4 Home routines I didn’t stick to last week (and wish I had)

Last week was really busy for us and I dropped the ball on pretty much all my usual cleaning and household routines. I hadn’t really noticed before how well the routines were working for us until I stopped them altogether. It wasn’t pretty friends.

This made me think about what I usually do on a daily basis around our home to keep things running fairly smoothly. Today I’m getting back in the swing of things and wanted share with you what routines help me and hopefully hear from you on what works for you and your home!

Here are the routines I didn’t stick to last week, pictures and all:

1. Laundry

Routine: Complete one to two loads per day

You see the above picture with all the laundry? That would be the beauty and splendor that was our laundry pile Saturday. I know, I know, it’s quite a sight to behold. I really don’t like getting this behind in the laundry department. Mostly because I like having clean clothes to wear, lol! That’s why I typically aim to wash, fold and put away one to two loads per day. It makes the laundry “load” (see what I did there?) more manageable. I separate our laundry into four categories:

1. Darks

2. Whites/Lights

3. Towels/Rugs

4. Pajamas/Socks/Underwear

The first three categories are pretty standard but the fourth is something I started doing a couple months ago. To me, these are pretty much the essential clothing items we need washed most frequently. Grouping them in their own category and washing this load first has made it so we always have them clean and available. It’s been awesome!

In the morning, once we have breakfast and the kids are playing, I take a basket and go upstairs to each bedroom and bathroom and collect all dirty clothes, towels, whatever needs washing. The better I am about doing this daily, the less there is to collect each morning. Then I go to the garage where our washer and dryer are, separate and get the washer going.

My favorite place to fold laundry is on the kitchen counter. I like that it’s high enough where I don’t have to bend down and I like that I get a good view of the littles and what they’re up to.

Putting away the laundry is the part I find most challenging. But if I do one or two loads a day, it doesn’t take very long and it’s so nice having everything in it’s place when we need it.

2. Dishes

Routine: Fill dishwasher every time the left side of the sink is full

For dishes I like to keep the right side empty (as a work space for washing) and do the dishes every time the left side of the sink is filled. As you can see above, I totally didn’t do that last week. Not the end of the world but I would much rather spend five to ten minutes doing the dishes then thirty or forty. Who’s with me?

3. General Cleaning

Routine: Quick pick-ups throughout the day

This is my sanity-saver. With littles I find it necessary to do a quick pick up around the house every couple hours or so to keep the mess under control. Otherwise you end up cleaning for an hour once the littles are in bed and that’s fun for no one. I try and spread out my cleaning throughout the day so that once the boys are asleep at night, I can rest. It makes for a much more pleasant mama the next day ;)

4. Meal Planning

Routine: Fill in meal planning notebook weekly

Didn’t I just blog about how I’ve been sticking to this?! Oh boy. Well, last week when it was time to restock the kitchen (I guess rice cakes aren’t lunch food?), I didn’t make a meal plan beforehand and went grocery shopping anyway. Totally winged it and totally regret it. The days following, I was unsure of what I should be making for dinners and and just felt unprepared in this area. Lesson learned. Back to a plan this week! I have been meal planning about three years now but my method of meal planning has changed quite often throughout the years. My new favorite method was recommended to me by my friend, Erica. (Her blog, Inspired By Above is amazing, you should check it out!)

For this method, using a composition book (pictured above), write your meal plan on one side and your grocery list on the page adjacent to it. I love this because it’s simple and keeps all your past meal plans in one place to reference back to.

Things are a little more under control now that the busyness has slowed down. I know it won’t last long but I am SO enjoying these five minutes of a clean house :)

Like I mentioned earlier, these are the routines I try to stick to. Messes and laundry are a fact of life but it helps our days go much better when things are where they should be around the house. I also want to note that Monday is our family rest day and I try to keep at least one day a week where I’m not doing much cleaning, etc if possible. Having a rest day is so good for the soul.

What routines keep your home running smoothly? Do you have a favorite meal planning method? If you have any questions or ideas to share I’d love to read them in the comments!

Xo,

Chrissy