Playing with Chores

Phee is a great helper around the house. She likes to be included and help with everything we're working on. It isn't always easy, of course, but it's fun for her.

There are all sorts of little chores she does now around the house: unloading silverware from the dishwasher, folding towels and napkins, putting groceries away, emptying trash cans. One of the very first things she ever helped with was dishes. I washed and she rinsed right next to me, standing on her little footstool.

It was a bit messier than I had anticipated. But, she was so thrilled to be helping that I finally quit worrying about all the water and just let her get on with it. She played and played, making up stories, swirling and dumping water.

It was interesting to watch her problem solve when she tried stacking up the rinsed dishes to dry. Everything doesn't always fit where you want it to go!

In the end, she was so proud of herself. She was helping, she was learning, she was a part of the household. Her sense of accomplishment and that fierce independence was so much fun to see. I just needed to let go a little bit and drop my expectations about how the task should be done. How it was done didn't matter. The process was the important part.

That's always the important part: the learning and growing. Sometimes it's me watching her grow, sometimes it's me figuring things out thanks to her actions or words. Kids are very good at keeping you busy with self-examination, deep thoughts about life, and wonder at their wisdom.

Kids are also adept at reminding you that everything is a game and can be played through. Even chores.

What sorts of chores do your kids do around the house? Do you let them finish chores their own way?

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Laundry organization

I like to think I'm a fairly organized person. At work, I'm very organized and everything is in its place if I'm in charge of it. At home... everything is usually organized. Or, I have some great ideas about organizing at least.

Doug and I cleaned out our closet a while ago. It has decent shelving, though not ideal. There's plenty of room for all our stuff which is the important part. Except the three compartment laundry cart that moved with us from the apartment never really fit.  We used it because there wasn't anything wrong with it, but it was constantly in the way.

Once it started to fall apart, I was thrilled to move it out.  So, when we cleaned out, we rearranged a little bit. My china is in the closet because I don't have another safe place to store it. That bin moved, I culled my unworn shoe collection and nearly never used bags that were piling up.

And then it was time to figure out the dirty laundry situation. After searching high and low for a decent hamper that would fit and match, I gave up. None of them were what I really wanted.

My solution? Laundry baskets. They fit perfectly side by side under Doug's hanging clothes. They tuck in and don't take up too much space. No one is tripping over them. It's useful, purposeful storage and organization.

Best of all? You know exactly when it's time to do laundry. With the old laundry sorter, you could jam a lot of clothes into each canvas compartment and suddenly you've got no clothes and too much for just one load of laundry.

With laundry baskets, you're all set. Basket is full? Time to do a load of laundry. It's perfect! We have a few extra baskets for when we've got a lot of towels or sheets to wash. Doug keeps one in his office to catch all the work clothes he ditches in there.

It's been a great space saver and has kept our laundry and closet much more organized. And that certainly makes me happy!

What laundry solution has worked best for you?

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On laundry and giving yourself a break

For the second night in a row last night, my daughter went to bed in cobbled together pajamas. Momma forgot to do laundry- again- and all the jammies were dirty. How all four pairs were dirty in less than a week, I don't know. I do know that I didn't even notice, though, until I opened the drawer two nights ago and then had to rummage around for shorts and t-shirt without a scratchy tag.

It's hard to be so busy that you don't notice simple things like overflowing laundry. It's hard on everyone. It's especially hard on momma.

In my defense, we had family in town last week and we all know that throws routines and schedules right out the window. We all had a great time all week, but I still had to work. So, I was up with Phee early as usual, going to work, coming home to spend time with everyone, and then going to bed late. But, there are other times when it just happens. I get so busy with a house project, or full weekends or a sick kid and everything else falls by the wayside.

I come out of these busy times feeling like I'm never going to get caught up. I spend my time at work thinking about everything that needs to be done at home. I spend my time at home almost paralyzed with the amount of cleaning that needs to be done to get us back on track. A slow start just prolongs the cleaning and organizing and I hate it all the more.

Breaking out of that cycle is tricky. I know I can do it, but it takes so much carefully planned effort sometimes. This time, I just had to jump in and start completing tasks. I got poor Phee's laundry washed and dried last night so she'll have real pajamas tonight. I had to stay up a little bit later than planned, but the laundry made it into the dryer which was imperative since I was out of undies too!

I find that I just have to pick a task and do it. Get myself moving. Roll that momentum into the next day and a second task. If I don't have the time to complete something, I try get it to a “good enough” point that I can live with. For me, that was clean laundry last night, but only a half cleaned kitchen. The dishwasher was loaded, but the tupperware was still stacked on the counter for another day. I can live with that.

More than anything, I really have to stop being so hard on myself. I know I’ll catch a break eventually- an early bedtime for Phee, a long weekend nap, quiet playtime with a new toy, Doug's weekend- and I’ll be able to finish that last big task. And really, in the grand scheme of things, a few dishes on the counter isn’t a big deal at all.

It’s getting easier, all of it. Phee is a great helper when it’s time to fold towels and match socks. Sometimes she will rinse dishes while I wash or put the clean silverware away. Sharing those little chores wasn’t always possible, but now they make these overwhelming times so much more fun. Cleaning up isn’t such a chore with my little helper; it’s just one more way we can share time together and make memories.

The original version of this post appeared at a blog I used to write with a friend, Bottles & Briefcases.

Meal Planning with free printable

I love meal planning. It makes my life so much easier. I notice a huge difference in the way our evenings run when we don't have a plan in place for the week. I hate scrambling to get dinner on the table.

I generally do our planning on Fridays. Or, well, I try to. I gather up and print out coupons on Fridays and then hope that I have time to get the list together that evening. If Doug's off, though, or we have plans I pretty much always forget and then end up doing it Saturday morning while chugging coffee. When I do it that way I inevitably leave things off the list. Turns out I shouldn't make a list until I've finished at least one cup of coffee!

When I started meal planning, I made a handy little chart. I've updated it a couple times and it now looks like the one I'm sharing with you today. (Click on the chart to get a printable version.) I've found this particular chart to be especially useful for the Weight Watchers program, too. I don't plan out breakfast and lunch for everyone because Phee's at school and Doug's working. I do need that extra planning for myself, though, and it helps me keep my week on track.

Do you use a chart to plan your meals for the week? What's the biggest benefit of menu planning for your family?