Help! I Am Overwhelmed!

Have you ever hit that point where you just can’t seem to keep your head above water? Schoolwork seems to be pushed farther and farther out. The dishes are piling up and clean socks are questionable. The kids baths? Who knows? You feel overwhelmed!

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

I have a teenager in my house. The workload jumps significantly at this age, and you begin to really feel the need to dot “i”s and cross “t”s as you stare down the barrel of college and beyond.

I also have a middle schooler and an elementary aged child at home. They are easily distracted, they fight, they need my attention.

I work from home as a homeschool mommy blogger. Deadlines loom. There are articles to be written, photos to be edited, promotion to be done.

Dishes. Laundry. Vacuuming. Meals. Grocery Shopping. Mom’s Taxi Service. Oh my!

Sound familiar? It is so easy to get lost in the swim of the day, the week, even just minute to minute.

How do we take a step back and relieve some of the stress piling up in our everyday homeschool lives?

1. Enjoy the Journey

The first thing I remind myself of is that this journey we are on is not a sprint.; it is a marathon. We have more time than we think to do the things we want to do. Our children are not permanently damaged if we don’t cover the entire science book this year! And trust me this is a tough one for type-A me! I like to check the boxes and have everything done–100% done.

2. Learn to Let Go

The truth is that most of the time getting 100% of everything is not realistic. Schools don’t cover everything, and we don’t need to either. So skip a chapter here and there. Let go when you get behind and pick and choose what you will complete. Are you feeling as though you have curriculum that isn’t working? Consider some of these suggestions.

3. Chores Will Always Be There

Truth is there will always be more dirty dishes, more piles of laundry, more stuff on the floor. We are truly never done in this department. I have found that remembering this can ease my stress over it. Then I take a step back and take care of immediate needs.

Keeping up with dishes that are right in front of me all day helps the house feel cleaner. The laundry? It can be shoved in the basket or laundry room so I don’t have to look at it all day. Some people say do a load a day. So get up and put a load in the wash, at midday transfer it to the dryer, at night take it out and fold. I have older kids, so my son helps me with the laundry, and we do it twice a week.

Take 3 fifteen minute clean-up times each day. Have the kids help in age appropriate ways. This will help you to get a few things done so the house doesn’t feel dirty and looming, and it gets the kids actively involved.

4. Dinner

I have found the best way to tackle dinner is to prepare ahead. Meal Planning can not only save you a ton of time, but money too! We plan for meals and shop for two weeks at a time. Each meal is based on our schedule so we know we have time to prepare the meal that is planned. Knowing ahead means we have all the ingredients in the house and can plan accordingly for meal prep.

5. Mom’s Taxi Service

There are some days I feel that I don’t ever leave the car. It is just a lot of driving and sitting in parking lots. There are a few ways to make better use of this time.

• Use it as learning time with educational CDs, audio books (try Audible by Amazon for 30 days free), or bring clipboards and do carschooling.
• If you have a child waiting with you, use waiting time as quality time to talk with and engage one-on-one with the child you have with you.
• Sitting by yourself? Bring along a book to read, a notepad for making lists and getting organized. Or bring along a special food/drink treat, crank up your favorite music (or none at all), and get a little “me time” in.

Here are more articles you might like to read on this topic:

6. Tips to Conquer Feeling Overwhelmed

7. Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?

In what ways do you de-stress or simplify when you are feeling overwhelmed?