By 
These days, being a mother is a delicate balancing act. Today many women work to support their families. It doesn’t matter if she is a single mother or happily married: the reality of modern life means that she needs to work. And whether she’s working from home or commuting to the office every day, it means she has a whole host of extra responsibilities. Where our grandmothers and perhaps our mothers were purely involved with raising children and taking care of the home, we have to juggle these responsibilities with the demands of holding down a job.
In fact, earning a stable income comes at a price: it is very difficult to keep the house clean and tidy if we are out all day, and when we get home we have to devote all our attention to our children. Some things can be put off until the weekend, but others, like clothing, food preparation, and basic hygiene, need to be taken care of on a consistent and daily basis.
One of the most important places to keep clean and tidy is the kitchen. An overly dirty kitchen can be a health hazard, not to mention the unpleasant smell and atmosphere it creates. So how can a busy mom keep her kitchen running as it should be, without having to pay for hired help (which is out of reach for many women, even if they’re working)?
Perhaps the following tips will help you:
– Make a list of five basic tasks that you always make sure to do before going to bed: wash the dishes, put away any food or liquid that should be in the refrigerator, sweep the floor, clean the countertops and empty the trash. Taking just a few minutes each, these five simple tasks are non-negotiable, and if you do them every day, it makes a world of difference to your home’s hygiene level.
– Always put things away as soon as you have finished with them, and in the same way, when preparing food, immediately clean any utensils that you have used. This prevents the accumulation of clutter.
– Look for practical kitchen storage problems: everything needs a specific place. Put glass doors on your cabinets if it helps you keep track. If you don’t have enough closet space, downsize. And for small kitchens, consider adding shelves or hanging pans on the walls in a decorative yet practical pattern…
– Keep it simple. If you’re working full time, you don’t need to come home exhausted and then cook a gourmet dinner every night. Look for easy, nutritious recipes that are quick to prepare and involve as little time and mess as possible. This does not mean living on “fast food”, which is unhealthy. It’s all about finding one-pot meals, using a crock pot, or making salads, casseroles, pastas, and vegetable soups quickly and easily. There are plenty of quick recipes out there that will taste just as good as the more complicated cordon bleu stuff, but without even a tenth of the effort involved.