In response to the comment on my "Homeschooling" post from a Mommy in California: "How do you get housework done?"
Before Ethan was born, I had no problem getting housework done because Caleb took a long afternoon nap every day and also went to bed at 7:00 pm every night. Then for the first couple of months after Ethan's arrival, I didn't do much in the house at all. One year ago, when Ethan was 2-months-old, we moved into a new house. At that time, I set up the cleaning rotation that I am still using now: I do one “major” housework item during naps every day…Monday is trash & dusting, Tuesday is cleaning all floors, Wed is deep-clean kitchen, Thu is bathrooms, Fri is laundry, and then I alternate through other needed jobs on the weekend. I also frequently get Caleb set up doing something like playing with play dough and then load the dishwasher or get the mail while he is playing. Grocery shopping, play dates, library trips and other errands are done in the morning during the hour or two before lunch, and I try not to go more than one place in a day. I do most of dinner preparation during afternoon nap and just add the heat before Daddy comes home. Cleaning up is done all throughout the day, because I'm the kind of person who is perpetually putting things away as I move through the house.
I shower and get ready for the day during Ethan’s morning nap while Caleb is watching his daily TV. And I usually have time either to lay down or read for about 30 minutes during afternoon naps as well. Also, we usually clean up the stuff from one activity before going to the next, and Caleb has to help. I do dinner dishes while Daddy is giving the boys their bath. No one attempts to straighten up the play room until just before Caleb goes to bed, and sometimes we just go to bed and leave all the toys out.
The only thing I feel bad about is that Ethan is just sort of absorbing things and is not being directly interacted with as much as I would like. The other downside is that my house is never completely clean (by nature of the rotation), but it is also never completely a mess :)
Thanks for your interest, Jessica!
2 comments:
You're an inspiration! Your housecleaning schedule sounds very similar to what I used to do but now blogging takes up a good bit of nap time. It's hard finding a balance again. Thanks for posting your schedule. I am definitely going to use some of your ideas.
Wow, that's great that you're homeschooling. You've always been so organized and prepared. I'm sure that has helped very much. I think Gracen and I need a little more stucture in our day. Thanks for the ideas! And... so sorry to read about the ER trip. I'm sure that was very traumatic for both of you. It's such a helpless feeling when there seems to be nothing you can do to help your child. Sounds like you did great!
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