Since I’ve been pregnant, all of my nesting energy has been focused on simplifying our home and implementing routines in an attempt to make the transition from two to three little ones a bit easier.
While I know adding a new baby to the mix will definitely change the dynamics in our family, I believe that having simple routines in place will make household management easier while recovering from birth, caring for a newborn and helping our boys adjust to their new sibling.
I have established a morning routine, evening routine and weekly cleaning schedule that have really helped make our household management simpler.
Morning Routine
My morning routine is quite simple.
I make beds which make the bedrooms look tidy.
I start a load of laundry. I typically do a load a day which keeps it manageable and really makes it easy to stay on top of our laundry.
In the kitchen, I unload the dishwasher while prepping breakfast and then once we eat breakfast, I tidy the kitchen back up by loading the dishwasher and washing anything that needs to be hand washed.
This morning routine is simple and easy to complete every morning.
Cleaning Schedule
I also follow a weekly cleaning schedule. This cleaning schedule is very simple, focusing only on one area a day.
On Mondays, I deep clean both bathrooms.
Tuesdays are spent cleaning the bedrooms – washing sheets, dusting, sweeping, removing things that don’t belong in the bedrooms and getting rid of any clutter that has crept in (frequent decluttering keeps clutter from taking over!).
Wednesday is pretty simple, just cleaning the dining room. This involves washing the table, cleaning the floors and removing things that don’t belong in this space.
Thursdays are spent cleaning the living room.
And, Fridays are for special projects or as a catch up day if I missed cleaning an area during the week. My husband is off on Fridays so I don’t want to have routine housekeeping scheduled on this day.
Saturday and Sunday don’t have any housework assigned to them, we try to relax and enjoy the weekend and spend time working outside. We only do our morning and evening routines on these days.
You may notice that the kitchen is not assigned a day. That is because I’m in the kitchen everyday and part of my morning and evening routine is to wash and put away dishes. And, every time I wash dishes, I also wipe down the counter tops so the kitchen stays clean.
Evening Routine
My evening routine begins right after supper is finished. I tidy the kitchen and load the dishwasher/wash dishes. I’ve found that ending the day with a clean kitchen helps to get the next day off to a good start.
While our boys pick up their toys each evening, we straighten up our living room and sweep the living areas.
By the time we’re finished with our evening routine, our home is tidy which makes our evenings more relaxing.
These cleaning routines, coupled with living with less, is really making a difference in our household management. And, we’re certainly hoping that it eases the transition to becoming a family of 5!