Not long ago, I waned to spend all of my time out and about – shopping, visiting friends’ homes, and attending playdates with my son. I think Zack and I spent more of our day away from home than we did actually being at home.
Much has changed in the last few months. I have started decorating our home with a purpose, instead of buying random home decor items on a whim. I feel like my home is on its way to being welcoming and beautiful instead of piecemeal, and now I have to have a really good excuse to spend all day running around town. I want to be here. I want to enjoy the warm sunlight streaming through our windows. I want to just sit and enjoy this home, this life, my family has created.
Tom gets credit for this photo of the amazing sunset from our backyard.
Other than the decorating, there are a few little changes I’ve made in my life that have helped me get to this point. I decided that it would be no fun to have a beautiful, well decorated home if it was constantly in disarray. I always felt like I had too much laundry to put away, too many toys to pick up, and too many rooms that needed to be cleaned. I have a new routine at home now, and it has definitely made a tremendous difference in my life.
I’ll let you in on a few little secrets, because I like you.
First, there are some easy things I do every single morning:
- Give Zack his juice (aka 8 oz of water with a splash of juice) and cheerios;
- Start a pot of coffee for Tom and myself;
- Put a load of laundry in the washing machine;
- Empty the dishwasher than ran the night before;
- Open the blinds and curtains; and
- Make the beds.
It seems simple, but it gets my day started and helps me to keep on top of the “homemaking” aspect of my life. Plus, since I get up and get moving, I get a lot more accomplished in my day than I used to accomplish.
The other secret is my chart. In order to keep from getting overwhelmed with everything else there is to do in our home, I simply set up a chore chart for myself. All of my tasks are broken down in easy to manage segments, so I don’t feel like I’m doing housework all day.
Click on the above chart to be taken to the full-size version.
It may seem crazy and a little OCD (Hello! Have you ever read my blog before?), but it keeps me calm. I am a much better mother, wife, and Lindsay when I’m calm and relaxed. Plus, there aren’t a zillion mountains of laundry and piles of dust bunnies waiting to attack me as soon as I walk in the door. See why I don’t mind being at home now?
I challenge you to make your own little chart (or use mine) and try this process for two weeks. Start it on Monday – that gives you all weekend to prepare. You know, do your pre-dusting stretches and the like.
Let me know if you accept my challenge. Even if you have a cleaning service (who will never clean your home as well as you do, but that’s a whole different blog post), you can do the daily picking up, kitchen cleaning, and laundry tasks. I’ll be checking in mid-week to see how everyone is doing. You can do it and lead a more beautiful life in the process!
Check out one of my favorite blogs, The Inspired Room, to join in the weekly celebration of living a beautiful life!
