Feeling behind in housework?
Implementing this habit makes a difference
The School for Housewives brings you short, practical, and thoughtful messages to inspire you to make your home. If you’re new here, go to the homepage for the previous Lessons; the categories are arranged in the menu bar at the top.
If you always feel like you’re behind yourself and not catching up, observe what you are actually doing in your housework.
Are you trying to unload the dishwasher (or put away clean dishes from the dish drainer if you don’t have a dishwasher or even if you do) over a big pile of dirty dishes as well as pots and pans? Is there a backlog? A gridlock?
When everyone is done with breakfast, does it feel like a tornado hit and you have to dig out, starting with clean dishes?
That dishwasher (or dish drainer) needs to be empty before anyone even starts eating breakfast or setting the table for supper.
If you have capable children, put them on it. Often they are not quite ready to eat breakfast right away anyway.
In one season of my life, I had three (very young) children on the dishwasher chore. One did utensils, one did the bottom rack, one the top. Store the dishes where whoever it is can reach them, like in the cabinet or drawer most normal people would put their pots and pans; or you can let whoever it is climb on the counter to reach up high.
In a big family, clean things need to be put away in the middle of the day too, and not as part of supper cleanup!
The time for the dishwasher to be unloaded is before you start prepping whatever meal it is. Do not hesitate to remind someone to unload the dishwasher; do it yourself if you must. Ideally, they would just do it with no reminder, of course.
As with everything here at the SFH, the best thing is for you to take my ideas, coming 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!
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For the longer version:
My book on how to live with the Liturgical Year: The Little Oratory