Scheduling

Now that I have to travel an hour away twice a week to take Leiah to speech therapy, I've been trying really hard to get a routine set. I'm the kind of person that likes to have a loose plan, and often 'wing it'. However, it's very important to me to have all bases covered and not feel like I'm behind all the time. That just makes me feel guilty!

I asked Candy to give me some personal help with getting my act together and she graciously obliged. Here's what had to happen each week:
The daily work: cooking, dishes, laundry, clutter control, tidying bedrooms and bathrooms, some 'school' time with Leiah, exercise, Bible study

Weekly work- all my cleaning chores! Plus, due the price of gas and copays for therapy, finances are a bit crunched, so I need to sew more. Also, planning meals and grocery shopping and running other errands.


I've also set up a list of To Do lists- ha,ha a list of lists! That just sounds nuts :) You do what ya gotta do when life gets real full. This way, I can just glance at my to do list and easily see what needs to be done that day. It's for quick reference :)

To Do List

Monday: wash bedding laundry, clean bathroom mirrors and kitchen counters, speech, exercise 30 minutes, work on home management binder, Bible study

Tuesday: Cleaning Day- early morning exercise, wash towels and washcloths and one other load, dust, wipe down surfaces, screens, mirrors, chairs and highchair, vacuum, sweep and mop hard floors, wipe down tub/showers, clean out fridge, plan meals and make grocery list, school time, Bible study

Wednesday: wash kid's clothes, wipe down toilets, speech therapy, buy groceries if not the night before, exercise 30 minutes, Bible study

Thursday: Kitchen Day- early morning exercise, wash mine and hubby's clothes, clean all kitchen appliances and washer/drier, bake bread and/or other items, make kombucha, soak any grains/legumes for the week, make stock, feed starter, school time, Bible study

Friday: morning exercise, touch up bathrooms and floors, wash highchair cover, afghans etc., work on organizing and/or sewing projects, Bible study

Saturday isn't listed, but it's generally a fun day whether we go anywhere or not, and I'm going to institute it be our date night with a special meal. I don't get a chance to cook gourmet items anymore, so this is fun for me to plan.

Here is what we came up with- she has most of this on her blog- but I set up morning, afternoon and evening routines.

Morning Routine

Wake up- 6:30 on therapy days, 5:30 on 'regular'days for exercise
make bed
get dressed
do hair and makeup
tidy bathroom
take any clothes to laundry room
start first load of laundry


Afternoon Routine

Tidy up living areas/kitchen
unload dishwasher if needed
fold and put away any laundry
do food prep for next day, if needed


Evening Routine

Tidy living and kitchen areas
run dishwasher or unload it depending on the situation
lay out clean dishcloths and towels
get clothes ready for next day
take shower
read Bible and/or other book
bedtime

I also have a master schedule, well two- one for days at home and one for therapy days- I couldn't get everything in on one. However, there's a lot of info there and I don't know how to get an Excel document on blogger...I'll have to check into that.

On the days I have to do speech therapy, I will use my crockpot. Yesterday I put some chicken thighs with salt, pepper and herb de Provence seasoning (which I love!), sliced onions and garlic, and chunks of carrots and potatoes. It was good! We also had some leftover peas (from frozen, green peas) and some Amazing bread, Candy's recipe.

One thing I have realized, exercise really does give you more energy. I woke up at 5:30 and have been blowing and going almost non stop. I have worked really hard, my appetite has been normal (not under or over hungry) and I've been wanting to drink water. I am tired, but I have an overall sense of well being. I've also been making sure I drink 4 or more ounces of kombucha a day and I'm amazed at the difference! Yea bacteria!

Hopefully I'll have enough energy left to make a trip to the grocery store, in the late afternoon which is really busy, and with all the kids :)