Shout out to the other homeschooling/unschooling moms out there:
Is your house EVER clean?
Ugh the clutter!
And OH the crumbs!
And ...laundry? I can't find myself buried beneath it!
Keep the house looking presentable + trying to remain engaged with the kids as much as possible AND cultivate your own interests seems so hard to me!
I read all of these other blogs by unschooling and homeschooling moms and they seem like they've got it SO together. Every post is a happy post. Everything they do is innovative and cool and mom is never tired, drained, or stressed. Liars or superwomen?
What's your secret, ladies?
And for the rest of you - how do you deal with the guilt when you just. don't. feel. like. doing. anything. And... HOW do you get out of the slump?
4 comments:
Unschoolers and homeschoolers actually LIVE in their homes all day long every day so they are rarely clean and uncluttered. I find that most clean unschooler houses belong to the parents of teenagers, not little kids. On the other hand, it can be pretty fun for young people to learn to use a hand broom and wash dishes. And it is such nice weather you can eat outside now. Crumb problem solved. Good luck!
My life is consumed with laundry. You are not alone in that aspect of life! I do about one load everyday to just keep up with it.
My kitchen floor has a permenant layer of crumbs. My Shark steam mop is a lifesaver! No chemicals, and reusable pads make my floor a semi-presentable part of my home.
It sometimes seems as if the clutter might consume all of us. I try to move a small portion of it out of our home each week.
I am lucky that my girls are old enough to help pick up in the afternoons. We don't generally pick up through the day, but wait until about 30 minutes before The Dad comes home for the day. It makes me "feel" together for him to come home to a house that doesn't quite look like it might be featured on a hoarders show.
There are many days when I want to just scream if even one more little hand touches me or little voice calls my name. Wine or beer help tremendously.
I have so many projects that I want to start and many I just need some time to finish. That time is hard to come by. I just try to remember that the best projects are my five kids. They bring me love everyday. They cause me to find patience, perseverance, kindness, and mutitasking skills I never knew I had nor thought I was capable of. This is the hardest job on earth and the least recognized or respected. It is easy to get bogged down in the day to day of it, but I know the end will be worth every single crumb encased, clutter filled, laundry monster moment.
Know you are not alone, and in very good company.
Thanks so much to both of you! Great idea to get outside more - we need to do this anyway - why it isn't just our natural inclination is a mystery to me. Erin - thanks so much for your suggestions and reminders - you're so right. <3 to both of you!
One of my "friends" is a stay at home mom with a 3 year old. This poor little girl is in full time day care 5 days a week and has been since she was two because her mom is thinking about going back to work and the waiting lists for full time day care are soooo long. If she gives up the slot, finds a job, might not be able to take job if there's no day care spot available. Boo hoo hoo. Anyway, her house is immaculate, not a fingerprint, toy or piece of clutter anywhere. Mom is home all week by herself thinking about getting a job bored. She cleans house and shops and complains to me how lucky I am that I get to spend time with my kids all day while her daughter has to be in day care. I suggested she just pay for the fulltime slot to keep it in case of a future job and keep junior home. She was appalled at the idea. #1, day care at the elite school is expensive, and it would be a waste of money not to send her to such a wonderful nurturing learning center. #2, her daughter loves her teachers and has so many friends and is learning so much there. Whatever. Enjoy your clean house "friend"
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