Chores. They sure like to weasel themselves into my home, laughing so quietly at me that no one else hears them. So instead of feeding the frenzy, I decided to do something about how much time I was spending on kitchen chores. I made three easy changes, perhaps they’ll work well for you? That is, if they’ve also weaseled themselves into your home…
HOW I MINIMIZE MY TIME SPENT ON CHORES:
+ I swapped our nice ceramic dishes for plastic dishes. (OH, THE HORROR! But really, I did swap them out.)
It’s incredible how much time we save because of how quickly we can wash our dishes. Sometimes I time myself, it’s a dorky game I play against myself. See also: no more broken ceramic or glass. In a few years I’ll be able to use our nicer dishes, but I think it’s important to mention I don’t let this bother me. Some things should be used regardless of how many babes we have, just because life is more fun that way. But this decision has been a HUGE game changer for Zack and I.
+ Purchase household items that help me work better & faster. And, I give myself bonus points if their scent makes me feel happy while doing my chores.
There is no shame in wanting (needing?) to enjoy my chores. Actually, if I enjoy them I’m way more eager to finish them. So, I prioritize purchasing candles, hand soap, and dish soap that work hard and smell lovely, too.
+ Rinse all dishes immediately, and neatly set them aside. Since we don’t have a dishwasher, they’re always ready to be washed, which will happen at another time. Wink.
By washing dishes later, my focus can stay on raising my kiddos and spending time with them. Or, taking a nap once all three are tucked into their beds for afternoon nap. Rinsing and purposefully stacking our dirty dishes helps keep a sense of calm in our kitchen, and gets them washed faster, too.
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So those are my tips! They aren’t anything grand, and there’s nothing innovative about them. But, they are kind of genius because they work and I feel like I’ve creatively captured an extra 20 minutes of Maggie time :)
Do you have any time-saving chore tips to share?
I’ve really begun to embrace minimalism, & getting rid of the majority of the kids toys has made a HUGE difference in the amount I have to clean up! Also, keeping my days simple & as stress-free as possible. The more obligations I pile on (even if it’s fun stuff!), the more stressed I get about the housework. The plastic dish switch: BRILLIANT.
Can’t agree more with this! We did the same thing with toys recently, it’s been so good!!! Also, I really love the day each week where we get the house tidied up and beds changed, etc. It’s my new favorite day of the week ;)
The one chore that I dread doing is folding the laundry ! So this week I splurged and bought the scent booster you add to the wash ! It the little things that help and make me happy I love smelling the fresh laundry and even better climbing in to freshly washed sheets that smell great !
Why do you dread it? I had a similar situation recently, and I realized it’s because I didn’t have a good place to fold our laundry. I put a folding table in our laundry room and it’s solved all my problems ;) glad your scent booster is working like a champ for you! xx