Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Works-For-Me-Wednesday--BACKWARDS-- Simplify, Chill, Slooooowwww Doooowwwnnn

Today is the day that I get to find out what works for you! Here's the scoop. My mantra for 2008 is "Go Slow and Let it Go". My ultimate goal would be to thrive more days than survive, but I'll take what I can get. As a stay at home mom of 3, I would like to know what has helped you simplify, slow down, chill out or otherwise be able to deal with your life. I have let a lot go around the house already.

What have you read, written, or done to get you through the laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, or running around?
Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW.

8 comments:

C said...

I don't obsess - at all - over a clean house. We clean. Everyone has their own chores. But the house always looks lived-in. Ya' know ... because it's lived in! I am no longer ashamed of that.

If it's 8:30 pm, and I can choose between folding and putting away the blankets on the living room floor, or hanging with the family ... you will find those blankets sitting right there the following morning.

We're all trying to live up to something that makes no sense. We feel pressure to put more value on having a showcase home. That's backwards. Take pride in putting your marriage and children first. Part of that is being a good manager of your home. But that does not mean that it should look like no one lives there!!

tickledpink.nicole said...

It's about personal choices. I focused on this a lot last year, and it eventually boiled down to the fact that I love being busy so I've embraced it.

Bar none, you'll get the best advice on managing your life, your way, at FlyLady.net.

Happy New Year!

Real World Martha said...

Hi,
I enjoyed looking at your blog. I have to say that it's a battle but I really try and keep commitments to a minimum. Right now, the terrible parents that we are, have no extra sports or activites. We are on a break which we take from them. Unless the kid is training for the olympics they can take a break and not have to have a sport/activity every month of the year.
Blessings,
Debbie aka The Real World Martha(S)
http://realworldmartha.wordpress.com

Jendeis said...

I love FlyLady's methods, so I advise reading her book and checking out her website.

Anonymous said...

I have to say. learning to purge unneeded/unused items from my house has been the best way for me to learn to do both. The less stuff there IS to clean/put away, the more time I have.
But, I do like my house to be neat, so that might have been for my own sanity!!
-daralee

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

I love Motivated Moms ( http://www.motivatedmoms.com )! You download it like an e-book, but it's a whole system of lists and you check off stuff as you do it. It helps me out around the house. And, I also know that not everything gets checked off every day, and that's okay. My household chores generally get done more often when I am following her list.

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

Laundry: I'm the youngest of 7 and my Mom's big rule was - very little clothing! I have 1 son and he has a very limited wardrobe, but extra outdoor clothes and plenty of extra underwear. I do laundry very often, but at least it doesn't "stack" up - there simply isn't enough clothing to stack up! Dishes: Growing up we each had our own colored cup - that was the only cup we could drink out of during the day and it would go into the dishwasher every night. Mom never had a dish full of dirty glasses! Cooking: I love to cook, but had to learn how! Taste of Home magazine has great recipes for busy families. When I cook, I almost always make a double batch and freeze 1 - then when I know I will be super busy I just defrost a main course in the morning. Cleaning: I pretty much limit toys to what fits in his "toy area". We cleaned out before Christmas and are still at it. All those little parts that came with toys at Christmas are already at the dump - I just don't have time to pick up 1000 tiny pieces when all he wants to play with is the main toy anyway. I really try to keep my house "company ready" at all times - it provides a nice environment for us to all live in and that in itself is relaxing! I'm pretty ruthless in purging closets and unused items too. Running around: I hardly ever, ever go shopping. My Mom never brought us to stores (except grocery shopping in a pinch) and I am pretty much keeping that tradition. If at all possible - I try to send DH to the store - even if that means sending him more than 1X a week for groceries - he is 100X faster than I am with a pre-schooler in tow. I own my own business and work full time - some days are very long and I am on my feet alot - by keeping these systems in place I am able to really enjoy my family time together instead of trying to catch up with cleaning/shopping.

Good luck!

Cheers!

Evelyn

Anonymous said...

Well, e-mealz is really good for cooking and meal planning. Laundry - I try to do at least one load a day and that helps a lot.