A Dash of Words with Loleta Abi Romance Author

The Writer’s Wheel 11/24/19: Planning the Menu of Life

Loleta Abi

It’s tough to keep everything rolling along. Lists help. As does everyone pulling their weight.

Prep-work.

First off, assign chores. From the littlest thing to the biggest, get everything done and divvy up who is willing to do what. Don’t let them hedge on this. They will try and try to escape fulfilling their duties. Keep at them. No nagging, or course. Remind them to respect you and their family. Ask them how they’d feel to do it all on their own. Now, let that sink in and assign tasks again.

This time, they should follow through. It’ll take some of the weight off your shoulders and let everyone get satisfaction in taking care of the house. Responsibility is good. It will prepare them for life. Of course, don’t overload the older children or hubby or resentment might grow there but definitely don’t charge ahead with everything on your to-do list.

Marinate the schedule if need be.

If someone’s got practice, switch their chores to days off. If something happens where one child gets sick, ask another to fill in for them. Have the first return the favor when the other comes down ill. Likewise, with mom and dad. Exchange nights of cooking. Switch off on who does the dishes. Buy a dishwasher, lol. Outside work should be tagged as well. Rotate days of yard work, cleaning the garage, washing the car, etc.

The Menu.

I’ve been taking the advice of Melissa Griffiths over on Bless This Mess.com. She recommends planning out menus for three months ahead. Print calendars and figure out what to have. She starts with dishes your familiar with that way it makes it easier to fall into a routine. You can add newer dishes as you go along. She also says to label each night. Like, Comfort Night, Italian Night, Pizza Night, etc.

All this takes the stress out of what to serve when. It also helps with grocery shopping. No more confusion in the aisles as to what to buy for that week. It’ll be set to go. Now, if we could just get the food to be listed in the order of the aisle, they belong to instead of zipping back and forth around the store. My memory is only so deep, so this helps out tremendously. There are some things I can absorb better than others but the location of items in the grocery store is not one of them. Especially, when they change them around constantly.

Be kind to one another. Respect each other. Try one way, then another, if the first, or third time fails. Keep adjusting. You’ll find a balance. Maybe one sibling wants to trade another for a less disgusting chore in exchange for an extra hour of gaming. Or an hour with their friends. Discuss what their options are. This will make them feel more a part of the family’s decisions. It’ll also result in a smooth-running house. That’s a plus for all.

Have a great week, take care, and God bless!