New routines...

For months now, I have been meaning to re-vamp my daily routines because they have not worked for me at all for probably a year now. Ever since my 3rd pregnancy exhaustion hit, plus having 2 toddlers in the house, I got away from housekeeping and I have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things. Now that my little one is almost 6 months old (this week!), I am hoping that I can get her to sleep through the night soon (she's almost there...I just need to gain the courage to sleep train her fully), I'm hoping I can start feeling a bit more rested each night (who am I kidding?!)...

Anyway, housework is a constant challenge for me because I simply have no time for it. That's not even an excuse..it's the truth. I spend every second of my day either running after one of my kids (or two of them at a time), cooking, feeding or diapering. By the time my husband gets home from the office, it's the dinner marathon, followed by a little family time, followed by bedtime. I'm sure I lose time during the day every time I check my phone, for example, but that's the only time I really can think of that I "waste." These days I've really focused on trying to only look at my phone during nursing sessions so that my kids don't see me on my phone too often. It's hard, especially in this day and age when phones are "tools" in people's lives on a regular basis. 

The point is that I have decided to write down my routines (fix the ones I wrote 2 years ago, really), and keep them laminated in my housekeeping binder so that I can try to follow them and hopefully, waste less time this way, leaving some time for the house each day. If I can spend 15 minutes of time cleaning each day, I'll be happy. This does not include laundry time or dishes, which I have always tried to keep up with. 

Here's what my morning routine is, starting tomorrow morning. Side note: Swish & Swipe is a term used by FlyLady, which means literally swish the toilet once over (with a Clorox wipe, for example), and swipe the sink.

I'll update with other routines as I create them and start enforcing them in my life.

MORNING ROUTINE

Wake up(before the kids) and thank God for a new day

Get up and make the bed

Check weight

Shower 

Swish & Swipe in the bathroom upstairs

Get dressed to the shoes

Grab some laundry on the way downstairs

Make coffee

Do hair and make-up

Start the laundry

Sit down, sip coffee, and read something spiritual

Check the calendar/planner for today’s routines and activities

Empty the dishwasher

Prepare breakfast for the family

Take vitamins and give the kids vitamins and any medication necessary for that day

Check what’s for dinner and see if anything can be prepared in advance