Hi reader friends!!
I took a half day to fully focus on some things I needed to do in the kitchen, and I thought I might share some things that have helped me through the years.
When I was younger, I hated the kitchen. Cooking made huge messes, and it took so long to clean up. After being married for so many years, I came to realize it was because I was never taught how to manage my time and resources in the kitchen. If that sounds like you, don't dispair! You can learn the skills you need to make the kitchen and other parts of your home your friend instead of that avoided enemy. I am far from perfect. There are plenty who have their act together much better than I, but I'm in no competition with anyone other than myself! I am just here to give you hope that you can be one who gets a lot done in the home, too.
One important thing I have found that helps me is to really think through what needs to be done and prepare for success. Laundry need to be done? What can I do between loads? Maybe a room or part of a room can be dusted. What am I cooking or doing? What do I need to get that done? (This goes for any area in life, right?) What food, spices, pans do I need? Have them ready to go. Then I try to dermine if there is waiting time involved. If so, I try to fill that void with another quick task or two. Often, that time is simply washing dishes that were dirtied during preparation. I almost always wash as I go! There is nothing worse than spending your precious energy on a meal only to have to get up from the table to wash a sink and countertop full of dirty dishes. That's the worst, right?? No thanks! Let me do a few at a time as I work. That is not something that comes natural for some like me. It is a constant task that must be practiced over and over until the habit becomes second nature. In the beginning, it's much easier to just leave them for something that seems more interesting or relaxing like sitting on the sofa and vegging out on the phone or TV. But is that really satisfying when in the back of our mind the mess is taunting us? Get into the habit of stopping and doing what needs to be done as soon as you see it. A piece of trash on the floor? Stop and pick it up. That's not where it belongs. Mail in your hand. Sort it immediately. Don't lay it down for later- thanks for teaching me that one, Carla! Later may take a week if you sit it down. Taking a shower? Pick those clothes up immediately! You've got to walk over or around them anyway. Take those two seconds to bend over and pick them up, and put them where you keep your dirty laundry!
Teach your children to do the same right from the start; they love having jobs and helping when they are little. Let them learn from an early age (this applies to many household chores) how to do these simple things. They will develop the skills they need to be clean, neat, and organized early when you give them the tools they need. You will high-five yourself later when you don't have to travel all over the house to track down dirty clothes.
While we're here on this topic, let's have this discussion. It's perfectly okay and healthy to give your child these little jobs around the house! Why?
1. When they are little, it is not a job! It's fun for them to do what they view as grown-up things. Be a great model for them!
2. Everyone lives in the home, and everyone is on the same team. It teaches the child to be a team player in taking care of the home.
3. Teaching the child these basic skills teaches the child life skills! A child most likely won't live at home forever. That child is going to need to know how to take care of a home. Knowing how to care for oneself and a home is a confidence builder when the child is ready to leave the nest.
4. These basic skills will build cleanliness and organizational skills. If a child is learning from an early age not to leave a mess and put things where they beling, not to walk around things that need to be thrown away, and clean what is dirty immediately, those skills just become ingrained in who the child is.
But how do we do all that?? First, we MUST make it a part of who we are as a parent if it's not already! Children learn best by watching others. If that is not who you are naturally, you have the gift of learning right along with your child. Secondly, do these things you want your child to do with him or her! Make it fun; turn it into a game! For example, when I taught school, I liked to help our janitor by leaving my classroom as clean as possible at the end of the day. At the end of the day, we would play "The Magic Piece of Trash" game. The students would frantically scoop up all sorts of loose items from the floor. They knew I would let them know when the magic piece of trash had been picked up. I would let them know, and the person holding the magic piece would be rewarded. I let the game continue until the floor was clean. By the middle of the year, we would have to find new games to play, because the students had become proficient at cleaning up the classroom by then without me having to make much to-do over it. Children are only little for so long. Treasure these precious years. Don't sit and order your child around. You and your child will enjoy the time spent being silly and having fun together. Your sweet little one won't even realize the learning that is taking place.
I hope something here inspires and helps you. I have used these things for my own self, and have taught them to my children, too. None of us are perfect, though, and sometimes life gets crazy. That's okay. At least we have the skills to get right back on track before things get too far out of hand in the house! You can do it too! I believe in you!
Go tackle the world, Tiger! --Well, at least the space you call home. 🥰
Until we meet again, may you be blessed!
