Organization {Part 2: Calendars}

Calendars are a wonderful thing!

I write everything down.  Ev. ry. thing.  My schedules, my calendar (they are different), phone numbers addresses, birthdays, to do lists....you get the point. In my world if I don't write it down, its not going to happen.  I have too much going on to remember everything! ;)  (4 kids will do that to a girl.)

I have an ongoing electronic calendar, but I also have a:

Daily schedule

Weekly schedule

Monthly/quarterly schedule

Yearly schedule
Cleaning schedule (more to come...)
Meal schedule (more to come...)
and

Birthday calendar (which is part of my main calendar, but you'll see why I separate this at the end.)

I did warn you that I'm a bit Type A, right???  Stay with me here...

I update my calendar daily and carry it with me.  Nothing like going to the Doctor/hair dresser/school/where ever you go and not being able to schedule something because you can't see what you have going on.  Worse...double booking!  Not good.

These are the things I do on a DAILY basis and why.
...

Throw in a load of laundry.

Workout - need I explain?  This is really 3-4 days a week.
Bible Study - a great way to start the day, plus I lead a bible study

Make my bed (and kids, too) - my house feels more put together when that's done

Commit to dinner in the morning.  This could be lay food out to thaw or begin some of the prep.  If you don't commit, your less likely to follow through with your plans.  Its too easy too forget, then have to scramble at the last minute and end up making less healthy choices for mealtime.

Clean up after every meal - Its much easier to do it right then, instead of letting it pile up.  Also, spills are easier to clean when they are still wet vs. letting them dry and get really stuck on.

Run a load of dishes (so they can dry overnight) - I don't use the heated dry cycle on my dishwasher.  I have way too much plastic in there and that cycle doesn't dry it anyway.  I run the load in the evening, open the door and let it dry overnight.  Saves money and I don't have to hand dry all the little people's plastic dish ware.

Check tomorrow's schedule (mine and kids) before I go to bed.  This way, I never wake up in the morning and get sideswiped with something.  Also, everything needed for whatever is going on tomorrow will be laid out i.e. library books, permission slips (when kids were in school), etc.

Before bed, make sure the kitchen is clean - nothing like waking up and starting your day with a messy kitchen, right?  You have a crazy enough day as it is to start off with that!

This is a summary of my basic WEEKLY cleaning schedule

Mon - Dust and Vacuum

Tues - Floors (wood and tile)

Wed - Bathrooms

Thrs - Kitchen, sheets and towels

Fri - Complete some zone cleaning

Sat - House projects and catch up (if needed)

Sun - Planning (meals, bills, homeschooling)

My MONTHLY/QUARTERLY/ANNUALLY things

Touch up painting (much easier to do every few months than once a year...especially if you have kids!)

Changing the batteries in the smoke detectors

Cleaning the phones and doorknobs (especially during cold/flu season)

Changing the filters

HVAC tune

Dryer vent vacuuming

and the seasonal clothes swap out

The last thing on my calendar list is my BIRTHDAY calendar

I'm a fan of sending out REAL birthday cards.  I might FB someone (if and when I'm ever on....which is rare!).  I love to make cards so I make and send my own cards.  Isn't it nice to get a real piece of mail, especially when its from someone that has remember your special day! I keep birthdays in my calendars.  I check next month's Birthday's and Anniversary's the last week of the current month.  I make or pull cards for each person and pre address them.  I pre-address them and put a date up in the corner (so I know when to mail them) where the stamp will cover it, then stack them all up in order of needing to be sent and then write and send when the time comes.

Write is all down!  It might seem silly to write something down that you do everyday, but it helps.  I keep this all on my computer and in my household binder.  I'll show you that tomorrow, then my cleaning and meal schedules after.  (Yes there will be pictures and documents!  Enough of these wordy posts with no pretty pictures, right?)