Used some time today to reset the home. Folding laundry, washing produce, cleaning the sink, vacuuming and mopping and making the best of what many people see as “chores”. I don’t have a set day or time when I do these things as I’ve trained myself to not see them as chores. Few of us actually enjoy doing “chores” and it really takes some strong intention and mindfulness to do them with joy. We all know that chores and errands are an inevitable part of responsible adult like even if you have to come to grips with the fact that your daily dodging of laundry heaps and having no clean dishes gets annoying. So how do we make this inevitable part of our lives less stressful? Well I have some obvious tips in the blog post here but I wanted to take a moment to talk about our ATTITUDE towards them first.
TO BEGIN: I no longer call them “chores”…you see what I did there? Taking the “chore” out of chores is the first step to changing how we see them. Around here, our family has learned to call it “housework”. Calling it this makes is a lot less daunting from the beginning and gives us the control and freedom back as we see it as a form of pride and care rather than a daily drudgery. Teaching this to my boys has been ever so critical. I want them to see these every day (every other day, weekly or monthly) tasks as an a way to show honor and pride for the things that we have worked so hard to obtain (food, clean shelter and clothing) and how to be grateful for them…
This also means that there is NO specific “routine” to GET IT OUT of the way rather, it is something we MAKE time for within our days as we see it as a necessary part of our lives that contributes to the quality of our lives and promotes our own health and self-care. Have I lost you yet? I get it you may not be there, but it takes work and when we share and practice this value system with our family members it will make all the difference #promise !!!
Ok so here are some tangible productivity tips that can get you going in the meantime while you HATE doing “CHORES” (and are in the process of fixing your mindset and attitude toward them:)
- SET A TIMER: set a timer to get yourself challenged to get as much done as possible; this will make it like a game and you will be surprised how much you can actually get done!
- JAM IT OUT: put on some music to get yourself PUMPED! It really does help and gets you going and moving like nothing else.
- REWARD YOURSELF: we especially do this with our kids as it really helps them but as adults we can do this with ourselves too! There is nothing wrong with rewarding ourselves as motivation!
- CREATE DAILY ROUTINES: we create after breakfast (AM) and after dinner (PM) routines and stick to them (almost) every day. I say almost because NO ONE is perfect and it is important to give yourself grace as real life happens and sometimes we slack, but having a routine to lean on and/or look forward to really keeps us in check.
- STAY POSITIVE: as we mentioned earlier, mindset is key! Change your mindset toward the work that you do in your home and you will change your life!
Daily tidying also helps with keeping your house in order. Create those AM and PM routines to get you in the habit of putting things away in their place and resetting your spaces each day. Also do NOT forget to talk about this with your partner and children. This is a family effort and should never fall on one person. This will help keep things as sanitary as possible and as SANE as possible!
Don’t forget to checkout my favorite SIMPLE All-in-One Non-Toxic Cleaner system by BRANCH BASICS. It is a natural chemical-free, fragrance-free, and biodgradable cleaner that you will love. You can reuse the bottles and a little of the concentrate goes a long way. Be sure to use the code FREETOFAMILY for 15% off at checkout!
