When Does The Housework Get Done?

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I learnt very early on that if I would like to rest (and I do need rest to function), I would need to do housework while the children are awake and not while they are sleeping. If I were to only do housework when they are asleep, either nap or bedtime, I’d never get the rest I need. So, as much as it is possible, school, cooking, and housework are done when the children are awake, and around. So how is this done?

Play Independently

Firstly, I encourage the children to play independently by themselves as soon as possible. This starts from when they are babies. I must admit that I have not been very consistent with this and have reaped the consequences of being lazy. But, when I have been consistent with it, it has been great! I would put the baby or toddler in his crib/room with a few toys and tell him, “Playtime!”. And then for at least 30 minutes, he would happily play with his toys or flip through some books. Many things can be achieved in 30 minutes without little people being underfoot.

No Dilly-dallying

As the child grows and is able to sit still for longer periods of time on the couch, I would vacuum or mop while he sat and watched me or the tv. Yes, we do use the tv!

This method does require me to work fast. I do not have the luxury of dilly-dallying. Unless there is some great mess to be cleaned up, I can vacuum the living and dining rooms, kitchen and balcony in 15 minutes flat. This is provided I have the house all picked up prior to vacuuming. Once a week when I do a deeper cleaning, I vacuum and mop the entire house plus wash all three toilets, in about 2 hours!

Speed Cleaning

To achieve such speed, I make sure I do not have to move furniture around too much. In other words, there is very little on the floor that needs to be moved around when I vacuum. I also intentionally keep clutter to a minimum. However, clutter has been slowing building up and I need to de-clutter again soon. Also, a friend has blessed us with a 3 + 2 seater sofa set, which though wonderful, takes up more space than I would like. I need to re-configure the house layout again in order to help make my job easier.

Older Siblings Keeping Younger Ones Occupied

Back to occupying the children when I do housework. All of them have learnt through painful experiences (including the 17 month old toddler) that if mama says “wet floor”, they had better stay put wherever they are, or quickly get to a chair/sofa and sit there until I say “floor is dry now”. Why? Because they have all slipped and fallen while running on wet floors. Nothing like natural consequences to teach obedience! 🙂

Now that I have older children, I sometimes pack all of them to the bedroom with the toddler while I do the living and dining area. The older children will then occupy the toddler till I give the all-clear to come out of the room.

A House Does Not Clean Itself

Doing housework while the children are awake instead of waiting till they are asleep has helped me to accomplish much more in the day. This way has another side benefit – they SEE mama doing housework. Housework is not something that gets done with a wave of the wand

By teaching the children to occupy themselves when I am working has allowed me to rest during their nap times and to do other stuff that requires my complete attention at night when they have gone to bed.

Related Posts

Do I Have to Cook and Clean to Be a Good Mother?
How I Manage Housework with No Maid

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