Tip that Keep me Sane when Life gets Crazy- Part 1

You're busy. I get it. As a mom to two homeschooling teenagers, and running a business during a pandemic, a husband who is also an entrepreneur, buying a home during a lockdown and trying to organize a move, I’m surprised I haven’t lost my mind!

Truth of the matter, family life is busy, it’s messy, it’s a rollercoaster. Am I right? However it doesn’t have to be. Through trial and error over the years, our family has found our groove when it comes to bringing some calm to the chaos.

In our home, I know when I’m at my best, our daily life runs smoothly.

It’s no secret that things can come tumbling down real fast, if mama goes off the rails.

Someone has to run this ship right? So I’m going to share my tips that keeps this mama sane and therefore our family life running smoothly like a well oiled machine.

• divide and conquer

I have no inclination to become a martyr.

I’m the first to admit that I am not running this ship alone. Yes, I may be the captain that keeps us on course but I am in no way going to be the one solely responsible for doing ALL the things. I work full time from home, some days putting in 12+ hour days. My husband also works from home 2 days a week. We are equal partners when it comes to the running and maintenance of the household. We split up the cooking and we both have our tasks that we are responsible for. We also engage the kids too as it is important for them to realize that maintaining a home is work.

The first time I asked my kids to strip their beds and make them with fresh sheets, tidy their rooms, and bring their laundry to the laundry room, my daughter came to me and gave me a hug. I asked her what was up and she responded that she had a renewed respect for me for all the years that I not only took care of my own bedroom but also the rooms of her and her brother as well. Sure it was nice to hear but it was also nice for them to experience taking part of caring for the home. They feel a sense of accomplishment too when they help out.

• meal plan

This has been a saving grace. We take 20 minutes at the end of the week to plan our meals. We get the kids involved as well to ensure everyone in the family will have at least one of their favorite meals that week. This has saved us $$$ on our weekly grocery bill, avoid food wastage and it eliminates the age old question that usually comes around 4pm daily, “What’s for supper?”

Meal planning also saves us on eating out/convenience food and ensures our family is eating home cooked nutritious meals.

I used my slow cooker and instant pot a lot during the week and we will also cook extras so we have left overs. Tuesdays and Thursdays being busy work days for me, my husband when he cooks dinner on Monday and Wednesday will make sure to cook extra so dinner is also taken care of the following evenings.

• prep snacks and meals in advance

Kids are responsible for putting the groceries away. I have bins and baskets for snacks and dry goods to keep the pantry organized and so we can quickly see at a glance what we need. Most produce is washed, chopped and stored in containers in the fridge. This makes meal prep more efficient throughout the week. This process also make snacking more healthy for all rather than grabbing for those “convenience snacks” like potato chips.

• allocate certain days for certain tasks

Working from home, it is easy to get distracted and do house work or run errands.

Don’t do it! If it’s a work day, then it’s a work day whether you’re at home or in an office. Sure I take breaks as well as lunch, but I am not using that time to do house work!

I have specific days to do things. Friday is grocery day for example. Friday I also get a start on the laundry and finish Saturday morning because who wants to be doing laundry all week? Not me!

I will do a load of towels mid week on Wednesday evening.

Ask for help.

We can't do it all and we shouldn't be expected to. I loathe vacuuming and with two cats, a dog and a house rabbit, there is no shortage of dust bunnies at our house. My husband is in charge of the vacuuming and he does it once a week. He decides the day to do it and I honestly do not care what day it is just as long as he gets it done. I do not have the time to micromanage. He is also in charge of the trash and recycling.

Kids on Fridays are responsible for doing an end of week tidy of their bedrooms. Before working full time I was an avid bed maker every morning of all three beds. I've learned to let some things go and I have two teenagers who are more than capable of making their own beds.

Kitchen!

Holy Lord, I swear the dishes multiply. If you have teenagers you know what I'm talking about. They are in charge of unloading the dishwasher and all I ask is for everyone to put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher and not in the sink. Twice a day I will take a moment to tidy up, wipe down the counters and clean any non dishwasher safe dishes.

Sundays I like to lock myself in the bathroom for a “quiet” bath and to read my book. I will take that opportunity of non-interrupted bathroom time to also clean this room. Does anyone else do this?

• family calendar

We have a family calendar on the fridge and we use the family reminders feature on our phones. We use family reminders for appointments and things like “is this week recycle or trash”. No more repeatedly answering the same questions, now we can just look at our reminders in our phones. We also use the reminders for all of our appointments so we do not double book ourselves.

This works for us and our work schedule.

Yes I work from home but that doesn't mean I am doing housework when I take a break. That would be simply going from one type of work task to another. My husband and kids know how my works days are organized, what days I'm doing zoom calls, days I'm working on designs, days I'm working on my marketing etc. They also know what days I'm available to help with house stuff. As I said, Fridays work for me for meal planning, groceries, laundry as I finish off my work week early on Friday and this allows me to get a head start on those tasks I mentioned so I do not feel I am doing house work and running errands all weekend. I will talk more about how I manage to work from home with two kids in next week's blog post.

• learn to let go

Last piece of advice, learn to let go.

Embrace the perfectly imperfect which is life.

When I feel myself getting anxious, this is what I do to ground myself. Give it a try. “Look around you. Take a deep breath. Is your family happy, that means you too? Do you have your health, food on the table, a roof over your head.” Those are blessings to be grateful for.

• NO is a complete sentence.

We’ve all been guilty of overextending ourselves. Saying yes to too many things. Eating dinner throughout the week on the run. I am very cognizant of not committing to too many things all at once. It’s important we have those moments at home, to enjoy dinner together as a family, to enjoy a move night with our kids, a Sunday afternoon playing a board game, getting outside for a hike. It’s those moments, that we connect as a family.

It’s about living life by design.

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xo,