Help that I can get

My last post was the complaining part, here is the solution part. Many folks, both here and on facebook suggested that I hire a cleaning service. That has been something I've been thinking about for a couple years now - basically ever since I started working full-time outside the home. But we still aren't quite ready to commit to spending that money.

And the good news is that my husband just got a new job! He'll be working here in town for the next six months, and this job actually has to pay overtime if he goes over 40 hours a week, so that should be the end of the 60-70 hour work weeks with 2-4 hours of commuting a day. What a relief that is going to be! He might actually be able to help a bit more around here.

But I have a few more labor saving solutions:

1. Ask more of Carbon. It turns out he's old enough to do a lot around here: scrubbing the kitchen floor (although he did say that was "the worst chore I've ever done"), doing some pet care, folding laundry, vacuuming. He can also assist: holding boards in place as I hammer to repair the fence, gathering up the branches that I trim off the bushes, etc.

2. Calling and scheduling a time for my Dad to come down and finish installing this dishwasher in my kitchen. I have a hand-me-down dishwasher - it's just sitting in my garage and not hooked up to anything. To install it will require redoing the cabinets - it's major but once it's done it should really help me keep up with cleaning the kitchen.

3. Getting the outdoor dog run finally fixed enough that the dog doesn't escape during the day. Then I don't have to leave her in the garage while I go to work anymore, and I shouldn't come home from work to quite so many unwelcome "gifts" and "surprises". My husband is planning on fixing the dog yard tonight when he gets done with work.

4. Redoing the front flower garden areas so that they are lower maintenance. Instead of trying to use ground cover plants anymore to go between flowers, I'm just going to get bark mulch and go with more big bushes instead of so many little flowers. I just don't have time to weed the flower bed enough to keep it from looking like crap anyway. My husband is also going to help me put in more of a barrier between my flower bed and the neighbors lawn, too, so I don't have to mow her grass anymore in order to keep my flowers from being eaten alive.

My husband and the kids all want this to get better - the stress on me is starting to trickle down and worry them too. So I do have some willing helpers around here, and I just have to figure out how to best use that help. And it's the same at work - I do have willing helpers, I just have to get to the point where I'm planning far enough in advance to know what can be delegated.

It's all going to work out. Our lives are good, and I am blessed with so much.