I'm fairly laid-back when it comes to being a parent. Messes, chaos, noise, my kids climbing things or going outside without shoes on...all barely register on my radar. So if the below projects make me appear super uptight and rigid, then they wholeheartedly paint the wrong picture of me and my parenting style :)
My house is not crazy clean or overly organized...I'm far from a neat freak (no offense to my husband who could possibly be categorized as such;). But I AM a huge fan of processes and routine for pivotal points in our day. So I've implemented some ways to make things run more smoothly around here. Because, ultimately, I'm always looking for ways to make my life easier. Which actually makes me kinda lazy, if you think about it.
"How can I streamline things so I can do the least amount of work possible?"
These are the thoughts I have. It's kind of embarrassing to admit loving the path of least resistance.
My house is not crazy clean or overly organized...I'm far from a neat freak (no offense to my husband who could possibly be categorized as such;). But I AM a huge fan of processes and routine for pivotal points in our day. So I've implemented some ways to make things run more smoothly around here. Because, ultimately, I'm always looking for ways to make my life easier. Which actually makes me kinda lazy, if you think about it.
"How can I streamline things so I can do the least amount of work possible?"
However, my goals are simplicity and balance for me AND my guys.
So instead of instead of "lazy", maybe I'll just say I'm "judicious with where I spend my energy".
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| So little! Circa 2013 when we first started implementing some changes. |
I give my kids responsibility and independence from a pretty young age. Having a growing (verging on large) family I need all my ducklings to know what is expected of them at crucial points in the day...ie. getting out of the house in the morning. Or getting your booty in bed when it's TIME FOR BED, for the love of all that is good and holy. I don't want to debate the color of your shirt at 7am OR whether or not you think you need to brush your teeth on this particular night. I'm over those conversations. So, I just point to the chart or their daily drawers.
I love you too much to argue, my darlings. You know the drill.
I love you too much to argue, my darlings. You know the drill.
The absence, or at least neutralizing of these conflicts gives me more energy for the important stuff...big questions, long answers and patience when things inevitably go wrong with some other aspect of our our day.
Here are a few things that help my kiddos feel empowered and let me be a little lazy ;)
-Tooth brushes/water cups/wash cloths -- all readily accessible-
Here are a few things that help my kiddos feel empowered and let me be a little lazy ;)
-Tooth brushes/water cups/wash cloths -- all readily accessible-
Even Fletch knows what to do when I say just two words - "go brush". And he yells "momma!" when it's my turn to brush them, b/c I don't trust him to do a stellar job quite yet ;)
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| I went ahead and added a 4th cup since sooner or later this new baby WILL have teeth. And as I have learned x3...the days you think are so far away are staring you in face at the blink of an eye. |
-Shoe Boxes + Hooks-
Right now these just hold shoes, but this winter their hats/gloves, etc will go in here too. This has saved us from trying to find missing shoes when its time to roll. Let alone having shoes just lying around the house. They're 100% in charge of their own foot wear and I like it that way.
Right now these just hold shoes, but this winter their hats/gloves, etc will go in here too. This has saved us from trying to find missing shoes when its time to roll. Let alone having shoes just lying around the house. They're 100% in charge of their own foot wear and I like it that way.
Similarly, this is where we keep school bags, lunch boxes, jackets, etc.
Perfect height for them to hang everything up themselves.
Ready to go, mom!
-Snack Boxes-
The most common request I used to get from my kids throughout the day was "can I have a snack?" I thankfully hear that a lot less when I have their snack boxes filled. This is all the "snack" they get for the day. Eat it whenever you want - help yourself. They quickly learned to ration what was in them. We've done this for two years now and it's saved me *SOME* of the"but I'm hungry!" whining.
We just recently made room for Fletch to have his own now that he's tall enough to reach :)
-Goodnight Charts-
Another thing we've done for a couple years now is their "goodnight charts" They speed through these things and they still get a lot of satisfaction from closing each task.
Another thing we've done for a couple years now is their "goodnight charts" They speed through these things and they still get a lot of satisfaction from closing each task.
Fletch just recently joined in too...although he still needs a lot of assistance obviously :)
-Daily Drawers-
We fill these on Sunday nights. Now that Max wears a uniform, its even easier. Sometimes Sullivan wants to pick out his own clothes for the drawers, sometimes he doesn't care. Either way, there's no digging around in the dresser every morning trying to find underware or matching clothes. It's all done and I don't even have to supervise. Bonus: they learn the days of the week!
All of these things make me just a bit more sane and give me a little extra capacity for all the other parenting "stuff" that we all face on a daily basis...including the fun stuff!
And there you have it...my lazy-mom "get it/do it yourself, kid" secrets ;)
And there you have it...my lazy-mom "get it/do it yourself, kid" secrets ;)
Here's the post where I first talked about how/why we started:
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