Now don't get me wrong. Not all of our days are like this. But, I'm finding that days like this happen more and more often. Over the past year, I've been on a mission to find the "right" schedule, the perfect chore chart, the best planner. And do you know what I've found? They don't exist.
But I have found a few things that have helped me tremendously. I'd love to share them with you!
1. I threw out my preconceived idea of what this season of life would look like. I had a picture in mind, and when I found that my days did not look that way, I felt frustrated. I felt like a failure. Confession: I actually had a lesson plan book for my four-year-old. Crazy! I'm having a hard time actually admitting that. And it caused some serious stress to throw it out. But I did. And I threw out the chore charts. I started from scratch. For some reason unknown to me, I actually thought stay-at-home moms had all the time to do the things they wanted. Wrong. And I apologize to anyone that I said that to before knowing better. So... after I threw out my ridiculous thinking, what was I to do next? I asked my husband what he wanted. And I talked to God.
2. I asked God to realign my priorities. I asked Him to write my to-do list each day. The word I heard over and over again in my prayer time was "simplify." Simplify the to-do list. Simplify the Mommy School. Simplify the menu planning. Simplify the routines. I talked to my husband and wrote out what our priorities were. I looked at how I was scheduling my day and tossed anything that didn't truly align with our God-given priorities. I was surprised at the things God revealed during this exercise. There were aspects of my homemaking that I genuinely thought were crucial, but in reality were just causing stress. I heard a quote on a podcast that said, "God always gives you enough time for the things on His to-do list for you, but not necessarily enough time for all the things on yours." That was eye-opening for me. I still write out a list each day, but I am confident now that each thing on that list fully aligns with the mission God has set before me. When I start to feel overwhelmed, it's time to re-evaluate.
3. I gave up on chore charts and read this book instead.
It's all about decluttering and simplifying your routines. It's about letting go of perfectionism and loving where you are. It aligns completely with how God redirected me in regard to my home.
The CHAOS Cure is actually one of four books by Marla Cilley, also known as FlyLady. The first book, Sink Reflections, is all about establishing routines to help your home run on auto-pilot. As you're putting those routines into action, The CHAOS Cure helps you to prioritize and simplify the actual *things* in your home.
These books are quick, fun reads. Marla is hilarious and completely "real." I feel like she could be sitting across from me and talking over a cup of coffee. She actually does Facebook live videos every day to talk through various aspects of her FlyLady system.
You'll definitely want to check out her website and her books, but here are a few highlights of her system that have drastically changed my thinking about housekeeping...
*a morning, afternoon, and evening routine keep me on track
*a shiny sink makes everyone smile
*a load a day keeps the laundry monster at bay
*a 27-fling boogie keeps my stuff to a minimum
*a daily mission and zone cleaning mean my house is always company-ready
*a daily FlyKids challenge keeps my boys' rooms presentable (without the yelling and arguing)
*a 15-minute timer means I'm not cleaning all day
*a weekly schedule keeps my brain clear to be present in the moment
*self-care makes my to-do list every single day
So, if you're feeling like your homemaking could use a little jump start, a little renewing, or even a complete overhaul, I highly recommend checking our FlyLady. Grab any one of her books. Enjoy a few evenings curled up in your chair, and get excited about Finally Loving Yourself.
