later never comes

**The following article was written by guest contributor, Lisa Weisenberger.**

Have you ever folded the laundry but put off putting it all away only to find clothes all over your bed when you are ready to get in it?  Do you have a messy desk full of papers that you haven’t filed yet?  I have done all of these things.  I am notorious for putting things off for later. 

I am a busy mom of 6.  I homeschool 4 of my kids and run the other two back and forth to school- two different schools.  I am a vice president of the PTO at my daughter’s middle school.  I coach my 6 year old son’s soccer team.  I run a bible study out of my home every Monday night.  I also run this household that consists of 8 people.  So yes, after dinner, when the kitchen is a total mess, I’ll say-“oh, I’ll take care of it later.”  When I’ve sat on the couch or bed and folded the laundry but too tired to walk all over the house to put clothes away- “oh, I’ll do it later.”  And when papers land on my desk, I let them pile up until I can’t even see my desk because I intended on filing them later.

Well, as my wise husband always tells me, later never comes.  He’s right about that.  After a day in my busy life, by the end of it I am dead on my feet.  I don’t feel like dealing with dishes, laundry or clutter.  Changes have to be made because living in chaos does not make for a happy mom, family, or home.  Here are a few of the changes that I’ve implemented thus far:

Get the family involved. I have 6 children and their ages range from 5 to 14.  There is no reason why they can’t help do things around the house.  This is their home too and they can do their part.  My girls are 11 and 12 and they clean the kitchen after dinner.  They also fold the laundry.  Everyone puts their own clothes away.  My oldest son is responsible for the trash.  He takes it out when it is full and he is here.  When he is at school, my 8 year old son does it.  My oldest takes out all cans for collection day.  On occasion, my husband even does it.  The three younger boys are responsible for keeping the house picked up.  They pick up the stray toys and misplaced items and put them back in their homes.  They are old enough to pick up after themselves so when they are done with something, they are responsible for putting it back.  I still do the cooking and most of the cleaning, but what the kids do during the week really does help me out by a lot because I am not always picking up after them.

Learn to say NO. I realize I am too busy.  I have way too much on my plate.  I am running myself ragged doing things that don’t line up with my priorities.  It is my nature to be helpful and feel useful, but I can’t properly care for my family or home when there are so many other outside things going on.  As a mom who homes-chools, my day is already full.  I need to say no and not add any thing else to my schedule.

Don’t wait. If a piece of paper lands into my hands, I won’t set it down.  I am keeping my hands on it until I finds it a home.  I need to put it away or put it in the garbage - not the desk or counter top!  Once I walk away from it, chances are slim that I will go back to it and before I know it, I have a cluttered mess.  I am trying to make a habit of cleaning up while cooking. I am cleaning the counter top and washing dishes as I go.  This way, the girls don’t have a huge pile of dishes and pots and pans to clean after dinner and they aren’t stuck in the kitchen all night long.

These few things are making living in and running this household so much easier.  I hope that it helps someone else too!