Keeping Up with the Housework and the Yardwork and the Kids and....

This is an extremely simple concept, but I have put it into action and I'm loving it.

I was talking to someone the other day about how incredibly overwhelmed I am with all of the things I have to keep track of and maintain in a day. I was completely frazzled and had so much to do, I had no clue even where to start.

Then that person told me first to stop and take a breath! I was so overwhelmed, I couldn't even organize a thought let alone my closet!

She told me about when she divorced from her husband, she was pregnant and had two small children in a big house all by herself. Of course she still had to work and cook and clean and play with her kids and focus on growing and delivering a healthy baby. She found herself as overwhelmed as I am frequently.

She decided she would pick 5 things each day to work on in her house inside or outside. That way when those 5 things were done, she wouldn't even have to think about cleaning her house anymore! She had no worries or distractions taking time out to play with her kids or practice hobbies or spend time with friends, even though there was still laundry to do, etc. BECAUSE SHE WAS DONE FOR THE DAY!

So try taking your tasks and deciding (depending on how much time you have at home each day) a number of tasks: 5, 7, 10 whatever works for you. Work on and finish all 5 of those tasks each day and MOVE ON. The fact that you are structuring your work is going to not only make it easier to finish, but you will feel less overwhelmed, because you did your part for the day.

The good news is that the weather is starting to get nicer and we all, somehow naturally, get that motivation to clean everything. =)

Don't look at it as such a huge task of having to maintain the yard and the house and the kids. You don't have to finish everything in one day or even one week(end).

We are moms. We have to approach our lives with a sense of humor. So often we expect so much of ourselves that we forget that it's OK NOT to sweat the small stuff. Eventually it will all get done. Just take it slow and after those 5 things are done, you can spend time with your kids, husband, some friends, hobbies. You will find you are putting more quality into your work, home and family, because you're not spreading yourself so thin trying to conquer the world in a day!

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