Day 9 of #Write28Days Challenge
While we definitely do not homeschool on Sundays, do we also do no housework on Sundays?
Housework on Sundays?
No way.
If I did that, the house would be a mess and laundry would be a mountain. Remember, there are 9 of us in the house. 9 people just living and playing will create messes.
But things have changed a lot since the children were little. It isn’t as messy now, well at least there are no more toys strewn about. There are books though.
In our home, there are three chores that are non-negotiable. They just have to be done, no matter what. They will not be done as intensively or rigorously as on a weekday but they still need to be done.
Non-Negotiable Chore #1: Vacuuming
If you read the previous posts, you would have read that vacuuming is a non-negotiable in the house because I cannot stand seeing strands of hair everywhere. With 6 people with longer-than-shoulder length hair, there will be strands of hair here and there. It just can’t be helped. And so I insist on vacuuming daily, including Sundays.
Non-Negotiable Chore #2: Laundry
9 people. Enough said.
At the very minimum, laundry has to be done once a day. But it is best if it is done twice a day.
Non-Negotiable Chore #3: Meals
When the children were younger, a few of us had bad to severe eczema. And with a lot of prayers and adhering to the GAPS Diet, the Lord healed us almost 80-85%. The GAPS Diet meant that we had to eat home-cooked meals 100% because we never know what is added into a meal eaten outside.
So home-cooked meals were another non-negotiable.
But praise God that now most of the eczema is largely controlled, we can eat out more and most Sundays I cook only for breakfast. We have lunch and dinner out.
Out of the Home
At this point in time, 6 out of 7 of our children are involved with the youth group at our Church. This means that there are more of us out of the home than in the home on a usual Sunday. Which means the chores are lighter now.
Take heart you mamas with younger children.
What are Your Non-Negotiable Chores?
Decide what must be done on Sundays, and what can be pushed back to a Monday or brought forward to the Saturday before.
I know of families who practice strict Sabbath to meal prep everything the night before and only need to turn on the crockpot or oven so that they can still have home-cooked meals but without “working”. Chores would also be completed on Saturday so that they can spend Sunday just worshipping the Lord.
No Housework on Sundays?
It is possible to do no housework on Sundays. You just have to put on your planning hat and do the prep work the night before.
See you tomorrow for my take on routines versus schedules.
Related Links
Doing GAPS in Singapore
A Story in Pictures