Housekeeping?? Housekeeping?? My husband would say “what’s that since we have three circus clowns and plenty of stage animals?” Every time I clean the house and it looks great it’s like the circus comes back within the next five minutes. And one of these days I will become the ring leader and get a handle on this circus. But until that day comes I am glad to have a treasure chest to reach into for my kitchen and cleaning supply needs!
Seriously though, I mean I don’t even know how our house turned into a circus. It just kinda happened. One minute the place is spotless and the next…..well…..let’s just say I think even my grandma might be ashamed. And she was an easy going, nonjudgmental lady. Anyway, people will tell me not to be so hard on myself. “Tracy, you have kids,” they say. But the truth is I just ain’t a good housekeeper as basic “domestic” chores, such as housekeeping I do NOT enjoy. But I am all for ways to make life easier and make necessary “work” into fun!
Housekeeping Made More Fun Doesn’t Feel So Much Like “Work”!
Who here loves to make up new games? Well, sometimes my husband and I have attempted to make our housekeeping into a fun game for ourselves and the kids. This is just one way to make it feel more like fun and less like work. We have “played” “Who can pick up the most (toys, trash, dishes, ect) in the least amount of time?”, “Let’s sing and dance while we clean,”, and other things. But, unfortunately, this has led to “fights” and arguments between those “circus clowns”. So I guess we still have work to do. Anyway, the girls do seem to enjoy helping out with housekeeping a lot more if they have gizmos and gadgets that are fun to use!
Sometimes I get jealous of characters on TV shows. I know, I know, it is complete fiction when Sabrina snaps her fingers to clean her room on that TV show. But I mean how cool would it be if cleaning and housekeeping were that simple, right Well, we can’t do that. But we can do the next best thing with some really cute gizmos and gadgets! I mean I can’t wait to have this cute little thing vacuum up my table!
Easier to Order Out than Find What I Need in My Kitchen
So here is the thing in case you haven’t figured this out by now, cooking, cleaning and basic “domestic” chores are NOT my forte. Now don’t get me wrong I LOVE being a MOM. My husband and I absolutely adore our children and pets! But there have been times when we wanted to cook at home and just couldn’t find something. Thankfully I have a husband that is really good at improvising! However, having the right dishes and tools can make life in the kitchen much easier. And I cannot tell you the number of times that I said “Oh to (blank) with it. Let’s just order something (or even go out). Because to me even dragging the whole family out seems easier than “improvising.”
Thankfully, my husband does enjoy cooking! When he has his way we make cleaning and cooking a family affair. Eating food that we prepared together is a wonderful experience. We are so busy that we sometimes forget to enjoy each other’s company. Since it is still pretty early in this year of 2023 one of our family goals is have meals together much more often than we have been. And because we are also wanting to live a much healthier lifestyle we are working on improving not only our time together, but how to prioritize much better as well!
Help Prioritize Time by Getting the Whole Family Involved with Everyday “Work!”
My husband and I have had discussions with each other and we have even started having family meetings. Why? Because we realized that each of us was soo busy just doing “our own thing” that we were spending NO TIME together as a family unit. Yes, we each have individual dreams and goals, which is NOT a bad thing. But if I have learned anything in the past several years, it is that even individual goals are fueled most when we “share” them with others. Since we implemented the family meetings we have come to the realization that many of us (in my family) have very similar goals. But we have been “failing” at working on those goals together as a team. No more.
After Our rather “short’ family meetings we do NOT just each go off and do our own thing. Instead we work together (even though is usually just “baby steps”) on some needed “project.” And at this moment we are working on decluttering and becoming more organized. My husband, and a couple of our daughters have had to learn to “let go” of some things. And I had to learn that it is OK to bring new items into our house as long as the items serve a purpose. Although decluttering can mean downsizing and getting rid of….the purpose of it is to make space for what is needed to live a fulfilling and happy lifestyle!
