Judging by the lack of new posts in this forum, I get the feeling that you are all too busy with holiday preparations to talk about how to keep up with holiday preparations, or even regular household tasks. I'm too busy too, but want to take a rare quiet moment to post the question and see if anyone has any advice.
Right now I'm barely keeping up with child care and house care as it is, and I only have 2 children. Add Christmas preparations to the mix, and I really feel like I'm drowning in stuff. Stuff to do, stuff to buy, stuff to make room for, stuff to get rid of. You name it. I love the Christmas season, and love to make our home all festive, but feel so frustrated that I don't have enough time for it all.
The house is so dirty because I can't even run a vacuum over our rugs, floors, windowsills, etc. The children, who are 2 and 5, go into crying fits if they see me even look sideways at the vacuum. I've only used it once in the past year, because I just can't get a moment at home when they are not with me. DH is far too busy to do anything with them right now, short of a little time while I make supper, or tidy up after supper. He'd like to spend more time with them, but right now he just can't. I thank my lucky stars I he's able to give me any time at all, given all that he has to do, but of course it's not nearly enough to even start the cleaning I need to do.
And messes are made faster than I can clean them up. Books fly off of shelves. Toys out of boxes. Dishes pile up as fast as I can wash them. Outerwear spills off the overloaded coat tree. I've run out of space on high shelves or above the fridge to put off-limits objects, and DS knows how to get to them anyway. I'm tempted to just throw stuff out, but I'd rather sort through it and organize a bit. I feel a desperate need to declutter, get rid of, or temporarily store away, stuff we're not using or clothes they've outgrown, tidy up shelves, clean grunge and dust bunnies out of corners, and organize our spaces so we can be more efficient. I want to create space to do more homeschooling activities with DS, who is now at Kindergarten age. I know I won't be able to do all the things I'd like to do right now, but I'd like to alleviate that feeling that we're drowning in stuff.
Is there any way to do this, when your young children are always with you? I'm always behind on my work and never seem to have quality time with my children. I feel that if I stop even for a minute, the piles will become mountains, then avalanches. It really interferes with my ability to give the children my undivided attention.
Sorry that this post isn't so very well composed. Just trying to get this out there while I do have a minute!
Right now I'm barely keeping up with child care and house care as it is, and I only have 2 children. Add Christmas preparations to the mix, and I really feel like I'm drowning in stuff. Stuff to do, stuff to buy, stuff to make room for, stuff to get rid of. You name it. I love the Christmas season, and love to make our home all festive, but feel so frustrated that I don't have enough time for it all.
The house is so dirty because I can't even run a vacuum over our rugs, floors, windowsills, etc. The children, who are 2 and 5, go into crying fits if they see me even look sideways at the vacuum. I've only used it once in the past year, because I just can't get a moment at home when they are not with me. DH is far too busy to do anything with them right now, short of a little time while I make supper, or tidy up after supper. He'd like to spend more time with them, but right now he just can't. I thank my lucky stars I he's able to give me any time at all, given all that he has to do, but of course it's not nearly enough to even start the cleaning I need to do.
And messes are made faster than I can clean them up. Books fly off of shelves. Toys out of boxes. Dishes pile up as fast as I can wash them. Outerwear spills off the overloaded coat tree. I've run out of space on high shelves or above the fridge to put off-limits objects, and DS knows how to get to them anyway. I'm tempted to just throw stuff out, but I'd rather sort through it and organize a bit. I feel a desperate need to declutter, get rid of, or temporarily store away, stuff we're not using or clothes they've outgrown, tidy up shelves, clean grunge and dust bunnies out of corners, and organize our spaces so we can be more efficient. I want to create space to do more homeschooling activities with DS, who is now at Kindergarten age. I know I won't be able to do all the things I'd like to do right now, but I'd like to alleviate that feeling that we're drowning in stuff.
Is there any way to do this, when your young children are always with you? I'm always behind on my work and never seem to have quality time with my children. I feel that if I stop even for a minute, the piles will become mountains, then avalanches. It really interferes with my ability to give the children my undivided attention.
Sorry that this post isn't so very well composed. Just trying to get this out there while I do have a minute!