Time Management for Bloggers-Schedule

In my first post in this series, Time Management for Bloggers-Writing, I shared my daily schedule with you. In that schedule I include 2-30 minute blocks of time to get my housework done. Yes, the bulk of my housework gets done in a total of one hour a day. Keep reading and I will show you how. I also include dinner prep in my schedule.

As I have said before, having a schedule is crucial to managing your time. If you don’t know what you are supposed to be doing at any particular time, you will probably end up wasting that time.

Time Management for Bloggers-Housework

Over my 22+ years of marriage I have tried several ways of organizing my housework. When the kids were between the ages of 8-17, they did the bulk of the housework, and it was wonderful! Now that Aaron is working 60+ hours a week and Jordan is on the mission field the housework has shifted back to being my responsibility. I have found that for me I need a not-too-strict schedule that will help me get everything done without making me feel stressed out or upset when something doesn’t get done. I am pleased to say, I have finally found that balance.

I came across a wonderful daily cleaning schedule at FrazzledJoy. She was even awesome enough to make FREE printable forms so that we can all organize our housework. The idea is that we have daily chores that must be done and then other chores that can be done 1-2 times a month. I used her template and created my own list which I even colored to match my kitchen. This list hangs on my refrigerator so that I see it often. I also made an arrow from a post-it note flag. I move the arrow every time I complete a box so that I know what the next day’s chores are.

Our homes and needs vary but this is what is on my list…

Daily Chores

• make the bed
• wash the dishes
• wipe the kitchen counters
• wash one load of laundry
• sweep the floors

Rotating chores

• Kitchen counters (deep clean), stovetop & microwave
• Master bedroom sheets, clean out refrigerator
• Bathrooms-mirrors, toilets, sinks &  floors (2x)
• Dust living room and clean off kitchen table
• Mop floors in kitchen, hall & living room (2x)
• Fold laundry & clean laundry room
• Declutter any area for 30 minutes (2x)
• Wash kids’ sheets, clean out refrigerator
• Clean desk, pick up master bedroom
• Scrub bathtub & shower walls (Aaron’s chore)
• Clean out car, wipe down kitchen cabinets and appliances

Some chores are done twice during the 14 weekday rotation. On one Saturday each month we try to plan a day to do some deeper cleaning that needs to be done but as you can see, the basics are covered by my schedule. If you are looking for more organizing tips and tricks make sure you follow my Organization board on Pinterest.

Time Management for Bloggers-Meal Planning

I have been on and off the meal planning wagon many times over the past few years. For the last 3 months, I have found a schedule that works for me and my family. I plan 4 dinners a week and schedule them on days that at least 3 of us will be home. For us Sunday we eat with our small group and we each contribute to the meal. Monday the kids go to church so it is just hubby and I so we usually do something light or leftovers. Tues-Sat there is at least one night where hubby is working or the kids or I have plans so planning 4 nights a week works for us. I found this great FREE printable that I use from Life in Yellow that works perfectly for me.

How I Meal Plan

I have a spreadsheet of all of our favorite meals separated into basic groups: Beef, Chicken, Pork and Pasta. I plan a month at a time.

1. I print and date 4 meal plan sheets and I add 3 meals to each list rotating between the 4 recipe types. I write all the ingredients under the recipe title.
2. I fill in the 4th box with a new meal that I have pinned on my Recipes I Want to Try board on Pinterest. This way we try something new each week and we decide it it gets added to our master meal list or not.
3. I file the upcoming menu plans in my household notebook.
4. I take the current list to the kitchen and cross off ingredients I already have on hand.
5. I look at the family calendar and decide which night we will be eating each dish and not that in the appropriate box.
6. I add other needed items to the list.
7. I check for coupon match ups for my list and I pull or print the coupons.
8. I put the list in my AnyList app which auto-syncs with my husband’s app and include notes about coupons.

My husband does most of the grocery shopping and he goes 2x a week. We are both self-employed with no guaranteed paychecks coming in regularly so we shop with cash on hand + coupons on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

I hope these tips have helped you get more organized and better manage your time. Next week we will talk about making sure we spend time with those we love.

Other Posts In This Series:

Time Management for Bloggers Part 1-Writing

Time Management for Bloggers Part 2-Social Media

Time Management for Bloggers Part 4-Family Time

The post Time Management for Bloggers Part 3-Household Responsibilities appeared first on The Mom Maven.

About the Whirlpool WashSquad App

Is finding help with the laundry an impossible chore? Do family members go mysteriously “missing” on laundry day? Well fear not! The folks at Whirlpool® have created an easy-to-use app that helps turn your family into a team of wash and dry wizards… all from the palm of your hand. The free Whirlpool® WashSquad App lets you:

• Assign laundry jobs to your family
• Track and reward their completed chores
• Create custom laundry guides with wash and dry instructions tailored to your Whirlpool® washer and dryer

And the WashSquad features a Stain Eraser guide and Fabric Coach to help get you through even the toughest of loads without breaking a sweat. Download the free application now and you’ll be on your way to perfectly clean laundry that you didn’t have to do. Now that’s one kind of laundry we can get behind.

The Mom Maven’s Thoughts

This app would have been wonderful, if we all had iPhones, when my kids were a bit younger and still doing the laundry. The built in incentive program is a great motivator. I’ve spent some time looking over the app and I really like the Cycle Guides that step you through the best way to do a specific load of wash…Did you know you should wash jeans inside out but dry them inside in? I didn’t. The Stain Guide is also very useful to help you know the best ways to remove typical types of stains.

If your kids have iPhones I recommend you all download the Whirlpool® WashSquad App  and make doing the laundry a fun competition instead of a dreaded chore.

Disclosure: “Presented by Mami Innovative Media, this is a sponsored post on behalf of Whirlpool. All opinions expressed here are my own.”

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That was16 years ago now there is Three Jars, a financial website for families. The concept is similar to our old divided banks; you have 3 jars-spend, save and share. Parents organize the jars and how much goes into each jar. You can set up chores and special projects for payments too. There is a secure website for the kids to use to manage their money and every change or transaction must be approved by the parent.

My one caution with Three Jars is to make sure you are setting the money aside for each child. Whether you have a separate bank account to keep the money in or if it is in an envelope in your family safe, make sure the money is available. When your child wants to withdraw some of their money, the answer can never be…”We don’t have that much right now.” I have seen this happen time and again with parents who promise allowance or payment for chores and then when payday arrives they can’t pay their kids. Please don’t do this to your kids, you need to be fiscally responsible too.

You can start a FREE 2 week trial of Three Jars by clicking the link. Will this be handy for your family??

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My kids no longer have chore charts, they know what needs to be done…and they do it (usually) :-)! I’m sure my boys would have responded well to the GoalForIt chore chart because they can be customized with graphics that they like ie. race cars or sports themes. The charts can be used online and off because each chart is printable. Another cool feature is the email reminders. You can set an email reminder to be sent to remind your child to check their chart. You can also assign points to each activity or behavior and if you succeed at completing that goal for the day you put a star or check mark on your chart and earn the points for that activity. Your child can bank their points and use them towards rewards you set up.

If I were to use this for my kids I would set up the chart and rewards online and then print the chart and hang it on my son’s bedroom door as a reminder of what needs to be done. I would have the system send him a reminder email at 4:00pm to remind him to check in on the site and update his chart. This puts him in charge of his responsibilities and instead of me nagging him, he gets an email reminder instead.

I decided to set up a goal chart for myself to help me reach some healthy living goals I have set for myself. Here is my chart: 
As you can see I haven’t done a great job this week but I will keep moving forward!

If you are looking for FREE chore charts and behavioral charts I recommend you check out what GoalForIt.com has to offer.

Disclosure: I wrote this review through a partnership with MomSelect. I am being compensated for this review all opinions are 100% mine.

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Anyway, I loved how the Purex Complete Crystals work because they are 92% natural and not oil based like other fabric softeners so instead of coating the fabric, the crystals infuse the fabric with softness and a light pleasant scent. Purex Complete Crystals Softeners are safe for all laundry and will not harm, wear down or discolor your fabrics like oil-based softeners. Safe for all fabrics, including baby clothes, athletic wear, towels, and whites. Unlike other
softeners, Crystals WILL:

• Preserve the flame retardant benefits of your children’s clothes
• Retain your athletic wear’s wicking ability which draws sweat away from your body
• Maintain your towels’ built-in ability to absorb water
• Keep your white clothing from yellowing and graying vs. using traditional softeners

Now that you know all about Purex Complete Crystals Softener, I bet you want to try it. I have 3 full value coupons so 3 lucky readers of The Mom Maven will get to try a 28oz bottle of crystals.

Mandatory 1st Entry Visit the Purex Complete Crystals Softener website and watch the short videos by Research scientist and mom Dana. The come pack here and leave me a comment telling me something you learned in Dana’s videos.

Bonus Entries: Leave a separate comment for each entry.

• Visit Purex on Facebook and like them, leave a comment the TheMomMaven.com sent you and then click the “welcome” at the top left of the page and download a $1.00 of coupon.
• Follow @Purex and @MomMaven on Twitter
• Tweet this I want to win a free bottle of @Purex Complete Crystals Softener from @MomMaven http://bit.ly/dOQimz (you may do this 2x a day)
• Like this post on Facebook using the button on the bottom of the post.
• Blog subscribers, GFC friends, Networked blogs followers and Facebook Likers each get 1 entry.

The giveaway is open to US residents only. Three winners will be chosen my Random.org at 9pm on March 13th.

Disclosure: I received a sample of  Purex Complete Crystals Softener for the purpose of this review. This post also enters me into a contest where the top 100 referring blogs will receive a cash prize.

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I am a huge proponent on teaching kids to work and be responsible for the jobs that are assigned to them. This summer I plan to revise my “How To Get Your Children To Do Chores” series that I wrote a few years ago and share it here. I am always on the lookout for tools that help families do chores and track work that has been completed. Recently a friend of mine told me about an online chore chart called My Job Chart.

My Job Chart is a FREE online Chore Chart that teaches kids to work in a fun and productive way. Using an easy and fun online system, My Job Chart inspires kids to do their chores on time. An interactive point system tracks your child’s progress, creating excitement and enthusiasm among kids. And the fully customizable chore chart allows you and your child to decide upon mutually determined rewards, fostering communication and developing responsibility. You even get an email or text message when your kids finish their chores or they earn a reward!

Do yourself a favor and go to My Job Chart, sign up for a free account and give it a try. You have nothing to lose and more responsible children to gain!

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