Daily Routine

To my blogging followers (my mom), sorry that I've been absent. I can't promise it will get much better. I've found that I really enjoy looking at other peoples' blogs more than I enjoy typing on my own. But it does seem like one of that give and take relationships in the blogging world where I would be selfish to only take from others and never give anything, so here's my gift to the world. :-)

In the middle of last year I found Flylady.net and it has been a great tool for me! I really love it. It breaks your house down into different zones to work on each week. It also encourages you to do certain daily tasks to help keep life more organized. During the holidays I slipped a bit on my daily routine, but I've been trying VERY hard to maintain it so that my house stays pretty decent at all times.

Here's my AM routine (except Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays):
-Brush teeth, go potty, weigh (too detailed?)
-Make hair and face look somewhat presentable if someone drops by or the I see a neighbor, but I do stay in sweats or PJ's when I'm at home because I dress up for church and work.
-Swish and Swipe the bathroom....clean the toilet and wipe down the counter after putting everything away. This has been a new one in 2009. I didn't do it last year, but have been trying to keep up with it every day this year.
- Start 1 load of laundry. This is also new for 2009. Last year I saved all my laundry and did it all on Thursdays, but I thought I'd give it a try and I've actually liked it. Somedays I just do my one load and other days I just work on it all day and get it done for the week. Thursdays are still my "have to have it done" day though.
- Get the kids' breakfast.
- Put away dishes that I washed the night before while the kids eat breakfast.
- Lay out dinner for that night.
- Take vitamins and get a glass of water.

PM Routine -
- Pick up entry way.
- Wash the dishes and clean the counters. (I hardly use my dishwasher anymore now that I do this.)
- Clean desk area while shutting down computer for the night.
- Do a quick runthrough of the house and pick random things up.
- Brush teeth, floss (I try to remember!), and wash face or take shower
- Kiss Josh (He always stays up later than me!) Night owls.....
- Read my Bible (I love my Daily Bible that has Old, New, Psalms, Proverbs)
- Write in my journal
- Lights out by 11 PM on weekdays; 12 AM on weekends

Kids Chores -
I've started having the kids do some specific chores every day before we start school just so they get used to the routine of it. It's been working very well. They both put their shoes away that are in the entry way, make their beds, tidy their rooms, and then Javon takes the recycle out while Reagan puts the silverware away. They usually make a race out of it and it only takes like 15 minutes.

My mom has always been great about keeping everything picked up! I never remember our house being messy as a kid. I wish my kids could say that! :-) But I'm really working on it!!! I want to be organized and clutter free. I've been letting go of things and learning to keep on top of this routine so that things stay within my control. It all about self-discipline. Yeah, I'd rather not do the dishes before bed, but then I wake up and feel yucky seeing them in the morning. So that's what I've been working on in 2009!