I am guessing that I am not the only one who struggles with having a huge mental to do list and not knowing where to start. One of the challenges I have with getting things done around my house is the fact that I don't have another adult to keep me accountable. A few months ago I realized that until Zach's death I always lived with other adults (first my parents, then various roommates, and finally Zach). Adults who cared if I left dishes in the sink, if the house hadn't been cleaned for weeks, and if certain areas of the house were overrun with clutter. While Zion and Moriah have many wonderful traits they are happy to step over messes and as a rule don't care how the house looks unless if effects their ability to eat, play, sleep, and get attention from me.
I have a lot of tasks I would like to complete before the end of the year and I am very aware that they will not get done unless I have some accountability. Last spring posting weekly updates on my de-cluttering process was really effective for me, so starting this week I am going to post goals and updates on my progress. A few of my goals will be related to getting my kids to help me around the house, some will be little things that I just keep putting off, and the rest will likely be related to organizing/printing/finishing photo projects.
A few things to keep in mind: 1-I have someone clean my house every other week because it needs to be done and to motivate me to pick up the clutter so she can clean (this has provided great accountability and stress relief). 2-I decreased my hours at work for the months of November and December, so I can get things done and be less stressed about holiday travel. 3-My motivation for doing this is not to have all of you know how much (or little) I get done in a week, so I will only be posting a few key goals not my entire to do list. If I happen to motivate you to get a few extra things done feel free to comment about that and if I am slow at posting weekly updates feel free to send me a reminder (jennylbertsch@gmail.com).
Goals for this week:
Kids
1-Have Zion and Moriah complete 3 chores each day in order to earn i-pad privileges.
2-Spend time each day reading to Zion and Moriah and helping them with their home work
Photos
3-Complete our 2011 digital photo book (I have 2-3 months of pictures to add before I can print it)
4-Put the photos I ordered last week in pictures frames
Other
5-Spend at least on hour de-cluttering my office area.
6-Spend an hour cleaning/organizing my closet.
5 comments:
I'm glad you posted. Hopefully this can help me. :)
Love this! Great idea. Your goals seem very realistic - looking forward to reading about the progress
Great idea Jenny! Maybe it'll motivate me too :) ... Just out of curiosity, what chores are you going to have your kids do?
i like that your goals are time oriented, i.e. "spend an hour...." instead of cleaning out the whole thing. Our coat closet is calling and I've been procrastinating, but i could set some timed goals & get it done.
do you have certain books in mind for reading to your kids? In the back of "honey for a childs heart" there is a list of recommended books by age that we've been enjoying. great goals!
Thanks for the comments Ladies. Haven't made much progress yet, but moving in the right direction. Amy so far Zion has folded small towels and washcloths, wiped door nobs, and picked up toys. Moriah cleaned her room, picked up toys in our living room, and put away some clothes. Both kids have helped unload the dishwasher. I would love some ideas on other chores I can try with them. Mandy I am always looking for good book suggestions. I don't have that book, but maybe I can find it at the library and check out the list.
Post a Comment