Nightly Routine

Call me boring, but I crave routine. Since November 4, my life has been a lot less predictable than I like. Fortunately, my babe is starting to establish a schedule and I am feeling healthy again. Recovering from a c-section, then the holidays, then strep throat. Enough!

I am thankful for a husband who really helps out around the house, but since he also works outside the home, I feel like the lion's share of household duties are indeed my responsibility. It's easiest for me to keep up with clutter and projects in small segments, so rather than having one big weekly cleaning session, I try to tackle a few things every day. So, before going upstairs for bed each night, I try to:

• Clear off and wipe kitchen counters and dining table
• Empty and reload dishwasher
• Decide on/do any prep for breakfast for the next day (so starving toddler can be quickly fed)
• Pick up toys
• Gather things to go upstairs

I find that I operate much better if the kitchen is clean and everything is (close to) in its place before I go to bed. Tripping over something in the middle of the floor before I've had my morning coffee isn't good!

A word about the dishwasher: I try very hard to make sure it gets started right after dinner if possible, even if it's just 90% full. Unloading is not my favorite thing, but it really only takes five minutes. It's important to me, because boy do I hate doing it after a quantity of dishes have accumulated on the counter and there's no room to put the clean ones as I work. Minor things in the scheme of life, I know, but as I read and shared recently "outer order contributes to inner calm."