Have you ever heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”? In homemaking, it couldn’t be more true! Here are some tips for planning your week as a homemaker.
I have said it before and I will say it again – there are daily tasks that must be done to keep a home running smoothly. Whether or not you schedule a specific time to complete those tasks is up to you.
That’s what I love about homemaking. It truly is yours to control. It doesn’t matter what kind of personality type you have, what your background is, or what your external responsibilities are. Your home is yours to manage!
If you have been struggling with where to start, use this list as the inspiration you need for how to plan and schedule your week as a homemaker.
I hope you take these tips, use what works for you, and mold them to fit your home! Happy homemaking!
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Invest in a Daily Planner
I don’t know about you, but the precisely two million questions my kiddos ask me every single day leave me with very little brain power.
Because I know I can’t remember everything, I like to write it all down. Including my weekly chores!
When I write everything down during my planning session at the beginning of the week, I’m not spending too much time or mental energy trying to remember what needs to get done.
Grocery shopping, or grocery pick up, is already on the schedule. My household chores are already mapped out for me. I won’t forget (again) to make important phone calls because it’s on a list I can check off.
I like to use a paper planner, but you can easily accomplish this with a calendar app on your phone or a digital planner.
Establish Good Sunday Habits
In our home, Sunday is a day of rest. It’s the only day where no one in the house is expected to do any work.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t tackle the smaller chores that tend to pile up. I like to get a jump on my week!
Here are a few common household tasks you can complete every Sunday to prepare you for the week ahead –
- Set out your outfit for Monday
- Create a weekly schedule for the next week
- Prepare snacks and side dishes
- Gather school materials for Monday
- Schedule family activities for the week
- Spend quality time with your husband
- Clean a small area of your home, like a common area that may have accumulated belongings during the week
- Clean off your kitchen table
Take the motivation you cultivated on Sunday and let it propel you through a wonderful week!
Does a homemaking schedule make you want to run for the hills?
Don’t get overwhelmed by talks of schedules and routines. When balanced with rest and grace, they can be incredible tools in any homemaker’s tool belt!
I share a behind-the-scenes look at how I use all of the tips on my blog in my weekly email newsletter! I also share a more personal look into my life, like what my family is up to and what products we are enjoying.
Supply your email below and come join the fun!
Tackle the Most Important Things First
Monday is when I like to put together my to-do list for the week. If this will start your week off on the wrong foot, you can map out your list on Sunday.
Whenever you map out your to-do list, keep your high-priority tasks at the top of your mind and pencil those into your calendar first. This will give you a better view of days you may be very busy or days you may be home all day.
High-priority tasks could be things like phone calls, meetings, birthday parties, doctor appointments, and returning items before a late fee.
And you can end the week knowing nothing fell through the cracks.
Don’t Skip Meal Planning!
Since we know which days will be spend out of the house and which days we will be home, we can plan some meals that align with the time we have those days!
On errand days, I schedule simple lunches like sandwiches and easy dinners like crock pot meals. I don’t want to add any more stress to my day!
On the days I’m at home, I like to make things that are more labor intensive. Think of things like homemade fish sticks, tacos with homemade tortillas, or a soup that needs to simmer on the stove for a bitt.
Of these meals I can also prep in advance or buy pre-made versions of. I love the flexibility in the kitchen!
Assign a Different Task to Every Day of the Week
If you’ve taken a peek at my own weekly homemaking routine, you know how much I love to assign certain tasks to certain days of the week.
For me, that looks like doing a load of laundry every day, but on Mondays, I refresh the bedrooms. On Tuesdays, I wash towels and clean the bathrooms. On Wednesdays, I clean my living room.
You can easily apply this principle to running errands, doing laundry, cleaning, and cooking. Maybe you do all of your laundry in one day. Maybe you can prep all of your snacks and meals in one day.
You may have also heard this called “theme days.”
When you assign a different task every day of the week, you can minimize overwhelm, batch-organize tasks, and tackle something on your list all at one time.
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Create a Daily Routine for Your Homemaking (Example – Time Block Schedule)
Every day, I know I’m going to wash clothes, make a few meals, and clean an area of my home. I also know I need to complete a task related to my home, like pay the bills, decorate for the season, or perform maintenance on my home.
This is my daily routine as a homemaker.
If you don’t have a daily routine, I encourage you to find a way to create one! It doesn’t have to look like mine.
I like to wake up before my kids. If you don’t, perhaps you opt for easy breakfasts so you can keep your attention on your kids. I like to have the same rhythm every day. If you don’t, perhaps you keep a checklist of things that simply need to get done every day.
A daily homemaking routine can look like a checklist or a rigid schedule. Or it can look like a time block system.
A time block system is a time-management technique where you divide your day into blocks. You assign tasks to those blocks.
So let’s say your kids play best independently in the mornings from 9:30 am to 11 am. That’s when you may work on your side hustle while they play. If you find that they get antsy in the afternoons, that may be when you schedule family time and break out the play doh or other arts and crafts you can do together.
A time block system works well for someone who doesn’t like to do the same thing every day. You can label your time blocks “work,” “school,” and “play,” and still accomplish everything you need to accomplish.
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Need a Sample Homemaking Routine?
I am passionate about home management, but flexibility is key! So making a plan and sticking to it can mean two different things when you are a homemaker.
The key is making sure you are serving your family well and covering all your bases.
If you have gone through this blog post and thought, “this just isn’t clicking for me!” Don’t worry – I have a mapped out version of a weekly homemaking routine in my Sample Weekly Homemaking Routine blog post!
Instead of encouraging you to remember to plan meals and to put important tasks on the calendar, I walk you through what a week could look like.
- On Sundays, you rest.
- On Mondays, you get a jump start on snacks and errands for the week.
- On Tuesdays, you keep the momentum going and keep working your way through your cleaning schedule.
I walk you through an entire week and share even more helpful homemaking tips to make your journey simple and family-focused.
Head to Sample Weekly Homemaking Routine (To Get It All Done) for a daily schedule!
Are You a Stay-At-Home Mom, Too?
Thank you for taking the time to invest in your family by reading this blog post. My prayer is that this information gives you the inspiration you need to continue to bless your family!
As a SAHM, dealing with chores and being a busy mom can be overwhelming at times. But I have found ways to reduce overwhelm, streamline systems in my home, and just enjoy the whole day I get to spend as a homemaker.
If that resonates with you, follow me on Pinterest! I share even more homemaking inspiration over there.
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