This post is not a sponsored post but it does contain affiliate links.
Please see my full disclosure.
My neighbor is a supermom.
She has three children and her husband is an emergency medicine physician.
Standing at the bus stop the other day she told me she never knows when her husband will be home for dinner and when he won’t. And almost everything she cooks her children reject.
So naturally I said, “Why not just cook what YOU want and be done with it?”
She told me she had never thought of that before, but she was going to try it!
Tame your home management system by doing less.
5 steps to a simplified home management system
Plan less
Every day I talk to women who tell me they are not getting enough done around the house.
Some of these women work at home, while others work outside the home. But they one thing they all have in common is this feeling of failure.
Failure to live up to their own expectations around taking care of a home.
As I have mentioned in the past there is no normal when it comes to housekeeping. So I always start with this statement.
My next question is, “What are you trying to get done?”
Most women will then rattle off a list of 20-30 items that they want to do on any given day.
My response: “There is no way anyone can do that many things in a day.”
Then I tell them to shorten the list. Or I sit down with them and help them shorten the list.
It’s amazing how good you feel when you check off all 4-5 things on your list! Much better than staring a two-sided list and feeling like crap about yourself.
Cook less
One of the big pitfalls I see is meal planning.
I have written before on this topic, but not because I consider myself some kind of expert. I write about meal planning because it is a huge issue for women and mothers with ADHD.
It’s not just about food, it’s about the expectation that we will make everyone happy.
My best advice is to choose 3-4 meals per week and make a double recipe. If you have 4-5 kids and a spouse you might need to cook 5 meals a week.
Beyond that, give yourself a break.
Choose recipes that are simple and made with real food.
Use less calendars
I used to be a planner addict. Just last year I bought 2 different planners.
Collecting stickers and colored pens and washi tape was more fun than actually using the planners.
These days I do better with a Google calendar I share with my husband, and just one plain old paper calendar for everything else. In fact, I bought the most boring one I could find on Amazon. (Affiliate link.)
Personal and family appointments go on the shared calendar, while my one-on-one clients and business meetings go on the paper calendar.
I have never been and will never be a bullet journal kinda girl. I suck at artsy crafty things.
Do Less one day per week
At least one day per week give yourself a break.
Don’t do housework or cleaning. Ignore the pile of mail on the counter. Allow your family to dine on leftovers, or go out.
I consciously take one day per week and allow myself to do nothing around the house. I call it my Lazy Sunday and it is awesome!
Read books, snuggle and watch movies, or spend time with your family. Do not screech at them about everything you are trying to get done.
Yes, this is possible!
So take a day off. I promise your house won’t fall down around you.
Use less apps
I used to have an app for meal planning, an app for task lists, and a calendar app to keep my life together.
Rarely did I utilize all of these apps in one week, and when I did, I was less than productive.
Then I was offered a free month of Picniic. And I am never going back to using multiple apps for home management.
The breakdown on Piniic:
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-I have the account set up for everyone in my house. Believe it or not, with the premium features I can actually pinpoint the Hubs on a map! It’s called the family locator.
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-Meal-planning has become much simpler because I can search for recipes and then transfer the needed ingredients straight to my shopping list.
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-My Google calendar that I share with the Hubs is synced, AND I can put in special events like family birthdays.
I am a one-stop shopping kind of person when it comes to apps, and Picniic does it all!
Here is a video that explains the features of Picnicc.
And here is a special promo code for all of my readers. Everyone gets a free month of Picniic Premium on me. (Please see my full disclosure. If you make a purchase I may receive a small commission.)
Promo Code: BLUSES
If you decide you like it, you can upgrade for the year for $50. (That’s less than a dollar per week!)
The breakdown on doing less around your home management:
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– Plan less stuff in your day
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– Cook a few meals a week instead of every day
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– Take a day off every week
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– Stick with 1-2 calendars
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– Use a one-stop shop app for as much as possible
If I haven’t convinced you yet that simplifying is your best option then…..well I don’t know. Obviously you do not have ADHD.
Tame your home management system by doing less.
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