The Trouble with Chores

How does your family deal with housework? Do you have a chore wheel? Is it all up to mommy? Do you have a schedule or clean as needed?

Advertisement

My Kind of Clean

Life is busy.

It’s also messy. Most of us do not have the luxury of a maid service, so it’s up to us to roll up our sleeves and do the dirty work. How we do our dirty work and how often is different for everyone.

I grew up thinking I was a lazy, messy person. I knew how to clean, but just couldn’t find the motivation. My mother was always cleaning and I observed my two sisters following her example when they settled into houses of their own. Nothing slowed them down: not children, the flu, or even full-time jobs. They just did it–and would complain how crazy it made them feel if they didn’t do it.

I like my surroundings to be neat and tidy, but have always found that I would just about do anything else first instead. I mean naps are awesome, right?

Nowadays I have two kids and the mess has reached a whole new level. It is no longer me and my husband making messes; it is my two adorable, sweet kids who tear through my house in a whirlwind of daily destruction.

I find I need order and a sense of control in this chaos. I need clean.

Housekeeping and Heloise

Once, when I was a very new Mom (I think Sam was about six months old), I attended a large play date where one of the mothers asked a question to the group:

“Do you manage to get dinner on the table by five?”

Five Housekeeping Habits

I have done a lot of research on housekeeping. I’ve read articles, blogs, sections of books  on the subject. There’s this one lady who runs a vlog called Clutterbug–that’s all she talks about! Housekeeping is a hot subject and there’s a lot of information out there and if you like to do research like I do, you could keep researching for years. There are so many resources for the hopeless housekeepers of the world, and if you’re an excellent procrastinator like I am you know if you’re doing research, you don’t actually have to clean or organize your home.

Basically, housekeeping is hard. And complicated. And if you have little kids like mine, it can feel like a waste of time. You get it, right? You hate cleaning. I know you do because I hate cleaning, too. Even my husband, who is always cleaning, hates cleaning. He just wants the house to be clean, you know?

Off the Registry: Baby Shower Gifts Every Mom-to-Be Wants (Even if She Doesn’t Know It)

I think four of my friends are pregnant right now, and I am, too. One friend and at least one acquaintance had their babies this month. Babies are kind of on my brain–so, of course, consumer that I am, baby gifts are on my brain, too. I know it’s considered most polite to follow the registry, but let’s face it: new moms don’t always know what they need (I speak from experience). Plus, whatever they have on the registry, they can later buy with a registry fulfillment discount (unless they registered at Joe’s Baby Junk, Etc.) These gifts are all in some way material, but they come with the additional gift of motherly wisdom.

The Little Green:

Babies are messy, right from day one. Starting with milk, formula, spit-up, and poop, they will mess your carpet and upholstery up. Goldfish crackers, once chewed and spat out, make an amazing orange crust that is no fun to clean. In a baby’s hands, any substance can become a sticky, slimy mess. Once, the boy got a crayon stuck in the undercarriage of his push toy and drew a long purple line across our living room rug. Without the Little Green, our house would look like a Jackson Pollack painting. (And, no, no one is paying me to say this. I’m sure there are lots of other fine brands of portable stain removing, carpet cleaning devices, but we have a Little Green.)