Well, we’ve talked on this podcast about how husbands and wives can work TOGETHER to run your home well… That’s our Default Parent episode.
In Default Parent, we identify something called “invisible work”. That is all the behind-the-scenes stuff that keeps things running although it’s hardly noticed and rarely valued. (If the toothpaste never runs out, you know what invisible work is!) I love that episode! It is chock-full of ideas of how you and your husband can negotiate the division of labor in your home, which we highly recommend you go back and listen to in conjunction with our conversation today.
Most women still handle the bulk of a home’s “invisible work.”
Mental load: mental to-do list you keep for all the family tasks. Juggling constant details. Creates stress, fatigue, forgetfulness.
Second Shift: domestic stuff you do before you go to work and even longer after you get home.
Emotional Labor: maintaining relationships work like thank you notes, teacher gifts, soothing meltdowns, caring.
It’s little surprise that women who handle these tasks without help report feeling overwhelmed and empty. All of this responsibility can lead to feelings of stress and lack of joy about life – issues that can lead to mental health problems like depression and anxiety. Even less surprising is that doing more invisible labor around the house was linked to less relationship satisfaction.
So, in addition to negotiating responsibilities with your husband, TODAY we want to talk about systems and life hacks that can help BOTH of you keep your household running like a well-oiled machine.
Today, we’re going to talk with Laura Hernandez about some Tried-and-True Systems for Mamas who want to Bring Peace and Joy to their home and have more time for themselves.
Welcome Laura! Tell us a little bit about yourself. Laura Hernandez. My husband, Tony, and I are raising our ten exceptional children in the Dallas area. In the past four and a half years, we have added six new children to our family… three biologically and three through adoption.
It took me years to develop systems, and life hacks to keep our family running and organized. By developing these systems, it helped our family run smoothly, it reduced my daily workload, and my house became a place of peace… yes, even with ten kids! I want to help other Mamas do the same.)
Check out Laura’s website: www.mamasystems.net
Get Laura’s free SELF-CARE GUIDE we mentioned on the air here: SELF CARE
Laundry
Meals
House cleaning
School Stuff
Relationships (Small groups, entertaining)
Sports
Date nights? Family fun nights?
How do you train kids to pitch in?
Is technology a factor in derailing our productivity? If so, how?
What about self-talk? Does that play into our productivity? How do you talk to yourself about your role as a wife and mom?
Self-care? How does that play into keeping a home running well? Tips?
What advice would you give to moms who feel so totally behind and overwhelmed? Or who use some of these systems but have a season, like we all do, where stuff gets dropped. How do you reset?