MY NEW GAME PLAN- FREE Housework/Meal Planning Printable

June 10, 2013

I am the queen of the laundry mountain.
The moment I feel like I’m on top of laundry…
I realize I completely ignored everything else I needed to do
and the world is completely out of control. It’s a vicious cycle!
Some days I feel like I have to choose between clothed fed children and a clean house.
I’m a very good list maker…not so much a schedule follower!
But I knew that I needed a new game plan if I was going to be able to tackle working part time.. being a stay at home mom.. a blogger.. a graphic designer.. the list goes on.

PS. ARE YOU ON INSTAGRAM?? We are!
Follow the fam over on @athomewithnatalie
I’m always sharing home, organization, recipes, parties, crafts and family life over there daily!

 
I knew that I needed to write out what I needed to do every day so
that it wouldn’t get out of control..but also set it up to be doable!
So here is the printable I created for my daily life! I’ll print one for each day.
The daily chores are divided up into time frames.. NOT set times.
because that just won’t work for me. I can’t have my schedule put out hour by hour…
BUT I did put a timeline so that I could plug in different time sensitive things like appointments, play dates or deadlines for each day (It’s marked for 5AM-9PM)
(We also have a different page with set times ben and I have time to both work.
whether it’s here or at the office. It’s amazing how much more work you can get
done in a couple hours when you have no distractions.)
 
I knew that I wanted to reduce the stress…and by portioning out the daily chores
and having a set area for my to-do-list and notes.. it would help me not have it all
jumbled in my head, looming over me or thinking I had to do it all at once.
There’s a spot for marking what you are having for lunch and dinner.
I even created an area to remind myself to drink water! Healthy mind healthy body!
In the To-Do-List area I will usually plug in one of the following when
I think they are needed!—monday-scrub bathroom tub/toilet. tuesday: mop floors.
wednesday: windex windows. thursday: clean fridge/microwave. etc..
I might have put a little motivational wording at the top for myself. ;)
You can download My Daily Schedule HERE.
 And because figuring out what’s for dinner can be another added stress…
I made up a calendar to fill in what I’m making for dinner!
You can download the Monthly Meal Schedule HERE.
I’m just starting this new routine..but so far it has been amazing!
It was so funny..one of the days ben and I both got up and did our morning
routine we felt so ready for the day and on top of the house stuff!
Ben: “It’s kinda stupid but it feels like you conquered the world!” haha…
I felt the same way. :)
And when you aren’t stressing about your crazy messy house and
what to feed your family for dinner…
you can enjoy moments with your family!
I’ve heard that your children sense your stress…
This is SOO TRUE.
When we moved it was intense trying to get all unpacked
and handle all the work load we had…
The girls were acting up more and extra “wild”…
We tried to keep it as routine as possible but there was a
lot of things going on to disrupt the ‘normal.’
They totally sensed our stress and reacted to it.
Ben and I made a conscience decision to take moments each day
to not worry about all the work we had to do and just have fun with them..
and to do some ‘bigger’ family adventure each week.
(they are easy to please at this age.. a garage sale where they can buy
a 25 cent toy is exciting…and the park is guaranteed fun.)
I think every mom needs a reminder that a messy house is completely acceptable.
If you have kids.. even just one.. life gets busy! It’s more than just taking care of you now.
 But I think I’ve felt more and more capable with each baby I have had.. You learn how to handle the “chaos” a little bit more each time… and probably a part of that is you realize that it’s fine if everything is crazy for a while. Toys will be covering your floor for most of the day..you will find the hand towel soaked and on the bathroom floor…. the cup of pretzels you gave your toddler might be found in throughout the toy bin… BUT. that’s ok. My goal of less stress is to tackle certain areas that lead to making me overwhelmed if neglected!
Some days will be crazy still..and the house will go out of control..
but I’m hoping those days will be FEWER.. with this plan. ;)
 Try this new strategy with me!
I’m going to see how it goes and maybe make up updated printable if needed.
Hope you are having a great monday!

10
  • MommaBBabyboy
    June 17, 2013 at 4:12 pm

    I absolutely love this, it was like I wrote this post myself! This plan looks awesome, thanks for sharing! Xxx

  • Pam
    July 17, 2013 at 4:24 pm

    I’ve just retired, and I was just thinking that I need to make some sort of schedule because it seems that I’m not getting anything done. Thank you so much for the printables. I think they will really help me.

  • Lisa Fickling
    August 5, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    Loved your videos at House of Rose. I found your blog through Pinterest and just love everything you post on Pinterest and your blog.
    I was in tears for an entire day after reading about your dear friend Shannon. My heart goes out to you. What kind of advice would you give someone in an abusive relationship who will not report their abuse to authorities. My Mom’s friend has a daughter in an abusive relationship and I would love to be able to help. Any advice? My email is lisaficklingatyahoodotcom and I am lisajohnson1963 on Pinterest.
    Thank you for being an inspiration to so many!
    God bless you
    Lisa

  • Renee
    December 1, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    I love these printables…do you happen to have an editable option? My kids are older so no toys to pick up, so I would like to remove that reminder.

  • Renee
    December 1, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    Do you have the cleaning printable customizable? I don’t have little kids so I would like to change “pick up toys” TIA :)

  • Gabi
    December 27, 2013 at 1:46 am

    HAHAHA this cracked me up: “I’m a very good list maker…not so much a schedule follower!”
    Yr hilarious, thank God! XD

  • artful.e
    February 3, 2014 at 3:24 pm

    I haven’t read any of your other posts, but I did want to add a few *cents* so forgive me if I’m repeating something you already do or know or whatever. I’ve found with my kids, including them in on things like making their beds naturally flows into them doing it by themselves earlier than is expected (from some of them…some are later bloomers and that’s okay too). It was so sweet when my three year old came upstairs from her bedroom to tell me that she had made her bed (and when I checked it looked lovely-not the same as if I had done it, but very presentable). :) When they choose to take on responsibility for a thing like that, it becomes one less thing you feel you have to bear by yourself! And in the mean time, you get to spend time with them. :D

  • Bitty Blocks
    March 3, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    Genius. I love it and too feel the exact same way only I have one baby. But, I want to get this tackled before we have more :) Thanks you!!

  • Christy
    September 19, 2016 at 3:37 pm

    Thank you for the great printables!