Motivated Moms Planner -- update

My beautiful children are growing too quickly. Emma is riding (somewhat successfully) on her bike without training wheels, Mandy is talking my ear off about the craziest things, and Rem, don't even get me started with tales of my disappearing baby! I want to pause moments with them, but they squirm out of my grasp every time. I'm so much more thankful for their preciousness as I stamp out the normal frustrations that easily turn into anger for me (see this post). Each day I'm spending more time enjoying my blessings and loving it.

We've all heard it said, "the dishes can wait." While I appreciate the sentiment of focussing on the important things, there comes a time when the dishes really can't. Wait. Any. Longer. There is a whole raft full of chores that won't get done unless I do them. My toilets need me to clean them, my hutch needs me to clear off the clutter 4 times per day, my flower beds grow weeds that are begging for my attention, and is that fur growing on the leftover rice in the fridge? Someone needs to clean that out.

The goal is not to miss any moments with our precious families, yet also take care of house and home so you can actually find peace among the chaos. And that's why I've found the Motivated Moms Checklist so helpful. It lays out the chores I need to do every day and adds rotating chores that keep the house looking spiffy.

I've been doing the list faithfully since the middle of January. I can see such a big difference in how my home looks and how gratified and satisfied I feel at the end of each day. I incorporate my children's help with things on the list and it has many benefits: 1) I am spending quality time with them and enjoying their company, 2) I'm getting help with what I have to do anyway, and 3) I'm teaching them how to be productive family members so that someday I can sit back and pick my toe nails and watch HGTV while they take care of the house.

(I was sitting in the grass enjoying these sweethearts and not giving a care in the world to the dishes)

I have several friends who are doing the list also and we all have our strategies for getting things done on the list. For example, "Do laundry" is a broad topic. One person may do one load a day washing, drying, folding, and putting it away before crossing it off. For me, I cross it off if I have finished any of the above. Some days I do 2-3 loads of laundry, but don't get around to folding and/or putting it away until the next day. If I've put effort into the task, I cross it off and move on. The same with the dishwasher; I cross it off after I've unloaded it and loaded it again in the morning (I always run it at night after dinner). If I can't get to an important chore, I add it to tomorrow's list. If I miss something that I don't really care about, like cleaning out my purse/ wallet, I ignore it and the Motivated Moms Police do not come after me and I still sleep okay at night.

You might look at the list and think, "I could make my own list." Yes, yes you could. But you haven't because, like me, you are busy doing the important things (including the dishes). I thought about doing something like this for about 5 years. "I should make a list of daily chores and print it up and then add rotating chores so I don't end up working for 4 hours on Saturday afternoon because company is coming over." Enter the Motivated Moms Checklist. Some brilliant woman already thought of everything. It's not too late. Follow this link and get motivated!