Whether you work inside or outside of the home – or don’t even work at all, being a parent is a full-time job. It’s almost like running a small business – really! There’s finances, transportation issues, travel planner, chef, laundry services, the list goes on and on…

My husband and I both work from home full-time. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together almost every day. (That’s a sotry for another day.) And because of that… people are typically curious about how we run our household. It’s our home, but it’s also our offices too. Well, here’s our secret – we each ‘manage’ our own departments. Let me explain…

Most people think I’m joking when I say, “Sorry, that’s not my department”, when asking specific questions about our family routine. I’m in charge of certain departments and my husband has his own departments. It’s not that we don’t care – it’s just that we’ve found that splitting the responsibilities in our family allows us to be 100% all-around. We trust one another to make the decisions for our family.

Laundry, that’s mine. Finances – that’s his department.  Cooking dinner – that’s his (trust me, he’s the better cook), cleaning up the kitchen each night – that’s mine (I’d rather clean than cook).  Bath time for the girls – that’s his… while I scurry around the house cleaning it up for the night. Soccer coach – definitely his department, I prefer the sidelines. (I don’t know the rules.)

On the rare occasion that my husband travels for work, I take over his ‘departments’ and today just happens to be one of those days. Today is Molly’s IEP six-month review meeting at school. Typically, that’s Rob’s department.  I’m stepping in and going to my very first IEP meeting – and I’m scared to death. He gave me a peptalk before he left town and I’m hoping I ask all the right questions. Maybe we’ll trade duties when he gets home – I’ll make him wash dishes after dinner.

I follow the guidelines of ‘What works for you, may not work best for me’. And that’s how I like to think of our departments. It may not work for all families, but it works for us. And surprisingly well too.

 Do you have family departments?

What works best for your family…