Five Small Helpful Habits

In my time being home with Mason over the last two years, I have learned a thing or two about what it takes for me to be a successful housekeeper. If only I could learn more than these five small things, my house might be in something resembling order.



1. Get out of bed in the morning and make it immediately.

For some reason, this makes me feel better about my whole house. FlyLady said so once and I thought she was full of it, but I was the one who was wrong.

2. Exercise-all the better if it's with someone.

I'm only regular about this when Alan is home and pushing me to do it. I'm trying harder to be better about it. It's a lot harder to justify eating candy and watching TV when I haven't already exercised. Here's hoping P90X doesn't kill me....

3. Listen to feel-good music during unpleasant tasks.

I super-duper hate working in the yard. If we're doing it while Mason is taking a nap, I can put on my iPod and the time flies. Same goes for dusting, but we try to make a dance party out of it every now and then.

4. Clean it up immediately.

I learned this habit years ago from my grandfather. When he was cooking, he would get everything he needed out at the beginning and then put it back where it went as soon as he had used it. Alan watched me doubtfully as I did this the first time he saw me make cookies, but it works for me. I apply it to anything. I don't leave the milk or bread out, I don't leave crumbs on the counter, and I do dishes while my treats are baking.

5. Never be afraid of a play-break.

Classifying this as helpful might be a stretch. But Mason is a whole lot more cooperative if I can find a balance between doing my housework and paying attention to him. If we just played trucks for 20 minutes, my clean laundry doesn't hit the floor before it's folded or I might get the dishwasher loaded before a monkey climbs on the open door. This is a mighty big "if" only because I know Mason won't always want to play with me, so I tend to abandon other tasks in favor of that one more often than I probably should.