Living in an orderly fashion

DD265

I don't yet, but I think I will.

I try to plan our meals at the weekend (at least for the working days) and then we do our food shop at the weekend. I only have to top up salad etc during the week then as we freeze our meat etc.

We've almost caught up with washing (just moved, and Mom's washing machine broke so it built up) but I think 2-3 loads a week possibly? It's a built in washer-dryer and takes half the load that Mom's washer did (and that wasn't huge) so I'm noticing that.

Mainly for us, we're short on time in the week as I usually leave between 6-6.30am and get home around 8pm. So by the time we've eaten and washed up there's barely any evening left! I'm lucky that OH usually starts the cooking so tea is ready just after I get home.

It'll get there

onlyroz

I do meal-plan, and tend to go shopping on a Thursday or Friday night with a list of stuff required to get us through the following week. I find this saves us a lot of money - I used to just wander aimlessly around the supermarket putting "stuff" in the trolley, which would languish in the freezer for months with no plan of when to eat it.

I don't have a routine for housework. Laundry gets done when the basket is full and when there's enough space on the drying rack. There are four of us and I probably do 3-4 loads in a week - I don't know how you would ever need to put the machine on twice a day unless you're majorly OCD, or had a small baby.

I've got my weekday-morning routine down well - I can now get myself and the two kids out the house in around 45 minutes, although I try to leave myself an hour.

Purplesky_2

Good grief, two times a day! That's fourteen loads a week! How high are your energy bills? I do probably 4 loads of coloureds, 1 white, 1 towels and a bedset or two every fortnight. And that's with a tiny 6 kg washing machine. I can see if you had a small child or even a couple of kids or were 28 stone (ask me how I know!). Laundry gets done when it's going to be nice out/it needs to be done.

I used to meal plan a lot, but now we have enough space that I can just have 'supplies' in and I make something from my head/memory. We do have a pad with a magnetic backing on it and magnetic pens so that we can write when things run out.

Washing up gets done as often as necessary

Sometimes, I get everything squared away, but my partner and I have hobbies that sometimes require space. I like cheap interiors magazines and making cards and he likes woodwork at the minute, so I just try to keep the mess contained, and ideally easily tidyable. (Although waiting for glue to dry can prolong this time!)

justme111

Mr.Toad , so you were flying into random airports , then choosing random towns /villages to go to once you arrive to the airport of your destination then you were looking around as you were driving and when seen suitable place stopped? With children ? What if you wanted to stop when places around were not so appealing ? If you get into airport and there was a flight to ski destination but you did not have ski gear ? How did you know what to pack if you did not know where you will be going ? Buying all new every time ?
How did you fit your journeys to holidays? Ie if I have two weeks holiday which I start by ferry to France and start going through sahara on what day you stopped and went back ? How would you know you will be back in time ?
You have friends who you met regularly in a pub - that's routine. Have you had weekly football with your children? Sunday lunch with them when they were off their school? Any exercise ever - gym , swim , tennis with a friend , five aside ? May be any favourite tv programms?

moneyistooshorttomention

I've still got good intentions re getting a routine together. Obviously things were going to change one way or another when I retired and I have moved elsewhere in the country and had to spend a LOT of time and effort getting my house liveable in to start with.

There is still some element of "How can I plan my life properly?" when there is still some tidying-up type stuff to sort re getting the house renovation done and I'm now in a part of the country where workmen are often pretty unreliable and its more difficult to plan accordingly.

However, in the main, the bulk of it is now done and I'm struggling to get my head round working out a routine for housework/etc. I will get there...once I've not got to spend any time/energy on dealing with "issues" any longer and my only "Don't want to have to do it" thing left on the table is my own stuff (ie the housework and paperwork).

The plan is to get a housework routine worked out when things have fully calmed-down after all the "issues" - with it mainly centring round doing things on Sundays (courtesy of being in a part of the country where things tend to be very "quiet" on Sundays and there is basically no public transport running to get anywhere). Hence the plan is that = on Sundays when I don't have anything social arranged (ie about every other Sunday roughly) then I will make that my main time for doing housework/paperwork/major cooking sessions.

I've already found that I have to arrange things a bit around the weather - which is something I haven't been used to doing. I don't want to "set in stone" rigidly that I must do so-and-so housework tomorrow - as, in this area of the country, tomorrow might bring some decent weather and I'll want to take off out into the country to make the best of it whilst it lasts. The housework would then get moved to the next "Yet another rainy/windy day" instead.

bouicca21

Personally, I'm a fan of disorderly living. I used to have to do certain things on certain days, at certain times - like get the kids to school, get myself to work. But now all that has gone - kids grown up, mainly work at home.

As long as things get done and you are not living in a midden, why tie yourself down to a routine?

VestanPance

Mostly routine for me. Outside work other things are based around my training, so I need to plan to fit anything not training related in such as housework.

I'm very strict on my diet and training and follow my plans to the letter, as I know those are what make me achieve my goals. No point doing it half hearted.

enjoyyourshoes

meal plan - food stock + kitchen list = food shopping (flexible day based on 'need')


Clean fridge before shop


Cook meals and freeze on shop day include sarnies


Cleaning list 4 week cycle add and take items off based on 'need'


daily bank reconciliation. Monthly bank balance review = achievement vs Goals (review investments if required)


Annual cash flow of all bills resulting in monthly savings plan.


Use MSE to review new mechanisms to be more efficient

Mr_Toad

justme111 wrote: »

Mr.Toad , so you were flying into random airports , then choosing random towns /villages to go to once you arrive to the airport of your destination then you were looking around as you were driving and when seen suitable place stopped? With children ? What if you wanted to stop when places around were not so appealing ? If you get into airport and there was a flight to ski destination but you did not have ski gear ? How did you know what to pack if you did not know where you will be going ? Buying all new every time ?
How did you fit your journeys to holidays? Ie if I have two weeks holiday which I start by ferry to France and start going through sahara on what day you stopped and went back ? How would you know you will be back in time ?
You have friends who you met regularly in a pub - that's routine. Have you had weekly football with your children? Sunday lunch with them when they were off their school? Any exercise ever - gym , swim , tennis with a friend , five aside ? May be any favourite tv programms?

I've spent my whole adult life traveling for a job that was never 9 to 5 and when a period of work was over I would get a period of extended leave often several weeks so return dates were always flexible unless I was needed.

That said, a couple of holidays were interrupted unexpectedly. We were once ten days into a holiday when work contacted me and I had to leave. We were in the middle of Italy when the call came. I had to fly out the next day, my family had the option to either stay or the company offered to fly them home, they'd had ten days so opted to be collected and flown home.

We once landed in Corsica and when I turned my phone on there was a message to phone the office. We never left the airport. :mad:

After a couple of weeks away I returned home and we tried again and had a very nice trip to Sweden.

When you travel you learn to pack only what's needed and nothing 'just in case'.

I've never been able to join a gym, that only works if you're at home so you can use it regularly, something I've never had. I did all of my exercise in hotel pools and gyms wherever I happened to be.

My ex-wife was an army child, born in Malaya, lived all over the world with her parents, she's moved so many times our life never phased her.

Never had weekly football or swimming with the children, I was never there on a weekly basis. I went when I could but never regularly.

I don't watch much TV for similar reasons, I prefer to read and listen to the radio.

I took early retirement two yeas ago at 55 and still don't watch much TV. I still travel, I have a boat and spend weeks away at a time on her. In a couple of weeks I'm getting on a ferry and going for a wander down into Spain, I'm hoping to met up with some Dutch friends who are going to a Harley Davidson bike rally. I haven't decide if I'm coming straight home afterwards, I might just wander about a bit and take my time.

We never had a problem driving about on holiday, places aren't so bad you know. Yes we did it with small children and never had any real problems. People the world over are mostly good and decent, just the same as the rest of us. We've been shown the most incredible kindness and hospitality.

lostinrates

bouicca21 wrote: »

......mainly work at home.

As long as things get done and you are not living in a midden, why tie yourself down to a routine?

My animals would complain a little. But I also have clients popping in. They are used to a fair degree of imperfection ( our home is a long term restoration project) but I think it relaxes them to see I don't drop the ball entirely.


Re the pits address to mr toad about spontaneous holiday....its his life...he can do what he wants. My DH once decided he fancied good French cheese late at night. So he got up and went to France, got there, indulged in a bit of a cheese feast, came back and continued with his scheduled day. He was in a position to do so. We've wandered off for weekends on spec leaving the cats with someone dropping in to look after them. Nothing booked, no real destination, just a ....let's head east / south/ west/ north or let's aim for this place unless we see something on the map in the car we fancy on the way....


Find a place to stay, eat local food ( have to say we have great food guide books though). Its fun. The organisation bit for us is knowing that we can up and explore because life at home IS ordered and the car is maintained etc etc.