I've always been an "all day" person versus a morning person or a night owl. I am a creature of habit, and fully believe that everything works better if you have a repeatable process. To me, nothing is worse than forgetting things or feeling like I'm always trying to catch up on the day or running behind. These are just a few of my routines that keep our life running somewhat smoothly. There are always unforeseen issues that arise (like when my power went out in the middle of my breakfast Monday morning!) but those are easier to deal with if I'm already in a good head-space.
M O R N I N G S
5:00 am Alarm. This is my "pre-wake-up alarm." Josh hates me. HA!
5:10 am Alarm. This time I actually get out of bed. I hit the bathroom and brush my teeth first thing.
5:15 am I head to the kitchen. If the dishwasher needs unloading, I go ahead and do it. I'll swap or start laundry loads if needed, too. I feed and water the dog. And a new addition the last few months is breakfast. I feel so much better if I eat something with a little substance before I leave the house. Also, coffee. I pack my lunchbox for the day while I heat my breakfast up.
5:30 am I sit on the couch with Mav and eat my breakfast and read through the One Year Bible on the YouVersion app. This usually only takes about 15 minutes. If I have extra time I'll check email, our bank account, or social media. I have to be careful though because social media will suck me in and before I know it, it's time to leave!
5:50 am If I have to take C to school, I get him up and dressed. He'll brush his teeth and drink his breakfast shake (they're in the fridge and straws are in reach, so he can grab everything himself) while I get dressed and put on my makeup. Note: We usually shower at night since we workout in the afternoons. I'm ridiculously low-maintenance.... think 10 minutes for getting dressed + hair & makeup.
6:10 am Leave the house for work or school. Fact: Most days this looks more like 6:15 or 6:20.
A F T E R N O O N S
Times are loose for afternoons because we don't always get home at the same time, but this is the general flow:
- Unpack my lunchbox
- Put bags and jackets up
- C starts his homework / practices piano. I go ahead and empty his folder, sign his homework pad or lesson book, and we go over his spelling list and Bible verse. Sometimes he'll even do his reading homework in the car on the way home. We are all about efficiently using time for more play time!
- Load any dishes in the dishwasher
- Make the beds
- Swap/start/fold any laundry
- We workout anywhere from 4-6pm
E V E N I N G S
6:30 pm Usually around this time we're eating dinner. Josh does most of our meal prep these days, so we'll heat something up. If we cook during the week it's a really fast meal and I'll come inside around 6 and get started while he finishes working out.
7:00 pm I clean the kitchen up while Josh and C play. If C needs a bath/bag change they'll knock that out first.
8:00 pm I set C's clothes/socks/shoes/brace out for the next day. Refill diapers/wipes/bag supplies/spare clothes in his backpack if needed. We do a quick sweep of the living room and put up toys from the day.
8:30 pm C's bedtime. He gets changed right before, takes his probiotic/vitamin, brushes his teeth and heads to bed. We tuck him in, say prayers, and give kisses and hugs. We take showers once he's in bed, and then will usually watch a show if we're not too tired. We're almost always in bed and asleep by 10:00 pm. We are old. HAHA.
C L E A N I N G
This is probably the hardest for me. I don't like spending my weekends cleaning. I usually only clean house when Josh is at work. I also don't typically workout the days he's at the station, so usually that time is subbed with cleaning. Carter is really good about entertaining himself while I knock out a few chores. I mop the kitchen and vacuum the carpets at least once a week, as well as clean the front bathroom since we always have friends at our house in the afternoons (getting their sweat on!). I despise cleaning bathrooms with every fiber of my being so ours happens every other week or when I can't stand it anymore. Dusting happens whenever I feel like it, to be honest. I change the air filters once a month, usually the same day I give the dog his heartworm pill at the beginning of the month. I have to make reminders for that kind of stuff in my planner or I will totally forget.
L A U N D R Y
Josh swears laundry is my favorite thing to do. There is always something going on in our laundry room! My system is pretty simple... when the basket fills, I do a load. We have four baskets.
1. A large basket in our room for everyday wear clothes
2. A small basket in our room for items that need to be washed on a gentle cycle or separately (sweaters, jeans, my work tops, etc).
3. A small basket in C's room
4. A small basket in the laundry room for towels
Sheets and blankets get washed once a week, usually Sundays or Mondays. I have spare sheets for our bed but don't rotate them out because I'm not folding a fitted sheet every week. When a load finishes in the dryer, it comes out of the dryer onto my bed and I fold it and put it away immediately. I literally do a load of our "everyday wear" basket at least every third day because it's usually full of workout clothes by then. I do the smaller basket of jeans and delicates once a week, as well as towels and Carter's clothes (if I don't combine his with a smaller load of ours).
