Routines

Mr S and I have been together for 17 years this year - a long time. But believe it or not, we never lived together where one of us comes home every night. This is new for us and so we have to develop our routines. Mr S is retired and I now work Mon - Fri. As I don't want to do all housework and washing on the weekend, I need to establish routines and follow those so I have time for all the things I want and need to do. In my opinion it's as important to set up routines of required tasks such as housework, washing, cooking ect as to set up routines for tasks of leisure such as craft, reading, exercise and meeting with friends.

Firstly, I made a list of all the things which need doing like housework, washing, cooking, grocery shopping, administration duties and then added the things I like to do such as craft, dog training and exercise.

This is what I ended up with:

	AM	PM
Monday	Walk Janus; Exercise; Washing	Cooking; Craft
Tuesday	Walk Janus; Feed and water chooks and bird; Washing	Cooking; Dog Training
Wednesday	Walk Janus; Exercise	Cooking; Administration duties
Thursday	Walk Janus; Gardening	Shopping; Cooking
Friday	Walk Janus; Exercise	Cooking; Watch BHG
Saturday	Feed and water chooks and bird; Cleaning	Gardening; Cooking
Sunday	Craft/Gardening	R’n’R; Cooking

My new working day is only 8.5 hours long and my starting times are flexible as long as it’s between 7 and 9 am. I have chosen to start at 8 am as that gives me time to do things in the morning. I could start earlier and come home earlier but personally, I don’t ‘feel’ like doing things when I come home. So I leave that to a minimum.

During the week, I get up at 5.45 am, open all doors and curtains to let the light and fresh air in – I love those early mornings where it’s quiet and not yet too hot and just pleasant. I then get dressed, let the chooks out and by 6 am Janus and I are on our morning walk. We usually walk about 3 km and upon return I exercise with my Kettlebells on Mon, Wed and Fri. That will make me all hot and sweaty, so I jump in the Pool afterwards and go for a swim. Feeling refreshed, I get dressed for work, feed the dog, have breakfast on the Patio and off I go to earn some money. On Tuesdays and Thursdays where I don’t do any exercise, I just walk Janus and then feed and water the chooks, week, water the vegie garden ect. 

I’m usually home at around 5.30 pm. I get changed and spend time playing with Janus, collect eggs, harvest vegies for dinner, water the garden ect – I love just spending time outside our beautiful place and feel the garden, see what’s going on, what’s doing well and what needs a little bit of help. I find it very therapeutic to stroll around the yard, it relaxes me. Between 6 and 6.30 pm, it’s time for Janus’s dinner and then I start cooking ours. Mr S will help if I ask him but mostly I just enjoy getting dinner ready for the two of us while he’s getting me a drink and sets the table. We eat dinner between 7 and 7.30 pm. Mr S normally heads straight to bed afterwards, I clean up the table and kitchen and then retreat to my Study. On Monday I finish off some sewing or embroidery projects from the weekend; on Tuesday Janus and I go for dog training at the local obedience club. Wednesday is the day for all of my administrative tasks – paying bills, filing, ect. As Thursdays he shops are open longer, that is the day where I do my shopping. Normally I only need to go to the Supermarket but it is pretty handy when I need something from another shop. Fridays Mr S and I enjoy our fish & salad night and watch Better Homes and Gardens to start the weekend.

Every 2^nd Saturday I do a deep clean here I change all the linen and clean that little bit more, so I prefer to do it myself. Every other Saturday Mr S will clean the house by cleaning the bathroom/toilet, exchanging towels, vacuum and mop. After cleaning the house, I normally like to spend a bit of time outside and I might clean the chookpen or do some gardening. In the evening I cook our dinner and we might watch a movie together or I might read or sew or knit or just sit outside and watch the stars.

Sunday is leisure day, so I do whatever I like doing. If it’s not too hot, I might do some gardening, otherwise I might enjoy some sewing or embroidery in the comfort of my study. Or I might sit outside and read or go for a swim or bake or do all of that. I might have some tasks which need to be done in the morning but I make sure that I observe R’n’R – Rest and Relaxation in the afternoon. Usually Mr S and I sit outside with a cold drink and sometimes a platter and talk about the week – past and coming, any events or some planning of things to do around the yard. I usually cook a Roast for dinner on Sunday night to supply us with meat for our lunch for the week, so once everything is in the oven, it doesn’t need looking after too much. I used to dislike Sundays because I didn’t know what to do. Now they’re my favourite days!

I did mention washing in my little table but didn’t talk about it in my weekly routine. The reason is that we’re only 2 people and we only have a maximum of 2 machines a week – clothes and towels/linen. So really it’s not a big deal compared to say a family of 4 or more. My washing machine has a delay option, so I can put everything in just before I go to bed and the washing machine will start up at 4 am and do it’s thing. By the time I’m up, the washing is done and either before or after my morning walk, I hang it up. usually Mr S will take it inside during the day and I can fold it and put it away in the evening. Done! I have a front loader so they take a little bit longer (but use less water) and I don’t need to ‘wait’ for 3 hours to hang up my washing or leave it outside during the night. I’m lucky that I do live in Queensland where it’s mostly sunny and the washing is line dried 95% of the time. For the remaining 5% I have a dryer but I only use it during the monsoonal downpours.

So that’s my week. I feel organised and happy that I have the “have to’s” and “want to’s” in one week. that makes it easier for me to stick to my routines. How have you set up your routine?