Update: Chore Calendar and Meal Planning

Obviously a lot has changed since having a second child. I still like to be pretty organized but the priorities have changed slightly. Almost a year ago I wrote a post about my monthly chore calendar and weekly meal planning. Since then, I've had to let some things go a little, and not be so anal retentive. This has really helped me keep my sanity! Let me show you what I mean...

1 year ago, my calendar looked like this. I used different colored pens to organize different things that needed to be done each day.

This is what my calendar looks like today. Get the picture?

I don't have time to spend 20 minutes using pretty pens to organize my month. Now, when I make an appointment I just write it directly on the calendar. As for organizing my cleaning schedule, that is just an impossible feat with two little ones constantly leaving messes in their wake. I do have some things I do each day to keep things from getting out of hand. 

Dishes every day- sometimes twice a day

Laundry- at least one load per day

De-clutter- At the end of the day, the kids clean up all their toys that are spewn across the whole house. I take this time to also pick up things that are not in their designated place.(used cups/dishes, craft supplies, papers, mail, etc.) 

Now, as far as cleaning room by room, I basically clean them when they need to be cleaned. For example, I just mopped my floors the other day. It had been about two weeks since the last time I mopped. Sounds crazy? I've taught my family to take their shoes off in the house! My daughter does it religiously. I clean the bathrooms maybe once a week. I vacuum when I start feeling anxiety. That is usually my sign that I need to clean. When I start getting anxious and uncomfortable, it's usually because I don't have a clean living space. For me, a clean home, is a calm mind. 

So now let me show you my meal planning...

1 year ago, I used these super cute "Eat Sheets".

Now I use a notebook.

I could still use the eat sheets. I did like them, but when I would take them grocery shopping, it was hard to write on them without a hard surface. By using a notebook, I can take the whole thing with me to the store and cross things off my list no problem. Then when I get home, I just rip that page out and put it on my fridge for that week. It might not be as pretty but it makes life easier. That is what I have been trying to accomplish. 

As much as I like lists and organization, there are just more important things to take care of now. Number one priority is my children. Kissing boo boos, building castles, coloring, or wiping butts, these things come first and that is how it will always be. I want them to have memories of mommy playing with them, not constantly cleaning the house.

Slowly my daughter is learning how to clean things on her own. I do still want my children to learn to take pride in the things they own. Helping around the house is the first step. I see chore cards in my future...

Okay, so I am still pretty OCD, I guess the things I find the need to organize are just different now!