May 24 | Household Tips
You may have heard me from time to time talk about our small home. At only 900 square feet, there have been various times when I have been unhappy with our living situation, but other times I have been very thankful and content! In my mind, bigger is definitely not always better. If it weren’t for the needs of our family and needing a wee bit more space (namely, more bedrooms!) we’d probably be staying here for quite some time.
However, today, I wanted to list of some of the reasons why I love our small home:
Less to clean
I’m a weirdo and I actually enjoy cleaning, but I think that’s largely due to the fact that there is not much surface area to cover in our home. It really doesn’t take me long to get the house looking clean!
Less expensive
We live in a townhouse so we pay a monthly strata fee, but included in this is our water bill, garbage bill and general maintenance costs to the common areas. When you think about it, we’re saving a ton by “sharing” the costs with our fellow townhouse neighbors. We also only pay for electricity because our home is not heated with natural gas. One bill to run our place! Also, when we did our small kitchen reno several years back, it was very affordable because the kitchen is so small we didn’t need to buy a lot of materials. I can’t forget to add that it’s very affordable to live here. We paid off the mortgage when we were married almost 9 years ago. (I’ll credit my smart husband with that one ;))
Really makes me think before I purchase something
Living in a small space means we usually have a storage issue. Especially with kids. So anytime I’m tempted to purchase something, I really have to think about whether or not we have the room for it or if I feel like maintaining the item. Many times I decide we don’t need an item simply because we don’t have enough room! Keeps a lot of money in my wallet. 😉
We’re “always” together
This one is a bit tricky since both my husband and I are introverts and need time to ourselves to recharge. But, due to the size of our home, there’s no where to go to get away from each other. Ha! However, this has been a good thing as well, because we’re forced to deal with our issues and put ourselves aside for the sake of our family.
Easier to Decorate
Having very limited wall space has made decorating our home a breeze. Basically the only thing that gets changed somewhat regularly is our mantle. I change the minimal decor each season. Currently it has a fake plant (stays all year except at Christmas time), two decorative side plates, and three candle holders. Cheap and easy.
If you live in a small home, what are some things that you enjoy about it?
May 20 | Household Tips
Most families with children assign at least a few chores to their kids, and this post is all about how to make that simpler. A cleaning schedule your kids can work around is great, but making it simple and easy for them is best. These tips can make cleaning and completing chores fun and easy for everyone in the family.
7 Tips For A Simple Cleaning Schedule For Kids
Create a chore chart.
It’s pretty hard to have a simple cleaning schedule without a chore chart. For younger kids you can use pictures instead of words until they can learn to read the chore on a list. A chore chart can easily be divided by child, what time the chore will be completed by and what is needed to complete it. Amazon has a great selection of chore charts.
Divide into 5 minute chores.
Shorter and smaller chores are best for kids to do. Anything that takes much more than 5 minutes to complete will lose their attention span and only become a hassle for you and your kids. Divide things up into small chores like emptying the garbage, feeding the pets, setting the table or sorting their dirty laundry. You can add to the list as needed, but try to keep most chores to smaller time frames.
Divide between before and after school.
To make it easier for your kids to complete all of their chores, divide them up between morning and afternoon. This means they can do some before and some after school each day. On the weekends it doesn’t tie up their entire morning with chores, and keeps them responsible.
Keep tools accessible.
A cleaning schedule won’t work if you don’t have the right tools for the job. Since kids may not be using cleaning agents, you won’t have to worry too much about this. You do however, want to make sure you have what they need on hand and easy for them to reach. Things like the pet food, broom or extra trash bags for when they take out the garbage. Having tools accessible may only mean that you set them out before they get started and not letting them have complete access to the cleaning supplies.
Swap chores regularly.
Kids get bored, and a cleaning schedule works best when you mix and match things. Routine is great, but kids may get tired of the same chores day in and day out. With multiple children in a family it is easy to swap chores so everyone has a turn and gets variety. For single children you may want to swap chores with them yourself.
Make it a game.
Cleaning as a game is a great way to get younger kids excited and involved. Whether you turn on the music, set timers and race or make it a puzzle, doesn’t matter. As long as they are having fun and learning to enjoy parts of the cleaning schedule it will work great.
Reward quality work.
Giving kids rewards is a great way to keep them motivated. A simple cleaning schedule is easy to reward with things like stickers, a small toy, book or a special treat. Keeping kids on track with rewards is a great way to motivate them to stick to the schedule.
Kids love structure and routine, and you can easily keep a great cleaning schedule that allows them to help you throughout the home on a regular basis.
May 2 | Household Tips
I got thinking, as I was just folding an empty tissue box for the recycling, rather than recycling it, what are some other uses for an empty tissue box? So…
I’m wondering: What are some uses for empty tissue boxes?
Apr 25 | Household Tips
Today’s question is a walk down memory lane 🙂
I’m wondering: What was your very first job?
Have you got something you’ve been wondering about that I could feature in a future I’m Wondering post? Submit your question here!
Apr 21 | Household Tips
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