The Best of Parenting Ideas: Cut Corners on Housework
Comments by Linda

To my fellow moms: If you believe that Any Job Worth Doing is Worth Doing Right, YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE!

I would much rather hear my children say, "My mom never folds towels" than "My mom never plays with me."

This discussion is about how we can cut corners on housework and spend more time with our families.

As moms, if we spend most of our time housecleaning, feeling guilty about the housecleaning or nagging about the housecleaning, we probably give and get very little joy. At the same time, if we are too disorganized, we waste time, energy and miss out on a lot of fun with our families.

Here is a partial list of ways that I and other moms, I know, have found to save time around the house.

LAUNDRY: This is a weak area for me and I welcome any input.

• Just keep it moving. Get the clean laundry out of the living room, hallway etc. and get it into drawers, closets or bedrooms as quickly as possible.
• Mom’s have to prioritize. Seriously evaluate what really needs to be folded. Do towels really need to be folded?  What about dishtowels? They wipe up scum from our counters. Do they really need to be treated all that carefully?        
• Let your kids fold their own clothes or don‘t fold them at all. When I see how my little boys’ clothes look at the end of the day, a few extra wrinkles truly do not matter.
• Most people over the age of 12 can learn to use the washing machine and dryer. You can give older kids a basket and make them responsible for their own laundry.
• Bath towels can be used a few times before they need washing. Install hooks to hang them us between uses.
• Use a mesh laundry bag for washing socks. This eliminates the need for sorting.

IRONING: What’s that?

CLUTTER:

• You cannot organize clutter, but you can contain it. Clutter in a cabinet, drawer or box is better than clutter out in the open. You can hide clutter away to give you more space in living and work areas, then work on the clutter little by little.
• If you choose to declutter an area, you can do a little each day.  Get a trash bag, and give yourself five or ten minutes to throw away as much junk as you can from that area.  Then the next day, do the same with things you wish to give away.
• For desk, dresser and junk drawers: give yourself one minute to select items that really belong there or things you know you really need, then just dump everything else in a box and put it in an out of the way place (the garage, a closet, under a bed). Over the next month, if you really need something from the box, get it out. What is ever left in the box you really don’t need so you can throw or give it away.
• Schoolwork: I know you are a mom, but you don’t have to save everything! Really! Look at it and then recycle it.  Have a small box in a closet or on a shelf to save things that are particularly precious. When the box is full, go through it and recycle more.
• For more help check out flylady.net. 

KITCHEN:

• Clear the counters. This makes them much easier to clean. Take any appliance that is not used everyday off the counter. Unless you LOVE your canisters , put them in a cabinet.
• Kitchen floors can be vacuumed. Use a broom only occasionally.
• Use vinegar and water instead of window cleaner and give the job of cleaning windows and the front of appliances to the kids.
• Before you start to do the dishes spray your stove top and counters with cleaner. It will do some of the work while you are busy. When you are done with the dishes wipe it off.
• Keep the dishes moving. Put clean dishes away as soon as possible. This clears the dishwasher or dish drain for use, and dishes don't pile up in the sink. This job can easily be assigned to kids or another adult in the house.
• Being a mom does not mean being a housekeeper. Think of yourself as more of a manager. Expect that the kids and other adults on the house will help.  It does not have to be done perfectly--just done.

 Please share your ideas with us:

COMMENTS  or  mywisdom@amothersminute.com