Successful Household Management in 2011

One of the biggest areas that moms struggle with is managing our homes. Overwhelmed with responsibilities it can seem like you never get caught up, no one ever will help out and you get to the end of the day feeling like you managed to accomplish nothing!

It is hard to try new routines or systems to get yourself out of the rut – but if you don’t, NOTHING will ever change.

When overwhelmed moms come to me, they generally are at their wits end! They have tried many different approaches to managing their homes and families and are desperate. We work from the ground up; putting routines and systems in place that lessen the load and start freeing up time during their frantic and overloaded schedules.

It is amazing that as soon as minor changes are made in the home a mom begins to feel relief. Instead of the stress and chaos they were feeling everyday, they begin to experience order, freedom and control.

If home management is a struggle for you, I would like to share with you a few key principles I discuss with moms who come to me for coaching. I am sure these points will be helpful in coming up with some new ideas to tweak what is going on to make things run smoother for you too!

Manage Your Time and Resources

Time is valuable and one of your best resources! There is only so much ‘time’ in a day, are you using is wisely? Evaluate how you are spending your time and on what.

Can you break larger jobs into smaller ones in order to make more effective use of your time?

Do you have routines in place that help your children know what is coming next so you do not have to follow them around like a drill sergeant?

Are you wasting time on things that are not productive?

Jot down what you do in a day and then evaluate it; is there room for improvement, can you make changes?

I recently discovered how productive I could be if I just was intentional and aware. We took placement of a 13 month old foster child (that’s a whole other blog post!!). But I had my home running smoothly with much older kids, 18,14, and 10 – and had LOTS of time during the day. I could spend hours on tasks that should have only taken minutes. So in pops this little one and I had to quickly adjust my time and tasks around his schedule.

I began breaking much larger tasks into smaller pieces and this simple tweak has changed everything. I also discovered a great resource, The Motivated Moms Chore Chart, which is broken down week by week, with daily household tasks to complete and LOTS of boxes to check off. I love checking off things – it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I was a fairly organized person and my house was in order before – but now I truly feel like I have control of the situation and even have had time to spare!

Create SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures)

By establishing Standard Operating Procedures, AKA systems and routines in your home you will end up wasting a lot less time reminding members of the family to do things and trying to invent the wheel everyday! You also stop wasting time wondering when things are going to get done because you already know – it is part of your routine.

My kids know that at 5:00 PM their chores need to be done. There is no explaining this everyday and having some battle because they didn’t “know”.

Certain days of the week are ‘their’ laundry days, everyone knows this. I don’t need to be running around gathering clothes, or reminding everyone – they know it and get their clothes to me if they want me to do them.

There are so many areas you can set up systems and routines in order to make things run smoother, take a look at your weekly schedule and see where there is room to make some changes. Ask your family’s input – they might surprise you with some suggestions too.

Meal Planning

If you are not meal planning you are missing one of the easiest and most rewarding things you can do for you and your family! Whether you use a service, such as Emealz to do it for you, or sit down and gather recipes and create a grocery shopping list yourself – the amount of time you invest in this task returns itself three-fold! Seriously!

How much time do you waste figuring out each day around 3 PM what’s for dinner?

Do you have all the ingredients or are you frantically gathering all the kids together to run to the store for those two items you need? This just creates unneeded stress – so invest a little time on a Sunday evening (or another evening that works in your schedule) and get a plan. Then either keep a well stocked pantry, or plan a trip to the store Monday morning to get your entire week’s groceries so you won’t be running out for last minute essentials.

Not only will this system save you time it will save you money as well. You won’t be buying unnecessary items – which is always a good thing.

If home management is an area you struggle with, pick one of these topics and give it 3 weeks. Really be intentional about your choice and see what a difference it can make in your home. Often times it is the small changes that end up making big changes, it is worth the energy and focus to forge ahead!

When you have an organized and smooth flowing home routine it benefits you but really blesses your family!

Susan Heid loves inspiring Christian moms to make small changes managing their home and family life giving them more time, order and less stress! As a Certified Parent Coach and Family Manager Coach she enjoys sharing her expertise with moms through workshops, teleseminars, public speaking, and individual and group coaching. She is a proud mom, step-mom and foster mom to 3, married to her very own prince charming, loves coffee, cloudy days, and does think the “bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle.” Make sure you get a copy of her FREE ebook, “Getting Kids to Cooperate and Become Team Players.”