Home Management: Streamlined & Simplified, The Daily Routine

Last week's project was to create and implement and simple, workable daily routine.

Honestly, I completely bombed the assignment. This week was so busy (for me, anyway!) and our days have had no semblance of routine at all. I had somewhere to be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then Thursday I was exhausted from a very poor night's sleep (up four times with leg cramps and once with a crying baby).

Our house has been messy all week long. I hadn't folded any clothes until tonight and only got around to washing some when Katie ran out of clean underwear. Fail.

So, needless to say, I haven't gotten much farther than writing out our ideal (and I think reasonable, workable) routine.

Rather than setting specific times for everything, I broke our days down into blocks and included tasks to accomplish in each of those blocks. Some things have ideal times (meals, bedtime, etc.), but those are just guidelines--not completely set in stone.

Our Daily Routine

Before breakfast

My morning routine (devotions, drink a glass of water, get dressed, brew coffee for Ben)
Children up and dressed
Read with Ben while I cook breakfast (children play)

Breakfast -- Preferably by 8 

After breakfast/Before lunch
Family worship

Clean kitchen (Katie puts the silverware away and then the children play)
Tidy living area and bedrooms (children help)
Start laundry
"School" for Katie (working through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons) 
Exercise/shower/primp (the children play nearby while I exercise and shower with me or play in the bathroom)
Switch laundry
Play/read books with the children
Fix lunch (which is usually leftovers or smoothies)

Lunch -- Preferably by 12:30

After lunch/Before naptime
Catechism with children
Children have a treat while I tidy up from lunch
Get ready for nap--diaper change for Benjamin, potty and pull-up on for Katie
Read books with children
Children to bed -- Preferably by 1:30

During naptime
Work (my paid job)
Check blog (moderate comments, update facebook, etc.) and then study until children wake up

After nap/before dinner

Children watch a DVD and have a snack -- I study or catch up on housework
Start on dinner
Fold and put away clothes
Get ready for dinner--finish food prep., Katie sets the table

Dinner -- Preferably by 6:30

After dinner
Clean kitchen
Quick tidy up of the house
Hang out as a family--read, play, talk, veg, etc.

Bedtime routine
Get PJ's on
Brush teeth
Snuggle and read stories
Children to bed -- Preferably by 9

After bedtime
Finish blog post for the next day
Hang out with Ben
Go to sleep -- Preferably by 10:30
 
Here's hoping today will look a little more like this than the rest of the week has! :)

Week 5 Project
This week's project is pretty simple. We're going to continue working towards implementing (and tweaking, as needed) our daily routines. Next week we'll be starting in the kitchen!


Be sure to visit Rachel's post today as well!