Sanity Strategies ~ Homemaking Day + Win $250

Flashback to half a decade ago...

On a crisp fall morning  a kindly neighbor mother and I were discussing household chores while riding bikes together downtown to work. How do you do it all? How do you keep up and not get overwhelmed? Do the other family members have assigned chores or do you let the jobs get done at will?

On the topic of laundry she made mention of the fact that she did a load of laundry every night before bed.

Me, mother of one: Really? Every night? 

She, mother of two: You got it. Every weekday night. Otherwise I get too far behind and I will never be able to catch up.

Me, mother of one: I can not believe you have that much laundry.

She, mother of two: Oh, you just wait. When you have your second baby you'll be in the same boat. (I was pregnant at the time.)

Me, mother of one: No?!!! (While thinking to myself—Oh drats, I'm in for it.)

I could not make sense of the information she was downloading to my brain. It felt so confusing. Five loads of laundry a week. No way! That's a boatload of laundry.

Fast-forward half a decade to today...

Three active children. A backyard with a dirt pit on one side. Soccer players and dancers and Tonka truck explorers.

Honestly, I would be happy if I only had five loads of laundry a week. When I am on the ball—i.e. changing the bedsheets and alternating the bath towels as I should—I have at least ten loads to work into my busy schedule.

It is no easy task.

Half of my issue probably lies in the fact that I'm a laundry snob and I don't like anyone else to touch my laundry. I feel irritated when the children try to help. I prefer to do it all myself. I'm a little OCD like that.

This compulsion to do it all myself leads to certain problems. Regular problems. Can you guess the most common issue in my home before 7am any given weekday morning?

That's right. You got it. "Where are my socks? Doesn't he have any socks? Go find your socks child. Mommmmm... can you find my socks? Sweetie, how 'bout you just wear your Crocs today."

The thing about the laundry in my house—as I'm sure you can relate—is that it keeps growing. No matter how many loads I do, or how diligently I attempt to stay on top of it, the pile grows and grows and grows. If I don't do laundry for two days in a row, I'm swimming in it.

In my opinion, the laundry is complete when my laundry basket is no longer flowing over. A full to the brim laundry basket gives me utter satisfaction of a job well done. I'll admit, I haven't seen the bottom of my laundry basket since becoming a mother over seven years ago.

This year I've made some adjustments to my weekly schedule in an attempt to make sure everyone has clean socks and bedsheets and towels and jeans when they need them. The system isn't perfect, but it gets me closer to my goal of a laundry room I can walk in.

Enter Homemaking Day. 

For years now my system of accomplishing all I needed to accomplish in day fell under a category I like to call Buffet Style Task Fulfillment. Do a little of this and a little of that, everyday, all day. Each day I would attempt some desk work, some cooking, some errands, some cleaning, some laundry, some exercise, some socializing, some kiddie activities, so on and so forth. Turns out this Buffet Style approach to getting anything done left me accomplishing little to nothing in a day, and feeling utterly frustrated when the day was over for lack of completing any one task well. The pressure to do it all was overwhelming and underserving.

So this year I've instituted Homemaking Day—a day where I base myself entirely in my home focusing on cooking meals for the week, deep cleaning funky corners and hammering through the laundry pile. It is imperative to the success of my day that I don't confuse my intentions by attempting to do desk work, or pay bills, or do any amount of socializing. 

Homemaking Day has brought me great joy and satisfaction at the end of the day. By the time the kids are ready to be picked up from school, I can proudly say that I've cooked two to three dinners, made a batch of chai for the week, completed three to five loads of laundry (including the folding and putting away), and scrubbed some low to the ground corner that was getting a little too funky for comfort. 

The best part about Homemaking Day is that it has brought my family a less stressed-out mother, meals waiting in the refrigerator ready to eat, semi-sanitary conditions in the places that matter most, and best of all, clean socks. 

For all of you excited to implement Homemaking Day into your weekly routine, be warned, it's no walk in the park. To accomplish enough in the day to feel satisfied, you'll be running. I like to call it aerobic householding. Picture yourself running up and down the stairs putting laundry away like you were on a game show ready to win a $10,000 prize for the most loads of laundry and cleanest folding table in the shortest amount of time. Picture yourself leaning over three boiling pots on the stovetop and one steaming oven. Picture yourself dancing to the country music station blaring from the radio in your kitchen and smiling.

Working your tail off in the home just one day a week makes for a much more relaxed remaining six days. Give Homemaking Day a try this week. I'd love to hear how it works to meet your householding needs—not to mention your aerobic needs.

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This post is part of BlogHer's Life Well Lived — Getting Organized discussion happening right now at BlogHer.com

Join in the conversation by sharing your ideas and comments at http://www.blogher.com/fluff-and-fold-family

And by the way, there is a $250 Visa gift card sweepstakes happening over there as well! Share your best Life Well Lived Moments to be entered to win at http://www.blogher.com/life-well-lived-moments-sweepstakes-3-share-moment-and-enter-win-250

Good luck and happy homemaking, friends!

Simple Joy

Once a week I slip out of the house at the break of dawn for some me time. It's one of my sanity strategies. On my walk the other morning I saw these sunflowers beautifully illuminated by the rising sun. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction in my soul. Hooray for getting out early and enjoying nature like I'm the only person on Earth it was created for.

Good morning starshine. The Earth says hello. You twinkle above us. We twinkle below. 

[Name That Tune]

Five Minutes Alone

A couple of months before I started this here Dance While You Cook blog, I had an idea for a website that I believed would help validate my chaotic existence as a full-time stay-at-home mother to three wild and unruly children.

I envisioned the site as a community space to share photos of the crazy things little kids can do in those horrifying moments when you realize the pip-squeaks have been utterly too quiet for entirely too long. 

I pray I'm not the only mother who walks down the stairs to a pantry ripped apart, tots covered in vaseline head to toe, fresh baked birthday cakes smeared all over the cupboard doors or a carton of eggs smashed on the dining room floor. 

Knowing that other capable and loving parents go through this same course of events could be satisfying to my stay-at-home mothering ego.

That said, I went through a long creative process about what the site would be called. I drank a lot of iced chai. I ate a whole ton of organic dark chocolate. I landed on the perfect idea. I bought the url right then and there. 

And then I told my closest friends. They laughed. They snickered. They blushed. 

They told me I should NOT start a website with that name. They thought it would too easily be confused with a pornography site... or worse.

But I've been thinking about it lately. Scenes like this happen all too often in my daily existence. I need an outlet. Maybe you do too?

Five Minutes Alone is the place where I'll be posting the cold hard evidence of those instances when I leave the children alone for five minutes only to find an hour's worth of clean-up as my punishment.

It'll be good for a laugh. 

It'll be good for validation.

It'll be good for our collective mental health.

Please, please do join-in the fun by uploading your photos to the Five Minutes Alone Flickr Group.

It'll make me feel better.

If folks choose to contribute, I'll be regularly posting all the great photos on the Five Minutes Alone blog so we can all laugh together.

If I'm the only woman on the planet who encounters this reality, I'll be posting my own photos on the Five Minutes Alone blog and I'll be crying to myself.

Open Your Eyes to Creative Solutions

Garage Sale Rule of Engagement 

#2: Open Your Eyes to Creative Solutions

This summer I have a new found fervor for accomplishing small projects around the house. Could it be due to the fact that my dear husband has finally finished school and I feel a thousand tons lighter on my feet? Indeed, I do believe so. 

One such project that has been on my list for far too long is finding a workable solution to the mass insanity I call a jewelry box.

For years now, I have been looking for an alternative to my current arrangement for all my earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Truly, I do not have many of the aforementioned items, but what I do have has been crying out for help.

From the outside, this four-tiered jewelry holder looks nice enough. The inside, however, is a different story. 

I bought it at a garage sale and was delighted that my bodily adornments would finally have a home. Up until that fine summer day years ago the top of my dresser was scattered with heaps of tiny metal, leather, ceramic and plastic jewels. It was a practice left over from my teenage years. A practice that drove my mother crazy. Now that I'm a mother myself, it was a practice that was starting to drive me crazy too. I won't even get started on how my husband felt about this practice. All I can say is I'm surprised I even have any jewelry left.

It didn't take long before the dreaded table mess transformed into the dreaded Box of Mangle and Frustration.

Earrings would be tangled up with one another.

Necklaces intertwined in tight knots.

And if I'm being completely honest with you, I barely have time to take a daily shower, let alone time enough to sit around and patiently detangle intertwined ropes and hooks. If I'm planning on adorning myself with jewels, it's got to be fast or it ain't happenin'.

I had been dreaming of a simple wire rack to hang nicely on my bedroom wall hoping to bring a semblance of organization to this mass pile of ornaments. I realize they sell things made for this purpose at most major retail outlets, but since I typically do not purchase things like this at normal stores, I sat around waiting for the jewelry rack of my dreams to magically appear. I waited. And I waited. It didn't appear. I couldn't find a single jewelry rack for sale at the garage sales and thrift stores I was frequenting.

Which brings me to Garage Sale Rule of Engagement #2: Open Your Eyes to Creative Solutions

With no suitable jewelry rack in sight, I readjusted my perspective on what I was looking for. Immediately, almost magically, I set my sights on this shabby chic iron wall hanging. It is a candle holder for tealights. The sticker on the back says PartyLite. It is the perfect jewelry rack for my bedroom.

Who knew that all this time I would find exactly what I was looking for in a PartyLite wall hanging? I was certainly surprised. And I couldn't be happier!

Ice Cube Pops

I realize this is no revolutionary recipe. Heck, it's not even a recipe. It's more of a sanity strategy if nothing else.

This Mama needs plenty of sanity strategies to make it through the day in one piece. Luckily, the other night when I was feeling overly tired and unwell I got myself into bed at 7:30 and fell fast sleep. In my stead, Dada had an evening of fun and adventure with the littles in the kitchen.

These orange juice ice cube pops were just one result of the troop's freewheelin' late night capers.

The concept is simple. Yet, somehow, I have never done this with my children in all my years in my role as mother. I suppose it takes Dada and his freewheelin' ways to come up with such an exciting plan for morning joy.

Pour your favorite juice into an ice cube tray. Cover with plastic wrap so the toothpicks remain upright. Insert toothpicks. Wake up in the morning and dig in.

Enter the Sanity Strategy. 

Imagine if you will...

Mama is still in bed trying her darndest to sleep in, if there is such a thing with young children in the house. She hears the pitter patter of little feet in the kitchen. Dining room chairs are being pulled over the hardwood floor to the freezer making a highly undesirable noise at such an early hour. Little hands reach deep in to the back of the cooler box and grab the little blue tray of delight. They start in on the ice cube pops. Everything is quiet. For minutes. For tens of minutes. Pop after pop and the children are quiet. And delighted. Mama nuzzles her head under the covers for just a few minutes more. All is well with the world.

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Gregory Alan Isakov - If I Go I'm Goin'

Road Trips with Kids and NO TV

With the holiday weekend upon us it is predicted that 39 million Americans will hop in their cars and get on with the good ol' tradition of summer road trippin'. Hitting the road is one of my favorite parts about summer. To me road trippin' means freedom, adventure, lively and unpredictable circumstances, new places, tight spaces, roadside picnics and uninterrupted time with the people I love. All good things in my book. 

But road trips with kids can be a source of panic and anxiety for many parents, grandparents and godparents. And for good reason. When trapped in the car with children we brave endless hours of...

She's touching my seat.

He's looking at me.

Mommy, I have to peeeeee. I can't hold it. I have to go nowwwwwwwwwwwww.

Are we therrrrrre yeeeeet?

Over the years, the biggest words of advice we've ever received are "make sure you bring a DVD player for the kids". So early-on in our adventures in parenting we bought a portable DVD player to entertain the kids on our road trips. 

I don't know if it's just my kids or what, but bringing a TV with us in the car is a nightmare on wheels. 

As of this year I've vowed never to bring that thing into my vehicle again.

With the DVD player in the vehicle I endure endless hours of...

What's wrong with this thing. Why isn't it working? Every 31 minutes.

I don't like this movie. I want the other one. Every 7 minutes.

I don't want to watch her movie, it's for girls. Every 4 1/2 minutes.

I can't seeeeeee it. Every 3 minutes.

As a result of this torture, I banned all sources of motion picture from our latest road trip. No TV. No computer DVDs. No Gameboy.

Instead I found 13 simple ways to keep the children happy and engaged on our 32 hour round-trip excursion. Granted it was just me and my three monkeys. I needed some serious strategy.

As I was plotting out my no-TV method of road trip survival, my strategies fell into three categories—

Food

Activities

Passive Engagement

Food

For my brood, food is the most important component in maintaining our composure. All hell breaks loose when the children are hungry. Prior planning goes a long way such circumstances.

A few strategies that worked well for us:

Large Tote — I filled an 18 Gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote with endless snacks. Gluten-free and diary-free stuff that was easy to grab such as Larabars, Kettle Chips, Mrs. May's Sesame Strips, Stretch Island Fruit Strips, juice boxes and so much more.

Cooler — Then I packed a cooler with all kinds of fresh fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, jelly and lunch meat. 

Impromptu Picnics — This made it super convenient to stop for impromptu picnic lunches. 

Fresh Air — With my gaggle of young kids, the best picnics were had at old-school vintage playgrounds.

Prepared Smoothies — One of the treats we looked forward to the most was the frozen smoothies I packed in the cooler. Blend them up the day before you leave and stick them in the freezer overnight. They serve as convenient ice packs for the cooler and halfway through the day you'll have a fresh icey cold treat waiting for you. Don't forget to pack cups and straws, you'll need them when you stop in the middle of nowhere.

Icey Cold Beverages — Lest we forget the driver, be sure to pack some icey cold beverages that will help maintain focus on the road. Nobody needs an adventurous road trip turning into an adventurous visit to the roadside ditch. While coffee and tea may work for many of us to keep our attention sharp, a fantastic non-caffinated option for energy and focus is Kombucha. Pick some up at your local natural grocer before heading out and be pleasantly surprised at how invigorated you'll feel when you finally reach your destination.

Activities


Notebook and Pencil — I am always amazed at how far a simple pen and paper will get me when it comes to keeping the children busy. Each child received a new notebook for the trip and a small sack of colored pencils. They had hours of fun drawing the things they saw out the window.

Pipe Cleaners — We had great success with bringing along something crafty to keep their little hands busy, such as pipe cleaners. I found them at the Dollar Store and bought a pack for each kid. You should have seen all the beautiful rings, bracelets and necklaces I was adorned with by the end of the trip.

Binders — I prepared a three-ringed binder filled with age appropriate material for each child. For the baby this was coloring sheets of lions and hippos. For my eldest child the binder was filled with maps of the United States so he could draw our route as we traveled.

Library Books — There is a lot to be said for the captivating factor of new library books. Enough said.

Digital Camera — The kids love, love, love taking pictures of all they see. So many new and interesting things to capture. You should have seen my son trying to get the perfect picture of the military trucks as they passed. It kept him busy for over an hour.

Passive Engagement

Historically, this is where the TV makes an appearance. Not anymore, my friends.

Books on Tape — Instead, we opted to borrow books on CD from the library. Talk about happy and content. All three little ones sat and listened intently for hours. Then they would nap. Then they would listen intently. Then they would nap. The pattern continued until we listened through eight full disks. I was in road trip heaven.

Tunes — It wouldn't be a road trip without your favorite tunes to rock out to. Make at least two CDs ahead of time, one with the kids favorites and one with yours. Rockin' and rollin' is how it was meant to be.

So there you have it. Thirteen ideas that kept me and my children sane on our latest long road trip.

I'd love to hear your ideas for keeping the children engaged when on the road. Please do share your thoughts below.

Here's to safe, happy and contented travels!