Avoid the "Boom and Bust" Method of Housekeeping

It only leads to dejection

{This afternoon I will try to host a chat at 2pm ET! Looking forward to a visit with you!}

Housekeeping is an art and a particular undertaking with its own rhythms and areas of expertise, or at least need for basic competence.

The house doesn’t keep itself! It doesn’t run on automatic.

The things of the home take time. The keeper of those things experiences liberation from dejection if only she makes the time.

Instead of ignoring the round of necessary tasks until they become overwhelming, at which time you expend vast amounts of energy, exhausting yourself in the effort of recovering, try accepting and scheduling and counting on —

The half hour in the morning to recover from the night:

Making beds, collecting and starting laundry, unloading the dishwasher, and preparing for the day (what’s for dinner? what are the errands?)

… and the half hour in the late afternoon to recover from the day, awaiting your husband’s return from work:

Blitzing the play areas (more on that tomorrow), processing the laundry, starting supper if you haven’t earlier, setting the table.

If possible, try to be home from errands, play dates, activities, after four o’clock most days.

Many tasks can and should be delegated to able offspring, but the mother must still do her rounds! Far from taking too much time, this overseeing helps her to settle into her other pursuits with peace and contentment.

Boom and bust might be an inevitable method after illness, vacation, and intensive projects, but avoid making it a fixture, for it will only bring despond. Institute a steady pattern of love and attention to your home and family.

{This post is part of a series, The Reasonably Clean House.}

Mammas och småflickornas rum av Carl Larsson 1897

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As with everything here at the SFH, the best thing is for you to take what I’m saying — ideas that come from my experience of 45 years of marriage and raising seven children — and apply them to your situation with discernment, prudence, and confidence — and a sense of humor!