clean first then you can craft

Yesterday I had a sudden urge to have a home day and get on top of the laundry, floors and clutter in the house. I don’t think it’s nesting. I really wanted to sit down and finish another block for my red letter quilt but I knew I had to get some of the housework done first. In the end the sun was out and I mixed cleaning with playing outside and had a lovely day with about 15 minutes knitting on the couch and not a minute spent at my machine.

But I wonder do you do that? Set little goals so if you do this then you can sit down and do what you really want to do. Even if it’s just 20 minutes on the couch with my knitting, I feel much better about everything because I took that time to do something that I love. With less than 8 weeks till a new member of our family arrives I have a big to do list and have just added making a little cardigan to come home from the hospital in.

And I also want to have a couple of pairs of baby socks knitted up too. This is my all time favourite baby sock pattern and is in a couple of Debbie Bliss pattern books. I’ve made them a couple of times and they are so sweet and warm.

baby socks

What’s your secret for getting some craft time into your day?

Comments

  1. Corrie, it’s a good idea to always reward yourself with something you like doing after the jobs are done. Win win I think. Take care of yourself. Cheers trish

  2. Corrie, I like your thinking and I always try to get some craft time (scrapbooking) however my time always comes at night time which isn’t always the best time and the lights not always great. So now I join a small group of ladies once a month and I get 4 hours to craft, chat and laugh. The best thing about it is that I’m always a better mummy for it. I recently got told that if I’m happy then the kids will generally be more happier. So that’s my mission especially with school holidays starting next week :)

    • that is great! after my quilting day I realised I need to set some time aside and get out for craft! good idea and snap school holidays start and I’m itching to finish quilt blocks:) :)

  3. Oh man I would pay a lot of money for an at home, blog and work free day! Sounds amazing.

    • well you could come here but I’d have to leave the kids with you:) :)

    • Sarah Jane says:

      I used to feel going to work outside the home was so much easier than staying at home caring for kids & running a house. I use to go to work to get some rest

  4. those socks! adorable!

  5. I do this but I found there was always too much on my “must do” list and I never got around to the “want” part. Instead I now allocate blocks of time, eg. Do as much housework as possible then sit down and do xx while the kids are occupied/asleep.

  6. I find a little stitching so relaxing. A lovely reward.

  7. Jacky B says:

    I set a timer on my phone for housework – say 30 minutes – rush around like a mad thing but then when my phone goes ping I reckon I’ve deserved some time to get crafty.

  8. One thing I try and do is head off to school pick up early, armed with my knitting bag, then sit in the car for 30 minutes and just knit. Its a win win as I’m early enough to get a parking spot, and I get a nice bit of craft time in.

  9. I do this, get some housework done and then reward myself with doing something that I enjoy like reading. My hands tend to be full though with my little ones so I don’t always get time for the reward!

  10. I like to aim to squeeze in a sit down with a cup of tea and a book just for 15 minutes but invariably it’s interrupted with “mummy I need a wee” or “mummy I need a drink” or similar so usually ends up being a lukewarm guzzled cuppa instead!

  11. I could use some tips. I always try to get through the list of things that need doing first and then it is so late I can’t be bothered getting the machine out and setting it up. Can’t wait to read that your little one has arrived. I hope the next 8 weeks pass quickly and uneventfully.

    • Hi Amelia, how we get around that is to play some games. For example, we are pretty lazy, but every time something is going in the microwave, we rush around to clean as much as we can within those 1-2 minutes in the kitchen. After that, we are not allowed to clean. If the kitchen turns into a mess, we start baking, which will give us enough time to clean the kitchen, and then get to enjoy a fresh new cake afterwards. Perhaps you can create some games which will make cleaning fun.

  12. Suzanne S says:

    One thing I do is to offer it up for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Eg. I’ll clean the house for an hour, even though I don’t want to, for the Holy Souls. I won’t snack between breakfast and lunch for the Holy Souls. etc. It works really well because if I had to rely on my own willpower nothing would ever get done :) Having said that, I didn’t do it during pregnancy.

  13. Sarah Jane says:

    I’m doing this today I have a heap of house work to get done & sewing/knitting that needs finishing so this morning I’m going to run around like a mad woman cleaning then set up some activity’s for the kids so I can sew. Most of my knitting & needle work is done at night when kids in bed I try to get 2 to 3 hours of crafting done, it’s my way of relaxing. I can’t believe only 8 weeks till your little one arrives I found with my children the last few weeks took forever :(

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