Housekeeping and the working parent

When you get down to it, the issues that confront working parents boil down to just a few things: work load/hours, childcare, family time, finances, preparing meals and housekeeping.

Oh, the housekeeping.

Or, sometimes the lack of housekeeping.

Often, there’s literally just not enough hours in the day to do the house work that needs doing, yet that doesn’t stop some of us from hitting the pillow at night with visions of to-do lists dancing in our heads.

Lylah Alphonse hit the nail on the head for me in her article Is housekeeping the Achilles heel of working mothers?:

In spite of everything I do, I can’t shake the feeling that I should be able to do more. Is this the Achilles heel of the modern working mom? Shouldn’t I be able to keep my house spotless and clutter-free, decorated tastefully yet stunningly? Have all the clothes cleaned and folded and put away properly instead of heaped in clean or dirty piles in the hallway near the laundry room?

I need to learn that housework is a journey, not a destination.

I envision a time where the house is just as it should be and I can freely spend time with my family and have nothing nagging me. However, that’s a state that’s likely unattainable, and even if I could get there, it would all just begin again.

While I don’t usually feel guilty when my husband does the housework (he’s actually better at it than I am) I admit that I’m writing this as I’m surrounded by baskets of unfolded laundry.

But as one of Lylah’s readers pointed out,It’s better to be remembered as a great mom than a great housekeeper”, and I’m, working on both each day.