Do you ever feel like you’re the only one who listens when you speak? You tell your kids to clean up their room 537 times, and then you still end up doing half the job yourself.
But this isn’t only your responsibility – even if you have a house full of lazy pot-smoking teenagers. And if that’s actually the case, find a rehab for cannabis addiction and start holding them accountable.
When you hold your kids accountable for choices and chores, you’re teaching them important life lessons that will help mold them into well-rounded adults.
So how do you regain control and get your house in order? Try these 6 techniques to help you keep order in the house.
1. Make chores fun
If four people make a mess, four people should contribute to cleaning. But this gets difficult when no one else seems to care about having a clean house. To combat everyone’s lackadaisical attitudes, make completing tasks more like a game with fun rewards (this goes for you too).
Create a chore chart and post it for all to see. Each person should have a set of mandatory chores, and there can be a set of extra credit chores that anyone can pick up. Maybe the mandatory chores equate to a weekly allowance, and the extra credit gets the chore-doer extra cash or prizes. Have fun with it and it can become a friendly competition.
2. Dedicate a day to organization
Sundays are often good days for cleaning up around the house and doing meal prep for the upcoming week. You don’t necessarily have to dedicate an entire day for this, but it can be your catchall day where you tie up loose ends and sync your weekly schedules.
3. Plan a weekly menu
Sometimes, the worst part about cooking dinner is figuring out what you’re going to cook. But if you create and shop for a weekly menu, you never have to guess. If you want to take it a step further, you can even chop veggies in advance. If you have teens, you may even designate one night a week where they cook dinner for everyone.
4. Embrace the shortcuts
There’s a lot of pressure to become a perfect mom and create Pinterest-worthy everything from scratch. But for most of us, that’s just not real life. It’s okay to buy premade birthday cakes, order decorations online and buy your kid’s slime instead of making it. You can also save a lot of time in the kitchen by purchasing pre-cut vegetables and pre-chopped garlic. You don’t have to be supermom. Awesomely happy mom is just as good (or maybe better?).
5. Prioritize
When you’re feeling the pressures of work and family life, or even just life in general, remember that you don’t have to do it all. Make a list of everything that has to get done, and then separate the things you can delegate or eliminate.
6. Make a personal commitment
If we’re all being honest, it’s sometimes our fault that things don’t get done. Maybe you just weren’t feeling it that day. It’s okay to have days like this, but don’t let them cause you more stress. Try scheduling days for yourself in advance and make a commitment on other days to focus and get stuff done.
If you want to create more order in the house, you can. Create a plan, stick to your guns and hold everyone accountable (including yourself). But always remember that you’re not in this alone. The responsibility for order doesn’t fall on your shoulders alone.
