“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
—Winston Churchill
Monday I restarted my “Art of Homemaking Experiment”. So this week I worked on chapter 1 which is in entitled “Facet No.1 The Two A’s”.
However, since I’m making a real go at this I decided to be realistic and tackled only the first of the “A’s” which is attitude. (The other “A” is appearance…and since I’m sitting here writing in the mismatched pajamas that I’ve worn all day it was probably a safe decision.)
The book says, “An ideal homemaker is lovely to look at and lovely to be around…She has the courage to be happy and strives to live above the faults of moodiness, sulkiness, and complaining. She is gracious and thoughtful and is consequently adored by her family…..”
So obviously I’m not so lovely to look at….BUT I have been trying to be lovelier to be around. Here’s what I’ve been working on:
Mrs. Hoole has a list (actually she has a million lists but you’ll realize that soon enough) for how to improve your attitude and I decided to just focus on the first two items on her list—gaining an appreciation for being a homemaker and visualizing the over-all purpose of my work.
The other day I think I caught the vision—
you see, it was a rough morning…
Here are the facts:
We couldn’t find Simon’s library book.
We were out of milk.
The bread was frozen and I unsuccessfully tried to thaw it out in the microwave and the toaster.
The tongue of Simon’s shoe popped off while he was trying to put them on.
Simon didn’t have any clean socks.
Simon lost his lunch box at school the day before.
Simon’s levis hadn’t finished drying in time for him to wear them to school.
I realized we were out of juice boxes.
As I stood in the hall watching for Simon’s ride while drying Simon’s levis with my hairdryer…while Simon was wearing them…while Simon was eating a partially frozen peanut butter sandwich I wondered, “What the heck am I doing?” and then as I sent him out the door with his lunch (a caffeine free diet Coke, Doritoes, and a mini Hershey’s) packed in a sack I thought, “Seriously…this is the best you can do?”
And then I turned around just in time to see Grace run down the hall with the pack of Oreos and notice that while Ruth was playing on her blanket she had a massive baby blow out. AGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
It was a mom fail of epic proportions.
True story.
I LOVE to stay home and play with my kids. Absolutely love it…but honestly there are things I HATE about being a homemaker. Two of those things being laundry and grocery shopping.
But the other day after my pitiful display I realized what Mrs. Hoole meant by visualizing the overall purpose of my work. If I would have had the big picture in mind the laundry would have been done and Simon would have had his regular lunch stowed away in his backpack instead of getting to be the most popular kid in the lunchroom. (Simon came home and told me that his lunch was AWESOME and can I pack him that kind of lunch everyday…)
I’m happy to say that the laundry is now done. Heck, it’s even all folded and put away (not just piled on the couch). And the lunch supplies are restocked. And I completed each chore happily. Seriously. I just tried to remember that I do laundry to keep my kids clean and warm and so that they won’t have issues with hairdryers. And that I go to the grocery store to make sure my family is well fed and healthy even if will jeopardize their cafeteria status.
I know it sounds nerdy and lame but this week when I tried to remember WHY I do the mundane chores that I do it helped…I did things better and things went much smoother—even with a sick baby who hasn’t been sleeping. (And that is saying something.)
This week I will continue to work on my attitude—I think it does make a difference. I’m going to keep trying to remember the big picture and I’m going to incorporate another item on Mrs. Hoole’s list—a good attitude starts with gratitude…
Wish me luck!
(Hopefully by this time next week I’ll be sitting here just being “adored by my family”.)
PS—Is there anything you dislike doing as much as I hate doing laundry?
PS—Does anyone have any awesome tips for doing the laundry efficiently?
I love this experiment – makes me want to hunt down an old copy! What a week you have had, but I am glad that it is going smoother. I wish I had a laundry genie – I can wash/dry but the fold/putaway is another story!
It’s lovely to hear that we all share these ‘special’ little parenting moments!! My tips for laundry…get rid of as many surplus clothes as possible, you know that like shirt that you wash a dozen times though you swear no one’s worn it? It kinda takes the edge off of that hopeless despair. The most imporant one though is remembering how good it feels when it’s all done and put away!!
Girl…when u posted about the book last week, I knew this was something I wanted to do a long with you, so I bought the ebook! I have really enjoyed reading it, and look forward to following along with you in my transformation to the “ideal” homemaker!
As far as laundry…I learned a trick to keep it from piling it up! My mom has a ‘laundry day’ once a week, and I have found that that method really doesn’t work for me because I ALWAYS find a reason not to do laundry. But I read somewhere about doing one load a day…completely washed, dried, and put away…and that is A LOT more manageable! It did mean me making a switch of thinking about laundry as a ‘sometimes’ chore to an ‘every day’ chore…but it has been worth it to have my laundry room clean from mountains of laundry!!
Good luck!! I have found that remembering the reasons why I am home and what my purpose as a homemaker has improved my attitude! I still have a long way to go but…it’s a start!
I look forward to following along with you! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!
I hate putting laundry away. I can get it all clean, and possibly even folded, and it’s even odds if it will get put away or sit on my floor in a pile for a month.
Goodness gracious, that sounds like quite the day!
I follow the one-load-of-laundry-a-day plan and I find it really works for me. I throw it in first thing in the morning and whenever I’m upstairs, I do the next step (dryer, folding, etc.)
This book sounds so interesting, thank you for sharing!
I hate doing laundry as much as you hate doing laundry. Currently I have about 3 weeks worth of it waiting to be folded and a party tomorrow that it HAS to be folded before… unless I’m going to throw it in a closet (not that I’ve ever done that before). I liked your view and today I’m going to try and remember WHY I do the laundry as well.
I sympathise on laundry. There are ony 3 of us, but it seems to never end! I have just started with a shelving unit next to the drier that has 4 baskets on it – one for each of us, and one for bedding/towels etc. As I take everything out of the machine I place it neatly folded in the corresponding basket. Each basket has a little basket in it for socks too – as I HATE sorting socks! When the basket it full, I take it upstairs and put it away. Then return the empty basket to the laundry. I thought it would be awful having so many baskets in the laundry – but it really helps and is quite satisfying to look at! I am going to buy the pdf version of the book you recommended – I think I need to read this! Thanks
I’ve been excited to follow along on this homemaking journey.i could definitely use some pointers, I feel lost most of the time. I may have to buy the book too!
As for the laundry, I’m right there with you! I can get them washed, sometimes dried but the dry clothes sit in a laundry basket getting wrinkled. Need to work on that.
Oh my, what a day! It had me both giggling and nodding my head in understanding – believe me, I’ve been there!
Your experiment couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve been home for about five years now and know I’ve been forgetting my purpose. Believe me, my attitude has been less than stellar.
Good luck as you continue on – looking forward to reading more!
I really enjoyed this post and am so excited to follow along each week! I really like what you said about trying to be big picture about the things we have to do around the house, I hadn’t thought about it that way and I think it will really help. I hate folding laundry and putting it away! I like having one day and watching a “mommy show” like project runway or downtown abbey while I fold and put things away on commercials. It makes it feel like less of a chore.
Its all in the tools for me. I didn’t used to mind laundry so much but now I only have a portable washing machine and no dryer, it gets to be more of a chore. I have to plug it in to the kitchen sink which means dragging it out of the bathroom and not being able to get any dishes done while I’m doing laundry. This week, the foster dog had a few accidents so in between washing her blankets multiple times and the fact that I had a load of fabric to pre-wash I feel like I’ve done loads of laundry but haven’t actually got to ANYthing in my laundry basket! Phew. Luckily I love my apartment otherwise so I’ll put up with the laundry situation for a couple of years yet.
oooh shake on that,,,am not a laundry fan, i can wash, outside dry, then it sits all folded in the spare room…till someone needs something out of the basket!!! so have resorted to put a freshly washed basket of laundry at the bottom of our bed, where it just HAS to be put away within 2 days max as its in the way!!! and i hate hate hate ironing! so i just dont unless i really need to.
loved your attitude and will try to use myself. thanks
That is going to make the most awesome story to tell over and over again. And Simon will never ever forget that lunch!!!
Laundry is my arch nemesis as well. I have no solutions, except that I’ve gotten much more comfortable with dressing my children in dirty clothes.
I’m excited to hear more about your journey with this book!
i am a lurker around here for sewing ideas and LOVE LOVE LOVE that you are doing this homemaking project!
i am currently reading the book
“Radical Homemakers”…very interesting read on the loss and need for the American homemaker. I’m trying to be a better homemaker myself.
Laundry tip! This has saved my sanity:
Only do your laundry one to two days as week, but stick to that consistently. Every Saturday I grab every hamper in the house and wash what has accumulated. Sunday evening I fold while watching a favorite television show, then put away. Monday starts a fresh week with everyone’s closets full.
And I don’t return again for a week. Period. The wet rags and towels that accumulate on top of the washer in a basket might be the only exception. I will maybe, MAYBE do one load of those (and that is only if they stink!). Monday through Friday I’m free! And there is never an annoying clean pile waiting to be folded lying somewhere in my bedroom midweek.
Because laundry is one of those things that literally will never end and drive you nuts, I find that if I mentally compartmentalize it to just one section of my week, it is so much better.
Good luck and I’m excited to hear more!
Rae
Yes, I hate laundry too! And cleaning the bathrooms.
I have three days for laundry: the two biggest are clothes and sheets/towels. Then I have a mini-days for kitchen laundry (one load only).
The hardest part is remembering to keep it going, and then to put it all away! Lately I’ve been watching Vanity Fair on my husband’s Kindle Fire while I put it away; that’s been helping a bit. But I do best when I fold each load as it comes out, instead of saving it all up.
I probably hate unloading the dishwasher as much as you hate doing laundry. It’s not so bad when the dishes are completely dry, but when they are still wet? Forget about it. I’m actually pretty good with laundry, if I can do one or two loads a day, and then fold them in front of the TV, then I’m a happy camper. I also figured out that some white vinegar thrown in with the laundry detergent gets out smells, and blue dawn+hydrogen peroxide is the best stain remover ever.
After reading this post I wanted to say Thank God I’m not the only one who can have days like that! I have a 9yo son and 3 1/2yo twin girls, things can get hectic to say the least. As far as laundry goes Friday is my day to get it all done. I like to have to have it done before the weekend, so I don’t have to hear it calling my name as I’m getting ready to get out with the familia. Then come Monday there’s no scramble for socks or a clean shirt as the boy and the Mr. are getting ready for school and work. I also have a basket just for socks. As I’m folding I throw the random lone socks in it and after I’m all done I finish pairing them up.
Thank you for starting this! The first post hit home for me.
OMG Get out of my head…I have been feeling this way a lot lately and it’s kinda nice to see that even awesome bloggers feel this way!
I’m a working mom, so I do laundry all week out of necessity. I fold it right out of the dryer and it is often put away in the morning while I am getting ready for work (before the girls wake up).
But, I have to admit, I really don’t mind doing laundry. And after nearly 8 years I still love folding my girls clothes (yeah, weird). How about I trade you laundry for washing floors and cleaning bathrooms?
I’m excited to hear how your first week is going. I had to get a copy of this book and wanted to give it a try as well, and actually found one on ebay for a decent price. I’m waiting for it to arrive so I can jump in. It is so hard to be a mom at home, I am always feeling totally unappreciated all the time. It’s so nice to know that I’m not the only one out there. Thanks for posting this idea.
I would rather fold a mountain of laundry than clean the kitchen. I. Hate. Dishes. Maybe because they are in full view, dirty in the sink, or maybe because they seem to multiply faster than laundry. Either way, I’d take the laundry any day 🙂 Try one load every morning after breakfast. Good luck!
Laundry, at my house is simple. Everyone has their own basket and all their stuff goes from bedroom to washer to dryer back to bedroom. I wash all colors together and they fold and put it away. I even have “colors” assigned to everyone that way they know it is their basket. If you do it right, that spraypaint for plastics is too die for in organizing. 🙂
I hate washing the pots and pans. Laundry is a pain but scrubbing those pans is my least favorite part of the day.
I need to work on my attitude. 🙂 Thanks for the reminder. I don’t mind laundry so much, especially since it’s something I can let my two year old “help” with. I’m not a huge fan of hours of dishes after cooking or cleaning toilets but I like a clean house more than I dislike chores. Oh and about socks- it’s way easier to sort them when you have fun patterned socks b/c then there’s only one match. 🙂
What a crazy morning! You are really an inspiration. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and rubbing your good attitude off on the rest of us. I really need it lately!
I really hate putting the dishes away. So…my husband knows that whenever the dishwasher is full and clean he puts them away. He doesn’t even cringe {at least that I can see} when he sees the sink full of dirty dishes waiting to go into the dishwasher after he’s done. 🙂 Since that means he’ll be putting more dishes away in a few hours. For some strange reason he actually likes it. My brother in law is the same way with ironing. For some strange reason he loves to iron. So he irons the clothes in their house.
Counting on consistent help with at least one big chore is so helpful for some reason…to our family and to my attitude. Those are my two cents.
Oh and one day…if we can build a house, I think it would be cool to put some dressers and clothes rods in a nice big snazzy laundry room. Our clothes would go in our bedroom as per normal but the kids’ clothes would get washed, folded/hung right up in the laundry room. I think I saw some celebrity mom do that and the family with 18 kids does that. 🙂 One day….sigh.
Laundry stinks. We just leave all our clean laundry on the floor of the laundry room. Not kidding. On the rare occasions we do fold and put away laundry, I use small baskets, one for each person. Then my kids each have a basket of clothes to put away in their drawers. Found out recently that my oldest child always expects his little sister to help him put away laundry when she’s done with her own. Ha. Also, I bought some cute kid hangers and now they want to hang up laundry all the time.
I used to have a once a week laundry day, I would wash/dry put away up to 13 loads in one day (7 kids) but now I do about 2 loads every day that I’m not running errands etc and the kids older than 11 do their own. It has stayed manageable.
I can’t recommend FLYLADY enough. she gets me back on track every time I get behind.
I was waiting for you to start this series since I saw you mention it earlier this year.
Thanks,
Angel
Great post! Totally want to buy this book now. My dreaded chore is sweeping and mopping all my tile floor….it gets dirty SO fast. I used to dread cooking but I’ve found I’m enjoying it a little more as I strive to be creative, healthy, and thrifty. Good luck with the laundry…I’m still working on that!
While I don’t like reading about people’s bad mornings (I’m sorry you had one) it makes me feel more human and more like a “real” mom when I hear about other’s trying times. Especially coming from a blogger whom I really look up to – your creations are gorgeous.
Thanks for keeping things in perspective for me. While beautiful blogs like yourself take beautiful pictures of their projects, you really don’t know what is going on in the background.
Thanks thanks thanks.
I’m definitely with Tara – fold laundry while you watch a favorite show (especially if its a show you’ve been itching to watch because “folding laundry” will be your excuse to sit & watch it).
For the washing; I like to pre-sort everything into their bins (or baskets like some people mentioned) so that when one bin is full, it’s time to wash it (and I just take note when I’m sorting, I don’t really set a time to check). I’m very forgetful so I like to set a timer for the wash cycle (60 minutes) to come back and change it either to the dryer (another timer) or hang it on the line. Line-drying is my meditation for the day & I always love watching it blow in the wind so this is my favorite part of laundry. When I take it down, I always fold it straight off the line and into the basket to save time & energy later. Then I can bring the basket of folded clothes straight up stairs (where it usually sits on the bed to be put away).
For socks – only have ONE kind. Mine are the ones that say “nononesense” along the toe. Then I don’t have to worry about matching them because they ALL match! And my dress socks are different enough (black stripes, all grey, lacey) that they’re easy to match up.
I also really like the idea of “remembering the big picture” as I’d never thought of it this way before. I don’t get to stay home (yet) as we are still newly weds and need to save up/make as much as we can for a nestegg, but I will definitely be taking notes for when my time comes to be a stay-at-home-mommy. 🙂 I might have to start reading this book with you, too. Thanks for this series! Good luck!
I’m going to LOVE this series of posts, because I’m SO with you! Love being a mom – hate some of the mundane aspects of being a mom. As far as laundry. I’ve heard a lot of different tips about doing one load a day, etc., but the only thing that works for me is to sort ALL the laundry into huge piles in my family room one day a week, and then to just get it done all at once. Timers are helpful – then you are moving things along quickly rather than letting things sit waiting in the machines. And someone once told me to fold as you take things out of the dryer and then put them away right then, so that you don’t end up with baskets of clean laundry piled all over your house (where someone would inevitably rummage through them to find something to wear!).
The thing I hate more than you hate laundry: DISHES! I could never wash another dish in my life and be perfectly happy.
Honey, you made me laugh out loud and my hubby asked me what I was laughing about. I have NO earthly idea how I got to your blog..I’m a retired teacher and Grandmother of 5 who loves to quilt. I have little in common with all you young MOMS other than to laugh at the predicaments you find yourself in. Your story of no socks, wet pants and no lunch food cracked me up. I was there 20 yrs ago but we didn’t have “blogs” to vent all our frustrations. That “lunch” will go down in history as the best packed lunch ever. But the food police in NC will probably find you. Did you hear that story? A school lunch lady of some sorts decided a 4 yr. old’s packed lunch of a ham sandwich, chips, fruit, and a juice box didn’t meet nutritional guidelines so see confiscated the lunch and gave her chicken nuggets to eat!! True story! I will have to become a follower just to read your stories! Come visit me
http://grandmamasstories.blogspot.com
Blessings
Gmama Jane
My menopausal eyes HATE these blurry word ID thingy’s!! Have you ever considered getting rid of it for your more “mature” readers? It takes me 2-3 times to get it right. I won’t be commenting much .
your blog is worth the effort.
Gmama Jane
2nd try
I am a recent convert to a load of laundry a day. It seems so much less overwhelming than a whole Laundry Day. But the best thing I have is a two-compartment hamper. We put our whites in one side and darks in the other. When it comes time to wash, the laundry is already sorted. A whole step is eliminated.
OOOH OOOOH – can I join in on this even though I work outside of the home? I was home for 5 years and I wish I had something like this to keep me organized. I tried Flylady for a while, but it was just too much to keep track of. I’m definitely going to follow this set of posts.
BTW, I HATE LAUNDRY!
I don’t have any clever tips for laundry because I, like you, despise it…all I can think about while doing said laundry is, why do these people wear so many clothes? Can they not wear something 2,3 days in a row?… The biggest pet peeve? pants that are inside out with the underwear still stuck in the same position. Come on now…give your mom a break.
Thanks for the post… I’m gonna try the attitude switcheroo and see if that helps 🙂