Cleaning up my Summer

In the summer, I often fall victim to waking up in the morning and thinking "well, the kids will want to swim because it's hot, and the pool doesn't open til one, so I might as well laze around till it's time to get going."
Of course I don't just lay there, but on those days, I'm far less likely to start something like the laundry because I think "I'll forget I'm doing it when we go." Other things like making beds get pushed aside for "he'll need a nap," or "I don't want to wake the kids," and quickly things start to pile up.
"I'll organize the shelves when we get home" turns into "I'll clean up that overflow of stuff off the shelves onto the table tomorrow when we'll be in."
Of course, the next day moves from a low key straightening-out-the-things-I've-let-slide day into a how-nice-of-you-to-invite-us-to-a-picnic day.

Fortunately, my mother noticed something else. She noticed that the tween is spending *far* too much time on the computer these hot summer days, and said, "do you remember when you were little and the absolute summer rule was that you stayed in, did chores, and whatever else needed doing before noon, and then you could go play? Maybe something like that only with the computer might be a good idea."

I had forgotten that when I was a kid it was work til noon, play the rest of the day. (Yes, I'm also considering the computers-after-dinner idea too.) When I look at the things that come up, they're almost always afternoon things, so it logically follows that a work til noon policy would fit in just right. It also gives me the opportunity to mentally realign my thinking. No, I don't have to worry that I have something to interrupt a day of cleaning if most days start off with half or even quarter days of cleaning.

Cleaning doesn't have to be this overwhelming all consuming thing. It can be a between-breakfast -and-lunch thing, and then we can go swim.


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