calling all SAHMs - how often do you ...

[ss_storm]

• top and tailing (facewasher to face and then bum of your LO - never?? She gets a bath every night and wash her face after every meal instead
• outside time with LO - depends on the day really, if I have washing to hang out then we'll play after that and we take the dog for a walk every day in the park so I class that as 'outside' time as well.
• cleaning dogs' bowls - err..hardly ever! He licks his food bowl pretty clean, and his water bowl is one of those clam shell pools so I just give it a good hose out whenever it gets a bit yuck.
• brushing cat and/or dog - definitely not as often as i should! Especially now as soon as we are outside with him DD races over going "pat pat pat" and if Itry and brush him she wants the brush soo it's just all too hard..lol
• bathing LO - every night
• bathing dogs - again not as often as I should but he goes swimming regularly so is kind of self cleaning
• shopping- grab things more on an 'as needs' basis, we are only a couple of blocks from the supermarket so I find it's easier to walk up there every few days and get what we actually need, rather than driving up to do a big shop once a week. If it wasn't so convenient I'd do it once a week, but that would entail more work (i.e. better meal planning and list writing!)
• cleaning toilets - weekly when the bathroom is done
• cleaning basins- weekly
• cleaning bath/shower- weekly
• dishes (by hand)- every night (dishwasher for regular dishes)
• washing cloth nappies- every 2nd or 3rd day
• washing other clothes- when the laundry basket is full, maybe one load every 3 days?
• full cooked dinner- try and cook most nights, but on average we would have takeaway once a week.
• walk with LO- most mornings when we take the dog out
• walking dogs- daily, sometimes twice a day if the weather is great
• vacuum floors- once a week (should probably be more, often it's more like every week and a half or every two weeks )
• sweep/mop floors- after it's been vac'ed
• vacuum couch- not very often
• wash sheets - LO - try and do it weekly
• wash sheets - yours! - should be weekly, probably ends up being fortnightly!
• cleaning benchtops- wipe down after breakfast and after dinner, or if it gets really filthy
• cleaning stove- monthly..or before a rental inspection...I always look at it and think I must clean that tomorrow..and of course tomorrow never comes
• mow lawn- when it needs doing, often it's left until it's quite long and is desperate to be done!
• weeding/pruning- err...when there is more grass than garden?!
• cleaning the fridge- twice a week before I take the rubbish out
• general tidy- pick up DD's toys every night, if I know I'm going to a certain room and there is something in the room I'm in that needs to go there I'll take it.
• cobwebbing- when the spider webs start to annoy me
• sweeping the porches
• cleaning the car (inside)- before a big trip
• cleaning the car (outer)- when I can't see out the windscreen
• dusting- when i can write my name in it
• cleaning out attic/basement/garage/etc- don't have any of them!
• filing/paperwork- judging by the gigantic pile of paperwork sitting on a desk...every 6 months?! Lol

Maybe just give him a list of the most important things that need doing that day/week and try not to worry about the other stuff. e.g. leave the mowing/paperwork/cleaning out rooms etc until you are both home and can do it together. When you think about it, child care is a full time job in itself so it can be hard to find the time (and sometimes the motivation, because looking after a child really can drain your energy reserves) to fit in housework.
And once DS is on the move there doesn't seem to be much point in tidying up, because they'll only come along behind you and undo all your work!

for the moment, I'd just try and enjoy your DS, do the important housework things for hygiene's sake, the rest can wait. Housework is loyal like that and he really will grow up far too quickly so make the most of it while you can!

*Disclaimer: we live really close to the park/walking track along the river (like I block away) so it only takes a couple of minutes to get there and it's just become part of our morning routine which is why we go walking so often! If we didn't live so close or I had to drive to be able to get to somewhere walkable I'd probably be lucky to go 2-3 times/week.