The 6-6-6 Routine Tweak In My Planner

I miss you.

I've been too busy to blog. In many ways, it was a good thing. I was cruising the Caribbean, eating lobster, and swimming with dolphins. I had a big project due at work and am planning a volunteer weekend for a group of 100 or more people for mid-July. I am rocking this stuff - turning in the big project, completely relaxing (translation: ZERO work done) on vacation and almost unpacked, and the service weekend is almost planned.

But routines are, once again, falling through the cracks.

Routines are a problem, especially during the summer. During the school year, I drop off the kids at carpool, return home, and, if things go well, work the routine. But summer is weird. Today, for example, on a weekday, my husband is home taking a vacation day, groceries must be gathered, pharmacy must be visited, work depends on a phone call but could be busy or not, and we need to finish unpacking. You can see how routine tasks could fall through the cracks.

I've tried serious scheduling (7 AM - 8 AM get dressed; 8 AM- 9 AM cleaning; 9 AM - 11 AM work) and I've tried daily tasks (M - freezer cooking; T - clean kitchen; W - errands). Neither works.

The bottom line is that those specific schedules are not flexible enough. The kitchen might not need cleaning on Tuesday, especially if a friend came over for lunch on Sunday. Or it needs a complete scrubbing, because without routine cleaning, it is now gross. Plus, the schedule needs to accommodate school schedules, doctor appointments, occupational therapy, karate, flag football, and the psychologist. (You'd think I need the psychologist at this point, but nope. One of my kids!)

I'm trying something new. I call it the 6-6-6 Routine. (This is in no way related to Satanic worship. But, you must admit, 6-6-6 is EASY to remember. :) ) Along with my tracking of exercise (goal = 6 times a week) and eating more fruits and veggies (goal = 6 a day), I'm trying to do 6 routine items a day, 6 days a week.

I track in the upper right hand corner of my weekly pages and list the 6 routine items on the bottom right hand side of my planner.

Here are the 6 routine items. Note how flexible they are, giving me the ability to tailor them to the needs in my house.

AM - Sweep, Food, Laundry
PM - 15 QC, Dishes, Prep

And here is the breakdown of what each means...

Sweep - do a complete sweep of the house for anything out of place. This morning, that means putting away some clutter from the bathroom counter, bringing a rogue dish from the living room to the kitchen, and putting away a pot left out from yesterday in the kitchen. If I do this daily (and focus on erasing the evidence of whatever we do all day long), this only takes a couple of minutes.

Food - plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner and take out anything that needs to be defrosted or prepped in advance. Today, breakfast was cinnamon rolls, so I preheated the oven and put them in a pan. Lunch will be a salad for me and some frozen stuff (chicken nuggets or something) for the kids and hubby, so I don't have to prep that, especially as I have to grocery shop for salad ingredients this morning. Supper on grocery day is always the meat and veggies on sale, so no defrosting today. I also work from a weekly dinner menu, but I reserve the right to change it if circumstances change.

Laundry - put away any lingering piles of laundry (or have kids and husband do their piles) and toss at least one load into wash. This morning, husband was quick and had already tackled that chore!

15 QC (15 minute quick clean) - Each afternoon/evening, I spend 15 minutes cleaning whatever needs it most. Today, I'll probably spend that time unpacking my vacation bag. Tomorrow, I'll likely sweep and mop the floor or vacuum the carpets. It's usually pretty obvious what needs cleaning, but if not, I organize a small space, do some filing, or clean tubs/toilets.

TIP: Keep a running list of tasks in your planner for the 15 minute quick clean!

Dishes - have kids do chores and dishes and hand wash any lingering dishes myself. In particular, I usually need to hand wash some pots and pans.

Prep - prepare for tomorrow, including checking planner, packing lunches/snacks, and loading errands tote bag.

That's it. My routine for keeping my home and life in order. Doable? Leave your feedback in the comments.

Etcetera.