spring cleaning & other habits I should start

I'm writing this to avoid cleaning the house.
I don't like cleaning the house but I'm ok with all the laundry washing and folding. A friend of mine likes cleaning her house but loath the laundry ... put us together and we are the perfect SAHM!

I have tried a couple of schedules like every Monday wipe down bathrooms and kitchen counter, Tuesday do the towels and vacuum, etc. so that way everyday a little bit of cleaning gets done and it never turns into a massive all day project. But those don't work out because I get sweaty and gross from wiping down the bathrooms and think to myself, welp why not continue getting gross and clean the entire house and be done with it! 
Then this craze of Kondo-ing happened and I thought, I like the concept, let's try it. That did not go over well because we have a stash of craft supplies, scrape wood, computer parts and other, what Marie might call, junk that gets used ... eventually. Just the other day I was spray paining Christmas ornaments and had to find a rod of some sort and something to put it on so the ornaments could hang freely, and if I had tossed the cracked 5 gallon hardware store buckets we have in the garage, I would not have been able to complete my project! So things come in handy in their own time even if it doesn't spark joy, the key is to not collect so much you are swamped in your own supplies!

So I need to revamp my cleaning goals to keep this house organized and dust-free, and that got me thinking about other habits that I waiver about with all the time: Food Tracking, Financial Habits, Productive Morning Routine, Nightly Self Care Routine, and so on. So let's do this!

The best way to create or maintain habits is to have them written down somewhere and make it visible, a planner and time blocking will help jump start the whole thing, then start with a few simple habits you can easily put in motion! Along with those first steps, getting to bed early and waking up early, just little by little, is sure to get you motivated to work on your goal!  

Cleaning is not fun and I don't like it, but when it is all done, oh man does the house look better! It's brighter, fresh, and I feel accomplished! I remember being taught in school, do the hardest work first so it's done and over with and you can move on to the stuff you want to work on. That is so true when it comes to cleaning the house! I find that breaking it down into smaller workloads is best, first declutter all flat surfaces, you are less overwhelmed that way. Next make the bed, the room looks instantly better!

While decluttering, set a timer, that way you can take a break or wrap up to move onto the next area. Put on some music while you do all of this, it gets you pumped up and keeps you motivated, that's the simplest and best idea to get myself in gear to clean!

After phase one is complete, it really comes down to where to next. For me that is the bedrooms, that way they are done before kiddos get home and they are not underfoot and I'm not so filthy I can go pick them up! I continue with the living room while they are in the lower level playroom, then the playroom and office and they can watch TV in the living room. Whew, all soft surfaces are done and I can cook dinner with out taking a sanitizing scrub down shower, that will be for another day. Yep, the best schedule I have is a 2-day cleaning routine for the house. Don't get me wrong, I sweep, vacuum, and spot clean when needed, but dusting all the family photos and blinds isn't a weekly occurrence in this house. Either the next day or the day after that, I get ready to get gross and clean the dining room, kitchen, laundry room, and bathrooms! Ooohh fun! 

Life in general needs to be organized, we do it at work and with kiddos activities, so why not a daily to do, it will keep you organized and less hectic rushed through the day! I love this list I found and the time to spend on each one is really perfect, 52 weeks in a year, why not make each one productive? I like a couple of apps that I can customize a checklist right at my finger tips, they are Tasks and Taskaday! Or if you prefer a print out, checkout this free printable! But I find having a notebook as my planner works best for anything I have to jot down, and it's easy to just leave each item where it is instead of rewriting it on the next days page. I don't have time for that! But I do like lists and it feels so good when you cross out each line. So let's keep it simple because the secret to being organized is no secret at all,

Don't aim for perfect!

Make a daily, weekly, big project, etc. to do list, then get to it.

 No procrastinating!

Pick up as you go about your day, that means paperwork, dishes, jackets, etc.

Meal plan, it's a life saver!

Have a place for everything.

Purge regularly and be happy with less!

Spend a few minutes everyday tidying up each room.

I've been good and bad about the early to bed and early to rise portion of all these habit trackers, I'm trying, I'm really trying! On days that it works out, I'm able to get a morning routine of stretching, making a nice little breakfast, washing my face, putting on makeup, and feel great! Putting my clothes out or having an idea like with the app YourCloset, is a great help! Evenings are easier to get in some reading, stretching, calendar planning, etc. but I need to make sure I don't end up staying up late doing all of that!


As far as fitness goes, I think my Fitbit is great for tracking! Misfit is another great brand of fitness tracker or you can install an app on your phone if you carry your phone in your pocket a t all times like my husband does, he likes Google Fit. I just started a trial of Noom which has a great food log and support community group as well as a "personalized" plan and coach to help you along the way. I've posted before about BodBot for a daily tracker for workouts and weigh ins, as well as Sworkit, which now has an updated version for purchase. I recently found HiFit that has a 28 day challenge, 30 Days Workout, and Daily Workouts. The best tracker I like to use for fitness is Taskaday so I can customize what I'm tracking as well as my water intake!

OH my money is not in the best shape, but we have been rounding up and putting the extra change into our savings account with Capital One, they have a great monthly interest and you can open multiple savings accounts with no fees, and it's all done in their easy app! There are so many financial people out there who will tell you the best things to do to get your finances right and pay off your debt, any subject you can think of, they have an answer for! I am not one of those people, ha! So, I found a great article that has great ideas about how to get your finances looking great !

FIRST REPETITION, NEXT A HABIT, THEN A LIFESTYLE

xo