Identify and Solve Stress Spots to Take the Stress out of Life

Stress spots are the areas in your home that cause stress to you. You might instantly know of several such spots in your home – but others might not be so visible. Look, you're a mom. You're tired. You're crazy driving around from one activity to the next. You're trying to hold everything together. And of course keep the house clean, make dinner, do homework, read to the kids, bath time, grocery shop, help with projects at school, pay the bills and many moms work or volunteer. No wonder our brains are fried.

Identifying stress spots and solving them through creating family systems will immediately bring back some of those lost brain cells. Yes, it takes time and effort to establish the rules, but within a short timeframe, you will wonder just how you survived for so long without these procedures and solutions.

After learning of family systems, one ceoMom began to see the stress spots in her home. She would creatively solve one and then see another. This process continued until her home ran like a top of the line washer. She couldn't believe how much time she had on her hands and moreover how much calmer she had become. She grew in confidence, enjoyed her work as a mother and learned to stop and smell the baby lotion. While walking to the park one day, she held her daughter's hand and felt overjoyed to be a mother (of course on the way home, her daughter threw a fit and had to be carried across the park under one arm).

Here are some examples of stress spots. For every ceoMom, there will be different scenarios and problems. But if you catch this vision, you will be recognizing and solving your own stress spots. Some will take time to develop a system and others will only require seeing things differently.

Stress Spot Example 1

A ceoMom could not keep her kitchen counter clear of mail and school papers. She would move the clutter from one place to another as she attempted to prepare meals. It drove her nuts, but she didn't have a good place for her paper mess and blamed her problems on a small kitchen. After realizing this was a stress spot for her, she determined to find a solution and create a family system. She shopped for a piece of furniture narrow enough to fit in a small nook in her kitchen, but tall enough to maintain and organize the clutter. 1. Junk mail went immediately into the recycling bin. 2. Bills went into a divider and coupons into another. And 3. School papers were either discarder (after child recognition) or filed away. She now enjoyed a clutter-free counter and more space to cook stress free.

Stress Spot Example 2

A ceoMom noticed she got really frustrated when the dishes piled up in her sink and when the kids' shoes were all over the house; yet she could breath-easy with a dirty kitchen floor or a pile of laundry. She determined if she could at least keep up on the dishes and put the shoes away, she would be able to get through the day without a major breakdown. She utilized the “Business Meeting” checklist, which allowed for 30 minutes a day (sometimes in 10 minute intervals) to succeed in this goal. When this ceoMom had an extra few hours, she would then clean the floor and do the laundry, but it was not necessary to maintain sanity on a daily basis. Find what makes you frustrated to heck and try to maintain those areas on a daily basis.

Stress Spot Example 3

A ceoMom enjoyed cooking for her family, but had a tough time keeping her recipes tidy. Some were on note cards thrown into her cookbook; others were print-offs from the internet stuffed in a drawer. When it was time to cook or go to the grocery store to buy ingredients, she became frustrated by the mess. This ceoMom took immediate action on her stress spot and devised a plan that worked for her. She created folders on her computer to organize her recipes. One folder was for her “tried and tested” favorites. Another folder for “well, it was an ok recipe, but I'd better save it just in case” and a final folder for “recipes we want to try.” She loved her new system, because if a friend wanted the recipe, she could easily email it. And she loved having all her recipes in one central location. This system works great for moms who have their computer located near or in the kitchen. A three-ring binder is also a nifty idea to store recipes in an organized way.

Stress Spot Example 4

A new mom became overwhelmed by the constant cleaning of baby bottles. They would pile up on the counter, took forever to clean and were dirty again before she had time to sleep. This ceoMom sought advice from experienced moms and discovered a bottle that was much easier to maintain – one that used disposable plastic sterile drop-ins. She found she didn't need to buy as many bottles as before, didn't spend nearly as much time washing and found comfort in knowing the drop-ins were sterile. Eliminating this stress spot helped this new mom dedicate more time to burping her baby and catching spit-up.

Stress Spot Example 5

A ceoMom noticed the frustration that came from her husband when two things happened: 1. He didn't have any clean pants to wear to work. 2. When the orange juice ran out in the refrigerator. This ceoMom realized if she always kept up on washing pants (forget the shirts and underwear) and always made sure to buy orange juice, her husband was happy. Another mom may have said: “Do your own laundry and drink water,” but this mom was extra generous.

Stress Spot Example 6

A ceoMom realized what a chore it was to feed their family pets. She had to pick up their cat's used dishes, go to the sink to clean them off, get a spoon, go over the cupboard and get a can of food, fill the dishes, go back over to feed the cats, over to the sink to wash the spoon, recycle the can... A simple process took oodles of energy. She came up with a family system to make feeding time simple. She created what she calls, “Cat Corner” by utilizing a small area of space by the sink. She placed cat dishes, spoons, cans of food and treats in this convenient location. Now this ceoMom has a one-stop-feed-zone, taking the process from annoying to functional. If only she could find a solution for hair balls.