There are not enough hours in a day!! Am I right?! Monday’s are my day off, a ‘day off’ for me is more like a day to get the house organized. So instead of calling Monday my day off, I like to call it catch up day. It usually involves several loads of laundry, several piles of clean laundry all over my living room waiting to be put away. Dishes, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. etc.
Recently I attended a seminar about empowering your life. The discussion that spoke to me the most was SELF-CARE. One of the speakers talked about this and how too many people have the excuse that they don’t have time. Raise your hand if you have used this excuse before… *raises hand*. I recently read a saying that said: “Instead of saying ‘I don’t have time’, try saying ‘It’s not a priority’, and see how that feels.”
So in my case I would be saying “TAKING CARE OF MYSELF IS NOT A PRIORITY”. That is crazy, if I can’t take care of myself, how can I take care of my family? If you have been reading my blog, you know that I have recently rekindled my love for exercising. This has made a big difference in not just my physical, but my mental health.
So true isn’t it!!! Since I have made exercise a priority, I feel like I am a better Mom. But I am finding I need more! I crave time to sit and read. I crave time to go for a walk. I crave time to work on house projects. But every time I tell myself to sit down and read, I see another pile of laundry that needs to be washed or put away, I see dishes on the counter that need to be cleaned, I see crumbs on the floor that need to be swept. My husband tells me to just sit down and relax, but this stuff won’t get done until I do it. It is hard for one person to clean up after four people!
After lots of searching on Pinterest, I decided I need to make a chore list. There is no reason that everyone that is living here shouldn’t help out!! Things need to get scheduled so they get done! I work as an esthetician, so my work day goes by a schedule of appointments. So I am going to have to start making appointments for myself, and the housework.
I found this great article on Age Appropriate Chores for Kids. According to it, my kids should be able to help out with meal prep, sweeping, vacuuming, and cleaning bathroom counters, sinks, and toilets. And my Husband should be able to help with everything, ha! This article got mixed reviews, a lot which were negative. I don’t think this is ‘slavery’ like one person commented. I think it would be great for kids to help out and see that a home is made up of a family and we all need to help out to keep it a great place for everyone to live. While I am not going to ‘make’ them vacuum or clean the bathrooms, I am going to ask them to help me do it, and (try to) be patient while they help out. Kids do love to feel like you need their help, it makes them feel special!
What do you think? Do your kids (or husband) have a chore list? Do you think it’s appropriate to ask your kids for help?