Routines and such
26 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in homemaking, organizing
Confession: I’m not very organized. No, really. I can make plans if I must, but I generally struggle to follow my own plans. Never mind trying to follow someone else’s plans! I do have a general rhythm for my days, centered around serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also for my weeks: laundry on Monday, bills on Tuesday, and so forth. Anything that needs to be done less often tends to not get written on the to do list and thus is forgotten until it’s urgent. Oops. And if you think my home looks organized, well, that’s mostly clutter intolerance. It isn’t so much organizing, as it is compulsive throwing (or giving) away of anything that is annoying me. 
Anyhow, last month, somewhere online I came across the advice to make a daily to do list with six items. If something doesn’t get done today, it becomes one of tomorrow’s six items. I tried this for a couple weeks and it worked surprisingly well for me (even though I ignore my list now & then!). So I made myself a chart with a column for planning our weekly menu as well as a column for six to do items Monday through Saturday. Some things are constant: Monday’s list always includes laundry, ironing, and order produce basket. If it’s a school day, “school” gets a spot on the list; as do any outside commitments such as meetings or potlucks. Pretty much anything that I need to be reminded to do (register Drama Boy for Higher Things) or that takes up a significant chunk of my time (homemade pizza for Friday night) goes on the list. If there’s a spot left, I write in my current sewing project. This helps me get a more realistic grasp on what I can accomplish in a given day. . .and it also helps keep me focused on the days where I am unable to think of what I should be doing. (what? you don’t have days like that? sigh. . .)
Adding to that, at the first of the year an email friend shared this 52 Week Challenge. It may, or may not, be helpful to you, but it suits my needs well so far. It combines decluttering and tidying up with cleaning areas that tend to get overlooked (top shelf of the pantry, anyone?). Sometimes I rearrange; sometimes things go back in the same spot. I’ve completed most of the weekly challenges in one or two afternoons, although I spread out the current one: refrigerator on Tuesday, fridge freezer on Wednesday, and today I tackle the chest freezer. When the email arrives on Monday, I read through it and then look at my chart to see when I will have time to do it. And I write it down. Because if it’s not written down, odds are good I won’t do it. 
Jan 27, 2012 @ 15:19:07
Signed up for the 52-Week challenge. Thanks! I need stuff like that to keep me focused also. I also found a GREAT app online that a friend recommended called Home Routine. Helps there, too. It’s a process…….sigh.