I have been very fortunate to have a husband whose job enabled me to stay home and raise our children. I received quite a bit of backlash for our decision for me to become a homemaker. In today’s world, an average single income doesn’t often lend itself to the vast expenditures one experiences when raising children.
Over the years, I have struggled with housekeeping just like those who have full time jobs. The way we raised our children was a full-time job for me. It was not uncommon to be running until after 9pm every night of the week. Add homeschooling, a new dog and freelance/barter work to the mix and the house work got pushed aside.
The chaos got to a point that I had to investigate methods to tend to my chore list more effectively. That is when I found these two assets: FlyLady.net and Sidetracked Home Executives. Little did I know that I would combine their techniques to create a system that works for me.
FlyLady opened my eyes to the fact that clutter happens. It doesn’t happen overnight so it doesn’t have to be fixed overnight. As long as the task attempted is cleaner and more organized then when you approached it, you are winning. It also reinforced one of my favorite things to do: list making. Making a routine list for the mornings helped me do my daily chores with ease. This list is taped to my refrigerator and it includes tasks that were going overlooked when I became busy. Some visitors laugh at the list and joke with me and ask who my therapist is. Some things listed seem very trivial but this is my list, yours could look entirely different. Take a look:
As far as deep cleaning the house, I used the suggestions in this book: Sidetracked Home Executives – from Pig Pen to Paradise. It introduced me to organizing my cleaning tasks per room and allowing an order and time frame to get the tasks done. I use this when guests are to come over (pre-COVID-19) and for bi-weekly cleaning. The beauty is that I can hand a room card to Den or one of the kids and they can help me by knocking out the jobs that are at hand. Over the years, it has been very easy to lose focus and these cards helped keep me on task.
These two methods, along with organized cleaning tools and supplies, have helped me maintain my sanity. I don’t claim to have the cleanest house, but it’s a happy home.
