chores & housecleaning

I still struggle with housekeeping. My house is never spotless or organized, but I like to call our chaos an organized mess. It might not look like it, but there is a method to our madness, as they say. We seem to like piles and stacks in this house; that's just how we roll, I guess.

But, that doesn't mean I haven't tried to bring order to our home; it's an ongoing process that's been derailed more times than I care to count. I do have a foundation for my attempts, though.

In our kitchen, we have a wall dedicated to an informal "command center." All it consists of is a weekly dry-erase calendar, chore lists, and any other schedules that the kids need to be reminded of (like our laundry schedule; everyone is responsible for their own laundry, and has an assigned day).

To make things a bit easier, I printed off a to-do list for the areas that the kids are assigned weekly. The lists are pretty specific on what they need to do (both daily and weekly tasks are listed), which cuts down on all of the "How do I do this?" or "What do I do now?" questions that usually accompany chore day.

We struggle with consistency; some weeks will be really good and the house will look amazing. On most weeks, it's like chores were never invented and we're tripping over stuff, looking for wayward items and clean dishes. But, I can honestly say my kids know how to do the basics.

It's just a matter of getting them to actually do them that's the problem.

But, it's a family effort, so I really can't complain (except when I do. Which is often. And mostly from my bed because I seem to be sick with something or other every other day. I don't think Scott ever thought he'd be married to someone with depression, anxiety, migraines, shoulder & back pains, and restless leg syndrome to name a few. I never thought I'd have so many health problems, but here I am...uh, okay. End of rant).

I will eventually get this homemaking thing down. It'll probably be by the time grandkids will start arriving, but that's okay; at least they won't have memories of me ranting about unfinished chores. ;-)