It’s TUESDAY! So today I am linking up with Growing Up Geeky and joining in for the Toddle Along Tuesday hop. This weeks topic is finding balance.
I find it completely coincidental that the day I return to work from a wonderful summer break, TAT is discussing how we find balance. Truthfully, I have no real method to the madness in my house. I just try to keep up with the day to day business and try not to get behind.
I used to watch Oprah pretty faithfully and one time I heard someone talk about how to easily keep up with the house. They said that if a chore only takes 60 seconds or less then to just do it so those 60 seconds do not build up and end up taking an hour. Examples of this in my house are changing the toilet paper roll and restocking the toilet paper, taking out the trash, taking laundry to the laundry room, 60 second toy clean ups and other small chores. This method really works for us.
My house is almost 3000 sqft with some pretty large and grand furniture in it (hey I like the gawdy). Usually it is ALWAYS picked up which means shoes are in the closet, clothes are hung up the dishes are either put away or waiting to be ran in the dishwasher, there is nothing out of its place. I have OCD what can I say. So typically when I do the the major cleaning (bathrooms, floors, dusting) it only takes a total of 2 hours! Yeah 2 hours for a 3000 sqft house is NOTHING! I completely believe that this is because I keep up on those little chores every day.
Now throw in work. Well surprisingly I am so incredibly lazy during the summer that when I go back on my school schedule I am extremely organized. I have to be to keep up with the housework, grading, snuggle time with my ninja, date nights with the hubby and every other aspect to being a wife, mother and teacher.
So how do you find your balance?
Carrie Stickney
Wednesday 15th of August 2012
I am a teacher as well, and finding that balance during the school year is SO difficult! I'm glad you have found something that works for your family and am still holding out hope that one day, I will too! :-)
Rachel
Tuesday 14th of August 2012
That 60 second rule sounds like a good one to follow. My house is less than half the size of yours, so I don't know how you do it - ha!
Jen + Jeff
Tuesday 14th of August 2012
I agree...I try to put things back in their place each day. I can only handle one cleaning chore a day though, nap time is only so long (and I have to have time for blogging!)
Steph K.
Tuesday 14th of August 2012
Before baby I used to clean all in one day. I'm finding now, that little clean ups like you have mentioned are the only way to get things done!! We've got 2500 sf and it didn't seem like anything too big to handle but after baby, just cleaning a bathroom a day seem to be all I can get to!