Being stuck in a house with five other people isolating together during the pandemic can be stressful. But there is a secret recipe for success. Here are six tips on how to keep harmony in your home.
1. Divide and conquer
Cleaning schedule. Each week, it is one person’s duty to mantain the house clean.
There are six people living in my house, which means the house gets dirty every single second. It is important to keep the house clean, especially during these anxious times. A piece of good advice is to divide the housework between the people living there and rotate chores each week. That way, each member of the family will know the struggles of each duty.
2. Living in a family isn’t the same as living with roomies
Our fridge is crowded, but it becomes empty quite fast.
My family set up some rules that basically make us a hippie commune when it comes to food. If anyone buys something and it is in the fridge, it means anyone can eat it. (of course there are exceptions). We make a list of groceries and we divide the expenses. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
3. Solitude is bliss
Our home has always had an open door policy. However, sometimes the doors are closed for a bit. This means not to disrupt.
Sometimes we enjoy spending time together, playing board games, or watching a movie. There are also times where the house seems quiet and empty – and that is OK. Sometimes we will just go into our rooms and have some alone time, watch Netflix, read a book, etc.
4.The home office is closed after 5:00 p.m.
The dining table becomes the desk for each one of our home office. After 5, we have to clean everything up.
Our home office is in the dining room. It is where we all sit and work. Sometimes we listen to music, sometimes we even talk. But after five o’clock our home’s common areas are for leisure. If someone has to work after hours, they will do so in another room. Not the dining room.
5. Weekends are for partying
While we try to eat clean throughout the week, weekends is when we get to open up a beer and enjoy some chips.
Even though we cannot leave the house, we still celebrate the weekends. Each Friday night we make a toast to our health and the fact that we are holding on. Saturdays and Sundays we try to switch up the routine by ordering takeout, dancing or other fun activities. This marks the difference between a weekday and the weekend. After a few weeks at home, I finally started feeling excited when it’s Friday.
6. Patience is a virtue
The house is messy at times, but we are trying our best to keep it clean. Sometimes someone forgets to clean up the sink, but this shoudl not cause a fight.
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Finally, PATIENCE. It is easy to become annoyed by things others in your household do if you are with them 24/7. But remember it is temporary. Sometimes it is good to let things go and to forgive some small mistakes or errors someone may make. I no longer get mad if someone forgets to wash a spoon or change the toilet paper roll. I just go ahead and do it myself, because I can. Everything with moderation, of course. This has helped me stress less and definitely fight less.
