This is great!

Catching up on a little blog-reading this morning...found this great list of how to reduce stress related to "trying to get everything done" on Because I Said So!

1. Delegate - This is where you tell the kids, "You WILL clean up your rooms, vacuum the family room, and set the table, or I will lose it and run away from home, leaving you to eat nothing but Fruit Loops and Kool-Aid fish for the rest of your lives.

2. Say no to non-essential things - "Hey Mom, can you go to the grocery store? There's nothing to eat in the house.""Sure there is! Look in the couch cushions. Those Cheerios can hold you over for at least another week."Or "Hey honey, are you going to do laundry sometime soon? I don't have any clean clothes.""Eh, I've got your old boy scout uniform packed away in the attic. Just pull that out and wear it."

3. Make a list - I find this especially helpful. Make a list of everything you want to get done during the day, then cross off tasks as you complete them. If you do something that isn't on the list, write it down and then cross it off. Trust me, it'll make you feel like you're really accomplishing stuff. Make sure to add all ordinary things like brushing your teeth, going to the bathroom, and drinking a cup of coffee to the list.

4. Baby steps - Break tasks up into smaller chunks that are easier to handle. Like cleaning one room instead of worrying about cleaning the whole house at once. Or like eating just one piece of pizza at a time instead of trying to devour the entire thing at once.

4. Take a deep breath and relax. Remember what's important and things will fall into place. If they don't, just take some time out and escape the stress for a little while by going shopping for bowties at your local mall.


What great advice! I was already able to apply one of these handy tips. While copy/pasting this blog post, my children found and administered enough handsoap to their bodies and clothing for me to write "Bathe children for the next year" on my list and cross it off! (See, Honey -- I've already been VERY productive today! ;)

PS -- Sonia (David's mom) recently took some cute pictures of the kids and emailed them to me, so I'll be posting them as soon as I figure out how to crop myself out of the background!