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Welcome to Day 3.
A messy physical environment can make our lives feel overwhelming and over-complicated. But how do you stay on top of household chores when you’re busy and tired?
Let’s find out!
Choose Option 1 for the quick and easy version or Option 2 if you want to go deeper.
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I have long had a list of daily and weekly chores and I’ve streamlined all I can. Maybe there are a few things I can delegate though….
I’ve always made list but never thought about delegating or assigning someone else to take care of “my to do’s”-good idea! even better—remove the ones that really aren’t necessary! Thank you.
I also live alone and can’t delegate – nor can I afford, financially, to have someone come in to clean for me. Although I love to cook, I can eliminate some cooking/dishes/kitchen cleaning if I try to stick to a meal plan and batch my cooking a bit better. Every other night is enough!
What a great idea. I think I can apply something similar for chopping veggies for healthy snacks. Thanks for the idea!
DOn’t have anything really that I can remove from my list; most of the home chores have been shared already, and the work chores will help me build my business.
My 17 year old and 14 year old now each make dinner weekly. Nothing fancy, mind you. 😉
Any meal that’s not prepared by me is a winner. Even cheese on toast! One less thing for me to do – plus gives the kids cooking experience. It’s a double-win, Lucy!
Kylie ~ Community Manager
For some reason, this posts as my son so I won’t post to Facebook. Wouldn’t he love me?! Anyway, like others, I made my list and there is not a lot of wiggle room. But what I figured out from yesterday is that I spend a lot of time on non priorities – lots of service outside my home while my needs aren’t met. So my chores were basic and my kids help – love them! But, I give away too much time and don’t focus on my priorities. Yesterday was eye opening for me. Michele (not Luke). 🙂
I’ve completed my list…I am like many others here, there are not a lot of things that can be negotiated or eliminated, since I have eliminated and negotiated things already. My husband is gone for 12 hours a day when he’s at work; when he’s home he’s doing laundry, yard work and more it seems like. My 2 kids already have chores, and are each in charge of dinner one night a week, but they’re young enough that it’s more work this way since I’m teaching them. It’s worth it, and I’m definitely not complaining about that; it’ll be so good for them to know how to do this by themselves when they are older. Even though I feel like there’s not anything to eliminate or delegate that I haven’t already done, it is helpful to have a HUGE list in one place for me to look at. Now to figure out how to get it all done, ha ha! 🙂
I think that once my house is decluttered there won’t be much left for me to do as most of it has already been delegated. I need a few simple routines to keep daily chores caught up, like keeping the kitchen in order, emptying wastebaskets, keeping laundry going.
I am 100% guilty of trying to do it all. Never occurred to me to get my three kids involved. I posted on my regular FB page asking for advice on what’s appropriate for 4 and 9 year olds. Already getting great feedback. I am very excited about having a new game plan by the end of the day!
Feel free to share some of those tips Claire! Given the theme of the comments here on Day #3, a lot of us could benefit from them. Thanks! Kylie ~ Community Manager
Favorite advice from my peeps: http://thehappyhousewife.com/home-management/age-appropriate-chores-for-kids-printable/
I like it! Thanks Claire.
My lists are written and some chores eliminated. I placed ads on Craigslist. One is for someone to mow my lawn, the other is for a housekeeper. (I’m single and my dog is unwilling to help, so I took the suggestion to find people to help me.)
Taking action – I like it! Nice one, Kate.
Kylie ~ Community Manager
Taking action – I like it! Nice one, Kate.
Kylie ~ Community Manager
The items on my list that stress me aren’t ones that need to be done repeatedly. They are one-time projects that I never seem to want to tackle. I hope there’s a challenge related to procrastination.
Like Rachel, Cheri, Jean and Maria, I have chores written down and have eliminated, delegated negotiated, and outsourced as much my family can handle/afford on a regular basis. I review the list monthly and make changes (this has been helpful; situations change). I’m reading everyone’s entry to see if I can spot things I’m overlooking and will think about this as I act on some of the priorities I set Day 1 (de-cluttering by putting things in their rightful home) and Day 2 (walking for relaxation/exercise). Looking forward to more comments/suggestions/insights.
Like Rachel, Cheri, Jean and Maria, I have chores written down and have eliminated, delegated negotiated, and outsourced as much my family can handle/afford on a regular basis. I review the list monthly and make changes (this has been helpful; situations change). I’m reading everyone’s entry to see if I can spot things I’m overlooking and will think about this as I act on some of the priorities I set Day 1 (de-cluttering by putting things in their rightful home) and Day 2 (walking for relaxation/exercise). Looking forward to more comments/suggestions/insights.
Reviewing monthly is a brilliant idea. I’m going to use that too. 🙂
I completed my list–I think. I am single and evrything falls to me for my home. I am working on getting decluttered and organized, but feel overwhelmed. Although I feel overwhelmed, I have a timeline since my son and his family are coming to visit in a month. My plan is to have a huge yard sale which will help get rid of things and bring in money since I will have to help them pay for their trip home. This challenge is really helping feel like I can do what needs to be done. So glad I signed up for this!
I completed my list–I think. I am single and evrything falls to me for my home. I am working on getting decluttered and organized, but feel overwhelmed. Although I feel overwhelmed, I have a timeline since my son and his family are coming to visit in a month. My plan is to have a huge yard sale which will help get rid of things and bring in money since I will have to help them pay for their trip home. This challenge is really helping feel like I can do what needs to be done. So glad I signed up for this!
I hope that feeling of overwhelm will ease by the end of this program. I’m glad you signed up too, Lora! 🙂
I made my list and don’t see anything I don’t care about or can delegate/trade. It was pretty overwhelming to see it all on a list in one place. I’m going to ponder it today and hope it’s just a block and by afternoon I’ll see things I can take off my list. :/
Still not seeing things I can remove. It’s mostly cleaning, unpacking, things with kids, and normal needs (shopping cooking, etc). Doesn’t fit my priorities, but dishes still have to get washed.
My list has been made. It doesn’t seem to have much wiggle room, but I am trying.
I, too, have limited ability to negotiate. My hubby has a 2 hour daily commute, an acre of land that requires lots of law ncare time. He is already doing the grocery shopping and laundry for me. Our children are grown with families of their own and live out of state, so no sharing of responsibility with them.
My Mom recently was admitted to a nursing home. We just rented our home to make it possible for us to move into and care for my mother’s home. We have moved now and are in the process of clearing out her belongings and unpacking ours. We are making necessary updates and I am running out of energy. I also am hoping that the automation phase tomorrow will help me get settled.
Jean, I hear you. You’ve already done a lot to streamline your chores. Now you are landlords too. May God give you the energy you need.
A life transition can be overwhelming and draining, Jean. Don’t put any extra pressure on yourself. Go at your own pace, you have a lot going on. The best thing about moving house is that you are getting a fresh start. I love a good purge whenever we move! Try not over think it. Thanks so much for posting. Kylie ~ Community Manager
I have been able to negotiate with my husband to go to the grocery store every few days as it is right on his way home and it beats the 1 1/2 – 2 hours I would have to spend inside the grocery store doing the shopping for a week or two. This time frame doesn’t count drive time or unloading the groceries, so that’s a huge help. It also eliminates the amount of fresh foods that go bad and helps to keep my fridge and freezer nice and organized because it’s not jam packed with stuff. I did the opposite with my daughter, though. I found when I do laundry it takes me less than 1 minute to open her drawers and place her stuff neatly inside. By my doing this, she is able to keep her drawers neat and tidy and find everything she needs to get ready for the week. When I forced her to put her clothes away, I would very often wind up washing things that were still clean, but had been thrown on the floor or under the bed or in the hamper. OR I would have to spend an entire Saturday supervising her to tidy her room, drawers and closet. The situation often became tense for both of us. I find it a much better use of much less of my time to put her clothes away for her. That way morning routines aren’t stressed, frantic or hurried AND I don’t have to waste an entire Saturday fighting with her to pick up and clean up. All in all, the entire family is happier and more relaxed.
Yay for your husband! Perhaps in time you can sharpen your negotiating skills with your daughter! 🙂 Kylie ~ Community Manager
Kylie Browne – that is what I am hoping for. Just have to take a breathe and realize she is just not emotionally able to handle another chore on her plate right now. I am so pleased that she does make her bed every day, feed and water the pets twice a day, scoop the cats litter box twice a day, empty the dishwasher and all the little rubbish bins into the big rubbish bin every day. Good on her. With all that, I am not complaining, I am celebrating.
My lists are written out. I eliminated things like ironing years ago, so there is no more paring down to be down – my list is already bare essentials for household maintenance and hygiene. And I can’t delegate because my husband is already overloaded – he spends 2.5 hours a day commuting and works 50+ hours a week, constantly on call, and he is in charge of all the outside chores (lawn, house). My kids that are still at home are young adults and USELESS when it comes to cleaning. Even if I could get them to do something, it would be done so poorly it wouldn’t be worth the effort (and no, they weren’t raised this way and weren’t always like this – it seems to be a teenager thing). I’d love to hire a cleaning service but with two in college, no funds. So I’m sure hoping that tomorrow’s AUTOMATION ideas can help!
I already have a comprehensive chore list, including a daily list, a once-a-week list broken into daily tasks, and a calendar with periodic tasks on it. Unfortunately, I have already delegated everything that I don’t need to do personally. I am fully aware that very little of what I delegate will actually get done, despite promises to the contrary 🙁