The Comfort and Joy of Everyday Routines

My fantasy-self is someone who is carefree and flexible as well as effortlessly put together. If this sounds like an unachievable paradox, I can tell you from firsthand experience that it is. Instead, I have often experienced the stress of running a few minutes behind schedule while also feeling unorganized, overwhelmed, and unprepared for the day. Can you relate?

But there is hope! Putting a few systems into place - and actually doing them - has made a significant impact on our family's overall efficiency. I have a sense of peace and calm as we go throughout our day and I'm grateful to say that although I don't expect to ever fully manifest into my fantasy-self, sometimes I feel like we get to hang out.

A specific change that has helped us immensely is to focus on our routines. We captured our family's weekly, daily and evening routines on paper and then I printed them out and put them in a folder with plastic page protectors. We keep this folder in our main living area and as items are accomplished, steadily check them off with an expo marker. The checkmarks get erased at the end of the day or week, and then we start afresh. Ah, satisfying. I even used my iPad and Cricut to decorate the folder with the expression “La Joie de Vivre,” which translates to “The Joy of Living” in French.

It may sound silly that defining our routines has cultivated joy, but it's true. Because we developed and committed to them as a family, we work well as a team to get things accomplished. Cleaning is easier because the problem of unmet expectations dissolves. If there's a "bad guy” in the scenario, it's the folder, not an individual. My husband is a pilot, so he loves completing checklists, but I think he also likes the brownie points he earns by knowing how to contribute (and we have been known to make actual brownies when everything is done). If you are interested in defining some of your routines, I am sharing the bulk of mine to help get you started.

Morning

Read Scripture & Meditate/Journal

Review today's calendar & menu

Unload dishwasher

Daily LOL (Load of Laundry)

Coffee, Vitamins, Breakfast

Make Bed

Get dressed to shoes

Select tomorrow's outfit

Evening

Store Leftovers

Start Dishwasher

Clean dirty pans, shine sink

Wipe table & counters

Collect dirty laundry in washer

Prepare tomorrow's bags

5 min PUPA (pick up and put away)

As you can see, there's nothing magical listed in the routines, but there is something magical about committing to them. As a stay at home mom, the simple act of getting fully dressed for the day can sometimes feel like a hurdle, but even that is productive when you get to check it off after accomplishing. It also might look like a lot at first, but each individual item doesn't take much time to complete and you don't need to do anything in a specific order. The truth is, you're probably doing most of these things already anyways. We're just trying to streamline the process and expectations.

I would also like to note that our routines should not look exactly the same. You might think it's crazy that we do a load of laundry everyday, and that really is ok! (I might change your mind with a future blog post.) Please only do what works for you. There are also days that we don't open the folder at all, or only get to half of the items. This is ok too! Instead of getting down on myself about it, I just like to acknowledge how I feel in the moment (probably a little overwhelmed) and remind myself how I feel when we stick to it (peace and calm).

Whether this format would work for you or not, I highly encourage you to physically write down 3 items that you would like to turn into an official morning and evening routines. If you start doing this now, I hope that it helps you feel grounded in the midst of the holiday season. A profound book that will take you deeper into this realm is “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and a fun You-Tube Channel you might enjoy is Diane in Denmark. (https://www.youtube.com/@DianeinDenmark)

Let me know how it goes!