Perspectives on Housework and Logistics: (4) How do you happily do the mundane chores?
A1. Make sure you have a good system in place. Those in business know that it is all about systems. The fun thing about making your own home work is that you can decide how you like to do it best. If you hate laundry maybe you want to organize things so that you only have to do laundry once a week. Maybe to you that would mean one overwhelming day, and you want to do each person's laundry a different day of the week.
Besides having a good system in place, I think it is important to think about the desired outcome. Instead of just thinking, "Oh dread, the dishwasher needs to be unloaded again," you can think, "I am going to spend 2 whole minutes unloading so that the kitchen can be clean all day long. If I invest two minutes now, then the dishes will not pile up in the sink, and I can have a decent kitchen all day!"
The third tip is to remember: “I am not the servant or maid here, I am the mother!!!” One day when I was scrubbing the banister while my children played nearby I realized what a huge disservice I was doing them and me. I was playing the role of servant when I really wanted to be playing with them, and they were not learning how to work. I find that when I include the children in a chore and really teach them how to do it well, they feel good about accomplishing a task and I feel like I am more in the role of a mother/teacher/nurturer rather than a maid. I also like this because I like to be with my children. This way I am with them working and then playing together. Now, truthfully there are times when I do chores on my own. But, there is a big difference between doing a few on my own instead of all of them.
