Tips for keeping your home organized when kids are home from school on summer break
When I was a kid, I thought that being home from school was the best. However, as an adult, school break feels like a totally different situation.
It’s easy to think that school breaks are a great time to accomplish things around the house, but every parent knows that when kids are home, it can be even more difficult to be productive. Kids need lots of time, care, and attention.
I sat down with Home & Garden , as well as News 5 Cleveland, to strategize a few solutions for this very common challenge.
Here are a few tips from our conversations about getting through school holiday breaks stress-free. Even if you don’t have kids at home, these tips may help you have a little bit more grace for your own organizing journey during these hot summer months.
Focus on Upkeep
Instead of working on big projects when kids are home, focus your energy on maintaining common-use areas such as the kitchen counter, car, or bathroom. Save the big projects for when kids head back to school. Choose projects that are short, allow you to easily return to them if you get interrupted by the kiddos, and help to remove barriers to your functional activities such as cleaning, bath time, etc.
Involve the Kids
It’s easy to want to do everything ourselves. You know how you like it and can do it quickly. It can be exhausting to have the kids help, but you deserve support in managing all of the home care activities. Plus, it’s been found that kids who help with chores around the house develop better self-esteem than kids who don’t. And, you set them up for success later in life by teaching them how to manage basic household activities. Set a timer for one hour each day and do chores together. Play music, and try to make it fun. Reward the effort, not the outcome.
Lower the Bar
We all want a beautiful home that is organized, clean, and Pinterest-worthy. But when kids are home, this can be difficult to achieve or maintain. The truth is that at the end of your life, you won’t care how clean your house is. You’ll care about the memories you made with your family and the way you felt when you were together. Lower the bar for how clean or organized your home needs to be during school vacations. Instead, shift your measuring stick to be based on happy memories and fun times together.
I hope these tips help you to maintain your sanity over the next few weeks of school break. Hit reply and let me know what gets you through your holiday breaks.
Sending you so much positive energy as you try to balance loved ones, work, and your home-organizing projects.
Need a little extra support to keep you on track this summer? Come join us in the Chaos to Calm Community (link to www.starhansen.community ). Use the code GETORGANIZED to get a deep discount on your first month. ☀️
