Our team at Corken + Company values family, and we wanted to give a few tips for lightening the parenting load. Lisa Canning’s life took a turn when she had the opportunity to be a designer for an HGTV show. She launched a successful interior design business, and her career flourished. But inside, she was struggling.“ I was so exhausted working around the clock, so exhausted of the guilt that came from never seeing my young children, but I was so entrenched in a way of thinking and acting it was really difficult to think of other ways to operate,” she writes. Now a mom of eight children, and author of the book, The Possibility Mom, Canning has learned to focus on projects in which she can use her natural gifts, get done what she can in the time she has, and delegate, automate, or delete everything else. She encourages other parents to do the same.
Ask for Help:
In her research, Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, Denver-based psychotherapist and author of Mommy Burnout, found that women have a difficult time asking for help. “When you are overwhelmed, pick one thing. Managing a house is a full-time job, and there is a big trickle-down effect of feeling out of control if you can’t keep up.” The trickle-down effect can affect many aspects of your life.
Organize:
Stephanie Sikora, owner of the Denver-based custom organization company, Life Made Simple and author of the book, Simplified, believes having a home organization system that works for you is key to helping lighten a parent’s workload.
But achieving that organized kitchen may feel easier said than done. Sikora’s company offers in-person and virtual appointments and online courses to help families organize areas of the home efficiently. “There is a time investment upfront to get organized, but there is a huge return on investment,” says Sikora. A couple of days to get organized can yield time savings for a year, she says.
Hire Out the Cleaning:
“No matter what our budget looks like, we keep a cleaning lady,” Sikora says. With kids ages six and four, it took Sikora a couple to decide to hire a cleaning service. She says having a clean home is important to improve her mood. And not having to do all the cleaning herself allows her to be present for her kids and spouse. Services like TaskRabbit and Takl allow you to book someone via website or app for a specific area of the home. The site shows you what you can expect from a cleaning. You can view user ratings from different cleaning persons, and compare prices. (You can do the same for a variety of services such as TV mounting, yard work, and hanging shelves.)
Delegate to Family:
Arvada mom of three, Kari Cochran says she tends to delegate the same tasks to her kids: yard work, folding socks, laundry, dishes, and cleaning their bathrooms. “My philosophy is that we are a household and we all contribute to the mess therefore we all have to clean it,” she says. Depending on your child’s age, delegate tasks they can do well, and have them do the same chores over and over again, so they master them over time.
Invest in Tools To Help:
Several local moms reported that the simple purchase of the sweeping robot tool, Roomba, was a massive time-saver in their daily cleaning routine. And it doesn’t just stop with the floors. Seek out online family calendars to cut down on communicating and managing schedules. Consider auto-ship tools to remove the likelihood of forgetting pet food or baby wipes at the store. Invest in apps and other digital tools that reduce the need to use your time or brainpower on any task.
Streamline Meal Prep:
Getting dinner on the table is a consistent stressor for many parents, but there are myriad ways to de-stress dinnertime.
Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, Denver-based psychotherapist, and the author suggests that women consider filling in the blanks for this statement when deciding what duties they should keep: “I care so much about _________ because it says _______ about me.” What is yours to own? What is not yours to own?
Find more tips for lightening your parenting load at: coloradoparent.com