A housekeeper's job is often a never-ending one. It is a routine, thankless job. With more and more ladies taking up jobs outside the home it becomes imperative that the entire family pitches in to create a homely atmosphere. Here are a few tips to help you tackle the job and put your home and consequently your life in order.
Get everyone involved
Women often prefer to do everything themselves. This is because they feel that a certain job is to be done in a certain way and only they can do it perfectly. They don't pass on responsibility to other family members and feel cheated when no one lifts a finger to help. In reality when all the members of the family work together, chores can be done in a fraction of the time and everyone can have the satisfaction of having contributed something towards the maintenance of their homes.
Match the job to the person
Each member of the family should be asked to take up a particular task. The important thing is to make sure that the task is suitable for their age and their interests. If your husband is a couch potato he can cut vegetables and fruits while watching his favorite TV show. Similarly your son, who is always on the go, can be asked to run a few errands. However if you ask him to peel the garlic he may not be so cooperative simply because it is not in his nature to stay put in a place for more than five minutes.
Ask for Help
Whether it is your spouse, your kids or your in-laws, asking for help always fetches the desired result rather. Avoid bossing around. It is a good idea to sit with family members and prepare a list of jobs to be done. Most of the times people don't understand the volume of work involved and hence may not come forward to do things. But once you have it in black and white, everyone can pitch in. Try to swap places for a day. Let your kids be the parent for a day and you don the role of the kid. While they enjoy the new role, they will also understand the hard work it involves.
Make it fun
On holidays when you expect your kids to clean their rooms or their cupboards, switch on their favorite music. Get a pack of popcorns and get them started. Everyone will be a lot more cooperative. Don't forget to shower praises. Even if the job is not done perfectly, don't make them redo it as by doing so you would be killing their enthusiasm. Later when they are in a listening mood you can gently point out the mistakes, so the next time around they can correct themselves. It is better to give the instructions in a friendly tone before they start the job, or to help them do it the first few times until they get the hang of it.
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