My Day to Day Schedule

Okay, now that I've posted my cleaning schedule, let's talk about my work schedule. As I said a couple days ago, I'm a writer. Which means, I work from home. Also, I'm recording my books on audio, so I can only do that when everyone is at work or school.

After stressing about never being able to get things done, I decided to make myself a day to day schedule. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't always stick to this one hundred percent. There are days when my mom calls and we head out for some thrift store shopping and breakfast. Or maybe there are unexpected errands that fall on my lap. But, barring unforeseen activities, I've tried really hard to stick to this to ensure there's enough time for everything.

Of course, this schedule won't work for everyone. Maybe you have toddlers that take naps at a certain time. Maybe you work outside the home. Maybe your spouse works from home or you homeschool your little ones. Whatever the case, make a schedule that works for you and stick to it. I've had to, on occasion, set an alarm on my phone to ensure I don't get distracted with one project.

This is the schedule I made on Photoshop and printed out. It's currently hanging in my Cave. (My little space where I work).

It's a little hard to see, but here are the time blocks:

8-9-:30 Walk, Breakfast, and Shower. In this allotted time, I try to walk no less than twenty to thirty minutes. This is also the time I make sure I look somewhat presentable. lol I'm trying to wear makeup daily, but anyone who lives in a colder climate knows how dry it is right now. Between my skin refusing to keep any form of foundation on, and my eyes constantly watering (along with my nose), I've had to adapt my makeup accordingly. (No liquid liner most days)

9:30-10:30 Daily cleaning chore (this goes along with Thursday's cleaning schedule)

10:30-Noon Marketing, Promotion, Emails. Okay, this was is a hard one to stick by because I get messages and calls throughout the day and end up having to run back to my laptop. I'm trying to break myself of it and stick to this time slot, but anyone who works for themselves knows how hard it is to get your name out there.

Noon-12:30 Lunch. Again, hard to stick by because I tend to forget to eat. I'd love to say it's a writer's curse, but I think it's a woman thing!

12:30-3:30 Writing Time! At this chunk, I force myself to sit at my laptop. I might not be able to punch out 3k words, but as long as I'm doing something related to my books, I feel like I've accomplished something. Even if it's editing or plotting.

3:30-5 General Housework. At this point, my daughter has come home from school. I use this time to pick up the house, vacuum, dust, etc. for any rooms not assigned for this day. The deep cleans are saved for their specific day, but daily cleaning is how I keep up on the tornado...I mean, family.

5-7 Dinner and Cleanup. This is prep, cooking, and cleanup for dinner. We sit down at the table every single night for dinner. And since we don't have a dishwasher, all dishes are washed by hand. On the weekends, however, I make the kids take turns doing them to give me a break.

7-Bedtime Family Time!!! This is when we watch TV, movies, talk, etc. It's also shower time for the daughter. Again, I try really hard not to work during this time, but since my husband sometimes works odd shifts, my daughter is on the basketball team and goes to church on Sunday nights, sometimes I'm home alone and use the time to work a little more.

10:30 Bedtime We can all have a good laugh at this one. Okay, sometimes I'm in bed by 10, but I rarely go to sleep before around 11:30. Between reading in bed and mild insomnia, I don't sleep well. Although, I've recently begun taking melatonin and I think it's actually working. I feel like I'm falling asleep sooner and staying asleep longer.

So, there's my daily schedule. Like I said before, this schedule won't work for everyone, but you can adapt it to your lifestyle. It definitely eliminates stress of feeling like there's too much to do and not enough day to do it in.

My Cleaning Schedule

As promised, I'm trying to blog more regularly. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum.

Now, while this schedule works for me, please remember we all have different needs, different families, different lives. If this schedule doesn't work for you, tweek it to your liking. Switch the rooms around. Alternate days. But, make sure you find a schedule.

Before I start, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite tools for housework. (I am not paid for these endorsements. These are actual items in my personal arsenal and I'm willing to post pics to prove it. lol)

I love this duster! It bends so you can use it on your ceiling fans and you just pull the sleeve off and throw it in the washing machine. You can find it here.

I bought the pack of different colors so I could use them for different rooms. I use green in my kitchen, yellow in the bathrooms, and blue is for dusting and polishing all the other rooms. You can find them here.

I used to run a housekeeping company and have used so many different types of vacuums. This is the one I ended up buying years ago and I still love it. I only have carpeting in my bedroom, but I can use it on my hardwood floors to get up the dog hair and dust particles that a dry mop would miss. You can find this here.

Okay, as far as the cleaning detergents, I make my own. I'll post the recipe for it below, but you can always use what you have on hand or your favorite store bought brand.

All purpose Cleaner

-1/2 cup of white vinegar

-Several drops of lavender and pepperment essential oils. You can also use lemon and bergamot if you prefer a citrusty scent

-1 tbs Dawn dish detergent

-Spray bottle

-Enough water to fill the bottle

I use this formula to clean everything, including my mirrors and windows. Used with the microfiber cloths, it won't leave streaking. It smells lovely and cuts through grease and grime as well as any store bought detergent,

On to the schedule:

Monday - Bedroom

Change and wash sheets

Dust all furniture

Make sure all meds and jewelry is put away and no clutter is on the floor

Reorganize the bottom of your closet (where all our shoes get tossed after a long day)

Vacuum/sweep and mop floor

Tuesday - Kitchen

Move all items on counter to the side and deep clean counters

Wipe off top and sides of fridge

Clean out inside of fridge

Wipe down outside of cabinets

Sanitize trash can

Sweep and mop floor

Wednesday - Bathrooms

Scrub down tub and shower walls

Scrub inside of toilet with toilet brush

Sanitize outside of toilet, including the sides near the floor

Remove items from sink and deep clean surfaces

Polish mirrors

Dust any wall decor

Sweep and mop floor

Thursday - Living/Family Rooms

Fluff pillows and fold all blankets

Dust all furniture (use oils is real wood)

Whisk/vacuum under cushions

Clean under sofas (where all the discarded socks and missing pens seem to land)

Sweep/Vacuum and mop floor

Friday - Outside/Office/Misc

Office - Sweep front and back porches (this is where most of the dirt comes from)

Pick up any trash in the yard

Water plants and weed (seasonally)

Office - Clear clutter from desk

Dust desk

Sweep/Vacuum floor

I also use Fridays for groceries and errand running

Saturdays and Sundays I tend to rest a little, but I still keep up on the general messes and dish washing. Since we don't have a dish washer, all dishes are done by hand. On the weekends, I make the kids help with some of the housework, including meal dishes.

So, there's my schedule. I actually got the idea from Nicole over at The Retro Housewife Life. If you haven't already, make sure you check out her darling blog!

Recovered my page from the hackers! And an ACCURATE 50s cleaning schedule!

A while back (before I got completely hacked and locked out of my blog) I'd posted a link to what has been perceived as the cleaning scheduled for women in the fifties. I'm an addict for anything and everything mid-century. Yes, I know the world was sexist and racist, I'm not naive. But here's the thing, even though women were told their place was in the home, they took pride in their work, in their homes, their children, and their appearance. They strived to do the best job they could. But I digress (damn soap box). After scouring the web, devouring as much as I possibly could about that time in history, I came across This post. Over at The Modern Day 50s Housewife she posted a more realistic schedule. Here's just a peek of this post:

Morning/Breakfast:

1. Mom would wake up and just like we do today her first chore was often to start the coffee. She had to do this first because it took ten to fifteen minutes to percolate.
2. While the coffee percolated, she would often prepare her husband’s and children’s lunches.
3. Next was breakfast prep, and despite what we’ve been lead to believe, every day was not a big breakfast day. Oatmeal, cold cereal, or toast were all typical weekday breakfast fare. Big breakfasts with pancakes and eggs and home fries were saved for weekend days. In some homes, dad would eat and leave before the children woke up. And in other homes, everyone ate together. In any event, the entire morning breakfast routine doesn’t seem to be much longer than our modern-day counterpart.
4. After eating, dad left for work and children were sent to make their beds, brush teeth and get dressed for school.  Clothing was usually planned and laid out the night before so there was no debate.  They knew what to put on and any resistance to getting these morning chores completed in a timely manner would be met with a promise to answer to dad later that day, so resistance was rare. Mom would often be tending to younger children at this time as well as possibly making her own bed and tidying her own bedroom.
5. Where a 1950s mom’s morning really hit the time crunch that we don’t feel today is when it came time for the kids to actually get to school. Back then, a car or second car was almost unheard of. Mom had to walk the kids to school.  I think if I could change one thing from our modern-day morning routine back to the 50s version, the walk to school would be it. It was great exercise for everyone involved and is probably one of the reasons obesity was less of an issue than it is now.

Late Morning/Early Afternoon

1. Once mom returned from delivering the children to school, she’d often settle any younger children then she’d take a small break for tea and maybe listen to a morning radio show (usually heavily slanted toward wives and mothers because career women were almost unheard of).
2. Then the busy work of cleaning would begin. The entire cleaning routine involved about three hours each day.

Definitely head over and read the rest of that post. In fact, have fun looking through her whole blog. It's fabulous.

You've seen my posts about developing schedules for housework, and thankfully, this post -if it's as accurate as my grandma says - is much more attainable. I always wondered why I had so many unfinished projects. Then I realized - I'm a perfectionist. If something isn't done just right, I get frustrated and walk away, telling myself I'll come back to it later, you know, when I lost the urge to put my fist through a wall. But of course, those projects stayed unfinished. I just pretended not to see the big ugly orange swatch of paint, or the paint splotches on the ceiling from my awful painting.

Since I've put myself on a schedule, life has seemed just a little easier, just a little more manageable. All those unfinished tasks don't seem so terrifying anymore, so overwhelming. I've shared my addiction to Nicole Mathurin's blog and her awesome schedules. But what do you use? Do you have everything written down and planned out? Do you wing it?

My Daily Cleaning Schedule

While I would so adore being as close to a 1950s housewife as possible, life doesn't always allow it. Sure, I could disconnect my Internet, but then I wouldn't get to talk to all of you, nor would I get to do any research. Therefore, I've had to put myself on a pretty strict schedule (although I struggle every day to stick to it!)

For years I struggled with a way to stick to a schedule - I've even tried setting an alarm to remind me to do this or that. From all the posts, videos, and blogs I've read and watched The Retro Housewife has a fantastic series that has fit my lifestyle more than any other. Don't worry, when I say "series" it's only a couple of videos. I had to change mine up a little because, frankly, I'm a creature of habit. Monday has always been clean sheet day, therefore, I had to switch the Tuesday bedroom schedule to Monday. Little things like that had to be altered, but all in all this system is working best for me so far. So here is my day to day schedule. Some things are done daily, while others are once a week. I'll try to keep it to just bullet points for now.

Daily:
Make bed
Swish and Swipe toilet and sink (check out Flylady for some more cool tips)
empty trash cans
wipe down counters
daily dishes (after each meal. Way easier than having to do all of them at once)
sweep floors
feed animals (first thing before I even have coffee)
vacuum and sweep, and mop if needed.

I won't break down the individual chores for each room, but here's how I break up the week and avoid having to spend my entire weekend doing deep cleaning. Each room takes me approximately thirty minutes, and the rest of my day is spent on sewing, writing, and dealing with my Damsel In Defense business.

Mondays - Bedrooms
Tuesdays - Kitchen
Wednesdays - Living Rooms (I have a living area in the basement, too) and dining room
Thursdays - Bathrooms
Fridays - I tend to do my running on Mondays, so I allot the last day of the week to straightening up my husband's office, my "cave" (my personal work area), and the area where my daughter and I sew. During the warmer months I use Fridays to weed the gardens, muck the chicken coop, and any misc things that need to be done outside.

Like I said before, I got the basics of the schedule from The Retro Housewife Life, but I had to tweek it according to my personal schedule and family. In the weeks to come I'd be happy to break down what I do on each day, but if you really want a great place for printouts etc head over to The Retro Housewife's blog - she has the prettiest printouts, and even has some for spring and fall cleaning, as well!

If you use a housekeeping binder, or a cleaning schedule I'd love to see it or hear about it!

The end is nigh!

Relax! I meant the end of the year. Yeah, I do think I'm funny. Anyway, the point of this post:

You can pretend all you want that you don't make them, but we all think about the changes we can make in each new year. Honestly, it'd be silly NOT to find ways to grow. Last year, I began the great purge of 2014...the purge is still going. Every single time I bring something new in, two things go out. If I come across something that I don't use, don't love, or have no sentimental tie to...gone. Slowly yet surely I'm minimizing all the clutter in our home.

So what do I plan on implementing this year? Actually, there are two major things I'm going to be working on (and of course work on losing the weight I gained during the holidays).

The first one is:

I have so many rooms that I haven't finished painting, so many projects laying around the house just begging to be finished!

The second one, and one so many people try every single year is:

This is something I've been pecking at for a while. It's hard to get organized, though, when you still have entirely too much junk in your home. In the meantime, I've come across this blog at Bits Of Everything. She has some fabulous downloadable printouts to help get your day organized. My problem is I try to finish one thing and then....

Just like so many THOUSANDS, TENS of thousands - okay, a majority of the population - I get distracted by so many things. Just today my husband and I were discussing why I don't work out at home. I would go into my room to change and make the bed. Of course, then I would notice the glass from the night before and would take it into the kitchen. In the kitchen is the breakfast dishes...so on and so forth. You get the point. You do it, too.

Earlier in the year I started using a housekeeping binder. The Retro Housewife has some awesome posts and videos on building your own cleaning schedule and homemaking binder. Once you get one aspect of your life organized, other things start to fall into place seamlessly.

I want to know what you're planning for the new year? Do you outwardly make New Year's Resolutions, or do you just know you'll be adding something new to help you grow as a person each year/month/whatever?

Daily Cleaning Schedule - 1950s Housewife

So I found a traditional schedule of a 1950s housewife. I already do quite a bit of it, but I don't bother making myself presentable unless I need to leave the house. Even then, I settle for clean clothes and brushing my teeth and hair. Nope. I will be a good vintage housewife and don a dress/skirt and heels/flats when leaving the house and will make sure I change into something pleasing before my husband gets home.

1. Throw back the covers
2. Open up the blinds and windows
3. Freshen up
4. Make and serve breakfast
5. Clean up breakfast
6. Complete a 10-minute exercise regime
7. Shower, do hair and make-up, get dressed
8. Gather a basket for tidying. As the rooms of the home are tackled, pick up items that aren’t where they belong and place them in a basket. Redistribute them where they should be as you enter a new room
9. Straighten up the living and dining room, including picking up potential clutter, light dusting, fluffing / straightening pillows, and watering plants or flowers
10. Make the beds
11. Tidy the bedroom, including light dusting
12. Hang up any clothes that may be about or ensure dirty ones are in the hamper
13. Do a light tidy of the bathroom including removing and replacing used towels, refilling toilet paper and soap (if needed) and cleaning the sink and basin area including soap dishes
14. Review the menu for the current day and the next and compare it to what’s currently available in the home. Make note of anything that needs to be prepared ahead of time or marketing (shopping) that needs to get done
15. Begin long-advance preparations for dinner (such as making dessert)
16. Wipe down kitchen work surfaces and inside the fridge
17. Dispose of garbage
18. Rinse dish cloths and hang to dry
19. Sweep or mop the kitchen floor
20. Handle errands that might take you out of the home (such as marketing, volunteering, going to the post office, getting an item fixed, etc), bookkeeping, correspondence, or indulge in a hobby
21. If returning from the grocery store, wash vegetables, wrap them and put them away. Place rest of groceries or purchases in their proper place
22. Have a quick lunch
23. Start advance food conditioning like crisping vegetables or thawing frozen foods
24. Handle weekly chore for the day (Saved that for a separate post)
25. Set the table for dinner
26. Arrange the living room for evening enjoyment (such as “the Mister’s” newspaper, book, and cigarettes, or in our case, the husband's change of clothes and glass of ice water.)
27. Do a quick sweep of the floors and ensure entrance ways are clear
28. Prepare a special dish for dinner
29. Freshen up before the husband returns from work. Consider changing into something more festive if the day dress is plain
30. Set out a tray with equipment for making cocktails, should “the Mister” want to serve drinks before dinner
31. Greet husband “gayly” (*snort* We should seriously bring this word back)
32. Serve dinner
33. Clear table and wash dishes
34. Pour boiling water down the sink to ensure pipes are flushed (I prefer to clean my sink after dishes with vinegar and baking soda. Heads up, it bubbles when mixed)
35. If necessary, pack the husband’s lunch for the next day. Set aside a lunch tray in the refrigerator for yourself if having leftovers (Already do this daily)
36. Set table for breakfast
37. Ensure breakfast foods are available and do any make-ahead preparations for it

I seriously got tired just reading then typing this list up. How in the world am I supposed to finish all of this is a day? *sheesh* Oh, and that's not all. Check out the other half of the list; these are to be done at least once a week:

• Use metal polish on bathroom fixtures
• Clean and disinfect all kitchen appliances
• Scald and disinfect bread boxes and garbage pails and bins
• Replace flowers with fresh bouquets

I don't know about the whole bouquet thing. I mean, I'll do my best, but we tend to only use wild flowers in the area and there's nothing really growing in November. Maybe I'll just make sure there's a pretty centerpiece on the dining table. Oh, and I don't have a bread box, so I'll have to just put something in its place.

So about the cleaning thing. I know there were things such as comet available, but the women used a lot of natural things, as do I. Most of my cleaning products are pretty much the same as they used in the 50s - baking soda, vinegar, Castille soap (I don't have access in my small town, so I use Fels Naptha and Ivory for natural detergents), lemon juice, and Borax and washing soda. Own and use all of these (I make my own laundry and dish soap). Guess I'm living a lot more like a 1950s housewife than I thought. Now, if I can just break the Internet and background television habit (I don't watch much TV. Just like the background noise when everyone is gone).