Sorry to bail on you during our Back to School series, but life happens.   I came home sick on Friday and just went downhill from there.  I was in bed all weekend.  I was at the Dr on Monday and was diagnosed with a sinus infection and exacerbation of asthma.   I am on antibiotics and starting to feel human again!

But being sick has given a great opportunity to see how doing my morning and evening routine has kept my house somewhat presentable.   If you knocked on my door, I would left you in.  But truthfully, if I knew you were coming I would probably clean up some.  But that is what I think of as lived in!   Life happens and sometimes you let things slide for a few days while you rest.  If you have a system in place your family can keep things running pretty well without you. 

  So I want to chat a bit about our bedtime routines.  Do you have one???   I struggle to do mine each night as I rather do a million other things, but life goes much better if I just do it!   Story of my life, quit complaining and just do it!

Jen’ Bed Time Routine:
1.  Wash Dishes/Clean Counters
2.  Sweep Kitchen
3.  Make Lunches/ Prep for Dinner
4.  Switch Laundry/ Lay out Clothes
5.  Take Dogs Out
6.  Go To Bed

Do I do each of these items each night??  Nope, life happens, but I try to.  Whatever I don’t get done that night I will do in the morning.   But just doing these few things each night, keep the house presentable enough for us.  The bedtime routine really helps to make my mornings run more smoothly.  I remind myself of this each time I procrastinate and tell myself, “just do it!”.  Tonight is a good night….all items of the routine are done.   I keep my bedtime routine on my yahoo calendar and receive text message reminders as well. 

What is your bedtime routine?  If you don’t have one, tell us three things that you would like to do each evening to make your morning go more smoothly!   Now write them down and start implementing your plan!

Household Cleaning.. – the question I always hear is what is the best plan to clean on a regular basis??   We have handled this a number of different ways in our home.  I have practiced the Home Blessing Hour as suggested by the Fly Lady.  You can see examples of Flylady’s routines on her site. 

Weekly Home Blessing Hour from Flylady.net

1. Cull/toss old magazines.
2. Change sheets.
3. Empty all the trash.
4. Vacuum all rooms.
5. Mop kitchen and bath.
6. Clean mirrors and doors.
7. Feather Dust furniture.

I used to do the Weekly Blessing of my home on Fridays as I only worked 1/2 of the day.  Last year I started volunteering at Tommy’s school so I wasn’t able to have the time to do this on Fridays.   

The year before that we did the weekly cleaning as a family on Thursday evenings after supper.  It was very quickly done with all of us helping.  We had individual chores that we rotated each week.  You can see the break down of the chores we did on Thursdays on my website.  This worked very well for about 6 months.  Once my hubby started saying he would do his chores the next day, my older boys no longer were cooperative.  If Dad didn’t need to do his chore, why should they.   So to save my own sanity I gave up on this options for weekly cleaning.  But it did work very well while it lasted!

Currently, with working full time and having many evening meetings for church or Tommy’s school, I divide my cleaning up through out the week.   I do my cleaning in the morning before going to work.   If I run out of time in the morning to finish my chore I will finish it in the evening. 

Jen’s Cleaning Schedule:
Sunday – Wash Bedding/ Clean Up my Desk/ Fill Med Boxes
Monday – Mop Floors – Kitchen and bathrooms
Tuesday – Feather Dust
Wednesday – Vacuum/ Sweep
Thursday – Clean Bathrooms
Friday – Clean Mirrors, Picture Window and Doors
Saturday – Change Cat Litter/ Errands

The best things about dividing the cleaning throughout the week is that if I miss mopping the floors this Monday as I was just too busy, the rest of the cleaning will still get done and next week I will make sure I mop the floors.  When we were doing cleaning on Thursdays, if we missed a Thursday, we missed doing all the chores for the week, not just one chore. 

My cleaning schedule is on the side of my fridge and I add items as I need to.  I am a very visual person so I need things out where I will see them. to remember to do them. 

The side of the fridge is the place where I keep most of the information to keep me organized.  The pink sheet is the list of frequently called numbers.  Our family calendar, car keys and pens can all be found here as well. 

So as you can see, there is no right way to do your cleaning.  It is simply what works for your life at this time and that can change from time to time, so our routines need to change as well.  

HOMEWORK:   Decide on a bedtime routine, write it down and start implementing it this week.  Hopefully it will be running smoothly for you by the time school starts!   Decide how you would like to do your cleaning.  What will work in your life as it is today?   The best way to get started to is write down your plans!   Grab a piece of paper and write down your bedtime routine and your plan for weekly cleaning. 

I look forward to hearing how all of you are doing, so please check in with the group!!

I frequently get comments that my house must be so clean.  Like I said I wouldn’t die if you stopped by, but it isn’t perfect and never will be.  It took me a while to get to a place in my life where I realized that good enough….is good enough.  This from a recovering perfectionist!  

I try to keep the coffee table cleaned off.  It drives me nuts to have it covered with things.  But to keep it clean I have to put everyone elses things away each morning and evening. 

My dishes are washed and drying on the counter.  No dishwasher here, but my two hands.  When I get up in the morning I will put the dishes away.  I wouldn’t be embarassed if you came over and saw my dishes drying, at least they are clean. 

Laundry….I always have clothes waiting to be washed.  All clothes are picked up off the floors of the bedrooms each night and put down the laundry chute.  Each morning when I start a load of laundry I sort the few items that came down the night before.  I sort my clothes by person or room.  Each basket is for a different person.  This makes it easier for me to wash and put away the clothes in the right room when washing for so many people.  It also allows me to give the basket to the owner and ask them to take it to their room and put them away!   Mom doesn’t have to do it all….delegate! 

Hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse into my home.  

Blessings…