BuzyMom is Every Mom
Every Mom is CEO of the Home
HOME MANAGEMENT
Somehow -- we don't remember how -- it became woman's lot to be both the manager and the primary worker in the household. It became her job to decide the issues relating to quality of life for each member of the household, and it became her responsibility to make it happen -- to do the shopping, to put away the shopping, to clean the stuff bought, to cook the stuff bought, etc, etc. A house can't run itself. Someone has to be in charge.
We might argue that person doesn't necessarily have to be busy mom. We might suggest you read the Little Red Hen story again. We might also argue that any job can be a shared position and that a house and the people who live in it can all become a little more self sufficient. Before you get too far into this philosophy, take a read of our time management page.
Now, let's talk about all this in involved in running a home.
1. Choosing the home. Look around your house and decide if it's what you chose or if it's what you settled for. If it's what you chose, then is it living up to your expectations? If it's what you settled for, then is now the time to look around for a house that better suits your family needs? Yes, it will take effort to sell your present home. And it will take effort to buy a new home. But, looking down the road a few years, is this the house you want to continue living in for all those years. And, when you're thinking of your next home, think about efficient layout and not about size. Those grand kitchens you see in the magazines are often killers to work in. If you enjoy galloping miles and miles across a kitchen, then fine, call it cardio. If you don't, choose human size rooms.
2. Assuming we've passed the housing challenge, is the home you chose in need of refinement so that it functions according to your needs? Do you need more storage? There's a Home Depot in every town and an Ikea in every city. They both have the storage units you need; Home Depot will even teach you how to install them and Ikea will give you readable instructions. Do you need to alter the floor plan a little so that traffic flow is more fluid? Do you just need to make yourself clean sweep all the clutter out of the old home place? If you're not using the stuff, don't see yourself using the stuff in the next year, and don't have a place to put it so that it doesn't constantly nag at you, then get rid of it. That's what charity shops are for. That's what the IRS charity donation is for. And, if you can't bear to give it away, sell it. That's what all those free advertisement web pages are for. That's why God made EBay.
3. Now that you've properly housed the stuff you want to keep and clean-sweeped the rest, do you feel comfortable in your home? If the comfort factor still isn't there, what do you need to do to fix that? Do you need to have the carpet and upholstery cleaned. Call a cleanup crew or rent the equipment and get it done. Do you need to change the atmosphere of the room -- the noise from the television set and the kids games driving you crazy? Are the kids off text-messaging instead of have a heart-to-heart chat with mom and helping prepare dinner? Cut the plug on the television set, bag up their video games for giveaway, stop paying their cell phone bills. (Yes, the plug can be repaired -- you'll probably find instructions for that somewhere on the web -- and about all you have to do with the video games is load the bag into the car before the kids get the message and repent. As to the cell phone, why does a child need a cell phone? How on earth did children and parents communicate for generations and generations without cell phones?) Whatever you need to do to improve the atmosphere of your home, to enjoy the people in your home, and to adjust the attitude of the people in your home so that they act like a real family instead of a bunch of hostile strangers, do it. You are, after all, the boss, the CEO, the Chief Executive Officer. You are the mom. You are in charge. Act like it.
BuzyMom is a website that addresses the topics mothers want to know about -- childcare, how to get a better job, how to earn more and work less, how to find time to have a rich family and romantic life and a successful career, how to save enough to retire, and how to manage it all. If you worry about it, we cover it.
We're still under construction, but we have two new pages that you should check out first. If you're thinking about a career, new or old, check Buzymom's career page. If you're just looking to get away, we have timely advice on Buzymom's travel page.
Contact us at editor@buzymom.com.
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