With all the "projects" around our house I've been sharing lately (I have more coming soon to share here!) I've been getting a ton of comments on my blog, on facebook, and in person all basically asking me the same question...as a mother of 3 how do you do it?! I kind of chuckle each time I hear this question because, frankly, I don't think what I am doing is anything all that amazing or difficult to make time for. But it got me thinking if so many people are asking then I must have a secret...or maybe not, cause it's a secret to me...but what does it come down to?
Here's what I think might make the difference for me:
1. You will always make time for the things you think are important.
Whether that's laundry, or spending time with friends, or playing with your kids, or painting a room, or reading a book, or building a piece of furniture, or watching a tv show, and the list goes on. If you didn't think it was important you probably wouldn't waste your time! We're all given 24 hours in a day and make choices each day of how to spend every minute, and as a busy mom I understand how those minutes fill up. There are some days that I admit the laundry doesn't get put away and sits in the basket, but I make sure to read to my kids every day!
2. You should make time for the things you enjoy.
I happen to enjoy working with my hands and "creating." I enjoy artsy things. Whether that is painting, building, designing, sewing, decorating, gardening, you name it. I especially enjoy "creating" my environment. So I make time to do that on a regular basis. (-- especially when Brad is working a ton like he is recently. It helps take my mind off missing him!) If you don't enjoy that kind of thing then you probably won't make time for it and should make time for something else! But every mom should take a little time out of each day to do something that makes you happy, even if it's a 5 minute soak in the tub or reading a chapter in a novel!
3. Turn off the tv.
We are not an anti-television family, but we are very selective about what we watch and how much we watch. The tv is on minimally for the kids each day. I may turn it on for myself a little bit while the kids are napping on a rainy day, but it is never just running in the background. I can get a lot done around the house in a day when I'm not distracted by the tv, and honestly is there anything on worth watching in the daytime? It's amazing how much time you could free up if you think about how many hours you may spend watching....
4. Make sure everything has a place.
We've lived in our home for 4 years now and I am still working through this issue, but I really believe this is the key to a tidy home. Not necessarily a clean home, but a tidy one! The stuff that clutters and piles up is the stuff that doesn't have anywhere to go. So we make sure we have places for all the toys, diapers, mail, folders, receipts, magazines, and all the other things that can clutter a house. That makes picking up pretty easy and we don't have to spend a lot of time each day doing it - plus the kids are expected to help. Is my house always clean and picked up? NO! And that's ok too :).
5. Involve the kids!
When I do work on a project, the kids are not plopped in front of the tv, nor are they running around like crazies! :) A lot of the time my kids just enjoy playing together and letting me work. It helps that Elijah takes a few naps throughout the day too. I do make a point whenever possible to involve them somehow and make them feel like they are doing something important or helping in some way. Quite often they just like to watch and imitate. While I was building the bench, the kids got their play tools out and picked up my scraps and started "building" too. When they'd ask to help, I'd let them hammer a piece of wood that I wasn't using. It keeps them entertained and caters to many teachable moments as we "work" side by side. As they get older, I am looking forward to having them actually help out too!
6. Be realistic. Do a little at a time, but be sure to finish.
When you start a project don't expect to get it all done in one sitting. Have reasonable expectations with little kids to take care of and a house to run. I try to do one part at a time and then break it up with doing something with the kids, like read books or play a game or bake cookies, and get a chore or two done as well. Even if you get a section or a part done each day, that will get you closer and closer to finishing. And don't start a project without the intention of finishing in a certain amount of time. This will add stress to you, and probably leave a mess where you started. Set a goal and stick to it.
7. Enjoy what you have and make it yours. And look for ways to do it cheap!
It's easy in our culture to focus on the bigger house we could have or the nicer stuff we want, but really it's about taking what you have and enjoying it! We have a house that isn't the nicest by any means. (I'm reminded of that every time I go over to my friend's gorgeous house (ahem...mansion) that is well over half a mil...) and we have a list a mile long of work we need/want to do on it, but it is ours and it's home! And while God has us living here we are going to make it an enjoyable and functional place for us to live without spending a fortune. You can make a big difference in the feel of a room with a new coat of paint. You can also change things up just by moving furniture and decorations between rooms without spending a cent. We enjoy eating outdoors in the summer and have lived with a tiny hand me down table for years that was starting to make it a lot less enjoyable to do that for us. If building an outdoor table myself is going to allow us to keep doing that as a family, and save us $400, then I'm going to build a table! And that just became something important to me which brings us back to #1 :).
So there you go. I'm sure there are more but I think those kind of hit it on the head for me. Do what you love. Love what you do. Do it well and do it cheap :).
Take 2...
Take 3...Yay!
Elijah was there enjoying some breakfast too!
