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It seems a parent’s work is never done. There are kids to tend to, household chores to do, bills to pay, calls to make, and the list goes on and on. Although I have heard that multi-tasking isn’t always the best way to get through the day sane,
I have found some success in paring up our regular activities with household chores in a way that has somehow made me feel like I’m using my time to its fullest.
Tub Time and Bathroom Clean Up- As my daughter plays in the bath in the evenings, I will use that time to straighten the bathroom, scrub the toilet, wipe down the counters and mirrors and/or anything else that needs to cleaned up. It’s a good way to accomplish something from the nagging “to-do” list while my daughter and I keep each other company.
The Kitchen Catch-Up- Sometimes in the evening as dinner is in the oven, I try to clean up the mess I just made by unloading and loading the dishwasher and putting misc. kitchen stuff away. To enlist the help of my oldest daughter (without making her feel like I’m making her do a dreaded chore) I will carefully phrase my desire. “Hey, let’s unload the dishwasher together and chat about our day.” She is always eager to chat in this manner and it really does help me to not only connect with her in a light, fun way but it helps me get the kitchen clean.
Cozy Clean Laundry and Family Night- The evenings are a great time to get the clean laundry folded, especially with the help of the whole family. We sometimes play our Nintendo Wii as a family together in the evening (The Clark Family Golf Tournament is a favorite) and dumping a big pile of clean (and preferably warm from the drier) laundry on the couch has a magnetic effect (Ahhhh, warm laundry). We’re all hanging out in the living room anyway, why not make the laundry part of the routine? It’s worked well as my youngest likes to roll around in the warm pile as my oldest has learned to appreciate the value of having her favorite clothes clean, folded and ready for her the next morning before school. To break up the task we just fold when it’s not our turn to swing the virtual golf club. No one even notices that we’re engaging in a chore and the laundry gets folded without incident.
These are a few of the ways I try to manage our day to day “have-tos” with our time together. Does anyone else have any effective multi-tasking hints they’d like to share?
Discovering how to make the best use of our time can make a big difference in every parent’s life because we all know there’s never enough time in a day!
(February 2007) (
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