Keeping Home

I could have written Brittany's post myself! So I thought I would respond by replying in kind with a post of my own to kick-start my blog once again! Brittany at the High-Heeled Housewife posed this question: 


Do you work?  How do you balance your career with your home?  Where do you draw the boundaries, so it's clear that your home comes first?


I work too, and the balance is something I struggle with constantly. At times I let the little things go, so that I can cope with the big things, but there are days when even that doesn't work!


I am very lucky to have a very helpful husband who is happy to share the workload around the house at this point in our lives, but I still feel that the 'running' of the household is down to me.  


There is no easy solution here, but some things that I have found that help me are:

• I do not bring work home. Ever.
  I have worked from home for a couple of days when I was contagious with a virus recently, but after 'work hours' I put it all away and focused on being home.  Occasionally this means I need to stay back at work to keep on top of things, but once I am home, I am home.
  
• Very well organised cupboards - it sounds silly but it really helps if everything has a place to be. This makes tidying much much easier and allows Mr. Awesome to put away/find things easily too. As soon as my cupboards get out of control, so does the rest of the house.
  
• Several nights at home each week to catch up on tasks and to spend time in the house. One of the great pointers I learnt from Elizabeth George's Life Management for Busy Women, is BE AT HOME. I have always been a person with lots on and places to be. But as soon as I do that 4 or 5 nights a week, its easy to feel snowed under. So we let a few things go so that we could both be at home more often. And it works!
  
• I have after hours meetings I regularly need to attend for work. I made the decision to make them all on the same night of the week this year (i.e. Thursday nights) so that it becomes a more regular part of our rhythm and is easier to plan around.
  
• Pray. I don't get things right. Lots of the time. But when I pray about our home, and our marriage, lots of things seem to run more smoothly. 

What are your tips for balancing home and life?