crushed by the guilt I feel for not spending more time with my children and because the time I do spend with them seems to be spent cleaning them or the house, cooking, helping with homework or running one or more to activities. While at the same time dealing with censure from others because my house is not as clean, organized and uncluttered and they feel it should be.
But you know what, none of that seems to matter when your kids look at you and say "Mommy I love you!" and follow it up with a big hug and kiss. Kinda gives you the lift you need to face another day...
; )
Mom of two
Submitted by Braedley on June 21, 2012 - 4:12pm.
I frankly don't have any set schedule with a 4yr old and 15 month old; there are days that, depending on the circumstances, I feel I have done a good job of feeding us, getting my youngest to nap well, the house is still standing, and the kids are happy, without bribery or enticing ;)
My mother in law gave me a verse in my baby shower card with our first child:
Cleaning and dusting can wait til tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I've learned, to my sorrow;
So quiet down cobwebs,
Dust, go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby,
And babies don't keep.