It’s Monday again? How did that happen?! The older we get, the quicker time appears to fly, especially when we pack so many activities into our days. When you’re busy (which, I urge you to try not to be by saying no to more activities you don’t really want to participate in), it’s hard to maintain sanity let alone home or office organization.

 

The solution? Delegate specific days to accomplish particular tasks.

 

Maintenance Monday

I used to do all my laundry and cleaning on Thursday, but that changed once I started working from home. Additionally, Thursday nights are almost like Friday nights, and I noticed social events or fun activities often popped up, and I often turned them down so I could stick to my routine. Boring!

 

Instead, I do all my maintenance tasks—laundry, cleaning—on Mondays during the day.

 

Monday Maintenance includes:

—  3 loads of laundry: hot, cold, and bed sheets & towels

—  disinfecting the toilets, sinks, countertops

—  vacuuming the whole house

—  a bit of dusting here and there

—  taking out the trash and recycling

—  paying bills and entering data into spreadsheets (for my businesses)

—  running errands

 

The cleaning aspect of it takes about an hour, laundry will take a few hours throughout the length of the day, and errands and data entering takes about a half an hour. That means I can do this 3 hour activity in between working (so, when I need a break from writing, I go and clean—wow, what a relaxing break!), or can be done Monday evenings if I’m busy with an organizing client during the day.

 

Food Friday

I go grocery shopping on Fridays, but I only go every two weeks. I try not to spend more than $200/trip (so $100/week) on groceries for my husband and me. I’m able to purchase lots of vegetables and fruit, sandwich meat and bread, organic chicken breasts, rice and oatmeal, coffee and wine, and frozen pizzas just in case, along with other healthy, organic food that will last us two weeks.

 

We try to eat everything before I head out for another grocery shopping run. If we run out, I’ll make a trip to the grocery store; if we don’t run out, I’ll only grocery shop every two weeks. And yes, the food—even our produce—stays fresh for two weeks (thank God for Tupperwear).

 

Before I started assigning specific chores to certain days, I used to clean, do laundry, and grocery shop all in one day (Fridays), but that was stressful and often held me back from joining friends at happy hour. I’m trying to be more present and enjoy life’s moments in the moment more often—another reason I mixed up my routine.

 

So, my advice to you? Do a little bit every week. Maybe you work 9 hour days, and it’s impossible to do everything on a Monday evening. Plus, it’s a Monday evening and you’re exhausted! Perhaps Tuesdays can be laundry, Wednesdays cleaning, Thursdays garbage day, and Friday or Sunday groceries. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you set up a routine to reduce your stress during the week.

 

When you commit to a day, you push yourself to accomplish the task on that day, rather than letting it all accumulate. No one wants to spend all day Sunday cleaning and grocery shopping. Don’t let your chores accumulate. Spread them out and stick to them throughout the week. And enjoy your weekends! Better yet, delegate these chores to your partner or children or roommates. You shouldn’t be doing everything by yourself! Crack that whip and make your family members work for you.