I just want to be an
organized mom and wife.

by KAT
(UK)

I always set out with good intentions, I can sometimes spend hours cleaning the house from top to bottom. My problem is that I can't seem to keep it that way, so it always ends up the same way the next day.

I want to be a person who can get up early in the morning before my kids and hubby. My hubby sends the kids to school at 8:40 a.m. We all get up about 7:50 a.m. and its rush rush rush. Even the uniforms haven't been ironed the night before. I just can't seem to get myself organised with everything. Any ideas, PLEASE?

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organized mom and wife.

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Apr 27, 2010
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by: Samantha

Hi Kat, sounds like you're willing to put in the work to be organized, you just need to develop a schedule. Here are three steps to your new schedule - write it down, delegate, and get enough sleep. It's really that simple.

Before you can write down your schedule, take some time to study your priorities. Look at what it takes to run your home. What's your role/function in the family and all that it entails... housekeeping, bill paying, meals, child rearing, working, etc. and put all of these duties into a schedule and delegate.

Look at the week ahead, and assign tasks for everyday. This step alone relieves a ton of stress. Here's what I mean. If I know that laundry gets done every morning, I don't stress over the new pile of laundry in the basket at night. If I know that high traffic areas are vacuumed after dinner, I don't worry about a dirty entryway mat. If I have work to get done at night, I ask my husband to make the younger kids lunches for the next day.

Now, here's some good news, cleaning more often will produce less work for you because there will be less to clean versus scrubbing off a week or two worth of grime and dirt. To do this, simply wrap household cleaning duties into daily and nightly chores. For instance, kitchen counters get wiped down after dinner, high traffic areas are either swept or vacuumed after dinner too, an older child can clean a bathroom after their shower, etc. Stash a disposable duster in your living room to quickly dust the room from top to bottom. Everyone pitches in and picks up and puts away clutter in common areas. Laundry is done once a day, folded, and put away by bedtime.

If clothes need to be ironed for the week, take an hour and do it once a week. If your kids are old enough, have them iron their own clothes.

Delegate what you can, when you can! If everyone is given chores and knows what's expected of them, your home will not only be a lot cleaner, it will run smoother too!

If you want to get up before everyone, first think about how much sleep you need. Then determine a 'must' wake up time to avoid rushing in the morning. Then count back from your wake up time the number of hours you need for sufficient sleep, and there's your bedtime. If you're a night owl like me, sticking to this bedtime will be hard and require discipline, but will be worth it.

If you have a schedule set out with everything that needs to be accomplished to keep your household running efficiently, delegate out tasks to get everyone involved and relieve your stress, and get sufficient sleep to wake up early, you'll be amazed at how smoothly the day will run. You'll also be prepared to handle the unexpected such as a sick child, broken down car, or whatever emergency life throws at you.

Once you get in the habit of a schedule, you'll save even more time thinking of different ways to streamline your family's routine. Good Luck, Samantha.

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