Lessons From Ma: Get Your Schedule Organized!

I am not sure where this pioneer traditional schedule originally came from but it really got me thinking when I read it in my copy of  The Little House Cookbook last week.

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Mend on Wednesday

Churn on Thursday

Clean on Friday

Bake on Saturday

Rest on Sunday

According to the book if you did this then you would have a nice clean house for Sunday with fresh bread and butter. Since Sunday was the day of rest and wearing your best clothes Monday was a good day for washing just in case you got anything on those best clothes of yours! You would have wanted to get that out before any of the stains could set right?

You might be thinking: "Jenn, how is this going to help me? I don't iron and mend and I certainly don't churn butter!" Ok, well I don't do any of those things either but that is not the point of this post. The point is to think about the main things you have to do each week and get yourself organized so you aren't running around like crazy doing things at the last second when they MUST be done. 

Confession time: That has been me lately, I have just been deciding what to do each day based on what is in the most need on that given day. 

"Mom this is my last pair of underwear" = MUST do child's laundry TODAY

"Mom all I can find to put in my lunch is an apple and some almonds" = MUST go shopping TODAY!

"Mom I think Ruby is hungry." = MUST feed dog NOW, just kidding on that one, I DO feed my dog everyday, I was just making sure you are still listening.

This method of do it when its urgent works in theory until you end up with a day that goes something like:

You wake up late. You are out of eggs and anything that would be a quick breakfast. Your daughter has no clean pants to wear and it is cold outside. Your son's favorite jacket got dirty yesterday and is still in the garage waiting to be washed. The dog needs to go out and you are out of doggie clean-up bags. Your baby's sippy cups are all in the dishwasher or sink and he wants water NOW. You have a meeting at 9am and you forgot to prepare for it. You finally start to walk out the door and realize the baby has a dirty diaper and you have not stuffed the cloth diapers from the night before when you washed them. You get in the car to drive the kids to school and you are running late and the gas light goes on. While driving the kids one of them reminds you there is a party at school today that you were supposed to bring a treat for. You...Ok you get the point right? If you are a parent reading this I KNOW you can relate!

Of course days like this will still happen but I am starting to think that things could be going a little better around here if I got my act together and made myself a little schedule to follow like Ma's. 

I used to be more organized and plan out days to do certain things. Then I got pregnant and had a 3rd child and entered the parenthood time of survival mode. Any parents reading this will understand what I mean. That first year with a new baby is kind of like a dream/nightmare, especially the first few months and especially if you both have to go back to work full time after the baby is a few months old.

Jad just turned 15 months over the weekend and stopped breastfeeding the day before Thanksgiving so I am finally starting to get a little more of myself back. The result has been taking a look around and realizing that hey, maybe I should get myself a little better organized so life can run a little smoother!

No better day than today right? Here is my first attempt at making a modern day schedule that follows the set-up of Ma's but uses my weekly tasks. When are you going to make yours???

Wash Boy's Clothes on Monday

Wash Girl's Clothes on Tuesday

Store and/or Cook Fresh Produce from my AHO box on Wednesday

Wash Towels or Sheets or other things that have accumulated on Thursday

Tidy House and Manage Mountain of Paper (Mail & Kid papers) then Rest on Friday

Shop then Rest on Saturday

Bake and Cook for the week on Sunday

If you are wondering why you do not see "Clean" anywhere on the list that is because I gave up on that one back when I started working full time and had two kids. I hired someone to come and clean-clean. She comes every other Friday and it is WONDERFUL!

If you are wondering why "manage mountain of paper" is actually on the list, trust me it NEEDS to be there! You would not believe the amount of paper that piles up in just one week in this house. Well if you have at least two kids in school you may actually believe me.

The other chores I am going to leave on the "do them when they need to be done" list for now and see how that works out. You know things like run the dishwasher when it is full and empty it when it is done, get gas when the light is about to go on empty, wash the cloth diapers at night when there are no clean ones left etc. I will let you know how it all goes using my new schedule! I would love to hear about your experiences too.