Well, If You'd Help With the Laundry!
By Angela Giles Klocke
“ The Organized Writer Is A Selling Writer is a 59 page, single space
booklet I either print from my computer or sell as an email
attachmen... ”
As I walked through my house the other day, I was amazed at how much
it had changed. I remember the way it used to be. It would always be
clean and ready for the kind of company that never calls before
stopping by. But now, it was terrible. Clothes that were waiting to
be folded were piled on the recliner, dishes overflowed the sink, and
the kitchen floor was less than desirable. What had happened here?
It was obviously a gradual change or else I probably would have
noticed it when it happened. But over the last year, my house was
seriously lacking, err, cleanliness. And though it seemed like
nothing had changed with my workload, it had. I seemed to add more
writing duties to my load weekly and stopped being maniacal about the
way my home looked. The end result was that I have gotten more down
about my whole home-life in general since I work here, too.
It was time for a change.
How can you work from home as a writer and be totally creative if you
are feeling upset about the way your home looks? As a parent, you
obviously already know that spotless won't happen for quite some
time, but messy and chaotic can be avoided. Unless your children are
all infants, they can help while you get that much needed writing
time you've been seeking.
My oldest child recently learned how to do the laundry. It was a
forced lesson. He wanted certain clothing for a field trip and I was
on deadline. The time it takes to load a washing machine is minimal,
you're thinking, so why couldn't I just do it? When you look at the
few minutes it takes to move the dry clothes out of the dryer, the
wet clothes into the dryer, and load (after separating) more clothes
into the washer, you realize you could have written at least 100
words. Sure you could! If you have those few extra minutes to sit
with your writing rather than fuss with clothing, you will be that
much further into your work. Any family member can take time out of
their schedule to help you have those extra few minutes for yourself.
My son now handles half of the laundry and I don't have to worry
about running around during inspiration to pour fabric softener in.
Almost everyone in your family can learn to rinse their dishes and
load them into the dishwasher or sink after each meal. By doing so,
when it comes time for you to clean up the kitchen, it will be a lot
easier and you'll be back to writing in half the time. However, many
writers find dishwashing time, though tedious, as one of the greatest
times to brainstorm, so you may want to rethink handing any of those
duties off.
Believe it or not, your three-year-old can vacuum your carpets. What
fun they would have chasing your pets with the "scary machine", all
the while sucking up the grit and grime left behind them in earlier
hours. More toddlers than not enjoy housework and you'll oftentimes
have to make them stop helping. But if you need a few extra minutes
to write and your floor needs vacuumed, let them go for it!
What about yard work? Do you have a child old enough to mow the
grass? Rake the leaves? Weed the garden? All of these duties may need
to be done on a regular basis and you may not always have time. With
a little help from the family, you won't have to have a neglected
yard or miss deadlines.
Of course, I have mostly mentioned your children or family in
general, but what can your spouse/significant other do? What about if
they agree to mop the floors every other week, or clean the bathrooms
at least once a week? They could help you with your filing, read
through mail to weed out the junk and actually throw it away for you
rather than how we as writers have this need to hold onto everything
"just in case."
The best and most helpful thing our spouses/significant others can do
is this: Rather than walking into a room and declaring it unfit for
humans, they could clean it instead. How could that ever happen, you
wonder. In my home, it seems that about the time I stopped walking
into my husband's own section of the house (his bar room is his
section, much like my office is all mine) complaining and instead
picked up a few things to straighten up, he began doing the same in
the living room area. Now, rather than complain and moan every time
he trips on shoes that really shouldn't be in the middle of the
floor, he moves them without a word (at least, none said aloud). So a
little understanding and silent support and assistance can go a long
way.
Now, the last thing I would advocate here is to having your family do
all of your housework for you. After all, if you stop helping,
they'll soon feel the same as you did when no one helped you. But by
having them pitch in when you need it most, and then doing your share
when you have that available time, you will all be working together
as a family and find yourselves on the way to happier lives.
What Can You Do While the Family Helps Out?
Write, write, write!
Resources
Controlling Clutter -
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/controlling_clutter Suite by
Janet Kitto.
Need some help to get you and your family on the path to a cleaner
home and less chaotic home life? Check out FlyLady today.
http://www.flylady.netCheck out The Organized Writer Is A Selling Writer by Kathryn Lay.
"The Organized Writer Is A Selling Writer is a 59 page, single space
booklet I either print from my computer or sell as an email
attachment. It is $8 as a hard copy and $6 as an attachment. It has
information on goal setting, organizing, finding ideas, marketing,
selling reprints, contesting, following up, query letters, etc." For
further information, contact Kathryn at mailto:
rlay15@...*This article originally appears at the Writing Help for Parents site
at Suite101.com
Angela is the publisher of THE WRITING PARENT, the zine especially
for parent writers
(mailto:
TheWritingParent-subscribe@yahoogroups.com), and owns her own
publishing business, Klocke Publishing
(
http://www.klockepresents.com).
[end]
Angela Giles Klocke
http://www.klockepresents.comDo you have coupons you don't use? Yarn just sitting around?
Or moment to support and mentor a young parent?
If so, visit One Young Parent today!
http://oneyoungparent.comOffering a hand UP, not a hand OUT.
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