Mother tired of cleaning up after messy children goes on strike and doesn’t regret it
'They're amazing little humans. But they're messy. And they don't care'
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Your support makes all the difference.One mother has shared why she’s officially gone on strike from picking up after her children and the never-ending quest for a clean house.
A scene that will be familiar to parents everywhere, Heidi Hamm posted a now viral image of her children’s playroom to share the inspiring reason she decided to stop tidying up.
“For years I would spend a few minutes every night, cleaning up after my kids. I would hate to calculate just how many hours of my life have been spent picking up toys,” she wrote on the Her View From Home Facebook page.
“I love a clean house. I do. If my environment is organized, life is just, better.
“But, kids. They're amazing little humans. But they're messy. And they don't care.”
The mother then goes on to explain how one night her husband found her on her knees colour coordinating lego, clearly exhausted, and asked her one simple question.
“Why don’t you just shut the door?” he said.
All she needed to hear, Hamm got up and closed the door realising that the time she had spent cleaning up her children’s toys was taking away from moments she should be enjoying for herself.
“These days everybody is talking about how self care is so important when you're a parent. And it is,” she wrote.
Acknowledging that it’s not always that easy to just take time out for yourself, Hamm goes on to encourage other parents to practice self-care more often, even if it’s by doing something small like stashing a chocolate bar for yourself.
“Self care is turning on Netflix for the kids so you can drink your coffee. Hot,” she added.
“Self care is putting the kids to bed early and cuddling with hubby on the couch.
“Self care is closing a door.”
It turns out, her husband’s sentiment was something that many mums and dads need to hear as parents responded in droves thanking Hamm for her honesty.
“I needed this. I needed someone to tell me its okay to shut the door!” one person wrote.
Another added, “Needed this today. As I sit at work and think how the house is mess but we had a fun, fun weekend out and about.”
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