10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Life Easier
I was bad at before I had kids, terrible when I was stay at home and I'm even worse at it now that I'm back at work. I don't even aim for clean or sparkling anymore - my goal is "not embarrassing" and I sometimes don't even get there.
So last week I asked the 28,000+ brilliant readers of Rants from Mommyland what their tips and advice were for me to make my domestic life if not easier, at least a little more manageable. I got hundreds of comments on the blog, Facebook and Twitter - enough for a 5 part series that kicks off this week - incorporating tons of great ideas and suggestions.
Here's 10 tips for helping get the chaos of a family home a little more under control:
1. Stop & Assess
If you're really overwhelmed: STOP, take a moment to evaluate where you're at, and prioritize. Like a lot of you, I'm trying to do too much at once and as a result, I feel like I'm not doing a good job at any of it. For me, multi-tasking doesn't mean "very efficient", it means "frenetic flapping about". So I'm going to slow down and try and do one thing at a time. I'll start by answering the following questions: What HAS to get done? What's the REAL priority? What in my house is driving me the most nuts? Who can help me?
Related: 10 time-saving tips to get out the door without rushing
2. Make the Kids Help
Do yourself and your children a favor and teach them at an early age what it means to help around the house. Ultimately, we're not doing ourselves or our kids any favors by doing everything for them. If they share a bathroom, they can learn to clean it. Kids as young as 3 can do chores like putting away toys, feeding pets and wiping down counters. Younger kids especially want to help. If our goal is to make them self-sufficient and independent people, making housework a shared responsibility is a great start.
3. Lower Expectations
If you let yourself feel bad that your house doesn't look like a Pottery Barn catalogue or your swanky neighbor's, you will drive yourself nuts and try to end it all with a banana. It's not even worth it. Life is too short, go play with your kids.
Related: The 10 best freezable meals for busy weeknight dinners
4. Master Family Calendar
This can be an electronic calendar on your phone or one hanging on the wall in the kitchen - but we got lots and lots of comments about how important it is to put everyone's stuff on one calendar. I have one in my house that is the giant peel and stick white board you see above. It's possibly the best thing that ever happened to me.
5. Use Technology
Some people set reminders on their phones and iPods. Others use apps to get schedules, lists and appointments coordinated. The apps that were most recommended were from Cozi and ToodleDo. After playing around with them on my smartphone for a while, I can understand why.
Related: 10 lies I tell myself to cope with being a parent
6. Carpool
This can be a huge sanity and time saver. My older kids are just now big enough that many of their activities don't require me to be there the whole time. If there are other families you know and like on the same team/troop/class - discuss carpooling with them. It goes without saying that the parent driving your child must be trustworthy and responsible. And the biggest surprise for me? My kids completely LOVE riding in their friends' cars. Who knew?
7. Plan Meals and Shopping
This was the number one thing that readers recommended. If you plan out your week's meals, you can then create a master shopping list around that plan and know what you're doing (at least a little) heading into each evening. It takes a lot of pressure off. Lots of websites and apps can be used to coordinate menu planning into shopping lists, too.
Related: 10 ways to prep your kids for spring
8. Cook Once, Eat Twice
This is a pretty straightforward concept, also known as batch cooking or EMBRACE THE LEFTOVERS. It goes a little something like this: on Sunday, roast a large chicken. On Monday, make chicken quesadillas. On Tuesday, leftover chicken with green beans and Uncle Ben's. Crockpots can be super helpful with this strategy because not only does the food cook itself, but it makes enough for a huge crowd. Or three teenage boys.
9. Find a Laundry System
Maybe it's doing one load every day. Maybe it's doing everything on Sundays and folding while watching TV until the wee hours. Perhaps, if you're very smart, you hand the whole the thing off to your husband. The point is, find a process that works for you and then just do it every single week.
10. One Hour Power Clean
So many people mentioned how wonderful and helpful Flylady has been for them. She has this thing called the "One Hour Power Clean" where everyone pitches in and works their tails off for one hour per week. The amount you can get done is apparently stunning.
- By Julie Miner
Follow Julie on Babble
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