Don't Let Housework Get In The Way Of Work

by Sara Berthiaume | More from this Blogger

15 Feb 2011 10:05 PM

Have you ever been en route to your home office, only to be sidetracked by a pile of laundry that you just have to stop and fold? Maybe you were not sidetracked by the laundry. Perhaps you found yourself unable to walk by the kitchen sink without stopping to wash the three dishes that were neatly piled in there. Maybe it was neither of those two things, but something else entirely. A funny thing that happens when you work from home - you can hear the housework calling to you all day long.

A desire to keep a tidy home is not a problem in and of itself. In fact, it is good for you and for your family. The problem arises when housework takes up more than its fair share of your time and creates imbalance in your life. How, then, do you keep your house clean while keeping the amount of time that you devote to it in balance with the rest of your life?

During my first few months as a work-at-home mom, I struggled with that concept. Of course, I have never been one to drop everything at the sight of a dirty dish or pile of laundry. I spent most of my time caring for and cuddling my baby boy and I made sure that I got my work done. Housework was always last on my to-do list and what little I did do was usually done quickly and not very thoroughly.

One day, I decided to look online and see whether I could find any helpful tips for keeping a clean and organized home without devoting hours to housework every day. I found just what I was looking for at Fly Lady's website - a wealth of helpful information about cleaning and organizing delivered with a pinch of humor and a healthy dose of kindness and inspiration. Fly Lady's way of doing things was just what I needed to get organized and stay organized.

One of the first things I learned from Fly Lady is the importance of daily and weekly routines. My routines involve more than just cleaning, and they help me to organize my time. Routines are also good for children, so my son knows what to expect at any given time of day. Within a few days of implementing the Fly Lady's way of doing things, my house was clean and I felt a lot better overall. I even found more time for work than I had before. The best part is, I did not have to set aside a huge chunk of time to get organized or clean my house before implementing the routines for keeping it clean. It got cleaned fifteen minutes at a time, and that is how I keep it clean. Before you get sidetracked by another "mini-mess", I would encourage you to visit the Fly Lady website and check out a different way of doing things that just might work wonders for you.

P.S. I do not work for Fly Lady, nor have I received any compensation from her. I just happen to think that her web site is a wonderful, free resource that can help home-based professionals keep the dust bunnies in check while sticking to their work schedules.

Learn more about Sara Berthiaume

Sara Berthiaume was born and raised in central Massachusetts. After graduating from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, she moved to central Vermont to attend Vermont Law School.

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