You will probably find this post either incredibly disgusting or terribly innovative, but here goes:
I have low standards for certain things, like doing laundry and showering, which allows me more time to do the stuff that I value more, like making homemade meals, reading, and watching How I Met Your Mother.
Here are my recommendations, if you're ready to lower your standards:
1) Shower only once or twice a week. Have your kids do the same.
2) Let your kids sleep in their clothes and have them wear the same clothes over and over again until they get so dirty that you can't stand it anymore.
3) Only wash your clothes when you absolutely need to (this should account to no more than one load every 10 days for a family of five).
4) Wash your dishes with only water immediately after you use it. This will save you time from filling up the sink with soap and doing a lot of dishes. Just take the dish, turn the water on, and use a green scrubby on it, and let it air dry. Don't wash your glasses unless they really need it.
It's kind of like camping, really. Why have different standards in regular life than when you're camping? (I'll answer myself here: Because that is what normal people do, Allison.)
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13 comments:
That is awesome. It's funny-- I started off, yeah, that sounds good and by the end I was like, urgh.
Camping standards-- I like that. They are oh so different...
(Hi, I'm Devon-- I've been reading and enjoying your blog for a while :)
I know, it's disgusting.
Get out of my house!
Although my standards have changed, back in the day when I lived on the farm, we only bathed once a week and we had to share the water.
mom
the only one I can't let go of is using soap... which I also do while camping. Except for water glasses, I will use those for only water for quite some time.
Ok, I love this. I thought we were the only ones who have to search their minds to remember the last time they showered. I veto clothes only when they have visible food splotches.
I do use soap with dishes some of the time. But if I want to just wash a few dishes in a hurry, I just scrub the food off with a scrubby under hot water.
I love this post! I do some of these things, too. My kids sleep in their clothes, and so do I (as long as they are comfortable, otherwise we get into more comfortable clothes). My kids rarely bathe, but I do every other day. I wish I didn't. I stink so badly and my scalp starts to itch after about 4 days! Gross. I like your laundry tip. How on earth do you manage that AND cloth diaper? With our diapers and cleaning rags and towels alone I have almost a load per day. Yes camping is fun. Good point!
I'd let my kids sleep in their clothes if Jalen didn't randomly still wet the bed. He has a uniform, and if he peed, I'd definitely be doing more than 1 load of laundry every 10 days. I do muchmore laundry than you do, but it's the one chore I feel like I have a handle on and I'm not letting go of that one.
I knew there was a reason why I liked you. We have kinship low standards. Although, I have never thought of them or labeled them as low standards. But in other ways I probably have standards that are too high, so now I feel balanced.
We got back from a road trip on Tuesday and I reaized today (Friday) that I haven't showered since returning. I thought I should check for spiders in the shower before I get in.
I have a couple of tips to share with you. On #2, an alternative we do on most "home" days is we just stay in our jammies all day and then when my husband comes home I smile and say "look dear, we're all ready for bed early :0). And a way we cut down on dishes is we use water bottles instaed of glasses, so everyone gets their own and they get wiped and washed as needed. A here's a biggie (not for everyone) a way to limit the need to do laundry is to not wear underwear. How many times do you "have" to do laundry because you are out of clean panties? Now if I can just convince my husband and daughter to not wear them (not really)then laudry could really wait a while.
We are campers/travelers, so maybe that's why it works. I also lived without running water (by choice) for five years before marrying my husband, so that prepared me for wiping my dish clean and using it all day along with the same fork.
Thanks for sharing your post. I can't say that I would normally share any of this information, but knowing that you do these things too makes me smile.
Robin - Thanks for sharing! My kids are already on board with the no underwear thing, so that's a done deal. ;)
And yes, you're right that they shouldn't be labeled "low standard"... I was just thinking in terms of what the "norm" is (whatever that means). And I like how you said about how you have standards that are too high, so now you feel balance. That is so true for me too!
Eh, and those are some of the reasons I don't like camping, lol!
Huzzah!
1) I find that I only shower once or twice a week. Since I take my baby in shower with me, she does the same. My husband keeps about the same schedule.
2) I am a big proponent of NO undies (except one week per month)! We definitely re-wear jeans, but we prefer to be naked or in jammie pants at home. So, wearing a pear of jammie pants and a pair of jeans, splitting the day, they each last about a week, or close to it!
3) We put off laundry just out of procrastination. But it is an inconvenience, schedule-wise, so we usually do it on the weekends. We've been known to manage 2 weeks instead of 1, though. My baby definitely wears the same clothes for days at a time!
4) Hm. I'm surprised people aren't concerned with the germs here. I totally feel that people are too germ-o-phobic, but... You've really got me thinking on this one! I do use the same water glass for several days (or until my daughter back-washes too much food into it).
I love to camp and that is a really good comparison to give! Thank you for being so honest... I've found a lot of moms on blogs lately that are admitting the rarity of their showers. It makes me feel so much better about my own shower spacing! And heck, call it water conservation and feel even better!
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