I believe household administrative tasks are one of the common causes of burnout in mothers. Household administrative work is almost always invisible yet when not completed it can feel like the home will fall apart.
Today we are going to look at 5 ways to simplify household administrative tasks to ease the feeling of overwhelm and reduce the risk of burnout. But first, let’s dive into what exactly is “household administrative work”.
What are Household Administrative Tasks?
Household administrative tasks are the unseen work that keeps the household and the family flowing and moving. They are all those tasks that need to be completed regularly or otherwise the flow of the home is disrupted.
I like to think of this work as falling into two categories.
1. Person-Related
Person-related includes tasks include things such as scheduling doctor and dentist appointments, organizing social calendars, arranging pick-up and drop-off for school and practices, handling all holiday and birthday-related tasks, and more.
2. House-Related
House-related includes tasks such as grocery shopping, paying bills, handling debt and savings plans, household goods shopping, and maintenance work around the house such as organizing and implementing weekly cleaning, arranging service appointments, and making sure supplies needed to maintain the home is in stock.
The Overload of Household Administrative Tasks
The ever-growing list of these sorts of tasks can quickly become overwhelming for moms or the person in charge. This most often happens because these sorts of tasks occur in conjunction with the rest of life’s requirements as well.
Add to that, the stress of personal neglect, and it is no wonder that so many women feel so burnt out.
Sure, we don’t set out to neglect our own health and wellness but our drive to care for our families is often so great that unintentionally we do push our needs to the back burner.
5 Tips To Simplify Household Administrative Work
1. Schedule Time Each Week for Meal Planning.
Set aside 30 minutes to meal plan each week. Start by shopping your own pantry and then create a shopping list based on what you need to finish making meals with what you have on hand. Don’t forget to have 1-2 easy backup meals on hand for nights when you will be at a practice or simply are too tired to cook.
Related: How to Create a Weekly Meal Plan
2. Keep a Home Goods Inventory.
Once a month review your home goods and shop only for what you need. This will reduce waste, decrease overspending, and prevent multiple trips to the store because you ran out of TP. Simply review and add to your shopping list anything that you are low on or that you think won’t last through the month.
Related: How to Use Home Inventory Sheets
3. Create a Cleaning List That Works for You.
This one might take a bit of trial and error. Start by creating a list of everything you need to clean each week in your home. From there, you will be able to divide it up into a manageable set of tasks. You have a couple of options for cleaning. You can plan to clean a certain area each day. Or you can simply clean something from the list each day until the house has been completely cleaned. Either way, this will help to keep spaces from being neglected.
4. Batch Your Errands
Running out of the house all around town can make time feel like it is flying by. Instead, try and do all your out-of-house errands on 1 or 2 days each week. This way you will have more time at home. You can use this time to care for what needs to be done and focus on the family.
5. Have a Weekly Meeting with Your Partner.
Pick a night each week to go over the upcoming week. Decide what tasks or projects you want to focus on, solidify schedules and make sure everyone is working together. This is also a great time to meal plan! As you’re going over each night, determine a meal that fits your schedule. Use this as a time to add any extra needs to your shopping list as well.
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