Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Organization: routine

This year, one of my goals was to institute cleaning routines soothe house basically takes care of itself with very little effort on my part.

My first routine was to institute my Cleaning Power Hour, so far this has been extremely effective and it only takes about 45 minutes to get through the whole routine, so not even a full hour! That routine hits all the high points people notice when visiting your house and the things that bother me the most when they don't get cleaned regularly enough!


Today I am introducing to you my morning and evening routines. 

Let's talk about the mornings first. I love mornings but wouldn't say I am a morning person. My brain is super foggy when I'm trying to wake up so having a routine is sort of like my caffeine. It gently gets my brain functioning and I get to start the day off checking stuff off a list and we all know how satisfying that can be! 


I have all my tasks listed in the order in which I will do them. 

The first seems silly: brush my teeth and get dressed. But, when instituting the routine I really wanted it to be authentic and give me a full guideline to follow. I have on here specifically to get dressed in workout clothes so that way once everyone is gone for the day I can immediately start my workout-No Excuses!

Unload dishwasher-start the day with an empty dishwasher, this way as you cook during the day you can throw everything in there and the sink stays empty!

Start coffee-I do this after unloading the dishwasher so it finishes percolating just as I am ready to sit down to breakfast.

Get lunches in lunch bags-when I cook dinner I prep/pre-pack lunches for my husband & daughter. I just take these & either toss them in the lunch bag or warm it up, put it in a thermos & then it goes in the lunch bag.

Make breakfast-it is the most important meal of the day, don't skip it! It's also a great way to spend some much needed time with the kiddos before the school day starts. This can be an essential time for communication and teaching them about proper nutrition.

Clean up breakfast-if you do it as soon as the dishes are empty of food it's easy and your kitchen is ready for the next meal! It keeps the counters & sink clear, plus it takes just a minute or two. Plus, if you have kids and work it right you can train them to take their dishes straight to the sink to rinse & GPS traight in the dishwasher! 

(Now, you may be wondering my it says my routine is 3pm. I am writing this while in the UK and I am 8 hours ahead of my normal time zone, so normally my reminder goes off at 7am. This whole routine only takes about 15-20 min to complete in total.)


This is my evening routine. It's short and sweet, but gets the whole house ready for the next day!

Load and start dishwasher-I clean as I cook, but there are always those few dishes at the end that still have to go in, I do this and immediately start the washer. 

Wipe down counters & table-I use my cleaning wipe & give all my granite a good wipe down & get the table ready for breakfast.

Sweep kitchen floor-just for maintenance. This take about 40 seconds to do and keeps the kitchen looking in tip top shape.

Make coffee-this is when I grind my beans & get the whole thing fixed up and ready to press start in the morning during your routine. 

Basic pick up around the house-walk from room to room putting away anything out of place & clearing off cluttered surfaces. Good time for the kiddos to pick up their rooms & bathrooms. 

This evening routine at first took 40 min because there was always so much out of place, but now it takes approximately 15-20 min. Fast and it helps make me happy when I wake up!

I love using my reminders app for this because I have a ringing renminder to do these chores. It's hard to ignore and these few steps help make my days so much easier! Plus, they help to give me a home I'm proud of and am not worried if someone drops by without calling first.

Do you have routines like this? If so, what is on your routine list? 

If you don't have routines are you going to implement some now? What will be on your lists?




2 comments:

  1. I don't make lists like this, but maybe I should because I am all about routines and schedules! Thanks for sharing this!

    Ashley, Married to the Game

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    Replies
    1. Glad it could be of use to you! :) If you start doing it, let me know how it works out for you!

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