When kids return to the classroom, things at home can get a little stressful! And if parents are gone all day to work, it takes a lot of coordination to ensure everyone in the household is able to make the grade when it comes to balance.
Make Straight A’s with Your Back-To-School Scheduling:
ADMIT that you can’t do it all by yourself.
This is the first key to getting a grip on your daily routine of responsibilities at home. You need the help of other family members to get everything done around the house.
ARRANGE laundry to be completed in short spurts.
Rather than letting your laundry build up into a small mountain, try spreading it out in smaller do-able chunks throughout the week. I’ll throw a load in the washer as I leave for work in the morning, and then move it to the dryer when I return home. For me, this makes the mountain more easily conquered!
As children get older, they can start washing their own clothes. With this approach, you’ll need to set up a system of who does laundry on which day and time, but it will cut down the amount that otherwise on one person.
ACCEPT suggestions and help with meal planning.
Coming up with a menu for the week can be daunting! Instead of trying to think up new ideas by yourself, ask family members what sounds good to them. Obviously, when you ask young kids, you’ll probably get suggestions that are not the healthiest—at least not for daily consumption! But their ideas could spark other possibilities that you can work with. For example, rather than cheeseburgers (every day or week), you could make an easy casserole using ground beef and cheese. Add a veggie or two on the side, and you’ll have a healthy meal for everyone to enjoy!
ASSIGN housework to each family member.
Even young children can begin doing things to keep the house tidy. Preschoolers can learn to place their dirty clothes in a clothes hamper, and put toys back on a toy shelf or toy box when they’ve finished playing.
As children get older, they can start doing other chores such as vacuuming or sweeping floors as well as dusting furniture or washing dishes. Placing dirty plates and silverware in the dishwasher after meals and snacks should become routine for everyone from elementary age through adults.
AGREE on downtime.
The school year is a busy time, no doubt! But with the busyness comes the need for downtime in order to refresh and relax a bit. This is necessary for adults and children alike! Adults [usually] need to set up boundaries for their kids when it comes to this point. Allow for a certain amount of relaxation when kids come home from school, but set a specific time for when they need to have household chores finished. This way they can begin learning time management of their own responsibilities along with helping to keep the house in a decent living condition for all to enjoy.