Christine Mullin

“I’d say we have a team approach to keeping the Mullin house running smoothly. It often takes both Tim and I working together to get the kids out of bed and ready for school. In an attempt to limit grocery store visits I try to remember everything for the week. Often my mother who lives with us swings past to pick up forgotten items. My mother has a laundry obsession so we let her do her thing. The rest of us pitch in with various chores. Tim and Owen primarily take care of the outside while Maggie and I knock out the inside. Maggie and Owen are responsible for the cats. Rosco, the dog is pretty low maintenance.   When we aren’t on the run with softball, my mom or I usually do the cooking. “

Erin Tracy

“Making a house run efficiently and smoothly, for me, takes thought and a little bit of work. At the beginning of each month, I review the calendar, see what appointments that I need to be put on the calendar ensuring that everyone in the house knows what’s going on. I also try to plan out the meals and write those in the calendar as well. Everyone in the house comes home at different times, so, I want to make sure I plan meals accordingly. Cleaning is never an issue. I deep clean on the weekends, I keep everything picked up, the house is neat and organized and I vacuum several times a week. Grocery shopping isn’t my favorite thing to do so my hubby helps with that. Everyone does their own laundry which really helps. Communication is key which really helps keep the house running as smooth as possible.”

Dawn Haire

“When asked how I keep our household running smoothly during the pandemic, I was initially baffled. Not sure our house runs all that smooth.. LOL! However, for the most part, I guess it does for our family of five. After giving some thought to this topic at the young age of 46-years-old, I realized how I live on a day to day basis has been a work in progress over the years of becoming a wife and mother to our three sons, whom we love to their core. Being a nurse, I refer to life’s obstacles as triaging them, taking time to prioritize what matters most. Always placing our boys and family first and then our careers due to them providing the roof over our head along with food on the table and clothes for our family. I have also learned to minimize many things. Clutter will clutter the brain and often detour away from priorities. In addition, we need to function as a team. I try not to take in too much of one project. I prefer to break a project down into tasks. Everyone has to pitch in to complete day to day tasks, but always taking time out of our day to just enjoy everyone in our family. Keeping focus that we do not allow curve balls thrown at us to overwhelm, rather only to manage what we can. Best wishes to all, as this too shall pass.”

Dawn Buckland

“The pandemic was a challenge for our family, as it was for most families. We had to adjust to a new normal and make the best of a difficult situation. However, the ordered lock down wasn’t all that bad. Our family’s normal included full-time jobs and school during the day and going to sports each evening. This didn’t leave a lot of family time to spend together. Consequently, when schools went virtual and sports were cancelled, we found ourselves with a lot more free time. We spent this time eating meals together, playing board games, finishing puzzles, taking walks/runs on the Ma and Pa trails, and having weekly family meetings. Although each of us were trying to cope with the change in our own way, knowing that we had each other, made the change more united.”