Surving Summer Holidays at Home – 5 Summertime Rules
Summer holidays are a lot more fun when mom isn’t busy grumbling and cleaning up a house that looks like a bomb went off in it every day.
If your children are not home yet for summer holidays they will be soon.
Now is the best time to sit down and map out rules and boundaries to make your summer enjoyable for all – even if they don’t think so :0)
Here are a few things that I am going to be doing at our house.
SETTING BEDTIME RULES AND MORNING WAKE UP CALL
Previously in the summer I’ve been lax about making the kids go to bed and get up at a certain time.
My oldest are pretty much self regulating now – past the stage of wanting to stay up all night and sleep all day – with jobs and silly fun stuff like that to keep them in line.
My 12 year old daughter (soon to be 13!) is in full veg mode if I let her, so this summer I am setting an 11:00 bedtime – that includes a little reading time before, bedtime snacks etc – lights out at 11.
And out of bed at 10am. Earlier would suit me better but I’ll cut her some slack. It’s much better than 1 in the afternoon!
CHORES
For the most part we’ve been on a system were the girls do 15 minutes per day for free, and then get paid in 15 minute increments for work done around the house after that.
It has worked well although if I don’t enforce the ‘free 15′ it can quickly go by the wayside. As with all things – consistency rules – and it is much more effective when done daily.
Instead of doing that over the summer this year I am considering giving them stewardship over certain areas of the house – the only limit will be the time it needs to be accomplished to ensure that it is done when it needs to be done.
Some areas that I am considering are dishes (of course!), laundry, general clean up of assigned rooms, fridge, veggie washing/prep on grocery days and a daily salad prepared.
I will also assign one day a week for each one of them to plan and make supper.
THE KITCHEN IS FOR EATING
One other thing that I am going to have to spend some time enforcing is the no eating at the computer, in the living room or in the bedroom. The reason for this is because it doesn’t get cleaned up even after a warning or three, and because we are trying to eat healthier and it is just too easy to to binge eat when you are not being mindful and are in the habit of snacking during these times.
PICK UP AFTER YOURSELVES
This is another small rule that can have HUGE effect on the state of your house and peace of mind over the holidays. It will involve some pro-action on your part as you be sure to resist the urge to zone out to the mess and get everyone to pick up after themselves. If the kids are sure that you will, they will be more likely to get into the habit.
The best way may be to have a few mini pick up times through out the day, maybe before mealtimes and bedtime, for everyone who has things laying around to do a quick pick up.
TV, COMPUTER TIMES
I haven’t made a plan yet, but I will also be setting limits on the tv and computer. Life is to short to miss zoning out at youtube or online window shopping!
I am going to map it out and talk to them about it today.
I’ll keep you posted!
GETTING THE KIDS TO HELP AROUND THE HOUSE
Here are a few articles that I wrote with some ideas to keep the kids motivated to help out around the house.
Kids Chores – How to Get the Kids to Help Keep the House Clean
Top 10 Tips to Get Your Kids to Help Clean House
Saving Summertime with a Few Simple Rules – I wrote this one last year around this time.
PUTTING IT IN PRACTICE
All of these ideas are of no use to you if you don’t find a way to use them and put them in place.
My Clean House BOOST Housework System – tweak it for your kids. Using this system has been a lifesaver for me over the years. You can make it fun for the kids with a completely new twist that I will be sending out to everyone who purchases as a new bonus.
And don’t forget to get your ‘My Clean House Action Planner together. You can get a free printout to get started here – A Simple Housework Planner.
Don’t forget that a large part of your success will be your ability to stay mindful and enforce the summertime rules. It will get easier as everyone adjusts and settles in.
Don’t forget to balance them out with summertime fun and activities, after all when everything is done there is more time and energy for good times!
If you know someone with kids who would like some help this summer, why not pass this article along. Maybe you can get together and brainstorm some more good ideas or buddy up to help each other this summer.
Now is a good time to sit down and map your plan to keep things running smoothly in the summer. Feel free to get the ball rolling and share your ideas in the comment section below.
Make It Your Job to Save Money
Would you rather live cheaper or work more hours?
Many of us would much rather go for cheaper living than filling our hours with work to pay higher bills but never make the time to get started or THINK that it is not possible when it really is with a slight adjustment in mindset.
I sometimes wonder how many people are out working to make money to pay for things like food that they could grow cheaper and better for themselves at home.
Or to pay for things that they don’t use.
Or to pay for things that they do use but don’t need.
Related to this is paying for things that you can make cheaper yourself, or make do with something you already have. Instead of instantly thinking to go to the store, have a look at your ‘inventory’ and see what you could make use of instead, or what you may be able to rig up for yourself. It can be a lot of fun and wake up those creative juices as well – which is a sure sign of a happiness and health.
And another big one – spending on credit – then paying interest on the item for months or even years instead of saving, then spending. If you work at funneling your money into your savings instead of onto credit card payment for things that you buy before you have the money for them the money you would have spent on interest goes into your pocket instead and that means less work time.
I’ve been guilty of all these things, finally one day it occurred to me to go for the ’sure thing’ by working at home for myself and my family starting with the following ‘job responsibilities’.
THE SURE THING
What would that be you may be asking?
It turns out that the sure thing is right up my alley and could be right up yours too.
Mostly it turns out to be self sufficiency and an inner awakening.
- Grow at least some of your own food. In the bargain you may find other things like better health through fresh air, exercise and a sense of peace in nature. Not to mention the feeling of accomplishment at successfully growing a garden – whether it be a few plants or enough to fill your freezer. It’s not too late to look at growing some of the basics (of course it will depend on where you live) – tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peas, beans, greens are a few. At the price of fresh vegetables in the stores these days – and the issues such as e-coli and pesticides – it looks might appealing to me. Branch out. Look into backyard chickens for eggs. As weird as it may sound after years of buying eggs, it’s becoming big in some places. It’s quite simple really and enjoyable too. I will be having more on this later. (If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been hiding lately, I’ve been resurrecting my garden loving every minute of it. Pictures are on the way!)
- See what you are paying for but really not using. You may be surprised. Don’t forget to check your online spending – if you have paypal go through your sent payments to see if there is anything you should cancel. Make a habit of really looking at your credit card statements every month – is there anything there that you should cancel? If so resign yourself to taking the time and pick up the phone to make the call. It could be some of the best paid time you will spend.
- See what you do use but could do without. For us it is our tv, internet and phone bundle. There are a lot of things on it that we use but could get by without and I am betting won’t even notice when they are gone. While I was looking on the site to see what’s what I also realized that they have new updated bundles – selling basically the same thing for cheaper. Take a minute to cancel what you don’t NEED and while you’re there, check out any new service’s, bundles etc that may have reduced pricing. Phone companies are a great place to start for this one, also banks.
- Before you buy anything new, ask yourself what you can use that you already have or what can you fix or create instead? A can of paint or a few hours at the sewing machine can add a lot of life very cheaply and make something old become new again.
- Save for your purchases BEFORE you go to the store. This used to be how it was done in the days before credit became so easy to get. And we all know where easy credit has landed us. Get back in the habit of waiting to make your purchase until you have the cash. You will also find yourself automatically spending less on the above – things you don’t need or use – because suddenly that money will be directly effecting your ability to make the purchase that you do really want or need. Take your money to the bank instead of to the store until you have enough to purchase without using credit – this has BIG potential on the larger items.
FIVE THINGS YOU CAN GET TO WORK ON TODAY
1. Grow your own food – start small and work up – every little bit helps.
2. Stop paying for what you are not using.
3. Stop paying for what you don’t need.
4. Use what you have. Get creative!
5. Save before you spend.
How much can you save at your new job?
Try it and see. Don’t forget, every time you make a better effort, you give yourself a raise :0)
It’s great being boss!
MORE MONEY SAVING JOBS YOU CAN DO
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