Household Tips For Staying Sane

Ok. I have gotten several emails now asking how I am sane with four children....I drink heavily.....just kidding! (my mother-in-law probably just read that and is hyperventilating into a paper bag as we speak). Anyway, at the risk of sounding like some kind of Super Mommy (I am sooooo not even close), I will pass on a few things that keep me sane. Maybe they will help you too.

1. Get a shower every day- even if it's after your hubby gets home. Follow this up with a little face powder, eyebrow pencil and lip gloss and splash on a little body spray. After this, I feel much more put together- even though I am only wearing sweats and baby urp.

2. Leave it til later. Housekeeping is a full-time, never ending marathon of a job. If you get a few minutes of down time- rest!!! Go somewhere quiet (this is key..tv is really not that restful) and stare out the window, have a cup of coffee, read a book for 5 minutes....whatever. Just get in a couple minutes of alone time. All the housework, laundry and childcare will still be there and anyone who thinks your house should be perfect is obviously childless or affluent enough for a maid.

3. Housework ends all squabbles. In our house, the kids have some basic chores that they have to do "because it's part of being in this family", but when they all start fighting, squabbling and tattling- I put them to work. I tell them if they have so much extra energy, it should be put to better use. It's a win-win situation. They are learning how to problem-solve and I haven't had to dust in 2 years :)

4. Organize, organize, organize!!! There is no way around this one. I work my rear end off on this one. The house may be a wreck, but my closets, drawers and cabinets are organized and labeled. You can pretty much walk in off the street and find clean sheets, Tylenol or school records without any trouble. In this one area I am the she-bitch-with-laser-eyes if things don't get put back properly. When you are keeping up with stuff for 6 people you have to know where it all belongs or you will go nuts. I also have 3 separate calendars. A monthly one I write stuff on, one on my phone I program in as I need and one in the kitchen showing everyone's schedules for the current week. I sync them all up every Sunday.

5. Less is less. Duh, right? But seriously, everyone's stuff can easily take over a house. So a couple times a year we go through it all and purge outgrown clothes, toys and junk we don't need anymore. I also cut down on the basics. Each child has 2 towels in their personal color, a cubby that gets cleaned out when full and no more that 10 outfits. Each bed has 2 sets of sheets and a winter and summer blanket, and each closet has a plastic tub for outgrown clothes.

So that's it. It all sounds pretty good on paper, but in reality, I am as nuts as every other mom out there. I drink too much coffee, never get enough sleep and am always behind on the laundry. I lose my temper, yell at my kids, am chronically late to preschool and despite my three calendars, I still forget stuff. But I am dressed, my closets are neat and my children are clean, fed and clothed so I can live with it.