A few years ago, Clay got really into the enneagram. He read the books by Suzanne Stabile, and through his hype about it, I ended up reading them too!
It took me about a year to really settle on what my number I most strongly identify with, but about 2 years ago, I knew I was a type 3. Something that really helped me to settle on the fact that I’m a 3 is that efficiency is my love language.
I love having things done and finished. I don’t really care how they get accomplished (hence why I’m not a type 1), but I want them finished so that I can move on with my life!
This principle applies in how I run our home SO much. There are several things that I do every single day in basically the same way that keep everything running smoothly, and without a ton of effort on anybody’s part.
Daily rhythms make it easier to focus on the less mundane things about the day and have more fun!
I can honestly say that I’m never bogged down by a huge amount of laundry, having absolutely nothing to cook for dinner, or having a super grimy bathroom that takes all day to clean out!
The secret is simple, daily rhythms and routines.
Making something as normal as breathing on a daily basis keeps everything running smoothly and keeps me from ever feeling overwhelmed by the task of keeping a home!
Here are some of the daily rhythms that I use in our home!
Laundry
I never ever ever have a huge pile of laundry in our house, and honestly I couldn’t imagine it! I would be completely overwhelmed by a days worth of dirty clothes, so I know that keeping up is key to me.
The rhythm that keeps this one going in our home is pretty simple, and I’m sure you’ve heard it before.
Wash, dry, fold and put away ONE load of laundry a day.
Simple, right?
Now, you’re probably thinking that you don’t have time to see an entire load of laundry from start to finish every single day, but I’m going to say that you’re wrong. You do have time!
Every morning, before Lucy’s first nap I throw a load into the washing machine. This might be sheets, towels, the girls clothes, or whatever! It goes in. After our walk while the girls are eating lunch, I quickly throw that load in the dryer.
This lines up the time that the clothes will be dry to whenever the girls are napping. I fold them while they’re napping and put them away.
Done.
It literally took 10 minutes total of my day to see that load of laundry through, and I don’t ever have mountains of laundry looking at me. Super simple, super easy!
Meal Planning
This one is easier than it seems. I promise!
Every 10 days, I do a grocery pickup. I have 10 days worth of meals planned in that one grocery pickup. So, I grocery shop 3 times a month.
Before I do my grocery order, I look through my refrigerator and cabinets to see what we have left from the last third of the month. If we have the makings of a meal still in there, I throw that onto my meal plan.
I make my list as I write down my meal plan (on the same piece of paper!) and as soon as my list is finished I add the list to my cart. This is usually done about 2 days before I need to pickup. This gives me a couple of days to see what items we are running low on in the day to day stuff.
All thanks to my 10 day meal plan, everything is streamlined! Grocery shopping is a breeze (and on budget!!), and meals everyday are simple–I just look at my plan!
Daily Cleaning
When you have kids, you know there is always something to clean up! Sometimes I think about the days before toddlers where I literally didn’t have to wipe down the table after a meal because it was perfectly clean. Now, I’m wiping down every surface all of the time!
I adopted a super simple rhythm for daily cleaning–vacuuming, moping, dusting, wipe downs–that has made me stop constantly cleaning and has kept my house clean! It has also helped me teach Rosy how to do simple tasks like wiping down the table or cleaning windows.
Everyday after we eat lunch around noon, we clean together until nap time! This usually is about 30 minutes of focused cleaning.
Depending on Lucy’s mood at the time, I’ll either let her play or put her in the ergo carrier and we’ll go for it. Sometimes we’ll vacuum and clean the bathroom, other times we’ll mop and wipe down the kitchen. It’s really not much time, but it’s focused and we get things done quickly!
After we clean, both girls go down for their afternoon nap. This keeps me from frantically trying to clean, eat, workout, pay bills, fold laundry and do 100 other things during that precious break in the day!
So, finding 30 minutes in the day when my kids are awake to clean was huge for me! Now it’s part of our routine, it’s fun for the girls, keeps our house clean and it helps me to take a rest during their nap as well.
These three rhythms have been game changers in our home.
When something is set into place as a rhythm it is like breathing. It isn’t exhausting to anyone! You aren’t stressed out trying to get it done, your kids aren’t whining about it the entire time and everything just runs much more smoothly.
I hope they are helpful to you!