At the beginning of the summer I read a really good book called “Large Family Logistics“. It is a treasure trove of tips and hints on how to organise a household so it runs easily and efficiently. It is geared towards larger families, but I honestly think that it was a mistake to title the book “Large Family” because I think that no matter the size of the family, a single college student, a family of three or thirteen or a retired couple, everyone can benefit from the organizational tips in this book. Before the baby was born I used a few of the management tool in the book and they helped very much, I felt like I was handling the day to day chores and a few of the extras, so when baby came I was on top of everything. Well, once baby had come that all fell apart and we were in full survival mode, especially with the onset of my postpartum depression/anxiety. However, three months later I a feeling strong and ready to do what I love the most: be a mother and homemaker.
I have decided to give myself three goals, or projects for this week.
1. Get up, get dressed, put on make-up and do my hair. Even if that means I am in a pony tail, with jeans and a t-shirt, I will be dressed for the day.
2. My bed will be made and the master bathroom cleaned. I would like to clarify that my bathroom is “cleaned” once a week, so it isn’t like I have a hoarders type bathroom issue going on, I am talking about making sure that brushes, combs, hair spray, etc are put away. My bedroom and bathroom are an area of the house that is easily neglected, they aren’t delegated to one of the children, and it is easy for me to just shut the door and forget, however I have found when that room is clean the whole house seems to come together easier.
3. I am going to get my Household Management binder in order and get a weekly and daily schedule in place. I have used household binders in the past and they have worked well. They were mostly used as a place to organize all the papers that would pass my fingers in a day, but this one is going to be different. I will use it for paper organization, but also as a place for budgets, schedules and menu planning. I plan on talking about weekly schedules later on this week.
It is now 1:00 in the afternoon, I am dressed, but still need to do my hair and make-up, and while my bed is made the bathroom needs to be picked up, it is laundry day so the binder is going to have to wait until tomorrow. Can I do these goals this week? I certinaly plan on it, but I am thinking a daily schedual would be helpful for keep myself on track!
Sounds like you’re off to a good start, hang in there. I also find that when our master bedroom is straightened (bed made, bathroom clean) then everything falls in place or at least feels accomplished. Like you, my bathroom takes a back seat for the rest of the house. It’s organized and wiped down per say, not a bright shiney place like my kitchen… but I’m workin’ on it more lately cause gardening is done. We can only do so much and although my family sees me as super woman I constantly remind them “IM NOT”