Move Briskly
When the troops are flagging, put on some upbeat music. If
this doesn’t help, practice a little ready, set, go. Set a timer
and see if you can beat your record from your last cleaning
session. You’ll only be competing with yourselves.

Tackle Tasks Together
This means one person gathers the clothes, another sorts
them, another runs the washer and dryer and everyone folds.

When everyone is in charge of everything, kids learn to just
jump in and do what needs to get done next, which will pay
off now and in future teamwork situations.

Try Temporary Amnesia.

Rather than try to force squabbling siblings to get along, which
will slow down the entire operation, why not teach them that
they don’t always have to get along perfectly to work together
and get things done? They can learn to put aside their differ-
ences temporarily in service of a common cause.

Let Someone Else Lead
Maybe the fearless leader needs a reprieve. If you are tired,
cranky or under the weather, why not appoint someone to
lead the troops in your place? Rotate leadership on a regular
basis, and watch your kids rise to the occasion.

Forget Pristine Perfection.

Imperfection is your new normal, so get used to more Wabi-
Sabi standards of living. I doubt anyone is on the way over to
photograph your home for a magazine shoot, anyway.

Think of your home as cultivating a lived-in look. And if
you don’t finish in one day, no big deal. Chores can re-com-
mence when the whole crew returns home to help. So, when
you have cleaning to do, Mom, stop taking it all on yourself
and get ready to rally the family. 1
Author, journalist, and writing coach Christina Katz got
help tidying her home over the weekend and will watch it
descend into chaos as the week wears on.

Message To Work-At-Home Moms
A cooperative approach works well even
if Mom stays home to work. However, a
mom who works at home is going to have
to learn to tolerate more entropy than she
did when a tidy house was part of her
work description. Once you start working,
your time, energy and attention are
needed for your new job, not the dishes in
the sink, the dirty laundry on the floor or
the toys scattered around the front yard.

You are going to have to learn how to say,
“Oh well, we’ll all tackle this later,” and
then stick to it, so you can concentrate on
the tasks at hand. So, find yourself a pair
of blinders and know when to wear them.

Tackle Big Projects Separately
When it’s time to spring clean your home,
forget the garage, the attic, the shed and
any porches or decks. Forget cleaning
the refrigerator or organizing the kitchen
cabinets. You can tackle those jobs later,
when the timing is right.

In fact, keep a list of intensive projects
for down the road. For really big jobs like
cleaning out an attic, schedule another
half day or day when the weather will be
best for the whole family to pitch in. Or
commit a regular amount of time weekly,
when the whole family can contribute, like
two hours on Saturday mornings until the
jobs are done.

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