Finding the right balance between family and work can be challenging. In a changing world that seems to demand more from each area of our lives, keeping that home to work stability is especially needed.

Between your job, home management, and the day-to-day needs of your family, you may find yourself wishing for more hours in a day, and a month-long vacation from life.

Before you let yourself get too overwhelmed, check out these five simple steps that you can put in place into your home today, which will help keep you sane and your house clean, too. 

1. Home Management Needs a Plan

Like every well-run business, your home needs a plan to run smoothly. 

Write down a list of everyone’s schedules. Using a large wall calendar, planning app, or a dry-erase board will conveniently put everyone’s daily activities in one place. This makes it easier to see who needs to be where, and any overlap or problems that might arise. 

This process can help to show what extra time there is for chores, mealtime, and family fun. You will also be able to see what might need to get cut out, which can happen to a busy family.

2. Split up the Household Duties

As life gets busy, it’s easy for the main household duties, such as grocery shopping or daily chores, to get put onto one person. Delegating tasks and making sure everyone in the house is helping can keep this from happening.

Chore lists, daily expectation charts, or to-do lists, can be an effective way to show the expectations for each member of the family.

For younger family members, stickers or a reward chart could be a good way to excite them to want to help out. For older youth, transitioning to an expectation of family duty might include rides to outings or money for a movie. 

3. It’s Okay to Budget for Help

There will be weeks when overtime, soccer games, or school plays might put a strain on your plan. For times like that, add a little extra to your monthly budget to help your family stay on track.

Ordering delivery dinner, an enterprising teenager to come cut your lawn, or in-home cleaning services to do some basic cleaning when needed can take the weight off those times when your plan needs some help.

4. Household Rules

Setting the main expectations for how your house runs is an important job. However, just like many successful classrooms, allowing your children to help make some family rules can enable them to be able to follow and keep the rules better.

If you add in a reward, also let your children help to pick or plan the reward. When they are invested in it, they will work harder. 

5. Schedule Time for Fun

One thing that tends to take a backseat when family life is at its busiest is fun! Going for bike rides, implementing a weekly family game or movie night, or the occasional trip to the bowling alley are all small ways to take a break from your busy schedules. 

Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow

Everyone has something they keep putting off until tomorrow. Don’t let this happen to you. Following these five steps can be easy, especially when your whole family is involved and invested.

Having a tidy home, a set of family rules, and an easy-to-implement plan will keep your home management skills on point and allow for more time to spend enjoying your family.