Do One Load of Laundry Everyday

I’m going to give you some of my Happy Housewife tips.  OK, OK, quit laughing. Even lazy housewives like me have some tips. Because? No matter how lazy you are, you still have to do stuff. Most of these were taken from Darla Shine’s book, “The Happy Housewife”and modified to fit my needs. This book really changed my life. That’s no exaggeration. You think I bitch and moan now? Well, I do, but I bitched and moaned a lot more and did nothing about it. Lived in an unorganized, messy home and felt sorry for myself. I also didn’t appreciate the value of being a housewife.  Reading this book made me realize how great I do have it and that instead of fighting it, I should embrace my SAHM life. It is the life I chose, after all. It’s what I always wanted. So now I like to say I’m living the dream.  When I’m not threatening to kill my kids or myself.  Darla Shine is a bit nuts. She’s a little over the top in her zeal and I don’t agree with her philosophy on stay at home moms vs working moms. If you want to stay home and can, great! If you don’t want to or can’t, great! We’re all moms and we’re all just doing the best we can. And? The kids are going to be just fine whether they are with us or someone else a few hours a day.  Also? She’s way conservative and that’s not me. But to each her own.  Anyway, crazy Darla aside, the book is great. You should buy it. Now. Even if you are a working mom. It still will have some tips you can use. Just skip over all her rah rah being home with your kids is best for them b.s.

Get up early enough so that you can make your bed, brush your teeth, wash your face, put on lipstick and some clean clothes that fit before your kids get up. This might sound like a lot, but really? It’ll take you 10 minutes at the most. And you won’t be in your pajamas at 10am for no good reason. Even if you are not going to leave your house and will see no one besides your kids, you will feel better both mentally and physically if you get dressed and do the basics. It some how makes it easier to do all those chores you’ve got waiting for you. The key is to make sure you’ve stocked up on a couple pairs of jeans and a couple t-shirts. And to make sure you have clean clothes.  Which segues nicely to my next tip.

Do at least one load of laundry everyday. I say at least because you have to wash towels separately. So there will be days you’ve got to do a load of towels and a load of clothes. Also, you have to separate colors. So you may have a load of brights and a load of darks. Whatever. You get the idea. It isn’t rocket science.  If you do this, you won’t be stuck doing 10 loads in one day. And you won’t feel as though you are buried under laundry.

But? You have to fold that laundry and put it away. Immediately! Do not let it sit in the basket getting wrinkled. I hate this. I really do. I used to let it sit in the dryer for a couple days and then in the basket for a couple more. Of course that meant everyone in my family was walking around wearing wrinkled clothes because I do not iron. What I do now, which has been life changing for me, is to fold each item as I take it out of the dryer. That’s right. I stand in front of the dryer folding and placing clothes, towels, sheets into the laundry  basket. This is probably extreme, but extreme laziness calls for extreme measures.

Always keep wipes on hand. It makes cleaning so easy.  Disinfecting  wipes for the kitchen and bathroom counter tops, sinks, tub and shower stall. Glass cleaner wipes for your mirrors and windows. Furniture polish wipes for your tables and chairs. If you have leather furniture like we do, get some leather wipes.  And please have some Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Holy crap these things are the bomb! They really are magic and work on every surface of your house, including walls.  These little babies get rid of everything from crayon marks to peanut butter! Wipe your bathroom sink, mirror and counter everyday. It takes a minute and will make a world of difference. Don’t bother bitching at your husband for leaving his stubble in the sink. Just smile and wipe it out.

Make sure you  have other cleaning supplies too. A scrub brush, old tooth brush, mildly abrasive scrub, white vinegar, rags, sponges, squeegee - whatever products you like to use and a supply caddy. And make sure to wear gloves so your hands don’t look a mess.

Make a loose schedule for yourself for housework. For example: Mondays are the day you do the floors, Tuesday you wash the bed linens, Wednesday you do a deep clean to the bathrooms, Thursday is the kitchen, Friday you go grocery shopping and clean out the fridge. That sort of thing. Of course all week long you are wiping down things with your cleaning wipes. This way nothing gets out of hand and feels like too much.

Keep healthy snacks for the kids on hand and  where they can easily get at them. A tray or platter on the kitchen counter filled with cutie oranges, apples or bananas. I like to keep mini muffins on hand. I buy a bunch and freeze them. They defrost quickly and the kids love them. Try to meal plan as much as possible. This is not so easy for me, but I try to flip through magazines for easy recipes or my cook books. Then make a list and hit the store getting everything I’ll need to make dinner for the week. Of course I take a couple  nights off for pizza or McD’s or something. But I like to have planned and at least enough for 5 dinners.

For recipes I love Real Simple magazine. They have easy recipes that don’t require a lot of time, ingredients or skill. They usually  have one meat, one fish, one veggie, one pasta in each magazine. They will also have a tear-out shopping list in some issues that makes shopping super easy. I also love The Barefoot Contessa aka Ina Garten.  I have a couple of her cook books, but I also use the Food Network website to get her recipes. Her meals are delicious, healthy and easy to make!

Get as much of your chores done in the morning as you can. I get up at 6:45am so I have a good 6 hours to get the main things done. Then I can relax for a bit while the girls are at school and the little one is napping. And I can do the things that I want to do. For me! Or even organize our family calendar without interruptions. Just make sure you have some “me time.” How you spend it is irrelevant.  I find it’s important to get that break from housework and kid-related activities before they are all up and home from school. Then after school we can go to the park or do something else fun before it’s time to get home, do the homework and start dinner.

In the evenings make sure you put all the toys away and clean up the kitchen before you go to bed. This will make you feel calmer and you’ll be able to truly relax after the kids are in bed. Also? No additional crap to do in the morning. Set that coffeemaker to brew or if yours won’t do that, fill it with water and coffee grounds so all you have to do in the morning is push a button.