The Case of the Hopeful Housewife (Part 3)

It’s been two weeks since I set out to work on creating a new family and cleaning schedule.  It is definitely still a work in progress.  I’ve been really tuning in to what my family is good at, what we stink at, where we could use some help/simplification etc.  Stopping to really take it in has been helpful and eye opening.  I don’t know that I actually ever really took that time before.

The first thing I did was to sit down and write out on some scrap paper each day of the week.  I made a note on each day of specific schedules (like swim class on Saturdays.)  Then I started to plug in a room or space to concentrate on for each day. The room a day method seems to work out best for us.  I’ve already switched some days around to create a better flow.

Now that I’ve got that part sorted out I will be working on a specific chore list for each room.  I want to create a checklist that we can mark off as each task is completed.

Observations:

•   I have noticed that time seems to get away from us headed towards bedtime (particularly on nights my husband works late.)  This means I get stuck having to do end of the day pickup all by myself once the kids are in bed and I want everyone to take a part in this DAILY.
• We are good at following list.  We may not get everything done, but we get a great deal more accomplished when the plans/task are clear.
• We need to step up our organization throughout the house.  No more “stuff” without a home.  It is slowing us down for sure.
• While my husband is always willing to help me out he doesn’t want to be nagged and he needs to do things at his own pace.  I need to keep this in mind when I am assigning chores.
• My kids are getting big enough that I need to stop doing some things for them.  I have a habit of just doing something because it faster and easier.  I know they will never learn responsibility if I don’t let go.

One really big observation is with regards to weekends.  I’ve noted that things really seem to get away from us.  For example this past weekend we had a house warming party to attend.  In the morning my son had swim lessons and I had errands to do.  My husband and I did a divide and conquer, both arriving back home at lunch time.  We all ate lunch and it was time for a quick shower, get the boys off to grandmas and run out the door.  We left toys everywhere, the kitchen a mess, and laundry half done.  We got home late that night which meant everything would have to be done in the morning.  This meant starting my Sunday already behind.

The fact is that on weekends we are super busy and as warm weather and summer approach we will only get busier.  Truthfully, none of us wants to spend time cleaning up when we could spend time doing something fun as a family.  So I think I may make some adjustments:

• plan some really simple meals with limited cleanup (think sandwiches, pizza, one dish casseroles.)  If I can prep ahead during the week even better.
• use paper plates and cups on busy weekends to speed up cleanup.  I would like this to be short term as we get a better handle on things but I believe it could be very helpful.
• start each weekend morning with look at the day ahead.  make sure we are all on the same page about the days plan/timeline/etc.

So there you have my two week update.  I think we are heading in the right direction and I feel good about the progress we are making.  Hopefully that holds true for the next two weeks as well!