Having a happy summer home requires a leader, a visionary, or perhaps a mom to keep everything under control and flowing. Summer can be an easy time of the year, but it has it own challenges. Keep the following in mind to have a happy summer home.
Realize that each person may have a different vision of summer. It is important to have a family meeting to determine what the expectations are for summer. Dad might want to spend most of the time working outside on projects, while Mom might want to do day trips, and the kids just want to go swimming each day. If you know what everyone’s expectations are, you can then make accommodations and keep everyone happy.
Relax some of the rules. If we followed our strict bedtime that the kids have during the school year, they would miss out on all sorts of fun, such as catching fireflies in the backyard, watching fireworks shows, etc. If I worried about the kitchen being spotless 24/7, I couldn’t enjoy spending as much time with the family. Relaxing the rules helps to make the summer what it should be, fun and easy.
Leave some room for spontaneity. Summer should be easy and not over scheduled. Most of the families I know seem to view summer as a time to add more activities, such as dance, sports, karate, art classes, music classes and various camps. Pursuing a couple of structured activities during the summer is fun. Having an air tight schedule that has you running from morning to night every day during the week is not.
Keep things simple at home. Summer is not the time to plan on redecorating the entire house or putting in a new organizing system, unless either are one of your family’s passions. Take the time to read a book on the porch, go for a walk at dusk or explore a local attraction.
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