One of these things I got asked a lot on Instagram was 1. How do I organize my day and 2. What is my cleaning routine.
I sort of laugh in the face of these questions because I'm not great at either thing. So this is a post not from an expert telling you how to do anything. This is a post from an average mom telling you how I manage to get by. ha!
I used to be very organized. Then I had three kids and things went downhill. I feel like I'm one of the most unorganized humans ever these days. I keep lists everywhere. I usually have a list in a planner, a notebook with lists and I keep a lot more on the list app in my phone these days. That doesn't mean I'm organized - I'm good at making lists - just not always on following through. I'm working on it because as of today I will be working more full time away from home. I'm going to be in an office with my non profit I work for 2-3 days a week and I plan to substitute teach the other days. So it's going to be tougher to get things done.
I'm trying to start the year off right with the kids by going through backpacks, packing lunches the night before, washing masks every night and laying out clothes so there is not so much chaos in our mornings. I'm not great at this but I'm trying to make myself.
I tend to only meal plan about 3 days at a time. I make fairly simple meals. So that's helpful when it comes to dinner.
I do not have a house keeper. I AM the house keeper. I tend to constantly pick up so our house looks fairly neat all the time (unless you open a drawer or a closet and I can't promise they aren't messy). I'm big on making beds so I don't leave the house unless beds are made and kitchen is clean. That's two things I'm a stickler on but it makes a big difference on the overall house appearance. I try to do one thing a day. I clean the bathrooms one day. I mop/vacuum one day. I wish our house was sparkling clean all the time but it's decent. When we were quarantined at home all those months - I naively thought our house would be cleaner than ever but instead it was probably worse than ever BECAUSE we were all 5 home all the time. It was like fighting an uphill battle.
Laundry is hard to keep up with five people. I know I could have the kids do their own but I just take ownership of this. I just try to do at least a load a day and get it put up. If I get behind - I will have a catch up day on the weekend where I do a ton of loads at one time and then put it all up. I hate having a pile of laundry so I'm trying to keep up with it.
I haven't started showering at night and that seems to make my mornings better. I can do makeup and hair in about 15 minutes. I'm not a morning person so I need things as simple as possible.
Honestly with school being back in and being back on schedules and even with me having to go to a job makes me more organized because I sort of have to be. I'm the QUEEN of procrastination so if I'm home all day with a lot of time - I just waste time and stall. If I have limited time - I tend to get more done.
So that's pretty much how I keep things going. If you have questions - I will answer in the comments!!
