Housework on Sundays

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mommyof4

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I have a dilemma about doing housework on Sundays. I know that Sunday is not only a day of worship, but of relaxation and doing good for others. I realize that we are not supposed to do unnecessary shopping or work on this day.

I have trouble defining “unnecessary.” As much as I try to get things done during the week, I still find that I can not get everything done Mon - Saturday. I work 40+ at work, teach CCD on Wednesday nights, take care of a small acerage, and I have 4 children who are involved in 4-H, girl scouts, band, and other school activities that keep us busy, too. My husband works from 6:30 am usually until 8-9 pm, and so he is not available to help with a lot of the housework, etc. I simply don’t have time to get all of my housework done on the evenings and Saturday, and so I do a few hours of work on Sunday.

Is this wrong? If it is, how do I do things differently so I can get it all done Mon-Saturday?

Thank you.
 
mommyof4 said:
I have a dilemma about doing housework on Sundays. I know that Sunday is not only a day of worship, but of relaxation and doing good for others. I realize that we are not supposed to do unnecessary shopping or work on this day.

I have trouble defining “unnecessary.”
…Is this wrong? If it is, how do I do things differently so I can get it all done Mon-Saturday?

Thank you.
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I’m not the best person to answer, as I also struggle with what it means to “honor the Sabbath”. I’m glad you asked the question and look forward to reading other responces. (I think shopping* is* a form of relaxation, but I can see that my shopping makes others have to work.)

Anyway, I try to just set in my mind that I won’t do housework (beyond cooking and dishes) on Sunday and I won’t feel guilty about it. Grant you, I don’t work outside the home, but as a stay at home mom of seven, I’m grateful I have one day a week when I don’t feel guilty when seeing a pile of dirty clothes!

I have a somewhat set schedule of when I do the rest of the housework, and if the work isn’t done on the set day then it may not get done until the next week. And the next week, I start with what wasn’t done the previous week. My older children also have assigned housecleaning chores, but sometimes it seems easier to do it myself. As I write this I feel guilty and must confess that this last Sunday I did do the vacuuming that I assigned to one of the children (but that wasn’t done because the belt broke.) I couldn’t stand being in our family room any longer so I broke down and cleaned it myself on Sunday. Yes, that was totally unneccessary and it could have waited until Monday. I must remind myself that I *can’t *do housekeeping on Sunday, or I don’t get a day to rest as there is always work that needs to be done.
 
Do your children have assigned chores to help you? Perhaps it’s time to start assigning out the work if you haven’t done so already, and also time to start evaluating whether or not there are too many activities going on for members of the household.

Your kids do not have to be in so many activities. And, if they want to be in all the activities then they will have to find a way to get the house clean Mon - Sat.
 
1ke said:
Do your children have assigned chores to help you? Perhaps it’s time to start assigning out the work if you haven’t done so already, and also time to start evaluating whether or not there are too many activities going on for members of the household.

Your kids do not have to be in so many activities. And, if they want to be in all the activities then they will have to find a way to get the house clean Mon - Sat.
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Yep, they help with the chores. It still requires a lot of monitoring on my part to make sure they get done correctly. We have already cut down on extra curricular events a lot, but I do want them to be involved in some organized activities, too. They all tend to be shy children, and I feel that I need to encourage some socializaiton outside of the school day so they can develop some friendships.
 
My parents still make me do chores and all on Sunday. Is that ok?
 
What you do around the house is housework it has to be done…remember when jesus was accused of sinning by doing manual labor by working on the sabbath?

Yes…i think that the sabbath is a day of worship and to spend it in prayer…so to do some housework shouldn’t be a problem.

I clean the house for my parents with my brothers and sisters every day…usually:D we dont exclude Sundays

To avoid all attempts at physical labor could be a little scrupulous in my opinion…but I am young and i have much to learn…still it seems to make sense to me.
 
“To ensure that people will set aside sufficient time for worship and rest, the Church has decreed that all Catholics must refrain from menial labor on Sunday and worship God by attending Sunday Mass. Exceptions to this law are made in cases of necessity, just as with the Old Testament sabbath law (see Matt. 12:11-12, 1 Macc. 2:38-41.) For example, for those who are obliged to work on Sunday, the Church permits attendance of an anticipatory Mass on Saturday instead.”

From This Rock article Changing the Sabbath, by James Akin

I’m glad I looked this up, because I was under the impression that not working on Sunday was a largely Protestant invention.
However, we have to define menial labor. For me, working outside the home is my labor, and mopping my floor is enjoyable! So is it menial labor for me?
It probably is. I try to do it all during the week, and find it easier since I discovered Flylady.com. The church is right that we do need a day to rest and unwind. Perhaps you could get the family together for 15 minutes after weekday dinners for a pick up and clean up time. Or sometimes I lower my expectations from mopping, etc every week to every other week.
God bless.
 
mommyof4 said:
I have a dilemma about doing housework on Sundays. I know that Sunday is not only a day of worship, but of relaxation and doing good for others. I realize that we are not supposed to do unnecessary shopping or work on this day.

I have trouble defining “unnecessary.” As much as I try to get things done during the week, I still find that I can not get everything done Mon - Saturday. I work 40+ at work, teach CCD on Wednesday nights, take care of a small acerage, and I have 4 children who are involved in 4-H, girl scouts, band, and other school activities that keep us busy, too. My husband works from 6:30 am usually until 8-9 pm, and so he is not available to help with a lot of the housework, etc. I simply don’t have time to get all of my housework done on the evenings and Saturday, and so I do a few hours of work on Sunday.

Is this wrong? If it is, how do I do things differently so I can get it all done Mon-Saturday?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
ohhh…I love that picture of Jesus you’ve posted!

I shop on Sunday because sometimes thats the only day I can shop - we go right after Church and do the groceries.

It’s such a different era now, with women working during the week you have no time for anything and can’t squeeze everything in on Saturday without collapsing on Sunday. God does not want you to have a nervous breakdown. So you may have to do a load or 2 of laundry or the shopping on Sunday.
 
In my household, it’s part of our routine to do housework on Sunday after Mass. When all of us pitch in, we can get it done within a couple of hours (that includes laundry, dishes, sweeping/mopping the floors, etc.) Then we have most of the afternoon and evening to relax. For us, it’s good because not only do we feel we’ve accomplished something, but it’s nice to relax in a clean house!

They say “cleanliness is next to Godliness!”👍
 
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