The Simple Life at Home: Routines for this Working Mom

10:56 PM | Posted by Lori ~ The Simple Life at Home | | Edit Post

Well, as promised, I've taken some time this week to re-examine my routines. Things obviously had to change once I started working full-time. I haven't gotten much else done this week as I'm still pretty much flat on my back from my trachea/pharynx/whatever infection. I had such great hopes to do so much work in the house during our spring break, but I've been pleased to get a meal on the table, a load or two of laundry done and dishes washed. Hubby and Daniel have been so sweet and helpful.

I've broken the routines down into time frames. It's kind of like little checklists to do at each part of the day. I'm blessed in that, even though I work full-time, I'm still home by 4 pm. I work from 7:30 to 3:30. That gives me plenty of time to get dinner ready and do a little housework, as well as do some homework help, before, say 6 pm.

Morning Routines: (Waking up at 5:30 and leaving the house at 7 am)
Make bed
Do 30 min on treadmill or a 3 min exercise video
Shower and dress
Swish toilets/swipe bathroom sink
Hang laundry washed the night before
Decide what's for dinner and defrost something if needed
Kids: Unload dishwasher, take out garbage, feed dog

Afternoon Routines: (To be done between 4pm and 6 pm)
Fold clothes hung in the morning
Finish cooking dinner
Help with homework
Focus task (explained below)

Evening Routines: (To be done before bed)
Wash dishes
Clean counters, sink and table
Run a load of clothes
Prepare clothes and lunches for morning

Focus Tasks
(A focus task is a job or area that I assign to myself once a week to focus on)

Sunday - Bathrooms and mirrors
Monday - Kitchen
Tuesday - Master bedroom and bathroom
Wednesday - Hubby's room and bathroom (no, we don't have separate bedrooms - he keeps his clothes in the guest room and gets ready for work there in the morning so he doesn't wake me and we each have our space)
Thursday - Organize desk
Friday - Sabbath - rest
Saturday - Grocery shopping, home blessing time, desk work

Home blessing time includes: Dusting, vacuuming, mopping, changing linens, and cleaning the glass doors. The kids help out with these things, as does Hubby when need be. He's the chief mopper around these parts!

So that's the plan. Not everything will get done as often or as well as I'd like it to, but you have to set your priorities, you know? And I'm sure there will be times when I don't get everything done on the list, but at least I'll have a plan to fall back on when I'm feeling lost and rushed.

4 comments:

Jennifer said...: sounds very good! it's so helpful to have something to work towards. i know that sometimes it's overwhelming just to think of these lists- it's almost like "i can't wrap my brain around one more thing!" but if we can discipline ourselves to do it, everything runs so much smoother! i applaud your efforts, and you've spurred me on to think of a similar list for myself. with the gardening/outdoor season descending upon us, i need to be organized, too. our children and our household are only as disciplined as us mothers, and always just a little bit less so. so we really need to set the standard. hard to do, and not what the culture tells us.; April 11, 2009 at 1:08 AM
Mylinda said...: That looks great! You will feel sooo much better and more "on top of it" when working with your schedule. I made one for this school year, which worked great until sometime in Feb, then it seemed to just fall apart. Argh. This summer, I want to re-do it and add in some more specific cleaning projects. Maybe I'll post mine, too, but it won't be til summer. Hope this works for you. I know about feeling lost and overwhelmed without a plan, so you'll feel so much better when you start. And, Happy Resurrection Day! Miss you!; April 11, 2009 at 5:16 AM
Just me~Bobbie Jo said...: Looks like a good plan!; April 11, 2009 at 7:22 AM
Stacey said...: it sounds great! simple yet complete!; April 13, 2009 at 12:08 AM