Femme Power

Going nuts about the daily chores that don’t seem to end in your household?   We share the same sentiment. Sometimes I say to myself it’s easier to run an office than a household.   There have to be ways in making things a little bit easier for stay-at-home moms to stay sane and comfortable even without a maid.

I asked other moms in the neighborhood how they cope with the daily toils of being a homemaker and here’s what they told me:

1. Clean as you go.  If this rule serves well in public places, why not in our household?  This engages the other members of the family to help clean up clutters ASAP instead of YOU doing all the work when they’re all off to their own lives.   It might not be that easy to impose on some of your household members but eventually, they will, with proper pushing.   What a breather it would be if they’ll automatically clean up the table after eating, wash the dishes or put their clothes directly into the hamper instead of flinging them over the sofa and everywhere.  You’ll be surprised how much time you’ll save when you’re not alone in putting things back to their proper places in bulk.

2. Plan your groceries.   List down what you need before rushing to the grocers.   This will save not only time but money as well.   According to market researcher Paco Underhill in the book Why We Buy:The Science of Shopping, supermarkets are “places of high impulse buying…Fully 60% to 70% of purchases there were unplanned.”

3. Invest on good-quality home essentials.   Examples: A PVA mop with a wringer (and is highly absorbent) is more practical than a standard mop that you need to manually wash and wring with your own hands.   An automatic washing machine will cost you about thrice the price of an ordinary washing machine but the convenience caused by the former will more than offset the price difference.  Your time and energy are too precious to be focused on the laundry and the cleaning.

4. Know your neighbors/Keep emergency numbers handy. It doesn’t mean you need to snoop around everybody in the neighborhood but at least try to familiarize and socialize with some of them.   Our family is barely a few months old in our neighborhood and I know how it feels to having no one to ask for help nearby in case of emergency.   Good thing our neighbors are easy to get along with.   Now I know who to call when the pipes have leaks, when an appliance breaks down, when a furniture needs fixing, etc.   Be good to your neighbors and they’ll reciprocate.  A neighbor even looks after my daughter whenever I’m late in fetching her up from school.  You don’t know when you’re gonna need a bunch of helping hands.

List down the contact numbers of the nearest police station, hospital, and fire station and put them beside the phone, store them in your cellphone, or stick them on your fridge with magnets.   Thing is, keep them visible for everyone just in case the need arises…though hopefully not.

5. Make time for yourself.   Not because you’ve devoted your life to serving your family means that you’ve turned your back on yourself.   Get a life.   Make time (not just try to find time) for yourself where you can relax, be alone, and do what you love to do (in my case, malling, reading and blogging/writing) every once in a while.  If you can do it everyday, then good for you! Being productive never fails to make us feel good about ourselves.   So why shouldn’t we?

Comments are closed.