Time, Time, Time

I was talking to my mom today and the conversation was about how I feel like I can never get all the things done I want to in a day, or a week for that matter, well except NCLM! I asked, "How did you do it all?" I don't remember our house ever being as messy, or wash piling up like mine does. Then again I was looking at things through a child's eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love being a stay-at-home-Mom, but some days I do feel like I am digging a huge hole and the sides just keep sliding in.

My Mom laughed and said times were so different. Kids were not involved in so many activities. My Dad didn't work sixty hour weeks like Brian does. There were no cell phones or internet. She didn't blog, or have about thirty or more blogs that she liked to read. There were not as many toys in our house, and not as many to choose from in the stores. There were no digital cameras and pictures to download and organize. There were not a million channels on digital cable and DVR capabilities. No DVD's, I think we got a VCR when I was in junior high and my parents mistakenly when with the beta VCR! All of these new electronic fun things also come with more bills to pay each month - cell phone, internet, i-tunes etc. Each little of the little things adds up to more time spent.

My Dad is a neat freak, Brian not so much. I have three kids and soon to be four, my Mom had two. I also babysit between two and four kids each day in addition to my three! My Mom had nothing to list on ebay and Craig's list. And nothing to spend time looking for things to buy on those sites. We didn't have a dog growing up, well after I was about age 4. My Dad had off weekends, Brian works all weekend. She didn't believe in balancing her check book, I take the time to balance it to the penny each month. I think the list could go on and on....

I guess some of it is a change of times and other parts can be attributed to different personality types. I need to get on a more organized schedule and need to figure out how to get more done each day - and still sleep a few hours! I used to plan meals for the week, and have no idea why I stopped that. I also used to have the cleaning and wash in a schedule to follow. If I kept to the schedule I would only have about a half-hour to and hour of house work per day and my house would always be clean. Here is my schedule for an example:

Sunday -vacuum downstairs, dust downstairs, cut coupons from paper, balance checkbook and pay bills for the week, sweep kitchen floor, wash bathroom rugs and kitchen rug (bi-monthly)

Monday - collect trash in the house, sweep and mop kitchen floor, clean upstairs bathroom, straighten kitchen drawers and cabinets

Tuesday - vacuum downstairs, wipe baseboards and woodwork, clean downstairs bathroom, clean microwave and toaster oven

Wednesday - sweep kitchen floor, dust upstairs, vacuum upstairs, laundry, organize pantry

Thursday - vacuum downstairs, dust downstairs, clean upstairs bathroom, clean out foyer closet and storage shelf (monthly)

Friday - sweep and mop kitchen floor, vacuum steps, clean downstairs bathroom, clean out refrigerator

Saturday - clean kitchen counters, clean stove, wash sheets (bi-monthly), grocery shop, straighten bedrooms, organize playroom (bi-monthly)

Okay, so maybe this will motivate me to get back on the schedule, and do my meal planner too! One thing that I found works great for meal planning is to go through all of your cabinets, pantry, fridge and freezer and make a list of what you have. Then you plan meals and cross things off the list as you use them. This is a great way to save on groceries - and to use that can of cream of chicken soup in the back of your pantry! I might have to post my list and see who can come up with the most meal ideas!

And also now hubby dear can see my cleaning list on line at work. He can bookmark this post and know what has to be done at home on any given day. (hint, hint) No more excuses for not knowing it was dusting day. Can he really not see that the table is under so much dust that the living room turns into a dust storm when you walk by? I know he will be laughing when he reads this, but hey a girl can dream!