Keeping Your Routines During Non-Routine Times

There are plenty of times when we find it impossible to keep up with our already established routines. Vacations, snow days, holidays, major life events and having guests are just a few of the times when our routines seem to disappear. What can we do to save ourselves from a permanent lapse of routine while making the most of our relaxation time (if any)?

I have learned to rely on 2 strategies: let go and plan. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but give me a chance to explain myself.

Let Go:
Sometimes, we can't keep all of our routines flowing along perfectly. I am currently in the middle of winter break for my kids and myself (2 weeks) and holiday break for my husband (1 week). During this time, we have had two Christmas parties, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, a snow day, friends over for dinner, and friends over for day-long play dates with the kids. In addition, we have several events in the coming days, including New Year's Eve. As you can guess, I have had to let go of several routines and/or standards along the way. Sure, there are things that I will not "let go," but I have given it some thought and I know what I can and can not let go of. Examples:

• My kids have not taken as many baths as I would have liked, but they are brushing their teeth at night and their rooms get regular daily cleanings (even more than typical).
• Holiday meals and desserts are delicious but not always healthy. I make sure the family gets healthy food throughout the day even if not at every meal. Also, we are ALL exercising (even my 5 year old thanks to Wii Fit).
• My kids are spending more time playing video games, playing on the computer, and watching TV/movies than I like, but they are also spending time reading everyday and some of their computer time is directed towards educational games.
• I have not been doing laundry, but I am making it a priority to have my work clothes ready for the end of my break.

If possible, give this some thought before your next routine busting event. Will you enforce all of your nutrition rules during your next trip? When your kids are home from school, will you really spend everyday cleaning up the house or will some things wait until tomorrow? Better yet, develop a plan to help manage all of the routine changes. This brings me to my other important step.

Plan:
As with anything, planning will help you be more successful. Yes, I do let go of some things, but other things need to get done, and when my routine is disrupted, I need a plan to help me get it all done. I also need to write that plan down and refer to it during the day. It is the only way I will manage to get everything done. There are three areas I like to plan for:

1. What needs to get done today? I plan for the chores I need to accomplish, the free-time activities I hope to enjoy and the meals I plan to eat. This may sound like a lot, but it is usually just a list of words on my planning whiteboard. (See Planning Free Time post.)
2. Who can help me? The times when my routine is disrupted (like now) usually involve having other people home with me. When I evaluate all of the things that need to get done, I always delegate the jobs that can be delegated. Right now, there are 4 people enjoying a holiday break in my home. We all chip in to get things done around the house. For example, both of my girls are good with the vacuum, so I rarely do any vacuuming myself.
3. How will I get back to our routines? Weather you are returning from a trip, settling down after a holiday or recovering from a major event or project, you need to know how you will ease back into your routines. As we look at the end of our holiday break, I am thinking about the following: when will the house be returned to normal (decorations put away), when will the holiday food be banished from the house,  and what needs to be done before the kids return to school and mom and dad return to work.

The next time you are facing (or in the middle of) a routine busting event, try to let go of some things and jot down what you absolutely need to get done. Hopefully you will feel that you have more control, find more time to relax, and enjoy yourself a bit more than usual.

Use the comment option to share how you get through routine busting events. Tell us what you are willing to let go of and what you absolutely refuse to compromise on.

Meal Planning

Whether you are looking to improve your health, cut costs, or save money, planning your meals is one step you should start taking. Time management, healthy eating and saving money are all topics that deserve their own articles, but planning your meals helps in all three of these areas, and I will touch on each.

Before you brush this idea off, let me assure you that you have time to do this and that it will be worth your while. I started planning our meals when I wanted to improve our eating habits. I wanted to make sure that my family was eating the most healthy meals possible, and that required planning. Any change requires planning.

Since I am already way to busy, and could not imagine making time to plan meals (you are probably thinking the same thing). I started bringing my meal planning tools (book of Mediterranean recipes, pen, notebook, grocery list) to my daughter's soccer game. We always have to arrive 30 minutes early so the girls can warm up, so I would set up my chair and plan my meals. I would also make use of half time for planning. I would then complete my grocery shopping later in the day.

There are a few things that I did to help the planning process be more smooth for me. My goal was to change our eating habits, so I was relying on a recipe book to bring new ideas to my menu planning.  First, I went through the recipe book and wrote the names of recipes I knew my family would eat in a notebook. I included the page number with each recipe on the list so I could easily find the recipe later. When I was ready to plan for a week, I would choose 3-5 recipes to cook. Then I would list the ingredients I needed to purchase on my grocery list. After eating the recipe, if it was worth repeating in the future, I added it to a list of approved recipes that I keep on the side of my fridge.

First, some basic thoughts on getting started with meal planning.

-You should start your own list of master recipes. It will help you when you need some inspiration. Unless you are in need of a complete mealtime overhaul, you probably have at least three favorites that you rely on. What are those meals and what are the ingredients you need to put those meals together? Those should be the first items on your list. Keep those ingredients in the house at all times so you always have a meal in a pinch. Next, brainstorm a list of meals you have cooked (and enjoyed) in the past. Listing the necessary ingredients for each meal is also helpful, but you can manage without this step if you prefer.

-Be realistic about your ability to prepare meals. Don't set yourself up for failure. Consider the number of ingredients and the prep time necessary before you put a recipe on the list. Also be careful not to plan on meals that require specialized ingredients.

-Plan all of your meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks.

-Sometimes less is more. Do you really need 7 dinners to get through the week or will you be able to eat some of your meals more than once in a week? My family can usually get 2 meals out of a lasagna and still have some left over for lunch or a leftovers dinner. Will your family really be having 7 meals this week? Is there a night when part of the family will be out? We have soccer practice night in my house and we have to eat on the run so we pack a portable dinner instead of trying to get home to eat. Before you decide you need to actually cook 7 full meals, be sure you will actually eat all of those meals.

-Make sure you write things down! Don't expect that you will remember that you want to try a new recipe on page 157 of your new cookbook on Wednesday. You might find that you are running late after a crazy day at work on Wednesday, and suddenly you are standing in your kitchen without any idea of what to cook for dinner. Jot down your meal plans and be sure to jot down the ideas that you find successful.

How can planning your meals help with time management, improving your health, and saving money?

Any type of planning will help with time management. I personally have experienced a number of benefits. First, simply knowing what I will be serving has made all the difference in the world. It makes my evenings far less stressful than they have been in the past. My grocery shopping is also way more efficient. I know exactly what I need, so there is no wandering through the store hoping to be inspired. I try to write my list in a way that groups like items, so I am way more efficient in the store and spend less time returning to isles for Items I forgot. I am also better able to delegate dinner plans to my husband. If I know what we are having for dinner, I can have him prepare the dinner or get it started. Finally, since I plan out my meals, I am also able to cook meals in advance. Now that I know exactly what I am going to be making for the week, I find that preparing several meals at once (usually on the weekend) saves me a lot of time. When I have all the veggies out and do all of the chopping at once, it is very efficient.

Planning your meals is the first step to improving your health. Most people make poor choices when they find themselves hungry and without a plan. Opening the refridgerator and not knowing what you will take out is just asking for trouble. Planning your meals can also help you develop better eating habits. If you plan out what you are going to eat, you are more likely to get all the necessary servings of fruits and vegetables. This is also a great opportunity to make adjustments to your diet. Perhaps you want to eat a more heart healthy diet or you want to cut calories, planning will help you be successful in making any changes. Start small, try to add one healthy, new recipe to your meals each week.

When I started planning my meals, I was looking to improve the eating habits of my family. What I discovered was that I was also saving money. If saving money is your primary goal, planning your meals is a must. In most cases, you will want to plan your meals around sales and seasonal produce. One primary benefit for me was that I only buy what I need and I waste less food. I try to plan meals that require like ingredients. If I only need half an onion for a recipe, I check to be sure I can use the other half in another recipe.

So, give it a try. Just start planning your meals. Take one small step towards routinely planning all of your meals. Maybe begin by planning your meals for tomorrow. Then, after you celebrate your success, think about how to customize meal planning to fit your life. I tend to keep a bad with me on the weekends. This bag has my favorite recipe books, a spiral notebook where I have listed all of the recipes I like, pens,and  post-it note. Set yourself up to be successful with meal planning.

Planning Your Free Time

I know...Isn't that an oxymoron?
Actually, planning your free time will help you have more free time. That is why I got started on this aspect of improving my life. I work a full-time job outside of my home and in the past,  I have been in survival mode all week and then I have to spend my weekend in clean-up mode. I did not have time to do any of the things I wanted to do (including writing). To be honest, I was barely surviving. I had (and still have) a lot of things that needed to get under control. My main problem was a lack of systems to keep all of the balls that I juggle in the air. I was dropping a LOT of balls. How could I get all of the areas of my life that needed time in order and then find time for the things I wanted to do? Scheduling.

First, I realized that I needed a plan for maintaining the positive changes I was working to create (like my new laundry system). Second, I realized that my family needed to be a part of the maintenance plan so they needed a plan also. I thought about this for a few weeks. During those few weeks, I paid close attention to what types of things each family member needed to do, what types of organization we were already using, and what types of organization we could add.

This organizing system to help me plan my family's free time is a work in progress, but I am starting to cross this river one stepping stone at a time instead of waiting for all of the details to be worked out. As you know, starting is the most important step you can take.

Here is what I came up with:

1. Each person has a dry-erase board for weekly planning. We use these to make notes about our week. 
2. My daughters have paper calendars for long-term planning. I use a digital calendar.
3. My daughters have nightly checklists that they review to know what they need to do.
4. There is a large dry-erase board in the kitchen for general notes.
5. The freezer (top of fridge) is a designated grocery/food list space that has organized lists.

1. Personal dry-erase boards (mine are homemade) for weekly planning: Each person has a board. I labeled them with the days of the week and used a Sharpie to divide the board into sections. We use dry-erase pens and/or stickie notes to make notes on the board.

I use mine to note when I plan to exercise and to keep my running to-do lists. I use a digital personal planning program on my iPad for a majority of my organizing needs, but this board is for the reminders that I need to see when I am at home and the planner is put away. I also do a majority of my meal planning on this board. I write myself reminders of what I plan to eat. This helps me when I arrive home from work starving and I can not remember what the plan for dinner was. I plan to use this board for scheduling my evening time as well. My goal is to schedule time for reading, blog research, writing, and other things I want to accomplish.

My oldest daughter is in middle school.  Her board is for reminders like: pack soccer bag, practice guitar, bring baked goods to school for bake sale. I let her manage this planning. I expect her to practice her guitar 5X a week. She gets to schedule those five times around her schedule in a way that suits her.

My youngest daughter (5 yrs) has little cut outs for her chart. She helped to make her chart, but I told her what had to go on the chart. I also add things to the chart for her.

Items on her chart are daily things like picking out clothes, unpacking her lunchbox, brushing teeth, and taking a bath. Other items are weekly reminders like remembering to pack her item for show and share. I also add notes about chores I want her to complete (Tues. pick up barbies in playroom). This chart serves as my reminder, for my husband and me, of the routines we want my daughter to develop as well as a reminder for her. By making this chart for her and child-friendly, I can gradually release the responsibility of these routines to her. In fact, we are already asking her to check her chart each evening to see what needs to be done.

2. Paper calendars for long-term planning are now in place for my daughters. Until now, I have been the keeper of the calendar because my calendar needs to be digital. Now, each of my children have a calendar. My older daughter uses her calendar to write soccer games and practices, school events, tests and due dates for projects. She is responsible for keeping this calendar but she is also responsible for reporting any important dates for school to me. She will tell me when she has a test or a project due and then tell me what her plan is to study or complete the project. Keeping this calendar helps her be organized, but it is also helping her see the connection between the planning and the events in her life.

My younger daughter's calendar is mostly about helping her understand the passage of time. When the weekend is coming, when school starts, and when Christmas will finally come are all important questions in the life of a 5 year old. In the future, I will write more events on her calendar, but her soccer team is on the off-season right now, so there is not a lot to write.

3. Nightly checklists for daily maintenance chores. Each of my daughters had nightly chores that they must complete. These chores are mostly so they can manage their own belongings. These lists are simply written on small pieces of paper and taped near the charts. The lists are subject to change at any time. We can read these off before the TV watching begins to make sure nightly chores get done.

The 5 year old's list:

1. Shoes away

2. Empty homework folder

3. Dirty clothes in basket

4. Toys away

5. Dirty dishes in sink

6. Dust (3x week)

7. Pick up trash

The 11 year old's list:

1. Study plan

2. Shoes away

3. Jackets away

4. Sweep 1 floor area

5. Dirty dishes away

6. Practice instrument (when no soccer practice)

4. There is a large dry-erase board in the kitchen for general notes. I need to write notes for reminders of all kinds and I am hoping to get my family into this habit also. I do not have a specific plan for this board, but I write things and stick post-it notes on it as reminders. I originally planned for it to be smaller, but I knew my younger daughter would want to write on it, so I left space. 

5. The freezer is now the designated place to organize food needs. There are 3 pieces of paper at all times. 1 list for the regular grocery store, 1 list for Sam's club, and 1 list of left-overs in containers in the refrigerator.  We are pretty good about adding items to the grocery list. I have even trained my oldest daughter to add items to the list. I just needed the process to be more organized. 

These systems are not perfect, but they are a start and they will continue to get better. For me, it helps to have our routines written down so we manage to get everything done each evening. For my daughters, it is putting them in charge of their own routines. Like my laundry system, this is giving me peace of mind because I know that the things that need to get done are at least written down in a central location.

What will my next steps be? I really want to get more specific about scheduling my evening time. For example, my goal is to spend from 8-9 pm working on the things I mentioned above (reading, research, writing). Also, come February, soccer season will be in full swing again. I will need to be extra careful about planning our evening time since soccer practice will take up so many evenings.

Quick Laundry Update (again)

So, the new laundry system is still in place and still working! There are a few things I have noticed that I wanted to share.

1. I am learning that maintenance is the key to success with any changes you try to make. There must be a plan for daily maintenance/up-keep if you want to be successful. When I started this new laundry system, I had a plan for the daily up-keep of my system. That plan was vital for the success that I am experiencing. 

2. I am doing fewer loads of laundry per week. Yes, the daily load plan means fewer loads. As you can guess, that saves me time and money. Because of the sorting system I am using, I can wait until I have enough of a particular type of laundry to do a full load. In the past, I would wash all of the laundry every weekend. That meant I typically washed 6 loads of laundry per week. Of course, I adjusted the water lever for each load to save water, but now I am also saving electricity. I do have to wash my work clothes each week, but everything else can be washed as needed.

3. Bringing the laundry down to be sorted is quick and keeps my house looking less cluttered. I try to use little 5-7 minute chunks of time to manage the sorting. That means the laundry baskets rarely get full and are never overflowing (as they always were in the past). It also helps me with reminding my children not to leave dirty laundry on the floor. A few times a week, I tell the girls to do a "laundry round-up." That means that all of their dirty laundry (from the floor and their baskets) has to be brought to one central basket for me to take to the basement. There is very little dirty laundry hanging around on the main floors of the house.