Creating A Meaningful Schedule

Schedule? What schedule? You wouldn’t know it now, but I used to see scheduling as unimportant. I just….did things. There was no order. There was no plan. There was no consistent schedule.

Now, I look back at my former self and shake my head. As the proud mother of 2, I suddenly realized I was always off task, nothing was ever completely finished, I was always scrambling. Something had to change.  I began scheduling my chores and my events.

A traditional housewife in the 1950’s was respected in her home for her all important role of not only caring for her family but she doubled as a cook, housekeeper, taxi driver, shopper, nurse, seamstress, etc. She did/does not sit on her laurels and eat candy all day. In my opinion, many women have become entitled and expect everything to be handed to them. Its unfortunate to see. Now, unfortunately because of that group of people (some of those Real Housewives type shows), housewives got a bad rap.

Ladies, let me get off my soap box here. This scheduling did not come to me naturally, I didn’t suddenly float beautifully through life like Jackie O. I began this journey on January 1, 2017. At first,  I over analyzed things. I broke down every moment on my schedule. That was too overwhelming. I tried putting everything on my phone, but if I wasn’t paying attention to it, things got missed.

 

 

The trick was to write it down AND put it in my phone, and go over my schedule every morning, and review it every Sunday for changes and to know what is coming up. No, folks I did not come up with that over night. Believe it or not, some of these tweaks were the suggestions of my husband.

So here is my personal schedule, but you will probably only use this for inspiration to create your own.

 

Monday

Get the house back in order from the weekend and sort the laundry. For me, this means going room by room and picking up what is out of place. Generally on this day, I don’t scrub anything down, but if it’s nasty or unsanitary, it gets handled. I sort the laundry into loads and place them in their own basket to prepare for Tuesday.

 

 

Tuesday

Do and Fold laundry. On Monday, I sorted out each load of laundry.  I always had such a problem keeping up with laundry. I started using smaller baskets and making sure it was completed every Tuesday. Once I got caught up this task became much easier and simpler. It’s much less intimidating than a mountain of laundry.

Since laundry is low maintenance these days, I also spend some time dusting, vacuuming, and mopping, so now, the house is fully clean.

 

 

Wednesday

Put away laundry, iron if needed, put fresh sheets on the bed. What you iron is up to you, but I typically iron jeans and my vintage style dresses.

 

Thursday

Clean out Refrigerator and check stock for grocery list. On this day, I take everything out of the fridge, wipe down the shelving, and see what I am low on, or missing. After I am done with the fridge, I move to the pantry to take notice of my family’s needs.

 

 

Friday

Go through the house and ensure that it is clean for the weekend and what I like to call “guest ready.” You never know when friends may pop up on weekends….or husbands get the idea to invite people over, impromptu.

 

 

 

Saturday

Run errands (to include grocery shopping) I tend to go to the store as soon as they open at 7 AM for a couple of reasons. My local grocer isn’t crowded at that time. My children are in a happy place in the morning,  and that leads to stress free shopping. Whenever you go, do your best to find a time that is as stress free as possible for you.

 

 

 

 

Sunday

Meal and snack prep for the week is my goal. On this day, I think about the meals my husband or I may prepare during the coming week, and I prepare any parts that I can. I also make granola bars, fruit snacks, or whatever the kids, husband, or I might want for a snack during the week.

On Sunday evening,  I go through my schedule for the next 7 days. I find interesting events in my region to add to the spare time in my calendar. I then share my upcoming week with my husband.  It helps for a family to be on the same page.

 

I then place relevant reminders in my phone as back up. Chances are I will feel that vibration that I set for a particular point in time.

 

 

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Okay, time for an honest confession. In the beginning, because I was so random and unscheduled, I broke down snack times, meal times, and other small things to get me in The habit of schedule. The vibrating reminder at 10:30 started getting me on track to provide my children with a scheduled morning snack. Now, that part of my routine became habit and I no longer keep the small reminders. That is, unless I am having trouble getting a task done on time. Until a particular part of my schedule became habit, I had a reminder buzzing in my pocket, keeping me on task.  This may or may not work for you.

Maybe you will do better breaking everything down moment for moment. Maybe you will find shopping weekly isn’t your thing. And certainly, if you work outside the home, your schedule might look much different.  It’s okay. This is all trial and error. Don’t give up, go back to the drawing board and tweak the parts that don’t work for you.

Adding to this, some women are perfectionists and lose their minds when they do not meet a goal for the day.  I am one of those people. I strive to remember that I spend much of my day taking care of a great many tasks, and not everything will be perfect EVERY TIME. For gosh sakes, I have one child who unfold the laundry as I fold it! It’s not going to be perfect, but stay calm and do your best, you will find your own tips and tricks to make it work.