I have a housework routine that I stick to fairly rigidly throughout my week. Monday wash and hoover day plus any ironing that was ready, Tuesday towels wash and bathroom clean with the weekly shop being delivered plus a mountain of ironing, Wednesdays bed change and linen wash day, with Thursday and Friday generally being about anything that I miss out during the week. I try to keep weekends clear for family things.
This has worked fine up until now, and really it is just doing the basic tasks. Obviously each day I am cooking, baking, sweeping up etc etc etc, as well. But I am finding that this isn't working so well for me anymore. I used to go out to a Bible study on Monday mornings, which I don't any more. I have a friend over on Tuesday mornings for a bible study instead. Thursdays I used to go to Mums and Tods, but attendance there is sporadic at the moment, depending on Sarah's sleep needs that day. Wednesdays used to be my day for batch cooking, but I am finding that this isn't happening so much at the moment.
What is happening is that I have a preschool run five mornings a week, which means that Sarah doesn't get to sleep as long as the other two did at this time. So instead of her having 2-2.5 hours from 7.30am, she gets 45mins to an hour at most, so needs another sleep about 10am. So this means that regular morning excursions are the exception. I have also found that I am enjoying getting all my ironing done on a Monday so it is out of the way for the rest of the week, but this means that I am encroaching further and further into my Sabbath sunday. The routine as it stands also means that I am rushing about for Mon-Wed to get things done, and waste a lot of time on Thursdays and Fridays. I mean, I spent almost 2 hours on Thursday morning looking for dress patterns online while Sarah slept, and felt awful for the rest of the day. So frustrated with myself.
The biggest thing for me is the encroachment onto my Sabbath. This is in no way legalistic, but I had said to myself that Sunday is a day of rest, a day set aside from our otherwise daily routine to make it special. How can it be so if I am still doing weekday tasks? It was removing the specialness from the day, and I want that back.
And so to the solution...
I have moved the day that I change the beds. In my head, it is a huge task, but the changing of the beds actually only takes about half an hour for all 4 beds. It is the washing and the drying that take the time. So I will change beds on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays. This means that I can begin my washing at 5.30am on a Monday morning rather than 5.30pm on Sunday evening. It means that I iron on Tuesdays rather than Mondays. It means that I can do the weekly shop myself at a supermarket of my choosing on a Monday morning when I only have Sarah at home. It frees up Wednesday mornings to continue with the baking and cooking during the morning. It means that I have a more useful week with a proper rest at the weekend. I will still do towels on a Tuesday, and clean bathrooms. And hopefully I can get to other jobs that need doing, such as weeding the veggie bed, cleaning windows and the front door.
Next week is when all of this will start. Fresh start next Sunday. Its going to be good. I'm glad that I realised that this wasn't working for me anymore and have been able to do something about it. The world won't end if my routines change...!
This has worked fine up until now, and really it is just doing the basic tasks. Obviously each day I am cooking, baking, sweeping up etc etc etc, as well. But I am finding that this isn't working so well for me anymore. I used to go out to a Bible study on Monday mornings, which I don't any more. I have a friend over on Tuesday mornings for a bible study instead. Thursdays I used to go to Mums and Tods, but attendance there is sporadic at the moment, depending on Sarah's sleep needs that day. Wednesdays used to be my day for batch cooking, but I am finding that this isn't happening so much at the moment.
What is happening is that I have a preschool run five mornings a week, which means that Sarah doesn't get to sleep as long as the other two did at this time. So instead of her having 2-2.5 hours from 7.30am, she gets 45mins to an hour at most, so needs another sleep about 10am. So this means that regular morning excursions are the exception. I have also found that I am enjoying getting all my ironing done on a Monday so it is out of the way for the rest of the week, but this means that I am encroaching further and further into my Sabbath sunday. The routine as it stands also means that I am rushing about for Mon-Wed to get things done, and waste a lot of time on Thursdays and Fridays. I mean, I spent almost 2 hours on Thursday morning looking for dress patterns online while Sarah slept, and felt awful for the rest of the day. So frustrated with myself.
The biggest thing for me is the encroachment onto my Sabbath. This is in no way legalistic, but I had said to myself that Sunday is a day of rest, a day set aside from our otherwise daily routine to make it special. How can it be so if I am still doing weekday tasks? It was removing the specialness from the day, and I want that back.
And so to the solution...
I have moved the day that I change the beds. In my head, it is a huge task, but the changing of the beds actually only takes about half an hour for all 4 beds. It is the washing and the drying that take the time. So I will change beds on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays. This means that I can begin my washing at 5.30am on a Monday morning rather than 5.30pm on Sunday evening. It means that I iron on Tuesdays rather than Mondays. It means that I can do the weekly shop myself at a supermarket of my choosing on a Monday morning when I only have Sarah at home. It frees up Wednesday mornings to continue with the baking and cooking during the morning. It means that I have a more useful week with a proper rest at the weekend. I will still do towels on a Tuesday, and clean bathrooms. And hopefully I can get to other jobs that need doing, such as weeding the veggie bed, cleaning windows and the front door.
Next week is when all of this will start. Fresh start next Sunday. Its going to be good. I'm glad that I realised that this wasn't working for me anymore and have been able to do something about it. The world won't end if my routines change...!
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