The Thrill of Victory One thing I always hated was walking into the kitchen in the mornings to find dishes piled in the sink because no one had time to empty the dishwasher. What a way to start the day! I knew before I walked into the kitchen I was going to be met with dirty dishes, but I always had high hopes. Usually, whoever was assigned the chore that particular day was running late and just didn't have time. You could almost set your clock by our routine!
7:10am Mom walks into the kitchen, notices the dirty dishes and asks "Who's supposed to take care of this?" 7:11am No one admits it's their job, so Mom reminds them of the rotation and points out the list posted on the side of the fridge. 7:12am Everyone scatters and Mom empties the dishwasher, grumbling the entire time. I have a choice. I could just leave dishes stacked in the sink and the dishwasher to be emptied after school. But, I couldn't live with the dirty dishes sitting in my sink all day and I don't want to have to wash them by hand. So, I decided to change my routine. I discovered I had time to run the dishwasher after dinner instead of overnight so I could empty it before I went to bed. I must tell you, this one small change made a huge difference in our whole morning routine around here. And our attitudes!!! That is not to say the kids don't have chores assigned to them. They still have plenty to do to keep them out of trouble. But, I realized I was spending more time agonizing over things not being done to my satisfaction than it actually took me to do them. It was the same way with my son's room. He cleans it up but more times than not he will leave behind a stray Lego or two, a pokeman card or even a dirty sock sticking out from under his bed. It takes less time for me to stop in there and take care of those little things than it does for me to stand over him pointing out all his failures. So, after he leaves for school, I spend about 10 seconds putting his room in the order I want it. We are both happy! Determine your motivation when assigning chores to others. Is it to train them in how to do a job correctly or is it to help relieve your burden? Or a little of both? Your answer to that question will help you greatly organize your time. -------------------- source: Genie's Corner - Issue 53 [EMAIL PROTECTED] *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Journey from clutter List Website http://journeyfromclutter.com Members Only Page http://journeyfromclutter.com/MembersOnly/MembersArea.htm Unsubscribe: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word 'unsubscribe' in the 'Subject:' field to be removed from the main list. To Unsubscribe from the Digest version of the list send the unsubscribe message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
