How to Control All of the Things (or at Least Feel Like You Do)!

So remember last week when I told you I wasn't doing anything and needed to get myself back into a routine? Well, today I'm gonna tell you a little bit about mine so you can come up with your own.

So I made a list of the usual chores everyone has to do in every household everywhere (clean the bathroom(s), laundry, dishes, etc) Then I broke that down into two lists: stuff that has to get done every day nearly every day (baby steps), and stuff that has to get done weekly (otherwise known as my "daily chore"). With the daily stuff, I created a morning and evening routine in EverNote so I can refer to it on my phone if I need a reminder as to what I'm supposed to be doing next.

And then I did the same with the weekly stuff, but a little more thought went into it. It all comes down to when it makes sense to do something. For example, tonight, Monday, is trash night in our neighborhood, so I decided that cleaning out the fridge should be done on Monday. Whenever I can, I multitask. Because I need time in the evenings to watch True Blood now that I finally talked My Fella into HBO. So on Mondays (and laundry nights [Tuesday and Thursday...because I know you were dying to know]), I do my daily chore during whatever down time I have while cooking dinner. I also clean up the mess as I go, to the extent that I can.

This is where you're really going to tweak a routine to fit your lifestyle. I have off every weekend, so I try to get my errands done on those Saturdays or Sundays. I also have off every other Friday. I try to use those days to do "extra" stuff (organize a closet, hang towel hooks, etc) because the two Fridays that I DO work leave me with no time whatsoever. I work, plus get The Girl from the train at nearly 7:00 p.m., almost an hour from home (but only 11 minutes from work) aaaaaaaand we've been getting into a habit of getting Chinese on the way home, so I leave at 8:30 a.m. and don't get in till nearly 9:00 p.m.

I've gotten some projects finished that I'd been meaning to get to for forever. They're not huge things, but I feel like if I can get through that list, I can work on my bigger/unimportant/just for fun projects with less guilt. Pluuuuuus, since they're mostly organizational stuff, it helps me get through my routine quicker (ya know, when I'm not going, "Where the F*CK did I leave my/the <insert the thing I need that didn't have a home because my closet/cabinet/etc was not organized in the way it should have been>?!" things move faster. Just sayin'). Plus they look prettier and that calms my nerves :) Anyway, I'll probably share my kitchen cabinet and laundry hall (because it isn't a room) and the improvements I've made on them next week!