I am a bit "free" in the way I think, speak, and act (and that's a nice way to put it). I have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time, because I have so many great ideas firing off in my head! Finishing things I start is also a bit of a challenge, especially if it's looking good and I can picture the final product in a positive light and know it'll be something I love (for some reason I think I'll get back to finishing it into something I DO love, right after I finish this other thing I've really been wanting to do). OR if it takes more than a day to complete. OR if I get side tracked by kids, laundry, dishes, meals, a phone call, or a million other things.
Needless to say, hum-drum daily tasks are not something that get me excited, so I'm always trying something new that will require less time, less thought, less of my energy, and still get it done because I would rather be working on one of the million fun ideas I have bouncing around in my head. I really dislike performing the daily tasks and the hum-drum of daily routine, but I love enjoying the benefits of delicious, inexpensive, home cooked healthful meals, a tidy house that's not embarrassing if someone stops by unannounced, being able to find things I'm looking for in their designated place, kids who are happier because Mom is happier, getting places on time, and the list goes on.
Here are a few tools I have found to be invaluable in staying organized enough to get household tasks done, but putting my twist on it, so it doesn't become too dull and boring. I have combined the following ideas to get my cleaning routine down to a 20-45 minute speed clean every other day (everyone that's home at 8:00 a.m. helps with the speed clean routine, including the two year old twins), an additional 15 minutes a couple of times on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday for laundry, and an additional 20 minutes of extra cleaning in designated rooms.
I made some changes to the designated rooms routine because many of those things are included in the speed cleaning routine. I do find that our bathroom keeps up appearances much better using the speed cleaning method, and that the few things I do extra once each week in designated rooms takes considerably less time. I also added in Sabbath day readiness on Saturday, which has helped keep a cheerful spirit in our home Sunday morning (we have 8:30 a.m. church) instead of feeling rushed and flustered trying to find last minute things (usually shoes and putting together snacks while trying to get a good breakfast in).
The speed cleaning is recommended every day, but it's just not a priority for me to keep it immaculate, and every other day keeps it pretty darn clean. Since I started regularly including the kids in our speed cleaning routine and cleaning up after meals until it's DONE has really helped them take ownership of their messes and I don't feel like I am a maid cleaning up every day.
With a nine year old, four year old, and two year old twins, I don't hold bragging rights to an immaculate home...we do still live, love, and play here...but it's a manageable mess that's clean underneath!
We implemented a chore chart point system that is working really well for limiting the sense of entitlement my children have for extra things (i.e. friends over, treats, going to the park) and also eliminates my nagging and reminding, and their chores get done. Our nine year old completes her chores totally on her own, but I do have to read the chores to our four year old (he chooses which order to complete them in), and then I do have to help him stay focused and complete them (he has the same problem his mother does...he still has hope of outgrowing it though). All chores have to be completed without complaining (we added the eating of meals and helping clean up afterwards to the chore chart with points and this has almost eliminated complaints at meal time), some chores have to be completed before 10:00 a.m. and some have to be completed before 7:00 p.m. to receive points. If chores are completed after the designated times they don't receive points. If chores aren't completed at all they have a negative point value for that day. My nine year old also has a list of bonus chores with designated points that are actually 'my' chores she can help with. We also added a good attitude point value that is all inclusive for the day. A good attitude (not getting in time out or breaking a family rule) earns them 50 points. A bad attitude can cost them 50 points. They each have their own individual lists of rewards, but our four year old still hasn't grasped the concept of cashing his in. Our nine year old is saving hers up =).
I have also found that making seasonal rotating menus helps me spend less money making more healthful meals more often, and keeps variety in our meals, and I had to make less grocery shopping trips. We live an hour away from Costco and Winco, so buying ahead makes sense if I know what I'm really going to use. We also have two outdoor deep freezers, so I could really stock up on and freeze fruits, vegetables, and meat, knowing exactly what I was going to need for the next three months. We were also not tempted to eat out as often when I kept up on it.
I have 28 meals for 4 seasons and I rotate through them for three months (Winter menu is rotated through December, January, February, Spring menu is rotated through March, April, May, Summer menu should theoretically be rotated through June, July, and August, and the Fall menu rotated through September, October, and November).
HOWEVER, I still can't seem to stick to the summer menu I made. I need to spend some time remaking it to something I'll actually do. Summer is too busy and too hot to want to spend time in the kitchen cooking and I need to make more allowances for that.
I also ended up taking inventory of my freezer and pantry for the last two weeks of each seasonal menu rotation and altering the rotating menu to use up what I may have overstocked. I loved using this in the Winter and Spring because I felt like I spent almost zero time meal planning, and I could make a triple batch of sauce the first time I made it and froze the other two portions because I knew I would be making it again two more times. It takes the same amount of time to triple a batch as it does to make one batch, I only have to do it once, and only wash the dishes once. I loved it! It felt like cheating sometimes. It was fantastic.
My challenge with the summer has been #1: the heat, #2: less structured schedules, #3: my kids not sleeping as well because it's light outside for longer (we unsuccessfully tried black out curtains), #4: did I mention the heat? We don't have central air, just a couple of window air conditioning units. They're sufficient but I don't feel inspired to cook. Plus with the larger variety of fruits and vegetables I'm not sure what's going to be available and when so that makes it harder to plan. Those are my excuses. Maybe I just needed a break from the structure the seasonal rotating menus provide, even though the benefits far out weigh the boredom caused by the routine.
I would love to get to a place where I have meal prepping for the week down to a small block of time, but as of yet, I've only been motivated to accomplish that once or twice in my lifetime. I always seem to have something more attractive captivating my attention.
I know it sounds like all this takes a ton of time, but it actually saves us time and allows bigger blocks of time for the things we really love...like family and projects!
