A clean home looks different for everyone, but one thing is certain- it lifts everyone’s mood. For most people, this is easy to achieve because cleaning can be done when the kids leave for school. Getting it done with them in the house is a different matter. Also, “clean” may look different on different days, and that is okay too. Here, I share how to balance homeschooling and housework.
Ten tips to consider
- You can’t do it all. Give yourself some grace! Self-care deserves priority over a magazine-cover home.
- Using meal plans takes stress and anxiety off cooking. Or preparing dinner in the morning. Simple, nutrient-dense meals are always a winner over elaborate, but calorie-dense, meals. Some prefer to cook in bulk, and then store meal-sized portions in containers in the freezer; ready for warming up at meal-times.
- Clean up once; it saves from doing many small cleans throughout the day. The flip side is also true, many small cleans save from one big clean. Do what works for you.
- A list of tasks to be done helps in bringing order to a day. That way, you can see what is achievable for you.
- Army of helpers is key. Every member of the family should bear their weight. Chores are the equivalent of rent to our children 😁. Chores are also an indispensable tool in learning and building positive character traits.
- Wake up early; you get more hours into the day and get more done.
- Deep clean once. Sometimes the house just needs a lick and a promise. I have seen people assign tasks to different days, such as Mondays for doing the bathroom thoroughly, Tuesdays for the kitchen, Wednesdays changing sheets, Thursdays for laundry etc.
- Less is more; declutter the home. One mum said she only allows her children a maximum of 10 toys at a time. When you have small children you also don’t need fancy, fragile pieces of furniture.
- Give children responsibilities over stations. One day, our daughter cleaned the living room and it really challenged her; we were almost forbidden from setting foot in there 😂. Needless to say, the room stayed clean!
- Acknowledge your limitations: superwoman is fictional. You can get outside help once in a while.
It’s no small task trying to balance homeschooling and housework. Each is a full-time, paid job for someone else out there. But none need make you miserable. You can manage without burning out! Let’s share ideas on how to achieve this.
