Do you have routines?

RicardaRacoon

I have some kinds of routines but not things like set chores for each day. It is more about small things. For example I try not to go to bed before my flat is tidy, so I do what I call the tootbrush-tour. While I brush my teeth I go for a small walk around the flat, making sure to put everything back to it's place. I also try to put everything into the dishwasher straight away and then run it in the evening about twice a week and the next day it gets emptied straight away, either in the morning when I have enough time or first thing when I come home.

When I have some cleaning to do I do it first thin gwhen I come home from work, because once I've settled on the sofa I'm not too likely to go up to do it again.... If I don't do it I know I have to do it at the weekend and that annoys me. So when I'm a good girl during the week all I have to do is cleaning the floors on Friday, which I prefere doing before the weekend to have a clean flat when I'm home.

Laundry is done on Friday, we have a shared laundry room in the house so I can't just spontaniously do it when I feel like it. Friday has worked out best as even when I have something in the evening I come home from work early enough to do the washing before going out again.

The rest is just done when I have time and feel like it. I would not stay in on a lovely day to clean the windows but there is sometimes just a day when I come home from work and think, ok, let's do it now.

System

I thrive on routine but the routine i had a few weeks ago is different to the routine i have today.

My routine has to be adaptable.

mumofthetwins

yep im a routine girl ..
up at 5am 2 hour workout and then showers and see kids off to school me to work
when I get in I tidy clean and hoover every night, then sort school bags/work lunches and uniforms and clothes for the next day then dinner and most nights its an early night
Wednesday is my day off work so do windows and change bedding that day, I then do my cleaning and stuff early then weekly shop.

im a bit of a OCD freak and like routines

lisa x

sparrer

I worked for 41 years and brought up a family so had a strict routine which I stuck to, most of the time it was easy as for several years I had a residential home so routine was everything. Now single and retired I don't have one, and don't plan to. Only the kitchen and bathroom are done every day, other than that when something needs cleaning I clean it. I'm enjoying retirement so much that I don't have time for a routine

pigpen

nah, what's the point stuff crops up and shakes it all up. I have a list of stuff I want to get done at some point but that is when it will get done.. 10 years on I still have no kitchen tiles! but I got a new loo fitted a couple of days ago.


Practical stuff such as.. bring your school uniform down on a Friday night so it is clean ready for Monday is more a guideline.. but I don't go chasing for it.. they are told once. I cook a meal and they eat it or starve. exercise is called hanging out laundry and walking to the kettle and back!!

Stuff gets done when it gets done.. plenty of time for that when everyone is grown up.. right now I'm enjoying my small people

[Deleted User]

I have a to-do list thats as long as your arm and I always seem to get most things done,not neccessarily in the right order (shades of Morcombe and Wise :):)
At the moment I am recovering from an operation so can't manage to do as much as I would like,but it will still be there when I'm better so no point in stressing about it. I live alone so its only me that sees it.Just hoovered round upstairs and am exhausted now so no more housework today.A bit of dust won't kill me but stretching ,bending or lifting may do me more harm than good at the moment If its above my shoulders or below my knees it can stay there for a while
I do my menu's every Sunday morning ,but I have always done them like that for the past 50 + years.This morning a sat and scraped a lot of new potato's and they are in water in the fridge so thats sorted for the week. washoing gets domne depending on the weather and if there is enough to warrant putting the machine on I get spurts of energy when I have a massive bake-up now and again,usually when the biscuit/cake tins are empty.My late Mum bless her was Monday wash day Tuesday shopping & ironing Wednesday cleaning from top to bottom of the house Thursday more shopping and Friday whizz round so the weekend was free.but she didn't work outside the home so her routine was her way of life.
If the sun's out I'd rather be out as well and I appreciate a nice stroll in the sunshine. I shop about every 7-10 days and only for things on my list by the kettle I will adapt what I have if there is less than at least half a dozen things to buy.
I try not to go too often to the shops as I have more than enough stocks in my store cupboards

PenguinOfDeath

Most stuff here gets done at the weekend tbh, I hate doing 'chores' after work so essentially - cooking tea, washing up and making tomorrow's lunches are daily tasks, quickly wiping up kitchen and bathroom and hoovering two or three times a week as needed.

Shopping tends to be done Saturday or Sunday early evening depending on other plans, if that's difficult I can do it on my dinner hour.

Laundry goes on whichever weekend morning had the best forecast, persistent rain for weeks makes this more flexible! There's only two of us so two loads a week is enough.

Teddi

Up at 5.15, let dogs into garden, go to loo, 5.30-6 yoga, 6.10 in the shower, 6.25 out dry, brush teeth, 6.30 do make up, get dressed. 6.55 grab breakfast (lunches live at the office, get taken on Monday, we have a freezer there which is really useful) and pack bag, 7.05 leave for work. I walk the first leg which is 20-25 mins.


Time home is very subjective, can be anything from 5 to 6.30 depending on what happened at work\how I get home\if I had to pop to a shop on the way. 2 weekdays I will put a wash on as soon as I get in, dinner is usually sorted by my wife for about 7. Chill out for a while, upstairs at 9, 15 min meditation, asleep by half past. Except on tuesdays we go to the cinema so tend to be in bed a little later and Fridays we will go out to a show or somewhere else.


My wife works part time from home so she sorts the majority of stuff like feeding\watering the hounds, general cleaning, cooking, etc which does make my life a fair bit easier.


Weekends tend to be clearing stuff out, gardening, DIY bits and pieces and I wash the sheets and towels. We do our meat shop on a Saturday morning and spend Saturday afternoon doing agility or flyball training. Sunday is lunch prep for the week, usually prep a meal or two and I do at least an hours yoga practice if not more.


I used to not have a routine and it was finding yoga and meditation so useful that made me regiment my days to allow for daily practice. We now have a better relationship and our house is much better kept now just from having a bit of routine.

PenniesMake£s

Pigpen - do your kids wear the same uniform all week? Mine always seem to get yogurt or paint on theirs everyday? Don't take that as a criticism please, I'm just curious as I'm always looking for ways to reduce the laundry pile x

Debran

No routines but lots of lists, reminders and an online diary. I print a monthly page off and put it near the phone. A weekly page goes in the kitchen.

I have a memory like a sieve.