Prep Week: Chores

I feel overwhelmed when my house is out of control. While I wish my home looked like the cover of a magazine, it does not. I tried to achieve that perfect look for a long time. I was often disappointed. I needed a system to get my house in order, no matter what season of life I was in. 

Once I created my own system, life changed from overwhelming to overjoyed. 

Today, I want to encourage you to prepare yourself to have an organized home. 

We are using the backtracking strategy. We start with what we want to see. I want to see a clean and organized home. Clean because I enjoy clean bathrooms and tidy rooms. Organized because I don't want to spend a long time looking for ingredients in my pantry when I want to cook for my family. I also want to find important documents quickly. Having a vision is the first thing and we go backward from there. 

Next, we start with the most important thing. When I am completely overwhelmed, food is the number one thing, quickly followed by laundry. 

I cook the next meal my family needs. It may be a frozen pizza with a salad. I may add ingredients to my crockpot so dinner can be ready in a few hours. The goal is to start the next meal your family needs. I figured out it takes around 15 minutes to bake banana nut muffins. I find them to be just what my family needs after a long day of work and school. We serve them with hot tea. Our afternoons are complete. 

Once dinner is progressing, we move on to laundry. 

My goal is to get a few loads under control. The only rule is to finish what I start. If I can do one load, I wash, dry and put it away promptly. The rest will have to wait for another opportunity. 

My goal is to have clothes so we can do what we need to do the next day. 

You may be wondering about the rest of the house. I like to write down "wish lists." My lists may contain the following items:

• Declutter guest room;

• Organize linen closet;

• Clean counters 

• Clean floors 

I proceed to divide these projects throughout my week. 

It is imperative to write your wish list down on paper. Once these items leave your brain and go on paper, they are more likely to happen. 

Action steps:  
1 • ask yourself: "what is my vision for my home?" Write it down. 

2 • What will you prepare (or buy) for dinner? 

3• How many loads of laundry can you start and finish? 

4 • Go ahead and write a wish list for the rest of the chores you want to accomplish. Assign them for the following days and weeks.