Organized Mama's can you give me your routine???!!!

[PaytinandAvarysMom]

everything you do including your kids routine. Pretty pretty please! Ive tried to get us into a routine but I think I am to unorganized to even think up a routine! lol. Anyway if I could see some of yours maybe I could formulate something better for us! Thanks!

[Baby Makes 4]

I started to answer this and then realized that I am not very organized, so I'm subbing instead.

I have to become organized this fall, before the baby gets here.

[lmbjer]

Well my routine won't really work for you unless you are a wohm. With that said, some parts of my routine might work for you.

The house gets cleaned (fully) once a week and floors are swept every other day.

At the end of each day, I pick up everything out of place and put it back.

On nonwork days, everyone in my house is dressed before breakfast. Being "ready" for the day gets me in the mindset to accomplish.

I make a to-do list everyday. I keep this list short and achievable and stick to it.

Every morning I glance over our bills and make sure everything is up-to-date. I run our budget on an Excel Spreadsheet.

I nearly always have a box or bag ready to toss items that need donated in. As I am straightening up each evening, anything that I no longer need goes in that bag.

As I play with DS, toys are cleaned up after we are done with them and before we move on to a next activity.

I also subscribe to FlyLady only for the challenges. They help keep me on top of the odds and ends of cleaning. I refuse to do a spring or fall clean...I hate a massive cleaning event.

These are my staple activities. They keep me well organized. I find that a decluttered home is essential to organization (for me at least).

Hopefully a SAHM can chime in with more helpful activities for you.

[Alyantavid]

I'm a wohm as well, but I'll give you our routine. Maybe some parts can help.

Right now, school's out so things are a little different.

I clean the house once a week, on Friday or Saturday. Bathroom gets wiped down as needed while the kids are in the tub. The floor gets swept every other day.

Laundry is done Wednesdays and Sundays and I do everything dirty item of clothing on those days. Towels get done after I've cleaned. Bedding gets done whenever I can fit it in.

Before I go to bed, everything gets picked up.

Beds are made in the morning after getting up.

I do the dishes every day. Dishwasher is run every other day. We clean up the kitchen completely after dinner every night.

I meal plan and make sure weeknights are simple and fast dinners. Weekends are more involved and I spend alot of time cooking on the weekends. Baked stuff for the week, salads to go along with our dinners, chopping veggies, etc.

I'm teaching my boys to put dirty clothes away, pick up toys at least once a day, just basically clean up after themselves, which makes life easier on me.


I also have a daily list. I go home for my lunch break and can do a few things then, then everything else is done after work. Its rarely much but it feels good to finish something and mark it off the list.

I go grocery shopping once a week on my lunch breaks so I can do it quick and alone. I shop off the sale ads and stock up on sale items we use.

We're about to start a huge move in our house so that will get rid of lots of unneeded things and hopefully make everything run even smoother.

[journeymom]

I'm so not an Organized Mom.

But I'll share that I recently installed a very simple, small routine. Every Saturday morning we wipe the bathroom counters and clean the sinks. That's it. Not the toilet. Not the tub or the floor. Not even the mirror.

Dh and I take turns cleaning our two sinks, every other Saturday. Ds and dd take turns cleaning their two sinks, every other Saturday. I taped a sheet to the back of the kids' door and they sign it and date it each time they clean. That way it's always fair.

That's it! We've managed this much routine for four weekends now. I'm proud of us.

======

P&A'sMom, I'm sorry, I just noticed your kids are 3 and 1. My kids are 13 and 9. Someday they can be helpful and make genuine contributions. Just don't do it all for them, even though you can do it faster and easier. They can gradually take on little responsibilities.

And your husband should have routine responsibilities, as well.

[G's mommy]

subbing

[G's mommy]

just wanting to add that I do a thorough pick up of the house about twice a week. (WOHM here). Things can get a little piled up here and there in between.
I always, always make the kids lunches and mine the night before. And have all of our bags, lunchbags, and my purse on the counter shortly after supper for the next day. I can't rest until that is done!!

[StormySar]

Here is what I do. My husband is visiting his brother across the country right now and for some reason I have been able to declutter and clean the house from top to bottom while he's been gone, and I'm keeping it clean so I hope it stays that way. LOL.

Every day tasks: dishes (as often as needed), at least oen load of laudnry washed/dried/put away, floors vacuumed/swept at the end of each day, toys picked up after each use, main floor clear of toys - everything goes up to the play room or in the bedrooms at night. I want to wake up to a clean house.

Once a week I have a room I will deep clean, and I lightly clean the other rooms as needed.

For a bedroom or playroom this includes vacuuming, cleaning windows, removing scuff marks/dirt off of walls/doors/handles, organizing drawers, removing things we no longer use/fit in/etc., vacuum all the nooks and crannies, remove trash, etc.

For bathrooms this includes disinfecting the floors, toilet, tub, counter, sink, cleaning mirrors, removing dirty laundry, putting up new towels/wash rags and removing the latest used ones for the wash, washing the carpet thigns that go around the toilet and near the sink and tub, scrubbing the toilet, getting on hands/knees to clean the whole toilet, sides of cabinet/tub, etc. I check everything hanging on hooks to make sure it needs to be there, take down anything that needs to get washed (bath robes hang, belts can hang, old bras, shirts, etc. can't, lol)

Once a month I'd like to do a 'deep clean' on the house, where I clean the walls and ceilings, blinds, clean the carpets, clean the furniture, etc. but haven't gotten that far yet. Maybe I can schedule an overnight at grandma's for the kids so I can have time to get down and dirty with the nitty gritty. We have 4 dogs and soon to be 4 kids, so i'm thinking that cleaning the carpets shoudl be a weekly thing though...

I am working on going into each room and hall, and writing down exactly what I want to do and how often, then type it up and add it to my household notebook as a check list so I can keep on track.

[PaytinandAvarysMom]

thanks everyone! I loved all the ideas!

[sunnysandiegan]

My Daily Routines

Morning
1. Make our bed as soon as I get out of it. I literally swing my feet over the edge and turn around and make the bed. I keep our bedding simple (sheet, comforter, pillows) in order to facilitate this being a 30 second event. On the rare occasion DH is in the bed when I get out of it, I still straighten up my side. Sometimes he makes the bed, sometimes DD will for fun, and sometimes the bed will get left unmade.

2. Shower and dress as soon as the bed is made. If I don't jump in the shower right away (like today), then it simply doesn't happen. I generally skip a shower 1-4 times a month. I haven't gotten into cleaning the bathroom every day, but I do straighten each room as I leave it in the morning (bathroom, bedroom, kitchen...). If I plan to wear makeup or jewelry, I do it now because it rarely happens if I "wait until later". I didn't bother when DD was really young, but I have been making a point to look nice for the last few years more days than not.

3. Grab the laundry basket and fill it with the highest load from the sorter (whites, mediums, darks). If none are full enough, then I do sheets. I do towels when my washcloths run out (I have 6 and use one a day). I start a load of laundry every morning if there is something to be washed.

Mid-day
1. Move laundry to dryer ONLY if I plan to be available as soon as it is finished. I avoid wrinkles by taking it out ASAP and taking care of it (folding/hanging AND putting it away). One load is very manageable.

2. I put dishes directly into the dishwasher throughout the day. DD and DH do it, also.

3. DD cleans up her own toys/games/projects as she finishes. We started when she was a year old with clean-up games, etc.

4. I generally pick up after myself throughout the day. I prompt DD & DH to do the same when necessary. DD is fairly good at this by now. Compared to other DH's, my DH is pretty good at this. Nobody is perfect, though, not even me or DH! I like the main areas of our home to always be "company-ready", though, so we do make the effort most days.

Evening
1. After dinner, DD waters our herbs and strawberries while I handle the compost and DH puts away the leftovers/condiments/etc. We rotate duties every so often to keep it interesting.

2. I clean up the kitchen. Fill and run the dishwasher, if needed. Handwash those items. Wipe down the counters. Push in the chairs. DH & DD play games or catch up on the day during this time. I join them when I am finished for family time...games, reading, chatting, etc.

3. We take turns putting DD to bed. She gets ready on her own at this point (age 7), but we still read to her every night.

4. At some point, I check my calendar to see what is coming up the next day. I prompt DD to prep for anything that pertains to her, if she doesn't do it on her own (which she does most of the time now when she is aware of the plans). I prep for anything pertaining to me and give DH the scoop, if it is relevant.
BTW, I feel this is the most important routine I have in helping me be organized. Putting it in my brain at night helps it stay there and prepare me for the morning. Physically getting things ready helps the morning go much smoother. Not too big of a deal many non-school days, but was essential when I was working part-time and for just getting out of the house when DD was as young as the OP's LO.

My Weekly Routine
Monday = Home Blessing Day = I spend about an hour on whatever needs attention the most in our house. I'm not real regimented on the "what", though. It changes each week.

Tuesday = Finance Day = I spend 15-60 minutes a week on paperwork and finances and related tasks. Again, the "what" doesn't concern me, just that I do something. Whatever is the most pressing is what gets done.

Wednesday = Project Day = This day of the week has just ended up the day with the least scheduled activities, so I can devote the longest periods of time to working on something more detailed. Home improvement projects, crafts, baking, planning, whatever takes a chunk of time. I generally figure the what on Sunday morning and prepare in advance, if necessary.

Thursday = Mommy/Daughter Day = During school this is DD's short day, so I either let DD choose our afternoon activities or I plan something special for the two of us or we just play it by ear. Doesn't really matter, the point is my focus of the day is DD.

Friday = Friend Day = I make an effort to plan my social activities for this day. It just turns out to be the day most people I know are available. Also, for two years now, this is the most popular day for volunteering in DD's classroom for a particular program (it isn't weekly).

My random "chores" are in a different thread somewhere on here. I believe either in Mindful Home Management or the Simplifying forum within MHM.

Best wishes!

[sunnysandiegan]

I found the thread and here is the link:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...hlight=finance