I have had some requests to detail my morning/evening routines on the blog, and while I guess I thought it was a pretty boring topic to write about, I guess it is always good to hear how someone else is doing it and if any of their tips can help your own situation!
When I first created my morning routine (many years ago now), I allocated times for each task and set it out like this:
5.25 - Turn on washing machine
5.30 - Unload dishwasher
5.40 - Make lunches
etc
The problem for me with being time-specific is that I would get flustered if I fell behind schedule. I have always had issues with 'time', and this system wasn't really helping me to get over constantly stressing about time.
That is when I decided to take away the 'time' allocations and just work through the list... and that also gave me permission to work on the list in any order and in my own timeframe. This has worked beautifully for me ever since - both when I was working full time, and also now that I am staying at home.
Obviously, you have to set yourself a realistic routine for the time that you have available. I have always been an early riser, so I like to get up and moving and feel a great sense of accomplishment when I have done my jobs. I know there are plenty of people out there who like to sleep in as long as possible, and therefore, they would probably have some of my morning routine jobs included in their evening routine jobs, to allow them to sleep in for longer in the mornings. You just have to decide what is going to work for you!
My morning routine list consists of these jobs, which I complete in any order, although most days the order is pretty consistent, as shown below:
Turn on washing machine
I load the machine the night before and just press start in the morning - read more about that here
Eat breakfast
I usually have a bowl of cereal and two pieces of toast, plus a glass of orange juice. I generally wake up starving (and always have done), so a big breakfast is a must if I want to make it to morning tea without getting hungry! While I eat my breaky, I like to sit with Mick before he goes to work (this is another reason why I always get up early), otherwise I feel like I don't see him enough if I only see him in the afternoon/evening.
Make lunches
I make my lunch at the same time I make Mick's, even if I am staying home for the day. It means I will eat a proper lunch, rather than graze on random things. In summertime we have lots of sandwiches and rolls for lunch, so these can't really be prepared the night before. In the cooler weather, we often have left overs for lunch, so this makes the mornings a little easier. But I always cut us up fresh fruit everyday, no matter what the season.
Dishes
This usually means unloading the dishwasher from the night before, and washing up the knives/cutting boards from making the lunches in the morning
Make bed
Get ready
Using the clothes that I laid out the night before, this is a quick and easy process
Hang out washing
Jobs for Today
I check my Weekly Chores list (which I will post about soon), and see if I can do any of the jobs for 'today' in the morning, or if I will leave them for later in the day. If I am staying at home for the day, I generally do my cleaning jobs first thing, so that I can relax after that. But if I am going out, I might not have time to do the jobs in the morning, so I do them in the afternoon instead. I really like this flexibility.
Robomaid
I often pop the Robomaid into a room for 10-15 minutes in the morning, to help keep on top of the floors between twice-weekly vacuuming sessions.
Exercise
Hmmm - this is always on my routine list, but I NEVER do it! I refuse to delete it because I know I should be exercising, but I am the first to admit that I am terrible at sticking to an exercise regime...
And that's about it! I simply press the chore on my iPhone app once it is done and a little star appears beside each job as I complete them - no papers to print out, file into folders, store, etc, just a quick and easy swipe of the screen and each morning a fresh list appears! Some people might like having pretty paper to look at (well actually I love pretty papers and lists!), but for this part of my day, it is so manageable having this all digitally, and I love that there is no maintenance required.
I will share my evening routine with you soon :)
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