I've been asked how I keep up with it all (school, work, kids, tot school , crafts, cleaning, etc.)
I don't. It's hard and sometimes I have to figure out where I can cut corners and "make it up" later on. Most of the time, it's the cleaning that gets left till later. My to do list this week? Besides the normal dishes, laundry, sweep, mop, bathrooms, etc. I have this:
To clue you in, I have laundry piled up in a playpen, bags of donation clothes sitting around, jewelry, shoes, and purses strewn around from some little girl I know. Dirty clothes and dishes sitting around, unmade bed without a headboard or a bed skirt, dusty dressers, fingerprints on mirrors, this sanctuary is a mad house!
So what should I do with it? Besides boarding up the windows and calling it unlivable lol. Changing up the wall hangings, making over the entertainment center, and fabrications some sort of headboard are on my want to do list...but what will I get done?
Oh and I was supposed to get this post up on Friday. Blame the battery.
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3 comments:
I know it feels to be overwhelmed, both by responsibilites and stuff! I am there myself and slowly trying to dig out.
Start with your bedroom first. You need the place to refresh and relax. Do what little changes you can to get it "good enough" for now. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect! Get a bedskirt, or put a fitted sheed over your boxspring. Make a quick headboard, buy a screen to pop between the bed and the wall if you have too. Uphoulstering a headboard is another option, and you could do it quick and simple too.
Then, get rid of the crap, um stuff. Seriously, get rid of it. Don't bother with selling it, just get it out of the house. Dedicate an afternoon, or two bags per day, whatever you need until you are happy with the reduction of stuff.
For the kitchen and the dishes, streamline. Use paper for ahwile if you need to. Edit the amount of dishes you have. Seriously, if you only have 4 people in the house, have service for 8 so you have to keep up on dishes. If you have service for 10-12, you'll let more pile up before you get to them. I just recently did this, and it's made a big difference in the amount of dishes I do now (and we don't have a dishwasher).
Keep your chin up and just do the best you can to get through it. There are lots of people that would be thrilled beyond belief at the opportunity to have stuff to take care of:)
I had 5 children in 7 years. When my kids were young - I would have killed for rooms as clean as these! I always hated the clean clothes in the playpen - it crushes the permanant press at the bottom and you have to run them through again to get the wrinkles out.
Here's my first gem of advice. Gather up the goodwill donations, put them in the car, buckle in the kids, drop the bags off. Just do it. Instant gone!
Next, pick one project. Lets go with BED. Go somewhere cheap or find a Great Sale. Get a white fitted sheet to fit your box spring and a white bed skirt. If you have money left over - an under the bed box on wheels for wayward shoes or purses. If you don't have the materials to upholster a headboard - get a quart of paint and some tape and paint it on the wall. Finishing one small project is so much for gratifing than starting too much.
And just take time to enjoy the moment. Dim the lights and giggle with your kids. The housework will always be there, but you blink and your kids will be grown!
I agree with so much that was said between the other two commenters. You got some good info here. I recently took my kitchen down to two cups/mugs and one bowl and one plate per person. It made a HUGE difference in my kitchen!! I still have "company dishes" but they are put high up and inconvenient for daily use. If you are schooling and raising a family, give yourself a break. Do what you can and take it one step at a time.
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