One Step Closer

When I was in college, I juggled a full time job, a part time job, being in a sorority, an on air personality for the radio station, writing for the newspaper and yearbook, part of student government, a boyfriend and social life plus going to school full time. It took a lot of juggling, planning and multitasking to get it all done-and done well. You have to be able to keep all your balls in the air at all times in order to be successful. I was of the mindset I could do it all, and I did reasonably well.

The first thing was I was a slave to my calendar. I lived by it. I was almost religious in my devotion to planning my life to the most minute increment of time. Everything went in there, and if I ever lost it (or worse, had it stolen) I was toast. I tried really, really hard to use the calendar feature on my iPhone but I just can’t get into it like writing things down. I think its how my brain is wired.

The other key feature was routine. I did pretty much the same thing everyday. I was a creature of habit, and to this day I am not a fan of spontaneity or surprises. I like to do the same thing, at the same time on a consistent basis. It just makes my life easier and more predictable. Like if its Monday, its meatless. Tuesdays are taco night, and so on. Or its Wednesday so I wear purple, its Friday I wear green. Yes, I am that detail oriented. Its something that works for me, and it keeps me sane.

For a while there, I deviated from what worked for me and the results were staggering. I have totally lost control over my home and life. So its now back to basics for me. First and foremost, using my calendar-both the one in my kitchen and the one I carry in my purse. If we need to be somewhere, do something or meet someone it goes on there. Depending on what’s going on that week, I can do the following things:

Plan menus

Plan housework

Plan the rest of my life

Part of my schedule is set-I work M-F from 8-4:30 (ish) at my day job. I teach yoga Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. I have to physically be at church Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, and can do the remainder of my work from home. The third Tuesday of each month I teach cooking at a local museum, have PTO meetings, and I would love to rejoin my book group (last Thursday of the month), the autism support group (the 1st Tuesday) and possibly-wait for it-Zumba on Monday nights. It seems like a lot, but its not because I maximize my time. I am able to squeeze in library trips, date nights with my son, grocery shopping and errands plus volunteer work as well. It’s a matter of planning.

I work out in the morning from 5:30-6:15. There’s laundry swapping and litter box scooping going on too.

I shower, and while I am drying off I have a chance to swish and swipe the bathrooms, swifter and dust the upstairs.

I get the little man up and motivated. Something needs to be said about Phineas, Ferb, chocolate milk and cinnamon toast crunch to get a sleepy 9 year old boy revved up. In between, I get dressed, double check lunches and get someone else in his room to get ready.

Its out the door and on our way, him to school and me to work.

Work work work

Come home, rest a bit. Then either my husband or I get dinner going. Depending on what’s going on that night depends on how after dinner goes. Most nights there is homework and baths. Little Man has ample play time to be a kid, and that’s super important. Some nights we have activites, other nights we are just hanging out. Either way, its all good.

Little Man goes to bed somewhere between 9-10, depending on how excited he is (for some reason, kiddos on the spectrum seem to have sleep issues.) We do our yoga pretzel cards, say prayers and snuggle and cuddle. Sometimes I stay up on my own and enjoy the solitude, sometimes I go to bed right away. It all varies.

There isn’t much variance in that schedule, and that is how I like it. I like knowing that if its Thursday, the chances are pretty good for dinner to be meat loaf and I will be wearing the color blue, and I will either be going to the book group or hanging with the boys.

My system may not work for everyone, but it’s the one that works best for me. When I wasn’t using it, I was really floundering. I lost track and control over everything. Getting back on track is so incredibly hard, but each day I am getting closer and closer to achieving it.

Take Me Home Tonight

In order to keep our home running smoothly and efficiently, I have to do a little bit of cleaning and tidying up every night. It gets broken down into 3 parts: after dinner, zone cleaning and before bed.

After dinner, I clear off the table and do dishes. Leftovers get re-purposed as lunches, coffee maker gets set up, lunches are packed.

I sweep the kitchen floor. I try to either wet jet or steam mop the tile floors every day. I use Method’s daily granite on the kitchen countertops when I am done for the night in there. I clean the stove top with the cook top cleaner.

I have my home divided into zones, and that’s how I keep up with the house work. There is nothing worse than having to spend Saturday cleaning the house…so I try to do a little each day. No job takes more than an hour, and that’s really pushing it. A little bit goes a long way in maintaining my sanity.

Before bed, I have a little bit of final tidying up that I do.

I double check to make sure the coffee maker is set up, and that lunches are put together. I make sure that there’s stuff for breakfast in the morning. I spray a little Febreeze on the sofa and recliners in the family room to eliminate the doggie smell. I throw a denture tablet into the toilet bowls & close the lids, so it helps clean them over night. I make sure everything that’s needed in the morning (backpack, etc) is where it needs to be, and that are clothes for the next day are laid out. I can go to sleep knowing all is well.