You know the old poem that goes like this?"Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday"
I've been thinking about it lately, because I've decided to try designating certain large chores for certain days of the week. When I worked full-time, cleaning and laundry was all done on Saturday, but that was back before Edwin, and I haven't cleaned the whole house and done all the laundry in one day for a long time.
I've been doing laundry on Mondays for months now. I still sometimes have to do a mid-week load or two (diapers are in a league of their own - they get done every-other-day so I'm not referring to them), but for the most part, I save laundry for Monday. And really, we have enough clothing that we don't need to wash more often than once a week.
So each week, our laundry was getting done, but I began to notice that a lot of time would pass between cleanings, and I kept thinking I want to get back to baking bread, and I wanted to be more organized in my grocery shopping (and now that we have a 2nd car, I don't have to work that around Dan's schedule) and so on.
Here's what I've come up with:
Wash on Monday (and water plants)
Bake on Tuesday (and fold/put away all that wash from Monday)
Clean on Wednesday
Socializing & Menu Planning on Thursday (mom's group that day 1x a month, story time @ the library, etc)
Groceries on Friday
Anything Else on Saturday
Rest on Sunday
These aren't hard and fast. For example, if a friend and I decide to get together on Wednesday, then I might still do some cleaning that needs to be done (like the bathroom) and then just do the rest on Thursday. Basically, these can all be swapped and changed as needed. Edwin and I went and hung out at a friend's house yesterday morning and I just did laundry before and after. I won't totally limit myself to this schedule, but maybe now I'll just remember that if I don't do something that one day, I need to fit it in somewhere.
This is only week #2 of all of this, so it might fly out the window pretty quickly, but I like having some sort of general framework. It's the teacher in me.
Here's a little video of Edwin, in honor of him now being 10 months old.
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I've been thinking this over, too (I've heard that poem, but didn't memorize it!). I actually made up a "schedule" while I was in the hospital- planning was a fun activity that made me feel useful- and I have it on the fridge now. I don't follow it much, but it does remind me all the things that need to be done in a week (or so) to help me budget my time. I was thinking of revising it to be more helpful- some things just don't work, and some things (like shopping!) aren't on there. I don't go shopping every week, so we usually just try to fit it in on a less busy day. I like to have a restful weekend, since E is usually off, so I find some things, like cleaning and laundry, loaded at the end of the week so they are "fresh" for the weekend! I usually do laundry at least twice a week- our hamper is in the hall, and it overflows!
ReplyDeleteEdwin is such a cutie- I love those little laughs!
The idea of scheduling housework has been bouncing around my mind for a while now. Some things I do a lot - like keeping our living areas on the first floor tidy because I have clients coming (I teach a form of natural family planning). So, I'm motivated! And I copied my sister-in-law's plan for laundry, which is do one load a day. That's worked out pretty well, too. I'm still undecided about scheduling cleaning the rest of the house, and the dreaded task of ironing Matthew's work shirts! I'd love to hear how you feel about your plan after trying it a few more weeks. Thanks for posting the video of Edwin - what a cutie pie! Luke is 6 mo. old now and lots of fun too.
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