I may be nesting. It has yet to be confirmed, but my
crazy amount of energy and
intense need to organize and de-clutter is a
definite indication. Outside of all the cleaning and re-organizing I'm doing, I'm also trying to get a handle on scheduling out my week to manage my time doing my freelance work, doing chores, spending time with Jacob etc. Whoever said being a stay at home mom is easy breezy was
crazy town. It's actually amazing how we were survived being so far behind on keeping our finances organized, our household paperwork filed and just general living under control... not to mention the deep cleaning that was being ignored. And, one would think that now that I don't have to go into work every day, handling all of these things would be well under my control... NOT SO. Meal planning, appointment schedule, library returns, cleaning out entire rooms, redecorating, AND trying to earn some extra income on the side with freelancing- it's quite a task. So, in all of my efforts, I'm going to try to share a few things with you that I come up with to help myself get by. Being the crazy person that I am,
everything starts with a list. When I was working in the office every day, I'd start out my Mondays by planning out my week. I finally decided it was time to get back into that routine at home, but was having a hard time finding an easy worksheet that would allow me to plan all of the things I needed to plan out on a daily basis. Everything I found was either too intense (i.e. hour by hour scheduling) or not enough (just a daily calendar with no weekly to do list or meal planning section). So, I came up with this. Here's the link to your
FREE WEEKLY HOUSEHOLD PLANNER DOC for your downloading pleasure!
The individual components are as follows...
Daily Calendar:
This includes a blank section where I write in appointments, activities with Jacob, cleaning projects, work tasks etc. I create a master list on a separate sticky note and then allocate tasks to individual days.
Meal Planning:
Under each day, there's a "meals" section. For me, I didn't need this to be a huge portion of the daily box. I don't plan breakfasts or lunches, really only dinner. We get basics like cereal, waffles, bread, lunchmeat and chicken salad every week, so there's no need to include a lot of space for 3 meals a day. However, on the weekend, we may get some fresh baked muffins for breakfast or plan on going out to lunch, so I made sure there was still enough room for writing that in.
To Schedule:
This is where I am THE WORST! I really needed a section where I could list any appointments that I would have to schedule that week. Doctors appointments, home repairs- I'm always putting those calls off. So, this is a place where I can jot it down to remind myself to get it done.
To Buy:
While I have a separate grocery list, this is the perfect little space to remind myself to pick up a birthday present for a friend, new shoes for Jacob or order something I need for around the house.
*I suggest starting a file of blank worksheets and then hanging four/five at a time above your mailing/bills station for easy Monday planning access and daily views.
I hope that maybe this little worksheet will work for you in planning out your week! There are so many out there; finding the right system for you can be daunting. How do you stay organized? Do you have a written down system or do you just go for it? Later this week, I'll be sharing my new financial organization system that I'm trying to get comfy in. SUPER excited about that one!
So, stay tuned! :)
^^First, gather your supplies!
