I‘m so excited about this week’s guest post! Amanda is a working mother of two amazing kids married to a very supportive husband. She blogs about her struggles to find balance between work and family life, books she’s read, companies that she likes and many other things. I enjoy reading her blog and the post she’s written here is full of tips that will certainly help your family organize your home!
Who Gets the Household Chores
Houses with kids are messy. I don’t care how much of a clean freak you are (or were before kids) or how much of a germaphobe you claim to be – if you have kids, you have a messy house. Period. Not all the time – I’m sure – but when your house does become an unsanitary cesspool
I live in a household with two kids and two working parents. During the week especially, it’s usually a fight on whose turn it is to do what. Cook dinner, wipe down the counters, straighten up the family room, load the dishwasher…getting tired of the list already? Seems like the work is never going to get done.
My husband and I agreed on a system – involving my daughter too. Hey – we all have to live here so it is OUR responsibility to keep it clean. To me, there’s nothing worse than someone dropping by unexpectedly and your house looks like 20 kids live here, instead of just two.
Rotation – It sucks to have to do the same chore every day. (And who am I kidding – anything that gets me out of laundry duty every once in a while is nothing short of heaven sent!) If I’m on baby duty that night (feeding, changing, all-out monitoring) I don’t have to clean up the kitchen after dinner. But then, the following night we switch – he’ll get baby duty, I’ll clean the kitchen, and have my pre-teen daughter straighten up the living room.
Involve the Family – If you share the same roof, you should share the same chores (if you are old enough – that means you too!). When a child reaches an age where they can realistically help out – at least with putting away their toys – they should. Building those basic living skills early will make your life as a parent much easier later on.
“Good Enough” is Good Enough for me! – I know that the idea of always having a squeaky-clean house is pretty farfetched – especially with kids in the house, but a general tidiness should always be your goal. Come up with a daily chore list to identify things that really should be kept clean (i.e. the stuff that can immediately be seen). Once those are done, you can tackle the bigger projects, like cleaning the fridge or cleaning out your closets, on an as-needed basis.
These suggestions are a great starting point to keep your home pretty clean – YES, even with kids. But, more importantly – DON’T STRESS OUT! Do what you can and before you know it, the chore list won’t seem so daunting. Good luck!
Thanks, Emily! I enjoyed being featured on your blog!
Amanda
Great tips, Amanda! Thank you, so much for guest blogging today. You can find Amanda sharing Thoughts from Her on her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
If you’re interested in writing a guest post, please leave a comment below or email me!
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