wow, can I relate. First know that you are doing great. Do what you can and don't stress about the rest.
It took quite a while for me to realize this very obvious statement. Children rarely are concerned with household messes. Duh!
There are only so many hours in the day and with home truly being our primary location during COVID-19, messes often reign. Establish a few very low bar expectations concerning cleaning such as:
- a 15-minute clean break after work/school and before bed. Turn on some music with an alarm and challenge everyone to pick up as much as possible before the alarm sounds. Then don't stress about what's left.
- Switch up and assign new duties. My 14-year-old stopped using a different cup each time he wanted a sip of water once he was placed on kitchen duty instead of trash detail.
- Enjoy the fruit of labor. Once the messes are gone be sure to celebrate by thanking everyone for doing their part and enjoy the clean space with a movie or puzzle or even game night.
Mrs. Pizzo
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