When I say who I mean whether you’re a mother, single, married no kids, married empty nesters, with babies or toddlers, with older children, working out of the home, female or male. There is a way to get things done in your home so you can enjoy more freedom doing what you love. Here’s how to get things done in your home no matter who you are.
As humans, we’re always evolving. From the moment we’re born and growing up in our parent’s home, to the time we move into our own place, our home life is always changing.
We study, we work, we move in with someone, we have children, the children grow through various stages, they leave home, etc, etc.
As does everything about who is living in our home changes, so should our expectations and standards of home organisation.
Establish a daily routine
Right from the start, you should establish a daily routine. This will set you up for a lifetime of success in staying on top of your home and keeping it tidy.
Just like brushing your teeth, having a shower or having breakfast, establishing a daily housework routine of no more than 5 chores that take no longer than 30 minutes will allow you to have a tidy home that you’re happy with.
These chores can be anything you find irritating or frustrated if they’re not done like making the bed, clearing the breakfast dishes, getting a load of laundry on or whatever. I call this the Roadmap to Routine.
First time living out of home
It’s our first time out of our parental home. We’ve got the opportunity to set up house exactly the way we want. We can choose to live in a mess or keep it tidy.
I know when I first left home, I had everything set up just the way I wanted it. I respected Mum’s and Dad’s home and kept things where they wanted it but once I got my own place, I had the opportunity to play house and kept things really neat and tidy.
Your first flat mate
This could be your first share accommodation or when you first move in with someone. it’s going to be a learning curve and you’re going to have to respect each other’s property and space.
One person might be really organised and the other may not. From the start is a great opportunity to set up ground rules on what each other’s expectations are.
When baby arrives
You may have already experienced living with your partner, getting married or just deciding to start a family. When baby comes along it’s time to lower all of your expectations.
Even before baby comes is a great time to really give your home a good declutter. Even if you don’t get rid of stuff but put it into storage it will mean that you won’t have as much dusting or tidying to do.
Keep your possessions to a minimum. From my first hand experience in raising 2 children, they are going to take up the majority of your time.
Even if you do have help from friends or family, getting into a regular routine right from the start with your baby will help you.
Establish regular nap and feeding times. When the baby sleeps, you sleep. While the baby is having some tummy time, grab a coffee and practice some deep breathing or other forms of self care. Get out of the house and go for a walk. Whatever it is, this is the time when your child needs you the most so concentrate on the essentials of homemaking like eating, doing the laundry and self care, along with caring for the baby of course.
The toddler years
You can’t wait for your baby to sit up, start solids, crawl, walk etc but once the toddler years start, you wonder what happened to that fully dependent little baby. A toddler has just found their independence and will be in to everything. You’ll be run off your feet.
Still keep everything to a minimum in your home. Don’t worry about buying too many toys. You’ll only have more to tidy up and to find storage for. A couple toys in a toy box, rotated regularly is more than enough.
Encourage your child to seek out nature, play in the mud, run barefoot on the grass and splash in the water. It will develop a sense of creativity in your child.
Again, keep to the bare minimum of housework. Worry only about food, laundry and self care. Fit self care in whenever you can.
The school years
You can’t wait for your child to start school because you’re going to get so much done. This might be the case but you’ll probably find you’ll be asked to volunteer for so many things at your child’s school, that free time is still elusive.
You will, however, have a bit more time on your hands during the day, depending on if you still have younger children at home and this is the time when you can take a bit of extra time around the home to factor in more chores into your day.
Maybe take up an old hobby or pursue a new one. Join the local gym or tennis club. Make some new friends with other school parents and catch up for regular coffees.
Working out of the home
When your children start school you might want to return to part time or full time work, if not before they start school. I’ve tried this a couple times and it’s just too hard. I did manage though but it’s a hard slog just to do the basics.
Try to get the whole household on board with taking part in the upkeep of the home. Try to get up early or stay up that bit later to do a few chores and make meal times easy with tray bakes, easy to throw together salads or other quick and easy meals.
Use the commute to and from work or your lunch break to practice self care.
When the children have gone
I can’t write this from a parent’s perspective but thinking about my own mother (my father passed away before he was of retirement age), she wanted to start enjoying life. She was passionate about her hobbies and travel so didn’t want to be tied to the house doing housework all the time.
Keep your possessions to a minimum, keep up your daily routine and enjoy plenty of time pursuing your dreams. It is definitely your time if you haven’t already made those previous years a priority for yourself.
Conclusion
I’m currently at the teenage years so still have a few more years to go until they leave home but the point is, no matter what stage you’re at in your personal life, you adapt your home life to suit.
What you used to do before baby arrived is hard to upkeep unless you pay for or get help from family and friends. Adjust your standards and level of expectations. The time will come again when you can have your home exactly the way you want. The house will be a lot quieter and you’ll wonder where the years went.
Remember, it’s not about what is in your home but who.
