NewZealandCoach’s Weblog

You know, I used to think that having a housekeeper would be *absolutely brilliant*. I thought that it would solve all those mess problems, I’d never have to stress, or clean anything, and my house would always be perfect.

It didn’t turn out like that.

A few years ago I was under a lot of pressure at work, and I was going from one stressful situation to another. I was drained, quite frankly. So I found a housekeeper, thinking that this would be a great solution. I imagined coming home from a hard day at work to find a shining home, all warm and with everything organised, so I could just flop down in a heap with not a care in the world.  There were only a few light jobs I asked her to do, and she agreed to mind the kids as well.

Well I will never know how the housekeeper managed to avoid being electrocuted when she spilled a bucket of water over the carpet – and tried to vacuum it up.

There were a few incidents like this. But what finally made my mind up?

I came home after a day of work, and a late meeting which involved a lot of decision making and a lot of pressure. I pulled into the driveway and noticed that all the lights were ablaze. I went in, to find the housekeeper sitting comfortably at the table reading a magazine. Not a sign of my kids. I questioned her and found that they were ‘out’. She had no idea where and didn’t know when they were coming back.

I panicked.

My kids, at the time, were ten and eight. It was almost dark.

Turns out the son had gone off on his bike to visit my great aunt and uncle, who lived a few streets away. They were in their nineties, and probably didn’t really appreciate a late visit. They had their dinner early, so would’ve been getting ready for bed when boy-on-a-bicycle turned up. The daughter didn’t want to be left behind, so she followed.

Meanwhile the housekeeper was making the most of a chance to put her feet up.

That was the last time she minded my kids.

So after that I decided that I needed to look at things in a different way. I’ve tried a few different systems, and the worst one was not expecting the kids to help. I found that they began to take things for granted, and their view of my role was skewed, to say the very least. So now here is what I do. I don’t look at housework as being drudgery. I really appreciate all the hard work that goes into paying the mortgage, and I am lucky to have somewhere to live that I like. Our house is small, but it is comfortable and it has lots of potential. It is also in a really good situation. Everything is handy to us, and we have room to expand if we decide to. I also like the house to be at its best, because I hate drama and mess and people running around looking for things. I like a peaceful atmosphere, and I like everyone to have some ownership of our home which does not happen when Mum is being the drudge and everyone else is relaxing wondering out loud what’s for dinner? And are my PE clothes ready for tomorrow? And where is my library book?

The easiest way I have found, is to use my Palm.

These things are a necessity, in my opinion. You can also at a pinch use an online calendar. You need something that is foolproof and easy to set up. Add all the birthdays, the sports practices, the days people will be home late. Everything that has a set time. Even add in peoples work hours.

Then you look at what needs doing in your home, and you share it out. You see who has what after school, and you add in their homework times, and then you share the jobs out so everyone has their activities. If you want your kids to put out the recycling, you can add a reminder to get it organised the night before. You can make it repeat on that day of the week. As you know I have a shower-fanatic in my house, so I have alternated days that the fanatic gets first shower. Person with the second shower gets to clean the bathroom. It is working out fantastically well. It also means the ‘cleaning and tidying’ housework is spread out across the week and it’s not taking up all your Saturday morning. Your house will always be presentable and you’ll have more time and energy. It saves arguments about who cleaned what and whose turn it is next.

Try it and see what you think

ps I have heard there’s a Yahoo calendar that’s quite good … I’ll see if I can find a link.