What can I do to make today better?

By Nadine On May 3, 2012 · Leave a Comment

This is what is written on a sign I made this week to bring calm and a sense of personal responsibility to my household after the week started with a very stressful morning.

The kids need to learn to be responsible for their own belongings. We all need to think about the impact our words have on each other. I need to make choices about what jobs are important to do on a morning before the school run instead of trying to answer emails. We can all do our bits to make the home a happy one but as Mum, it’s my job to lead. So I did.

I got out the CD player and a CD of classical music that I’d bought when my eldest was a baby (I tried anything to get her to sleep) and all week we have had a TV ban before school and have eaten our breakfast and read books to the sounds of Mozart and Tchaikovsky and I discovered a lovely piece of music called Pavane by Fauré.

A family meeting after school outlined the rules. Dress before breakfast, no TV- they can watch their shows after school, give me after school snack requests in the car (they loved this one and promptly ordered chocolate cake which I delivered!), we practise spellings and times tables over breakfast, and I looked at what I could do better too. The ironing pile which had been sitting there for a week was done and put away. The fresh fruit I’d bought was chopped into ‘easy to grab in a hurry’ individual servings. The living room was vacuumed and the kids took their toys to their rooms and I bought some fresh flowers to brighten things up a bit. Calm descended on the house. It is nice.

I have to say, my productivity has increased since I have been focused on what I can do to make things better. It’s easy to leave jobs like doing the washing until another day when you are tired, but then no-one has any underwear.

What tricks have you tried to bring your house in order? I’d say the classical music and telly ban has worked wonders in our house.