Creating a Homemaking Routine that works for you and your family
Babies and children thrive with routine, who would have thought... so do adults and families! Creating a homemaking schedule that works for you and your family will bring ease to your days and allow for more time to do the things that matter most to you!
Schedules and routine give your day structure and allow for more time to do the things that mean the most to you and your family
When I was just beginning on my homemaking journey, the idea of routine seemed confining, I had waited my whole life to be a stay-at-home mom why would I want to go back to the constricting structure of my prior life as a working girl? As the days went on though, I realized that I wasn't thriving as I first thought I would at home. Instead of getting up and making myself and my family the big cheerful breakfasts I had envisioned I was tired and overwhelmed. My tasks did seem like drudgery and I didn't feel like I was accomplishing what I set out to each day.
After scouring the internet for tips on "how to be a better homemaker" I found some decent resources and the resounding message was BUILD A GOOD HOMEMAKING ROUTINE. So I did, and this is how.
Organize your days, weeks and the month on paper
I started by writing the most basic tasks I needed to accomplish each day down. From there I made myself an overarching list of weekly to-do's that I assigned to a day per week. Finally a monthly list of things that needed to be accomplished that month. My lists looked something like this.
Daily
- Feed everyone three healthy meals, and provide at least two healthy snacks for my children.
- Play and care for my children (playtime, baths, naps, and bed)
- Pick up clutter around the house.
- Dishes
- Quick vacuum
- Any other daily prescheduled commitments
Weekly
- Laundry
- Full Home cleaning
- Inventory and clean refrigerator
- Meal plan
- Grocery shop
- budget check-in
Monthly
- Budget
- Clean cars
- Inventory (and sometimes clean) freezer
I prefer to do this on good old paper, and then transfer the week into my good old Filofax planner. but you can use an AP if that's your preference.
Building your homemaker schedule
Once you have all of your tasks written down, you can then start filing them into place. I do this by moving my weekly to-do's into the day they best fit in. An example looks like this.
Monday
- Laundry day
- Feed everyone three healthy meals, and provide at least two healthy snacks for my children.
- Play and care for my children (playtime, baths, naps, and bed)
- Pick up clutter around the house.
- Dishes
- Quick vacuum
- Dentist appointment
Tuesday
- Grocery Shop
- Feed everyone three healthy meals, and provide at least two healthy snacks for my children.
- Play and care for my children (playtime, baths, naps, and bed)
- Pick up clutter around the house.
- Dishes
- Quick vacuum
And so on as the week progresses. You will probably only need to do this once or twice before you start getting into a routine and then you can just add the routine items right into your planner
Time Blocking
Once I have everything written down on a notepad for the week, I copy the items in my planner. In my planner I set up a time block for each activity. For example on Monday Breakfast has a 45 minute time block (my children eat slowly) at the end of that I will move onto the next task. Because I typically do all of our clothing laundry on Mondays I scatter that throughout the day knowing that it needs to be completed by the end of the day.
The time block was a game changer for me, it helps me stay on task and I never feel like I'm forgetting something.
Give yourself some grace
Okay so wonderful! You now have this amazingly organized homemaking schedule and you must stick to it under ALL circumstances! Yeah right! I have found that while having a schedule like this can be amazing for keeping my days organized, and creating order and calm within my home, flexibility is key. Remember being a successful homemaker is objective. If you and your family are happy then that is a success. Don’t stress too much if you don't complete each and every one of your tasks, or if you have to reschedule something. If you and your family are happy healthy and safe, you are a successful homemaker!
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