If I'm going to be honest, for about a year now there's really been no structure around here on my part for keeping my house clean and organized. And that's ok, because I was pregnant (with a DIFFICULT pregnancy!) and had a baby. But there comes a point when you just can't take it anymore!
We're past the newborn stage, and I feel like I've got a semi-decent "handle" on life with 3 small kids. (I use the term "handle" loosely, lol!) While I'm not back to 100%*, I'm ready to start having SOME semblance of organization around here.
(*I say I'm not back to 100% because I'm still breastfeeding AND getting up once or twice at night to feed Desi. I feel like breastfeeding somewhat sucks the life out of you, pun intended, and zaps your energy level. As does interrupted sleep.)
So I'm ready to get back to a plan. And we like to call that plan "The Happy Path" around here. Why? I don't know. A term my husband used at work or whatever.
It's basically everyday you assign a certain chore(s) that way you don't let things pile up and have to do it all at once. Sounds simple enough, but I'm bad at this. I'm a multi-tasker and my mind is always going in 400 different directions. I have a very difficult time prioritizing. So it's good for me to have these things in WRITING.
Above is this week's "Happy Path". It has my daily tasks I want to be the SAME every week, plus some added things specific to this week. It looks easy enough, but even the simplest goals can be REALLY difficult to accomplish around here! I've got 3 little boys whose everyday needs come first NO MATTER WHAT. And some days I feel as though I just tend to them ALL DAY, lol!
Also, I have a lot of grace for myself for a couple of reasons. Like I said, I'm not running on a full tank these days. I HAVE to take time to rest during the day. Sometimes I try to take a nap (which usually doesn't happen!) or I just read a book, rest my eyes, whatever. And at this stage in our life, our house is just NOT going to look perfect. Here's what we consider "clean" these days...
"Clean" living room...
(yep, that's Phinny standing 2" from the tv)"Clean" kitchen area...
"Clean" master bathroom that we all use...
5 years ago this all would have been TOTALLY unacceptable! But bottom line is that our house is never going to be totally picked up and spotless. We have too many people who MAKE messes and not enough people who CLEAN them up! And I get interrupted 8,000 times for each task I attempt, so lots of times it doesn't get completed!
So...while I'm ready to make some changes around here, I'm gonna be flexible in saying that the things on my happy path are more like "goals" rather than set in stone. I'm gonna give it my all to get my daily chores accomplished, but somedays it's just not gonna happen. And that's ok.
So today is Monday, and I'm off to a good start! What's funny is that for Mondays I put laundry and dishes, however that is a DAILY occurrence here! But I want to start off the week being on top of these 2 things and having a head start. (they're by far the most overwhelming!)
Desmond will start on solids in a couple months, so I'm starting to stock up my freezer now with homemade baby food. (yes, I make my own...always have.) Yesterday I made a batch of sweet potatoes and froze them. Today I organized the cubes into baggies and put them all in one giant freezer bag...
I'm caught up on dishes, the laundry is going, 2 out of 3 kids are napping, and I'm ready to go do some reading!
2 comments:
funny i posted abt something similar to this just now! :) ur house looks great btw. I was noticing tho....
you have 3 kids now..
and a table for 4.
UPGRADE TIME! ;-)
Maybe you can get a review, tee hee.
I am in the same boat. I feel unorganized and overwhelmed too most of the time. I have stopped caring about the mess. As long as the kids are fed and happy that's all that matters.
Ps- our kitchen table (round) is for 4 too. We make do :) right now Quentin is in a booster on an extra chair "next" to the table. The booster has a tray so we don't need to put him at the table yet.
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