A Life Organized: Weekly Schedule

Well, I wasn't planning on posting this until I really had my act in order and the final "testing" phase was complete, but given the awesome discussion that sparked on Facebook this morning, I decided that I'm not the only one struggling to keep my head above the mounds of laundry, stacks of coupons, piles of dust, and cluttered toys!!  So, I'm going to reveal my "beta" weekly schedule now in an effort to 1) Get some feedback and maybe find some other great suggestions (and support) and 2) Maybe encourage a few of you out there that THERE IS HOPE! :)

Yes, I'm going to preface a little longer - I just want to be sure that I'm not misunderstood in my approach here.  I have set aside specific days for specific tasks.  This DOES NOT mean that I cannot (or will not) do these tasks on other days of the week also.  This just means that if I don't have time to fold the freshly clean clothes that I washed on Friday, I don't get stressed out over it.  I leave them in the dryer to fluff for a few minutes on Tuesday and then fold them!  I am still in the "beta" process of this.  I'm attempting to catch up on it all so that I can see if I need to rearrange days, tasks, add some, remove some, etc.  Right now, I have one day for de-cluttering and one day for cleaning, but I'm hoping that as my house becomes more organized through this process, I can eventually combine those two tasks into one day.  Alas, for now, I need two days.

My whole purpose in creating this weekly schedule is so that I can be more organized, less stressed, and feel like I'm managing my household better.  I hate that feeling of being too overwhelmed by ALL that needs to be done, to the point where I get NOTHING done.  Here is my (hopefully successful) solution!

Monday - Coupon Day: 

I will clip, sort, and organize any coupons that I have acquired over the last week.  I put them all in a drawer in my desk until Monday when I can properly deal with them in an orderly fashion.

Tuesday - Laundry Day:

Wash, fold, put away, repeat.

Wednesday - De-Clutter Day:

Organize toys, clean off counters, clear off the table, properly put away items that have been so carefully shoved into any random cabinet, etc.

Thursday - Cleaning Day:

Dust, vacuum, mop, etc, etc

Friday - Meal Plan Day:

I pull out the recipes and plan the meals that I will make for the next week (Sunday - Saturday), make my shopping list of ingredients needed, and organize that list with any coupons I may have.  All of this in preparation for ...

Saturday - Shopping Day:

Groceries, errands, clothing, etc.  If I need to run to the store, I don't have to stress over the fact that I don't make it there Tues like I had planned, or Weds, or Thurs .... nope, I have Saturday set aside so that I know if nothing else, I will make it out on Saturday!  

Sunday - Rest:

As you all know by now, we "save" Sundays for the Lord.  We attend church, focus on our Creator, and rest - 'tis the true meaning of the word "sabbath".  Even if you are not in the habit of setting aside Sundays for God, I want to encourage you to TRY IT!!  Trust me - you need a day of rest, even if you don't know you do!  This day of rest is a two-fold gift - you get a day of rest to enjoy, but it also comes with the expectation that the other six days of the week are for working!  So, you should aim to complete all of your "chores" in six days, saving the seventh day for no work.  We implemented this rule as a strict policy in our household when my oldest daughter was born (almost 3 yrs ago) and it has changed our lives!!  I really should do a separate post all about it ... for now, I'll leave it at this:  We rest on Sundays.

Soooo ... thoughts? questions? comments? support.

I'd love to know what you're thinking ... and doing!!

How do you stay organized?!