I've been thinking a lot lately about New Year's resolutions. Normally, I am not a believer in New Year's resolutions. Here's why. If you want to change something about yourself, why should you wait until January 1st? Just do it now...because I know I really don't need one more thing to procrastinate. Also, it seems that (for me and most people I know) we get really really excited about our commitment to change, and we do really great for about a month (if you're lucky) and then it fizzles out, you go back to being your normal old self, and then wait 11 more months to do it all again. It's a vicious cycle!!!
Having said that, I have been feeling lately like there are a few things I would really like to work on. The first of which being my home organization skills. Since becoming a stay at home mom, my home organization skills have been quite sporadic. Granted, it all gets done...but there is no rhyme or reason to it. My house is clean for the most part, but I want to be more organized about how it gets done! The dishes usually get done after they've piled up...the same goes for laundry. I'll dust when I notice it's getting a little thick on picture frames, etc. I sweep regularly, but the mop usually only comes out after something has been spilled. Matt will clean the tub/shower while he taking a shower, and the toilet gets cleaned when a ring shows up.
So, what do other moms do to be organized about the house-work? Do you give yourself daily chores? How do you organize your time? What do you do weekly, and what do you save for monthly projects? At the end of the day, how do you know if you've been successful?
Being a mother is my first full-time job. Running this house is my second...and I just want to do the best that I can. So, I am open to any and all suggestions/comments on this topic!
(as a side note: i feel i should point out that i am really good about meal planning...that is one goal i've succeeded at! i guess i just wanted to say that to make myself feel better after throwing my mediocre home organizational skills out there for the world to read:))
6 comments:
When you figure out how to be more organized, let me know. I could REALLY use the help! I'm terrified for where we are going to put another baby and all the "stuff" that goes with it. There are some days that the only time my house is clean is after Halle has finally gone to sleep for the night and can't mess it all up again. I just remind myself that we have fun and Halle is happy, so I guess everyone is going to have to forgive the mess we live in!
Dan is more organized than me so I'm not much help. One thing that I do like is having a place for everything. It's easier to stay organized when everything actually has a place rather than setting things everywhere until you finally give up and try to clean things. Especially incoming mail should have a specific place. That's my only advice.
I think everything you just wrote was describing me! But here are some things I TRY and do. I have a little calendar and I write on there at least one chore that I did that day. Just one - like dusting, cleaning bathrooms, mopping, etc. So then I feel like I did something that day to help the house be clean and then by the end of the week everything has been done. Other things like picking up clutter, dishes, etc. I just know I have to do every day. The rest like cleaning the fridge, microwave, etc. gets done about once a month. But don't stress. I was reading that each person has their own level of what they're comfortable in. So as long as you're comfortable then it's fine. If you're not, then you change it. But I can probably assume you are already doing a great job managing all of the things in your life. You're great :)
There is so much I want/need to improve on in this area, but a few things I do that help are to have set days to do laundry. I do it on Mondays and Thursdays, I also try to have the dishwasher emptied out before dinner so all the dirty dinner dishes can be loaded right away, if you don't have a dishwasher than just to be caught up on dishes in the sink would help. I also try to have most things picked up before I go to bed each night so the house is picked up when I wake up. After I had my last baby I had a housecleaner come in every other week for 3 hours. It was heaven! So to keep up on things instead of cleaning the toilet when it gets bad I think it helps to clean everything every 2 or 3 weeks or whatever works for you. Just my thoughts!
Oh, I definitely have to break it down! I made a list of everything I need to do every week (vacuuming, dusting, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, groceries, laundry, clean fridge, etc.), and then I figure out a day to assign each task to. It usually works out to about 3 cleaning chores plus laundry per day. I also assigned each major room a day, so I focus on a different one every day and I can put in a little extra time (10 or 15 minutes) in that room. For instance, in my extra kitchen time I'll do a quick straighten-up on the cabinets, wipe down appliances, etc. I printed everything out and put it on my fridge in a plastic sleeve so I can cross each chore off with a marker when I'm done (and then wipe it off at the end of the week). The other great thing about this is that when my husband says "Can I help you with something?" he knows just by looking at my little fridge list what needs to be done that day!
Me too! Me too! I so need to get better organized! I really like Erica's suggestion about writing one thing a day on your calendar. I've also found that keeping the house relatively clean and presentable keeps my stress-level down.
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