Today we kick off Week 2 of our “Momof6 Get Your Life Organized Boot Camp“, and this week will be all about establishing routines that make your life run smoothly, and help you to stay organized. I thought the easiest way to explain routines and show you a few ways that we use them here at the Rowley house would be to show you this video…
A few key points….
Start with Some Small Routines that Can Develop Into Habits
When you walk in the door, have a designated place to put your keys, your handbag, and a place to charge your cell phone. Create a nice little sign to help you remember your new routine and display it somewhere you will see it, until that routine becomes second nature.
Put Into Place Some Household Routines to Get Yourself Organized
A great place to start is to create an evening routine for yourself. Get the kids school paperwork pulled together in piles- and add library books and folders for music class if needed. Sign permission slips and prep school lunches and snacks before you go to bed. Lay out the kids clothes for the next day- or better yet, do this on Sunday for the entire week ahead! And if you are really motivated- get into the routine of laying our your clothes for the week too!
See if What You Do Daily, You Can Do Weekly
If you are throwing in a load of laundry every day or going to the grocery store 2-3 times a week- think about how you could do a better job of planning ahead so that you can make just one trip to the grocery store each week, and limit laundry days to just once or twice a week. Becoming more efficient in these types of tasks can open up more time for YOU!
So It’s Time for a Little Homework:
I want you to pick a small or a large routine change, that you know if you stick with it, will lighten your load. You can do something as simple as the establishing a place to put your keys and handbag when you walk in your door, or gets gutsy and create a routine to help you prep for the following day- such as picking out clothes for the day or week ahead!
Taking the Challenge?
Join our Boot Camp Bloggers who are Getting Their Lives Organized by taking this Boot Camp Challenge- and are writing about their experiences! On Wednesday I will be hosting a link-up- and you can share your progress with the Momof6 readers, right alongside all of these fabulous Boot Camp Bloggers!
So I would love to hear from you…. do you think that establishing an evening routine will help you to become more organized?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: jibbertwit
October 8, 2012 at 9:45 am
I know that our evening routine helps me keep us organized. I just don’t like it because I know the kids would rather play for ten more minutes, or not shower/bathe, or not do their homework. They’re so young, I hate to steal all their fun time. But we do it. I let them play after school if that’s reasonable but then once the night sets in, we have to do homework, dinner, baths/showers if necessary, reasonable bedtimes. It feels boring and monotonous sometimes but I know its what they need to be happy and healthy and rested for the next day.
Melissa recently posted..Happy Birthday!
Twitter: sharonmomof6
October 8, 2012 at 11:36 am
I hear you Melissa- sometimes it feels as if following routines is so monotonous- you’d rather just throw in the towel and give up. But I find that it helps us when we have a different routine for weekends and holidays because it give us a break. The kids can stay up a little later, there (hopefully isn’t homework), and its okay to skip baths and showers once in awhile too! If we didn’t take those breaks, we wouldn’t be able to stick with our routines all the rest of the days…..
Twitter: katbiggie
October 8, 2012 at 11:30 am
I have a lot to think about over the next day… we need some routines for sure! See you Wednesday!
Alexa recently posted..Heard from the Back Seat! #1
Twitter: sharonmomof6
October 8, 2012 at 11:36 am
I can’t wait to see how you tackle this one Alexa!
Our routine is pretty calm actually. As soon as my 8 year old daughter walks in from school she goes straight to the dining room table to work on her homework (because of the classes she is in, her homework is never more than five minutes), then as soon as she is done I grab my 6 year old son. His homework takes longer because of his attention span, so he takes a lot of wiggle breaks (I don’t see the point in making him sit down while he struggles to pay attention, he cries because it’s too much after being at school all day and I want to bang my head on the wall). Then about 5pm I remind my 10 year old to knock his homework out. It is a bit different, but it works well for my kids and in the end that is what routines are about, things that make our life more successful and easier.
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