My husband and I were talking on the way home from church last Sunday, and I was comparing my housework to being on a treadmill rather than running down the street and actually making progress. I'm sure many of you can relate!
Right now I have a very busy little girl. The Baby is not content to lie back and let the world go by. No, she must explore! And do! and see! All that she possibly can! It is such a joy to look at the world through her eyes, and to watch her learn new skills. But it is also exhausting, and greatly limits my homemaking efforts.
I am not complaining, not in the least! I'll happily keep on my treadmill--at least the dishes get done before midnight (usually) and there are clean clothes in our closet (usually). Anyone out there have some super-mommy pills I can pop? Maybe something along that line would help me, so that when The Baby finally goes down for a nap I can get something done instead of slump into a chair! =P
Please give me your best tips for getting things done around the house with a little one!
7 comments:
Hi! I do not know and you and don't remember how I found your blog but I enjoy it. I have a 4 1/2 yo little princess who is VERY busy! A couple of tips are to do ONE and only ONE load of laundry each day. So first thing in the morning sort whatever dirty laundry is in the dirty laundry basket, throw a load of laundry into the washer, and wipe off the top of the washer and dryer. Then later in the morning ...say around 9:30 or so, transfer your laundry to the dryer. Later fold your laundry into a laundry basket and hang clothes directly onto hangers. Put the laundry basket onto your bed and hang the clothes in the closet. Later that night take the three minutes to put away your laundry before going to bed and throw any dirty laundry into the dirty clothes basket. This method keeps your laundry from overwhelming you. I cannot remember if you are doing cloth diapers. If you are then figure out a way to do one load of diapers every other day as well or that is your one load of laundry every other day. The key that I have found is to make a few routines and stick to them. For me is one load of laundry a day and then making sure that the dishwasher runs at night so that in the morning while my water is heating for my coffee I can unload the dishwasher. Then throughout the day I just put dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher. I run the dishwasher everyday and put as much as I can into it. My cast iron skillet is the only thing that I don't put in there. :) Hope that helps!
I did most of my main work for the day when baby napped. Of course, when baby is awake, the place is not going to stay the way it was earlier. I did move my breakables up because kids do need to explore. Of course, there is training, but probably they understand a little older. Put baby in a playpen or highchair near where you are doing chores. Kids like to be near Mommy!:) Most of all, enjoy her. She is little for such a short time, even though it doesn't seem that way now. It will go by quickly!
My advice is to create a schedule that works for you and follow it.
Set timers to complete tasks and if you are not done that is fine.
The important things in life are family, you can get by with less clean clothes and dishes while you adore your busy baby.
Well, I'm by no means an expert as my two girls are still small themselves(3 & 1) but what I did when my oldest was little was I slid our armchair in the living room over a tad to block off the entry way from the kitchen to the l.r. so dd had to stay in the kitchen with me. It made it a lot easier to wash dishes, cook, etc, without me having to go to another room to see what she was doing. I tried to do the same things elsewhere. When I was cleaning in the bathroom, I put the cleaners up out of her reach and closed the bathroom door so she had to stay in the room with me. Of course, I brought toys in with her for her to play with. Or I sometimes put her into a jolly jumper in the doorway of whichever room I was working in. Mainly I tried to just keep her close so it was easier to keep an eye on her and stop her before she made more work for me. :) HTH!
My kids are much older now and I'm not sure how old your baby is, but I learned to do chores while occupying where I needed to be. For example, clean the bathtub and but them in it. Clean the rest of the bathroom while watching them play. If the baby can't sit too well by themselves yet, use one of those little chair type things with suction cups to stick to the bottom of the tub. My baby girl was into EVERYTHING. I kept the tupperware/rubbermaid in a bottom cupboard without a child safety lock. I knew she couldn't hurt it and it wouldn't hurt her. She would play with the "dishes" while I worked in the kitchen. I even learned to enjoy the wooden spoon beating on a pot! Try to rest when the baby naps, even if it is just a 15 power nap. It will make you feel better. My mom said I was the only she knew who could take a nap with a sink full of dirty dishes. I took that as a compliment! HA! Most of all, enjoy this time. I wish now that I had taken more time to enjoy my little ones. Now they aren't so little!
I want to thank you all for your kind, encouraging comments. You have given me a lot of ideas to work with!
Use a pack 'n play for a play pen. Use toys from your cupboards - measuring cups, pots & pans to bang with a big wooden spoon, measuring spoons, etc. Sometimes just finding different things to play with does the trick for a while. Give her an old magazine to tear apart. Hope this helps!
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