A couple of weeks ago, I had an aha moment after several days of feeling overwhelmed.
I do not have to do it all!
There is SO MUCH that goes into running the household and I live with three other humans who are
capable of helping me BUT, I never ask. We have tried the chore charts before but I decided to go a different direction with things this time. I realized that because I am doing so much work behind the scenes, the rest of the family isn't aware of all of the tasks that go into our day to day routine. Things like keeping the house clean, getting dinner on the table, managing schedules, planning get togethers, or making sure things are in order for our fur kiddos.
Last week, on Friday afternoon, I created a quick print out to keep on the fridge. It read, "Help Wanted!"
On this printable, I listed all of the tasks that needed to happen for the weekend. This included vacuuming, dusting, emptying trash cans, bathing the dogs, picking up the dog poop, etc. I simply asked that everyone do 1-2 things on the list before they had their fun for the day. There was no pushback whatsoever!
Two things happened!
One, my overwhelming list of things to do became shorter. I could focus on planning a birthday and Father's Day because I had help with the household tasks.
Two, it gave my family insight and a gentle reminder of all the things that need to be done to keep the house running smoothly and in order, just like we all like it.
Here is your reminder to ask for help!
it takes the overwhelm off of everyone when the family is working together.
Click the link below for your "Help Wanted" printable. If you find it helpful, I would love to hear form you.
Enjoy!
Every year I print a cute Santa letter template and the boys quickly work through it with excitement. They list their wants, sign the letter, and off it goes!
Now that they are a little older, I wanted a template to guide them to be a little more thoughtful with their list.
This isn’t something that I wanted to make too deep but still reflective. I wanted them to have fun with it! My youngest, who is 7, obviously had much different responses than my fourth grader. However, the few reflective fill in the blanks, did have both pausing to think on things for a moment.
Initially, I thought the reflective portion would be about behavior, I quickly realized I needed to let them guide their own responses and have fun with it. I know the responses to those questions will changes over the years.
While I am not a graphic designer, you are free to download the Letter to Santa printable below.
Enjoy!
We have all heard of a gratitude journal. If you are like me, you have started one and loved it but then somehow life creeps up on you and the journal falls to the wayside. Somehow that habit that was so good for our mindset and that we enjoyed so much has fallen through the cracks and we hesitate to jump back in.
The truth is, a journal is not necessary to sit in gratitude. I am not saying that gratitude journals aren't great, because they are. However, I want this to be a simple practice that my kids can understand and implement on their own for a healthy mindset. I want something that can encourage positive conversation and reflection over meals or while riding in the car.
To get in the habit of being mindful and practicing gratitude simply, I created a simple print out that I can keep on the fridge, at my desk or in the bedrooms to remind us of questions we can be asking ourselves to reflect at the beginning and at the end of the day.
In fact, it is so simple, that you probably won't have to glance at it after a few run throughs. You may even add your own reflection questions to the mix! My hope is that this becomes a simple habit for our minds when we wake up and when we end our day.
I hope the printable below helps to stir up some reflective conversations in your family!
