The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy
by Kathy Peel
Price: $16.99
Publisher: Tyndale House
Kathy Peel is founder and CEO of Family Manager, a company that trains women in the art of family management. She has written 21 books, selling more than 2 million copies. Her latest works are The Busy Couples Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy, The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy, Organized Home (winner of the 2009 Gold Mom's Choice Award) and Desperate Households. She is AOL's Kids & Family Coach, and she contributes to many publications, including FamilyFun, Parents, Woman's World, Family Circle, and HomeLife. A popular speaker and media personality, Kathy's Family Manager makeover stories have appeared on programs such as Oprah, The Early Show, The Today Show, and HGTV.
I must admit - the title of this book both excited me AND turned me off a little when I first saw it. So I was intrigued. Throw in the question on the back of the book - "Are you married to your housekeeping opposite?," and I was ready to read.
Yes, I am married to my housekeeping opposite. I am the messy one. My hubby is the neat and organized one. We're still working through that one.
And I was intrigued because #1 - "sharing the work" is not really what we're going for here and #2 - "sharing the joy" sounds fabulous!
I am the one staying home and my husband is in the middle of medical school. Of course, I am going to be doing more of the work at home and THAT IS HOW I WANT IT. Not that he doesn't do anything around here, but I do not expect him to do laundry, clean the house, cook, etc. He takes wonderful care of our finances, cars, house, etc. (CLARIFICATION: My husband is better than me in all areas of cleaning and organizing and he is very helpful - doing dishes when he can, cleaning the bathtub which I hate, etc. Just wanted to make sure I give credit where credit is due. He rocks.)
And after reading, that is the point of this book. Communication. Playing to strengths and weaknesses. Having a plan, but being flexible.
"Sharing the work" looks different for every couple, so this book has lots of workbook type features for couples to sit down and figure out their situation together - questionnaires, schedules, lists and so on.
And lots of advice from both the author, Kathy Peel, and her husband Bill. Little tips are here and there throughout the book. Lots of personal experience is shared. And faith is at the center of it all.
The book is all about "creating a smoothly running, low-stress home" and who doesn't want that? I WANT THAT!
Now, I will admit that some couples have this all figured out - so if you consider yourself an organized family, you probably don't need this book.
But for those of us figuring out life with young children, who want to eliminate time-wasters at home, who want reduce stress in everyday family life - this book is valuable and worth the low price - only $12.23 on Amazon!
Next month, our MOPS group is focusing on marriage relationships and I am jotting down several things from this book that I can't wait to share with the moms!
And now I'm off to eliminate some of the stress in our home!
Thank you to Tyndale House for allowing us to review this book!
we're sort of opposites too. I'm not super messy but I'm messier than him. I'm more organized when it comes to paperwork though; he leaves stacks. I like things printed, he'd rather hand-write.
ReplyDeleteI do most of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry, but he does quite a bit on weekends. When I was in school, he did it all. ALL of it. He's also the packer. LOL
What a neat book! It's funny because now that I work at the church with my husband we have been sharing the load a lot more. But before when I stayed home, I did it all, and I was glad too. Like your hubby, mine takes great care of our family, so I didn't mind, okay sometimes I do mind, but I tried to clean, cook, do the laundry, etc so he didn't have to worry about it. But we are still trying to figure everything out like you!
ReplyDeleteThis book intrigues me, since I am also married to my opposite (I'm the messy one). And my are we busy,as you and your husband are too! Thanks for this excellent review,Erin--I'll be looking for this book.
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