Did you make any resolutions for 2015?
I did.
But for once in my life, none of my resolutions included anything about eating healthier, working out more, or cutting down on my alcohol intake. Why? Because I learned long ago that I’m way too glutinous and lazy to keep any of those promises to myself, and I always end up feeling like a failure about 3 weeks into the year.
So rather than focusing on the things I simply know I cannot control, I’m zeroing in on the things that will make my life not only better and more organized, but easier as well.
I’ve purchased myself a new computer that is a million times faster than my old one.
I’ve organized all of our cupboards, closets, and drawers.
I’ve committed to getting at least 6 hours of sleep each night (this is a huge improvement from what I’m currently getting).
I’m planning all of our meals a week in advance so I no longer have to drag my 3 y/o through the grocery store more than a couple of times a week.
I’ve enrolled my daughter in an additional day of preschool each week so I can get caught up on work and be more present with her during our time together.
I’m learning the art of saying “NO!” when I know I already have too much on my plate.
And for the first time in my entire life, I’m only allowing myself to clean once a week.
GASP!
If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you know I’m a little obsessive-compulsive when it comes to germs and cleaning, and while I really love having a clean and tidy house, motherhood has made me realize that there is more to life than having spotless toilets and squeaky clean floors. And now that I’m juggling a 25+ hour work week while simultaneously trying to be the most amazing SAHM a kid could ask for (spoiler alert: I’m not the most amazing SAHM a kid could ask for), I simply don’t have the time or energy to care how dusty the TV is or how dirty the patio doors are, you know?
So, effective immediately, I’m retiring my SPOTLESS EMPEROR apron…
…and I’m replacing it with a SERENE SUPERSTAR one instead.
Now I know what you’re thinking.
How on earth is she going to pull this one off?
Well, I have a plan, my friends, and it goes something like this…
RESOLUTION 1: I WILL ONLY CLEAN ONCE A WEEK
And I will only do it when the mood strikes me. Of course, this completely goes against my need to live on a schedule, but something tells me I will be much more efficient if I clean while my daughter is happily engaged in an episode of Peppa the Pig, you know?
RESOLUTION 2: I WILL MAKE CLEANING A FAMILY AFFAIR
For the last 3+ years, all of the cleaning and organizing has fallen on my shoulders, which has been totally acceptable to me as I happily chose to give up my career and be a SAHM. But now that I’m a WAHM who survives on very little sleep, I think it’s completely appropriate to delegate tasks to my husband and daughter, don’t you agree?
RESOLUTION 3: I WILL PUT OFF WHEN I CAN DO LATER
In an effort to keep our place neat and tidy, I used to spend half of my days putting toys away and sweeping crumbs off of the floor, only to have my daughter make the same messes a million more times before the day was over. It eventually drove me insane. Moving forward, I will spend more time making those messes with my daughter, and will do one big cleanup before I put her to bed each night.
RESOLUTION 4: I WILL NOT SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
While I would prefer everything to be put in its place by the end of the day, it won’t kill me to leave a few dishes in the sink or a load of unfolded laundry in the dryer so I can spend some quality time with my husband. At least I don’t think it will.
RESOLUTION 5: I WILL INVEST IN THE RIGHT TOOLS
Like most people I know, I have a lot of appliances that don’t work quite as they should, and while I am too cheap and lazy to replace them, they actually slow me down a lot during the day. But when my new Frigidaire Orbit Clean dishwasher arrived, my life INSTANTLY became easier. The dishwasher we had before it arrived took about 90 minutes to clean our dishes and was so loud we couldn’t run it when we were watching TV or trying to sleep, so I often found myself washing dishes by hand.
Which kind of defeats the point of having a dishwasher, right?
Luckily, my Frigidaire dishwasher has made my time in the kitchen so much more efficient:
- The 30-Minute Quick Wash feature cleans my dishes in the time it takes us to eat dinner, so I can unload and reload the dishes before bed, which saves me A TON of time in the morning.
- The Effortlessly Dry™ System eliminates the need for towel drying after a wash, which not only keeps my kitchen floors spot-free, but also saves me a lot of time on drying!
- The Orbit Clean® Spray Arm ensures my dishes get 4 times more water coverage, so my they come out clean every single time.
- The Dish Sense™ Technology senses how long or vigorously my dishes need to be cleaned, which takes the guess-work out of deciding which cleaning cycle I should use.
And did I mention the stainless steel exterior is SMUDGE-PROOF, and that no matter how much my daughter touches it, it never (ever!) has finger marks on it?
Yup.
It’s pretty amazing.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see what other appliances I can convince my husband to let me replace…
What kind of a cleaning rockstar are you, and what are your household goals for 2015?
I am part of the Frigidaire Canada Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
