This scenario may sound familiar- It’s Sunday evening at 8pm. After a busy weekend, you finally get your kid(s) down to bed and you make your way downstairs for some much needed relaxation. Once your feet hit the family room, you realize- the weekend is over and there is work to be done. Loads of laundry, toys to be picked up, a kitchen to clean, a car to vacuum so your carpooler doesn’t sit on dirt and other remnants from the weekend, the list is long. Each Sunday I think, why aren’t I more productive on the weekends? But I know the reason. Weekends are for family time, play-dates, perhaps a much needed trip to the gym, for fun! But, how can I balance both?
This past weekend, I tried something different. And it worked. My husband and I were actually able to sit down on Sunday and veg out watching something other than Thomas the Train. I thought, I should share this with my readers! Here are a few of the things I consciously did and will make an effort to make part of my regular routine.
- Do one load of laundry on Friday. Each Friday I come home with sheets from daycare to wash. This week, instead of putting them into a hamper or forgetting about them in my trunk, I put them straight into the washer along with our kitchen and bath towels that had been used that week.
Bonus points- after they were dry I even folded the sheets and placed them in the daycare bags so they were ready for the following week! - Do one load of laundry on Saturday. Yes, we apparently have a lot of laundry and I am guessing you do too. Trying to fit it all in on Sunday is by far overwhelming and also impossible.
You will thank yourself come Sunday that you have done so.
Bonus points, ensure you fold and put away the laundry as well! - Vacuum your car in 5 minutes. (Or in my case, “make” your husband do this one). In order to accomplish this one, I just simply said as the kids were eating lunch, “can you please vacuum my car really quickly?” And it worked!
- Run the dishwasher Sunday morning. And empty it Sunday afternoon. It seems like each Sunday evening we end up with a full dishwasher full of dirty dishes, which then leads to extra dirty dishes hanging out in the sink. This leads to me staying up entirely too late to hand wash what wouldn’t fit etc. This weekend, I took control of that earlier in the day.
- Stay conscious of housework during the week. I have written before on how much I am able to do with just 10 minutes. As moms, we tend to get only short spurts of time. Remember how much you can actually get done in 5 or 10 minute spurts (I can seriously clean three toilets in under 10 minutes!)
- Team work. My husband and I are big on teaming up to get things done. He’ll clean the kitchen while I bathe the kids or I’ll quickly vacuum before joining the family to play catch outside.
- Remember nobody is coming over for the white glove test. Your house will not look spotless when you leave on Monday morning. There will likely still be some dirty laundry in the hamper and a dish or two in the sink. This is ok!
These tips cannot completely conquer the Sunday Night Blues. They can, however, help your chances of getting to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour or being able to have some quiet reading time or catching up with your spouse.
How do you manage your time to make sure you get your chores done amidst the chaos of daily life? I’d love to hear your tips!
