Wednesday, June 25, 2008

WFMW - Chore Schedule

This may seem over the top for all my in-laws anyone who prefers to play things by ear, but this is what works for me...and that's what this is, works-for-me Wednesday.

After loading myself with guilt over not being able to balance my roles as mommy, housekeeper, friend, wife etc., I came up with a chore schedule. It helps me get the essentials done, so that I can keep my home relatively clean sorta tidy clean-ish. And hopefully then, I'll have time to be a better mommy, friend, wife etc.

So here you have it, my chore schedule:

Monday: laundry and groceries (groceries sometimes happen on the weekend)

Tuesday: banking, garbages and recycling. I also have "library" on the list, but I think we've actually only made it to the library once on a Tuesday.

Wednesday: laundry including our sheets/towels, and kids'/cat's nail trimming. Yes, it has to be scheduled. And sometimes, this happens:


Thursday: next week's meal planning and bathrooms (alternating bath and shower every second week.)

*gasp* I KNOW mom. You taught me better than to only clean the bathrooms once a week. But actually once a week is my ideal and it really is more like once every two weeks....but two weeks MAX, I swear! And I'll look the other way if from now on you bring waterless hand wash and lysol wipes every time you come to my home...


Friday: budgeting and laundry

*We now interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging for an unscheduled poop explosion. I'm not sure how long my 6-month old, JJ, was happily jumping in his own poop. This was a bad one. Probably worse than KK's great-poop-all-over-mommy's-pants-at-church-explosion of 2006. It's making me re-think the "great" deal I got on diapers at Save-on-Foods*

Anyways, I also have two rules built into my schedule:

1. If I had a bad sleep, or the kids are extra needy or something comes up and I get too stressed about getting everything done, I have permission to drop today's chore and focus only on the kids and meal prep.

2. I have to do today's chore first. If I have extra time, I can go back to what I missed the day before, then the day before etc. So, if I missed laundry on Monday, I have to wait until Wednesday to do it again, unless of course I have extra time on Tuesday. It keeps me from getting overwhelmed which usually leads to crying, compulsive list-making and notactuallygettinganythingdone!

I know. A little over the top. But that's what works for me. Click here for more great tips (I'm talking hundreds of great little ideas) with Shannon at Rocks in my dryer.

8 comments:

  1. Hello there

    I loved your schedule and your "rules" - it is actually what I tell my clients to just start TODAY and when you're done, you can go back if you have time.

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  2. we've had a few of those great-poop-explosions in our house too. ah, the joys of motherhood!

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  3. This reminds me a little bit of Ma's schedule in the Little House books. :) I need to do something like this too, and I especially like yours rules. Thanks for the tip!

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  4. I'll join you in the household cleaning scheduling, but mine is a little different...hey! that's a post idea for another WFMW!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Great schedule and rules. I'll have to try some of these :-)

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  6. Okay -- I feel like a total slacker now that I've read your post. :) You sound much more organized than me! These are some great tips. Next week I'll probably feel guilty because I failed to implement. But now I feel motivated. LOL.

    And here all I wanted to do was tell you that your story about the airplane breastfeeding incident made me laugh out loud. :)

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  7. I love the tip about doing TODAY'S chore and then possibly going back.

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  8. I just realized last night that I need to get back to having certain days to do certain tasks again. :)

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