Mourning Routines

I wanted to talk this morning about morning routines.  I think a lot of women overlook the importance of a morning routine, I know I did for many years.  I also believe that a lot of women believe that a morning routine would help them but have no idea what one should look like or how to set one up.  I know I tried many different systems over the years including fly lady and others but none seem to fit my family. There is no one perfect routine that will fit every woman and every family, so what I want to do is to show you the steps I took to figure out what mine looked like.

1. I looked at what I was currently doing in the morning and what I wanted my mornings to look like.  When I first started this I found I was sleeping in and not getting out of bed until 8 or so, when the boys were in public school I wake up take them to school and climb right back into bed.  When I did get out of bed I always felt guilty and like I was wasting my day.

So what I saw was that I wanted to get up earlier in the day, I wanted to read my Bible and pray before the boys or JD woke up.  I also wanted to have coffee ready and either the news of music playing softly when JD and the boys woke up.  I love to have some sort of praise music playing in my house most of the day I once heard a Pastor speak on Psalms 22:3 "O' Thou that inhabits the praises of Israel."   He talked about how we have been grafted into the nation of Israel, into God's chosen people and that he inhabits our praise.  One of the things that struck me was the idea of surrounding your self with praise music because people tend to sing a long with whatever music is playing and I loved the idea of His Presence in my home all day. ( Sorry for the rabbit trail.)

2. Once you have seen the things that you want changed write them down and talk to your husband and children about them (you're more likely stick with it if someone else knows). For me it meant setting my alarm for 6 and getting out of bed no matter how tired I was.  I wouldn't even turn on the computer but instead would hit the coffee button wash my face, brush my teeth, get a cup of coffee and go sit on the couch with my Bible, a pen  and a notebook.

3. Start small don't worry about making every change right away and don't worry if you mess it up one day because God's mercy are new every morning ( one of my life verses because boy do I need it).

4. After doing this for a week step back and look at it.  Is it working?  What things do you need to change? What things do you want to add?. 

5. Do as much as you can before you go to bed.  If I wake up in the morning to a cluttered house with dishes in the sink and floors that need swept, I tend to start feeling overwhelmed and have a harder time getting things accomplished that day. So my morning routine actually starts the night before.

 

These are the 5 things that I find most important to my routine, now I know that I did not line out my routine for you but I am going to do that below, as with everything else I do in life it is a bit unconventional and doesn't line up with what most organizing experts say but it works for me.

Before bed: prepare coffee, tidy house ( make sure kitchen, bathroom and living room are tidy, make sure table is cleared off), set Bible, pen, notebook and any Bible study I am doing on table.

6:00; Wake up, start coffee, wash face, brush teeth talk to God and start music.

7:00 Make sure boys are waking up, help with breakfast, check email's. I also will quite often start a load of laundry here.

8:00 Breakfast is done the boys and I set at the table and go over our family verse, do a short Bible study and pray together.  We also talk about the day ( any appointments,school projects or plans).

8:30 Start school I help them as much as I can with Titus needing more help then the others.

9:00 I exercise and then take a shower and get dressed.

Now all times are approximate but I don't get dressed right away.  I don't like exercising first thing in the morning and don't like to shower and get dressed before I exercise.

  

Remember there are no wrong routines, just ones that work for you!

Household Notebook

Ok here's thee rough draft of my notebook for 2011.  I will try to narrate as I go along feel free to ask any questions.  I will also try to give links to blogs or other websites whose materials I used when creating my notebook.  I also have a notebook for each of my boys and will try to get that up later.

Here is the front cover.  
I like things to be functional and pretty.

I bought the basic lay out for my notebook from fruit of her hands.  I love this blog she has some great ideas on lot's of different things.

This is the first page inside of the folder.

Inside of that are some Bible studies I enjoy.

Which I can share if you would like. I also have Proverbs 31 printed out and placed there and my prayer journal.

Next is my personal goals.

Just some thing I use every year to set goals for myself in the next year.  Again, I will share these if someone is interested. These include spiritual goals, health goals, family goals financial goals and any thing else that I have as a goal.  I very strongly believe that if you don't have a vision for your life then you have nothing to work towards.

Next is schedule

In this I have my Daily schedule

I can share a little more about what's on it if someone wants it. It is broken out into morning and early afternoon and then late afternoon and evening.  This helps me to know when things should be done by.

After this I list cleaning and the things that happen daily,weekly,monthly

As you can see I have it broken into days Monday-Saturday. Then each day lists the specific things that need to be done on that day.  I also include 20 minutes of working on a project of some kind.

I also list projects that I want to get done.

Next is the chore list, so that you know what needs to be done daily, weekly and monthly.  It also is a great for helping the boys know what the room should look like when it's clean.  This way IO don't have to remind them what it looks like every day but they know I just expect these things done when this is your room for the week.

Next I have menu Planning

I try to plan from Saturday to Saturday making sure to look at the sales that come out then planning the next weeks menus based upon what's on sale.

Then I list emergency number.

This includes Dr's numbers, relatives, our fire escape plan,poison control.

Basically I try to include anything that could possible be needed here.

Next is important numbers.

These include all insurance numbers, numbers for all electric,water and gas companies.  I also include health insurance numbers.

Then Financial

In here is a calendar of when Bills are do.  I also have a folder for receipts and one for the current bill.

Next Projects,  This could be anything from pictures of swing projects to detailed list of things I want to get done

Then I have a gift giving section.  If someone mentions something they would like I tend to write it down so I don't forget.  No picture for this one but it looks like the ones above but says gift giving.

 Then it's my calendar where I write down all of my appointments and such.  I also keep track of sports practices and game dates.

The last one is my home school section.  It grows throughout the year.  Right now all that is in it is the next weeks overview for each boy.

It allows me a quick look at what they are doing each day and whether or not they have a live lesson and at what time.  

You can follow my life here.

http://coloradoblessed.blogspot.com/

Groups I belong to

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BiblicallySubmissivehousewives/

Organizing Now

So I just bought this new book called "Organize Now" by Jennifer Ford Berry.  I am wanting to use it to help me become more organized this year..  The book is divided into 52 chapters (52 weeks).

 

The first week is called: Organize your Mind. And here is a summarized list of what should be focused on in the first week:

 

1) Get a minimum of 7 hours sleep per night.  Organize your schedule around your sleep.

2) Jot down a short To Do list first thing in the morning of the things you HAVE TO do and the things you WANT TO do - be realistic.

3) Start a journal.  Try to write in it every day, even if it a one sentence highlight of the day.

4) Limit the amount of television you watch.

5) Schedule a coffee/tea break two or three times a day to just relax.

6) Schedule time to exercise.

7) Schedule more "me time" - even if it is just 15 minutes.

8) Eliminate energy drainers in your life, unhealthy relationships, unfinished projects, items on your To Do list that don't need to be done.

9) Set goals and break them into doable daily To Do's

 

Once A Month:

1) Schedule a day just for you.  Do something that makes you happy.

 

Every 3-6 Months:

1) Spend an hour or two alone to take stock of your emotional state. How do you feel most of the time? How are your relationships? Count your blessings if you are happy, or evaluate why you are unhappy and make plans to change what you can.

 

Once a Year:

1) On your birthday make an effort to reflect on the past year.  What did you learn? How have you changed? What do you want to accomplish in the year to come?

I am hoping that I can keep up and do one chapter a week.  So I will  keep you posted on how it goes. 

Home Making Journal

I have one but have not used it in awhile.  I decided to pull it back out and update it.  The task of updating one and finding a way to make one that I will actually use and that will keep me organized seems monumental.  I thought that if this is how it feels to me then a lot of other women must feel the same way.  So I've decided to share my journey in finding the system that works for me.  I have tried flylady and though it has some great ideas it was to regimented and seemed out of touch with my life.  I have also tried to organized home and those did not work for me either as they were not detailed enough.  I know some ladies who subscribe to one or the other and am happy they work for them.  So today I begin my journey.
I have been giving some thought to the sections I would like in my Journal.  Here are lists of the ones I have come up with and a brief description:

 Schedules & Routines

A master family calendar - school schedules, work schedules, activity schedules; daily routines – morning, afternoon, evening; weekly, monthly, seasonal, annual tasks and housekeeping chores. Basically anything based on time goes here. It is the core of the Panel and will be an active section, in that it will be used and referenced daily.

Goals, Plans & Projects

Long term goals (anything requiring more than a single entry on a task list) and projects large and small will be laid out here. I tend to have a hard time setting specific goals.  I am much better at bigger more general things like I want to go visit Italy but never lining out the steps that will need to happen for me to get there, hopefully this will help with that section.

Family & Inventories

This is kind of a catch-all for general information about other people in your life as well as various databases of property or knowledge. If you were in a bookstore and wanted to know if you’d already purchased #4 of a series, you would check here. A complete home inventory is a good idea for insurance purposes. Keeping track of children’s and spouse’s sizes aid in shopping for clothes, as will an inventory of their existing wardrobe. Also helpful is a list of books or movies that you want to see but haven’t gotten around to. Aren’t we all too likely to forget what it was that so-and-so recommended when we’re actually standing in the video store? An index to household storage is often handy as well. Family medical notes and records would also belong here unless they were extensive for some reason.  Now tis one sounds good but also is one that intimidates me the most.  It sounds like a lot of work but if I can slowly build it up over time and not do it all at once then I should be able master this.

Finances

From your checkbook balance to an investment portfolio to last year’s tax return, everyone has financial records to organize. Monetary goals can also be outlined here, with a savings or debt reduction plan to achieve them. Receipts, warranties, owner manuals should all be kept together and in an accessible manner.

Food Preparation

A portion of my journal will deal with food – recipes, menu plans, pantry and grocery guides, a price book, coupon storage, and anything else to do with food and its storage and preparation in our homes.

Hobbies

Scrapbooks, needlepoint, gardening, music, writing, the list is endless. If there’s something in your life you do for fun, chances are there is something about it you need to plan, organize, or store. I’d probably also put decorating ideas here, but they could also go in Projects or if you’re embarking on a full-scale renovation they could even have their own section.  This would be fun though I don't have a lot of time for hobbies but I do hope to take up sewing and knitting this year.

School, Work, Organizations

This is where we will diverge probably more than in any other section. Some work for an outside company, some work from home, some don’t work (yeah, like this isn’t work! Lol), some go to school, some teach school, some homeschool, some have kids in school, some are members of volunteer or recreational organizations or sit on a board of directors somewhere. If there’s anything you belong to, outside responsibilities you juggle, this is the place to ground it.

Spiritual

Anything I consider spiritual or renewing can be covered here, whether formal prayer logs or musings on nature or anything in between. 

Life unexpected 

It contains sensitive information such as passwords, account numbers, utility and credit information, bank and other account information – more than would be found in the day to day finances. I like to think of it as a place to write down all the things that I normally keep in my head – things *I* don’t have to look up to function daily, but if my husband had to, say, transfer money between accounts he’d have to find. Due to all info in this one I will probably not be keeping it with the rest of the information.