We are on a journey to make peace with real life.

Chapter 8 is titled No More Perfect Homes. She has some great tips for all of the rooms in your house.

Kitchen:

Heartbeat of the home

spend majority of our time

impromptu family conversations

keeping our kitchen uncluttered is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing

Tips:

1. re-evaluate your clutter-categorize the items cluttering your counter tops. Use a counter top hanging file box with labeled files.

2. get in the habit of putting things in their new home

3. open mail by the trash can or recycling bins. Throw away envelopes and junk mail right away.

4. clear counter top papers daily-help keep chaos under control

5. put as many kitchen appliances away as you can. If you don’t use your toaster or blender everyday store them out of sight if you have room.

Bathroom

Bathrooms are loved in strenuously. Gets a load of use.

Tips:

1. use drawer organizers

2. use counter top baskets

3. keep cleaning supplies in each bathroom

4. pick one a day a week-to clean toilets, bathtub, shower, counters and floor

Bedroom

kids and clutter just go together

their stuff is important to them

it is part of who they are becoming

Our goal is to help them learn to manage their personal items in a way that sets good lifetime habits in place.

Your way is the right way for your family.

Laundry

    It is  always on the do list

Tips:

1. set the kitchen timer when you put in a load in the wash or dryer. This will remind you when the load is done.

2. use your laundry folding time as prayer time-pray for each member of the family

3. keep a spray bottle of water in the laundry room for spritzing clothes that are wrinkly

4. have your grade school and older kids help

Living Areas

You have to determine what level of organization and cleanliness works for your family

Whatever you are comfortable with is right for you.

A house doesn’t make a family.

A Family makes a house a home.

Stop judging yourself and don’t be so hard on yourself.

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As a Mom, we are required to play many roles.  Regardless of your family situation, sometimes being a Mom can take a toll on you.

Moms are often tasked with running the household.  In essence, this can mean paying the bills, grocery shopping, hauling kids here and there for this and that, responding to event initiations, doing laundry, cleaning the house and some of these moms also work from home or outside of the home.  Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

With all of these tasks, I’ve found myself a little air-headed at times.  There have been times where I forgot to be the tooth fairy, covering by bringing some loose change or dollar bills while helping my son figure out what in the world the tooth fairy was thinking when she put the dough under the bed instead of putting it in the traditional place, under the pillow.

There have been times where I forgot to refill my son’s lunch money and the poor kid had to eat Peanut Butter & Jelly.  I remember when PB&J was all the rage.  I’m not sure why that’s so bad.  At the end of the day, he was not left starving!

Forgetting to send an excuse note for illness, forgetting to sign and return documents, forgetting to wash a certain item and more are forgivable tasks that your child will likely NOT remember as they grow older, unless you do it habitually.

We all have slip-ups every now and then.  It’s okay.  Your child will likely forget so long as you’re tending to their basic needs of food, water and shelter.

If you’ve ever found yourself in one of these situations, just know that there are other Moms out there who have gone through the same thing!

What have you forgotten?

About the Author: Melisssa is a single, working mother to a newly turned teen (14).  She is the Owner/Author of Melissa Say What?.  She loves saving money and making money online, as well as reviewing products and sharing and entering giveaways online and offline.

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Some days I feel like the worst mom in the world. My house is always a mess anymore. I settle for cooking whatever is easiest, not only for lunch, but also for dinner. There have been a few days lately where I don’t think I brushed my hair, and I let my son wear pajamas almost all day, and in this moment of honesty let me tell you… I cannot recall the last time I mopped the floors in my house.

These changes in me have been hard to accept. Once upon a time I had immaculate sparkling floors, I cooked balanced and well planned meals, my son and I both looked like normal people, with neat hair and clothes.

So, now you know my secret… I am not a perfect Mom.

Some days I am really hard on myself about my imperfections. I beat myself up and say “Lisa’s house is always clean and magazine worthy,” or ” Jane always looks amazing and here I am with applesauce in my hair, while my son is in his jammies at noon.”

Some days I refuse to answer the door when I have mad scientist hair and there are so many toys scattered about that it looks like Toys R Us exploded in my house.

But, there are the days that I take it all in stride and I admit that sure “Lisa’s house is always super clean, but Lisa’s kids are like robots and they are afraid to make a mess or play… my son is actually having fun, with me, and who cares about the mess?” And there are even days when I can smile and say something cute like “My husband married me for my inner beauty, the applesauce in my hair is an added bonus!”

When things seem really grim, I have found a trick that helps me cope beautifully. I think this trick could help all Moms cope with their lives.

When I feel like I am the worst Mom ever, when my son is a mess and won’t listen, when it seems like everyone else has a better grasp on the world around them, I go to Wal-Mart. It never fails, before I leave the store I am reminded that I am not the worst Mom in the world. There are tons of women like me out there, struggling to find balance and hold it all together. Sure enough, I usually even see a few examples of people that are definitely worse at parenting than I am.

The next time you find yourself in shambles, feeling like every other mother in the world is doing a better job than you are, take my tip, run to Wal-Mart. You will leave feeling reassured that it could, in fact, be worse.

Sara is a 33 year old Stay At Home Mom and she writes the Sweet Silly Sara blog.

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