I just found this great comment on my blog and wanted to share it, and my reply with you. Read on and enjoy the solutions!

My name is Julie, I'm a Web Developer who works from home. I have 2 wonderful boys, a 3 year old and a 7 month old. I'm finding it very hard to balance not only my business/Mommy duties, but the house upkeep also. My husband works 3 nights a week, which is often difficult for me. I really enjoyed finding your web site.

I love what I do, and it provides a creative outlet for me. I would enjoy any "words of wisdom", you can offer. Sometimes I feel guilty, but I don't want to completely give up my professional career.

Thanks,

Julie Taha
http://www.suite16designs.com

Dear Julie,

Thank you for sharing your challenges with me and allowing us all to grow from the answers to your questions.

First let me tell you that I have a good understanding of what you are going though.  I am in a similar situation.  Though my kids are a bit older (3 and 5) which makes things a bit easier, my husband also works days & 3-4 evenings a week. I know how hard that can be. I'm going to address that a bit later...

Do I have "words of wisdom" to share?  TONS!  So many, in fact, I think I'm going to break this down into a two or three part blog post, so it won't get too long and the different parts will be easily accessible.

First, lets talk about the house upkeep. Why? I guess to get it out of the way...(can you see my attitude about housekeeping already?)   I can relate to you because I ain't no domestic diva. You see, when I was growing up, we had a housekeeper and I never learned how to maintain a clean home, and I don't enjoy cleaning. (The only thing that makes it tolerable is listening to podcasts on my ipod while I clean!) However,  as I am a natural-born SolutionHunter, I have tried using several resources to learn this important skill and  I will share them with you here.

First, allow me to clarify something with respect to housekeeping.  I think it can be broken down into two major components - keeping things organized and keeping things clean.  Some people are good at one, and not the other -- or not good at both. Regardless - keep this in mind. The ability to organize & maintain a home is not a magic talent you are born with -- it is a SKILL that must be learned.  If no one ever taught it to you, DO NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP about not being a great housekeeper - just do your best to learn the skills you need in order to maintain the level of order and cleanliness YOU NEED around the house. Work toward making progress, not perfection.

And while I'm on the subject of the "the level of order & cleanliness you need" I want you to consider just that. Is it possible your standards too high? Do you need to relax them? I don't know... but it may be something to consider...perhaps you may be making yourself crazy trying to maintain a picture-perfect home JUST in case a photogropher from House & Garden Magazine stops by for a photo shoot!  If this is the case, you're going to have to learn to let go a bit...

But...as I don't know you...it is equally as likely that you are living in a house which is messy and unclean and overwhelmed by it all. If that is the case - read on!

Regarding keeping things organized my first piece of advice is to  remember that YOU CANNOT CLEAN, TIDY, OR ORGANIZE CLUTTER!  Be RUTHLESS in weeding out clutter and it will make your life eaiser.  How? Ask yourself three questions when trying to evaluate something.

1) Do I use this?

2) Do I LOVE it?

3) Does it have sentimental value?

If it has sentimental value, but takes up too much space -- take a picture of it, put it in an album and get rid of the item.  Other than that -- if you don't use it (like, you haven't used it in a year) and you don't LOVE it -- IT IS CLUTTER. OUT IT GOES either to the trash or to someone who can use it more than you can. Period. I said "ruthless" -- Didn't I?

Second piece of advice:  if you are not are not a natural-born organizer, THE BEST SOLUTION I know to learn this skill is (in a very enteraining way!)  is reviewed in this blog entry right here.  Check it out. It's the only resource on organizing a home you will ever need.

Finally, I'd like to tell you about my two favorite organizing blogs. One is called "I Am an Organizing Junkie" and the other is The Neat Living Blog. Surf over there for great ideas, advice and resources. Setting up systems to keep the house tidy is SO important.  Even if you house isn't perfectly clean, you will feel better if the "stuff" is at least orderly.

Now...onto CLEANING.  This is the part that I am lousy at.  You surprised? Did you think that I "had it all together"?  Hey, I may be the SolutionDIVA here, but I keep it real. I've got my strengths and weaknesses like everyone else.  I'm not going to pretend  that I'm perfect at everything...but, as you know, I AM always searching for solutions...so...here goes:

The trick to cleaning, as I understand it, is breaking the tasks down and  developing ROUTINES of small amounts that you do each day. How do I know this key concept, even if I stink at it? Well, Flylady told me!  "Who is Flylady" do you ask? Flyday is a self-taught domestic diva with a very generous heart.  Once she figured out how to keep her home clean and tidy, she started a list of FREE email reminders that she sends out every day so that you don't have to wonder "What should I do today?"  Just follow her directions and you're house will be neat and clean in a few weeks AND you'll develop the habits to keep it that way.

I have GREAT admiration for Flylady, but I must admit. Her techniques did not work for me.  They CAN be a bit overwhelming, especially in the beginning.  I tried THREE Times, but couldn't get into it.  (I like to say, "I'm a Flylady Flunkie!" :) But, I KNOW that her system does work for MANY, MANY women -- that's why I mentioned it here. I did learn a lot from Flylady and I think she is terrific -- so I won't "knock" her just because it didn't work for me (as other women do) ...go try it for yourself, it just might work for you.

However, if you need some routines that are a bit simpler  I recommend subscribing to the Happy Mommy Newsletter. For a low monthly fee, in addition to MANY great tools and resources that you get, you get simplifed daily cleaning reminders with complete instructions. YES! Just follow the cleaning directions for the day and you'll be done!

Finally, If THAT doesn't work for you....just this week I downloaded this ebook:

Honestly, I have not had time to review in depth it yet, but from a quick skim, it DOES look good and helpful. You can decide for yourself by getting more information here. (Just scroll down to the middle of the page to find it)

Now that I've gone through all of the solutions that I have tried to learn the skill of housekeeping, I'm going to tell you what FINALLY, REALLY REALLY worked for me!

I hired someone else to do it!

You see, after a long break, I recently started my Coaching Practice up again. For those of you who may not know, I am a Life & Home Business Coach. You can read more about  my coaching services here if you like.

Can you guess what I decided to do with the income provided by my first client? That's right -- I hired a nice lady to come clean my house once a week. WHAT A HELP just ONCE a week can be!  She doesn't get EVERYTHING done in one day -- but she does a BIG chunk of it -- and I can do the rest. Even just one day or half-a-day can make a HUGE difference in your home AND your sanity. If you can't afford it once a week -- perhaps try once-a-month for deep cleaning.  I also consider it a TOTALLY reasonable business expense. She takes care of most of the cleaning, which frees up time for me to spend on getting more clients and keeping them happy...or...just playing with my kids, of course. If you can afford it -- consider it!  Even consider highing a high school or college kid who wants to make some extra money - you can probaby  pay them less than a cleaning sevice.

Finally, if all else fails -- try a little humor about the mess.  Pick one of the sayings following sayings - cut and paste them in to a word document. Make the font as big as you can, then print  it out and post it for all to see:

• A clean house is the sign of a dull woman.
• I’m creative; you can’t expect me to be neat too!
• I clean house every other day…. Today is the other day!
• My house was clean last week, too bad you missed it!
• A clean house is the sign of a wasted life.
• If you don’t like my standards of cleaning…lower your standards.
• Apology…Although you’ll find our house a mess, Come in, sit down, converse. It doesn’t always look like this: Some days it’s even worse.
• A messy home is a happy home, and this home is delirious.

And, my personal favorite:

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it
stops snowing."  - Phyllis Diller

 And as a final, desperate resort, you could try this method:

Well, that's all for now. I need a break.

In the next "installment" I'll be talking about the balance between your business and mommy duties.  In the meanwhile, Julie, if you want to send in some more specifics about your situation, feel free.  

And to my dear readers -- DId I leave anything out? Do you have another solution to share on this topic? PLEASE leave a comment!

Click Here to Read Part 2: Balancing a Home Business With Motherhood!

Click Here to Read Part 2a: Getting Your Kids To Respect Your Home Office Hours.

Click Here to Read Part 3: Ya Gotta Have Girfriends