Layers of Your Home

Do you know the three layers to having an efficiently run household? I'm so excited to share with you what they are!

#1) Daily Tasks

Daily tasks are things you need to do everyday regardless of how much you enjoy them. My tip? Incorporate them into your routine. The two methods you could try would be either habit stacking or rhythms.

Habit stacking:

Habit stacking is when you attach something you don't enjoy with something you love. Here are a couple examples:

• If you don't enjoy doing laundry, pair it with listening to a podcast or audiobook.

• If you dread doing the dishes, put on your favorite playlist!

• If your kids refuse to clean their room, do a time lapse! Play it back with them to make it fun. Or even set a timer and see how quickly they can get it done. All in fun!

• If you aren't a fan of cleaning the bathrooms, maybe you reward yourself with a relaxing soak in the tub once it's been cleaned!

Rhythms:

A rhythm is when a task is paired with something you naturally do everyday.

• For example when I'm making my coffee in the morning I use those few minutes while it's brewing to put any dishes away that have been drying from the night before or start to unload the dishwasher.

• When I get home from dropping my son off at school I go into the backyard to pick up after my dog. It makes sense as I already have my outdoor clothing on.

• On the days before garbage day and recycling I will do the same thing when I get home from dropping my son off. Feels good to get this stuff done earlier in the day and it saves time in the morning when my husband is trying to get out the door for work.

• Another example is when my girls go down for their first nap I will fold/start a load of laundry.

• My final example would be in the evenings once all the kids are down my husband and I have started doing a 10 minute tidy of the house. I incorporated a basket system which is one basket that I leave at the bottom of the stairs. Throughout the day I will add items to it that need to be put back in its place. This basket has helped keep things contained and makes tidying up easier and keeps our space looking less cluttered.

Tip: It takes 21 days to form a habit. Push to 90 days it becomes apart of your lifestyle.

#2) Declutter

Declutter and Organizing are two very different tasks. If your a busy mom, struggling to keep up with your home. Let me tell you, organizing is not the solution. Decluttering is. The less stuff you have means the more time you get to actually enjoy your space.

#3) Cleaning

One thing we can all agree on is the dust will always fall, toilets will always need to be scrubbed, floors need to be washed, and laundry needs to be put away.

Are you someone who likes to clean all in one day?

Or do you prefer to spread out your tasks?

For me, cleaning everything in one day just doesn't work well in our home. I'm sure it works in other homes, every family will have their own routine.

My question is, is you current routine working?

Here is what I have implemented to break up the tasks throughout the week.

Monday's are for bathrooms!

My tip would be start the week with your least favorite task. It's not that I dislike bathrooms, I find they just take longer. You've got the mirrors, counter top, toilet, tub/shower, floors. Keeping it real, I do not thoroughly clean all my bathrooms evey Monday. Life is busy with my kids, so even if I clean all the toilets one Monday I'm happy with that. The next Monday could be just the mirrors and so on. If they get a good deep clean 1-2 times per month, I'm good with that.

Tuesday's are for dusting

Dusting includes any dry surface. My tip would be start at your entryway and move clockwise around your home.

Wednesday's are for vacuuming

Vaccum ALL floors (carpet, tile, hardwood, bathrooms).

Thursday's are for washing the floors

Wash tile, hardwood, bathrooms.

Each day I try to keep laundry moving through the machines, folding and putting it away. Again, for me to do all laundry in one day overwhelms me. The piles add up quickly with five people in the home. Let's be real. Even when my husband and I first moved in together, I still struggled with laundry. It's one task I just don't enjoy doing. My lovely mom is always offering to help, maybe I should just say yes next time🖤

There you have it, three layers of your home - unpacked.