The Comfortably of Routine

I've written about routine before. There is a comfort in having a routine and for me, there is calmness is knowing that things happen on certain days at certain times. Last year was full of uncertainty, change and little comfort. This year, I've been working toward simplicity which has also meant a dive back into routine. 

We have our daily routine which changes according to our planned activities every day and that has been working well. It is my weekly routine that has needed some shaping. I have a lot going on with my two kids, freelance writing, taking care of my Mom and maintaining the home front. 

I based my new weekly routine on my old weekly routine:

Monday is for Errands. I do all errands on Monday from stopping by the library to going to the store to returning things to friends. During Maggie's nap and Molly's quiet time, I concentrate on getting some writing work done. I can usually get a good hour or so in. 

Tuesday is for Laundry. Molly goes to co-op in the morning so Maggie and I play and start the laundry. I concentrate on clothing laundry on Tuesdays. I tend to save towels and sheets for later in the week but get started on them if I have time on Tuesday. I also concentrate on getting more writing work in during Maggie's nap and Molly's quiet time. 

Wednesday is for Cleaning - I clean half the house (Playroom, Living Room, Dining Room and Bathroom) on Wednesdays during Maggie's nap and Molly's quiet time. If Molly doesn't want to have quiet time then she helps me clean. She loves washing windows so I put her to work! I love having a clean house but I don't like cleaning every day. I do have the kids help me pick-up every night and we try to wash dishes every day so cleaning days are focused on actually cleaning. This is also a day we visit my Mom in the morning. We see her at other times but we almost always see her on Wednesday. 

Thursday is for Cleaning, Part Deux - Molly has co-op in the morning and I work in her classroom. I clean the other half of the house (Bedrooms and Kitchen) and launder the sheets, towels and kitchen rags during Maggie's nap. Molly has usually given up on quiet time at this point in the week so either helps me or watches a show. If Maggie takes a long nap, I get more work done then. 

Friday is for Big Projects - Friday is a pretty open day for us, other than gymnastics class in the morning so I like to use it to focus on getting bigger projects done. I've fallen behind on my goal purging the house with the Bowl Full of Lemons 14 Week Plan. I got behind on the office and am getting back into it. I have a HUGE list of home improvement plans to tackle too. I'm planning to talk more about this later but the list is basically some small things like painting, putting up some new house numbers (because ours are a weird, ugly font) and bigger things like new insulation and a new cover in our backyard.

Weekends is for Catching Up and Fun - I try to take time on the weekend to head to a coffee shop to get some work done and get in some swatching time. I also try to work on the yard and garden on the weekends when Scott is around to wrangle the kids. 

As with everything in life, this routine has it's ebbs and flows but I have found that when I stick to it, I feel calmer, more accomplished and most importantly happier.