Clutter Busting: Create a Daily Schedule

Your Clutter Busting challenge for the week of January 23rd is to create a daily schedule.It is essential to establish routine in your life regardless whether you work in or out of the home. One of the key areas is to create a daily schedule. I am not talking about a super rigid by the hour timetable, rather a set number of tasks to do within a certain time frame.The 9:00am deadline:
I find it easier to get my shower and dressed prior to my husband leaving for the day. I am a morning person by nature so a 6:00am shower works for me. In my world, I have to get everyone fed, my husband out the door and my daughter to the bus by 7:15am, at which time I have a little boy who is desperately requiring my attention! I have a general list of things that I like to have completed by 9:00am. The reason I have set 9:00am as my morning deadline is that unplanned visits rarely occur before this time.
The simplest of my 9am goals are:

• getting myself and my son dressed and fed
• get the downstairs of my house presentable (most importantly for me is to get the foyer and the kitchen straightened)
• perform a quick sweep and the house should be ready for anyone who may want to pop by!!

The rest of your day:
While you are making up your daily schedule be absolutely realistic! It is better to start with a very simple routine and add to it as you go than to create a complex and impossible schedule that only on your best day could you ever think about completing! It is time to create a no-fail lifestyle. Stop trying to impress yourself with your overachieving aspirations!
WAHM/WAHD’s (work at home moms/dads):
Block off certain hours as your office hours.
Don’t forget the kids:
Absolutely plan family time into your schedule!!
Before you go to bed:
Get backpacks and lunch bags ready for morning. Lie out all clothes in the evening and teach your children, as they get older, to do this for themselves. Make sure there are no missing gloves, shoes, boots, etc. Do a quick clean up of the house and make sure you have the kids’ put their toys away. Don’t always do for them or they will never learn to do for themselves.

Once you have your daily schedule set, type it out and print it off. I keep mine in my household manual, but you may want to post yours on the refrigerator.

Next Week: Creating a weekly schedule and January review!

- Betsy