When it comes to being a single mom, there is no one thing more time consuming than cleaning. I for one hate washing dishes. If I ever win the lottery, I may hire a dishwasher. Yes, I said hire, because I don't trust mechanical dishwashers to get into the nooks and crannies. There is nothing more gross than putting a fork in your mouth and feeling something dried on that you ate the day before.
Keeping a clean home is not just for vanity sake. It is for both safety and health as well. A clean home means that your kids and you are less likely to fall and get hurt on something that is misplaced in the middle of the floor.
Keeping a clean home also means that the germs that enter the house through various ways don't stay for long.
Here are tttt steps to a clean home
1. Set laundry day for a specific day of the week and stick to it. Wash a load. Dry a load and repeat. Fold and hang your family's clothing IMMEDIATELY to avoid the clothing monster in the corner. I know you know what I'm talking about.
2. Make a calendar while you're at it and schedule a major cleaning for each area of your home. For example, livingroom and dining room on Tuesdays. Bathrooms and bedrooms on Saturdays. Schedule it according to the size and amount of cleaning you will need for your family.
3. Get the kids involved. Establish a no toys in the livingroom rule, unless you have no other choice. If that is the case then vanquish the toys to a specific area of the livingroom. Make the kids responsible for their mess.
4. Lead by example. If your bedroom floor is covered by clothes, dishes, and nastiness, don't expect the kids rooms to look like a catalog. Keep your area neat.
5. Train them up NOW. Teach your kids the rule so that they become second nature. How many of you saw the Karate Kid movie with Jaden Smith? His first lesson was hanging up his jacket. That was his lesson because his teacher recognized that at home he threw his jacket on the floor. Eventually Jaden's character came home and began to automatically hang his jacket rather than tossing it in the floor.
I've noticed that when my home is at it's cleanest, that my kids behavior is at its best. Maybe its in my head, but it is true. Think about it, kids need and thrive on routine and predictability. Cleaniless falls into line with that sentiment.
Happy Cleaning!
Raising kids, one parent at a time.
Peoplestring
So, I am at it again. I have signed up for a new website that has been growing recently. It pays you for referrals, clicking ads, and other things. This is an experiment in my patience. As a single mother in this economy I believe it is wise to have multiple streams of income because you never know when an emergency will arise and you need extra money or when your job may be phased out.
Would you like to try this with me? Lets see if we can make money together since we are singlemomstogether. Join my string by clicking HERE and signing up. If you make money, please come back and share your excitement.
Would you like to try this with me? Lets see if we can make money together since we are singlemomstogether. Join my string by clicking HERE and signing up. If you make money, please come back and share your excitement.
Workout at home
So you've gained a few pounds or better yet, you're sticking to the "baby weight" story. If you're like me, you can barely find time during the day for a sit down meal, let alone time for the gym or walking a track somewhere. What's a girl to do?
I have a suggestion. Work out at home. Yeah, I'm sure you're thinking, who does this lady think she is. Home workouts aren't new. Well, maybe not the home workouts that you are use to. But the types of ways you can work out at home are endless. They are only limited by your imagination.
The way I am suggesting that you work out at home, incorporates things you do anyway, but with a kick. Here are some examples to kick start your imagination on ways that you can get a workout at home.
Add ankle and/or wrist weights while you vacuum and sweep
March in place at the sink while you do dishes
As you clean, make your movements big and stretch your muscles
do lunges while you clean the bathroom and getting things out of low cabinets
While you pick up the laundry out of the dryer, do a few reps with the laundry basket
Opt to wash your own car. You'll save money on the detail shop and burn calories
If you have stairs in your home, run up and down them as often as you can, leave things on the opposite floor that you know you'll need, that way you'll have to do the stairs to retrieve them
Comment with your suggestions if you have more.
I have a suggestion. Work out at home. Yeah, I'm sure you're thinking, who does this lady think she is. Home workouts aren't new. Well, maybe not the home workouts that you are use to. But the types of ways you can work out at home are endless. They are only limited by your imagination.
The way I am suggesting that you work out at home, incorporates things you do anyway, but with a kick. Here are some examples to kick start your imagination on ways that you can get a workout at home.
Add ankle and/or wrist weights while you vacuum and sweep
March in place at the sink while you do dishes
As you clean, make your movements big and stretch your muscles
do lunges while you clean the bathroom and getting things out of low cabinets
While you pick up the laundry out of the dryer, do a few reps with the laundry basket
Opt to wash your own car. You'll save money on the detail shop and burn calories
If you have stairs in your home, run up and down them as often as you can, leave things on the opposite floor that you know you'll need, that way you'll have to do the stairs to retrieve them
Comment with your suggestions if you have more.
Coach Your Baby Brave
Ever have a child who was afraid to do anything new and fun or even not so fun but necessary? Recently my daughter's dental appointment revealed that she has serious teeth issues in her back molars. She is only four and has no business having four cavities. There is one in each of her back teeth, but the rest of her teeth are perfectly fine. Well, the time came to set up her appointment to have crowns put on those teeth.
She wasn't having it. She wouldn't sit in the chair, lay in the chair, as a matter of fact, she ended up on my lap just for the cleaning. After trying to rationalize why she needed to calm down and stop clinging to me like a monkey baby in the forest, I gave up. The dentist wasn't willing to force the issue either.
So I immediately went into coach mode. I began to remind her of all of the times she had been brave. All the way up until her appointment, I coached her and applauded her for being brave with different things.
She began to tell on her own how brave she was. We'd discuss how brave she'd be when she went back to the dentist. She even started coaching herself. Today was the day we'd find out if the coaching had paid off.
We went to the dentist and she seemed very calm and not worried at all. We made our way back to that special "quiet room" where the terrified kids go so they don't scare the crap out of the rest of the patients.
Well, my baby hopped right up in that dental chair and handled her business like a pro. She chose the "bubble gum flavored nose"(laughing gas). As I sat in the chair in the corner grinning from ear to ear about how brave my little sweety was being, the laughing gas began to kick in. I watched as the dentist shot my baby's jaw with numbing agents and she really didn't feel a thing. WOW!
I kept watching as my daughter began to wave her hand at me as she followed the dentists instructions. She was the perfect patient. She never cried. She didn't try to escape out of the nearby window. She didn't even request that I hold her hand. She is officially brave. So. . .I guess I can add "Coach" to my resume now as well huh?
She wasn't having it. She wouldn't sit in the chair, lay in the chair, as a matter of fact, she ended up on my lap just for the cleaning. After trying to rationalize why she needed to calm down and stop clinging to me like a monkey baby in the forest, I gave up. The dentist wasn't willing to force the issue either.
So I immediately went into coach mode. I began to remind her of all of the times she had been brave. All the way up until her appointment, I coached her and applauded her for being brave with different things.
She began to tell on her own how brave she was. We'd discuss how brave she'd be when she went back to the dentist. She even started coaching herself. Today was the day we'd find out if the coaching had paid off.
We went to the dentist and she seemed very calm and not worried at all. We made our way back to that special "quiet room" where the terrified kids go so they don't scare the crap out of the rest of the patients.
Well, my baby hopped right up in that dental chair and handled her business like a pro. She chose the "bubble gum flavored nose"(laughing gas). As I sat in the chair in the corner grinning from ear to ear about how brave my little sweety was being, the laughing gas began to kick in. I watched as the dentist shot my baby's jaw with numbing agents and she really didn't feel a thing. WOW!
I kept watching as my daughter began to wave her hand at me as she followed the dentists instructions. She was the perfect patient. She never cried. She didn't try to escape out of the nearby window. She didn't even request that I hold her hand. She is officially brave. So. . .I guess I can add "Coach" to my resume now as well huh?
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