You did it! You either spent all last week with me making the bed every day, or you are reading this deciding to take control of your household this year. Either way, you made a step towards making your home run more smoothly and saving yourself time and the anxiety of fighting an uphill battle in a home that should be serving you.
What do you think after last week? What did you notice?
I noticed that when my daily routine changed at all I had a hard time remembering to make the bed. This weekend my daughter had a basketball tournament that we rushed out of the house for in the morning, and when we got home in the afternoons and I walked into my room it was like "oh yeah, I was supposed to do that". This tells me that I need to work on my cue for this habit.
What I love about positive habits is they snowball. You decide to make your bed every day, and magically you keep your room tidier. You go to bed more relaxed. You start the day with a win and make more small decisions that are better for you. Your brain is being rewired and creating new pathways the more you use these habits, and you are voting for yourself becoming the best version of you. Baby steps that last add up!
Week 2: Laundry
This week we are focusing on that mountain of laundry that you always feel behind on (I am most certainly projecting, but I know this will resonate with someone). We aren't making a goal of finishing our laundry. What we are doing is cementing a daily habit that takes away another decision we have to make, another thing to think about, and another task that piles up.
Small Habit: 1 Load of Laundry a Day
Every day this week we are doing one load of laundry (except Sunday, and possibly Saturday). When I say we are doing a load of laundry, I mean it. We are washing, drying, folding, and putting away. Right down to the last sock that doesn't have a match. Every day, one load gets done.
An important note: like I said above, we are not setting a goal to finish or get caught up on our laundry this week. We are working on cementing a habit that we toss a load in every day and see it through. I also am going to recommend ONLY doing one load of laundry each day if possible.
I know, I know, once you get going it is hard to stop (and then you have so much clean laundry that you end up not putting it all away and it sits in a pile on that chair in the corner of your room). But we are going to do one load. Baby steps.
Cue: You are really going to have to decide when your cue is on this one. For me, it will be when I take my son down to the playroom to play after morning nap. My laundry is in the basement, so I'll remember when I head downstairs to do laundry. My cue for folding will be when my son takes his afternoon nap and I can fold and listen to a podcast.
Some cue ideas: -When you get home from work and change to comfy clothes.
-When the baby goes down for a nap (hello folding and your favorite
show!)
-Alarm or reminder on your phone
-After you make your bed
Reward: My reward is a yummy little drink I sip (currently loving Olipop) when I'm folding as well as listening to a podcast. You'll have to get creative with this one as well!
I am also going to get in the habit of following a laundry schedule. My laundry schedule (as well as a laundry room reset checklist) are free printables to you all this week. If you are a subscriber, they are waiting for you in your inbox! If you would like them, click here.
Task To Accomplish: Get Rid of Clothes
I have realized part of me feeling like my household is running me is the amount of time I spend just picking up and keeping track of all the crap we have. I'm drastically reducing the amount of stuff we have a little bit at a times. This week, I'm going through my clothes and shoes.
I'm being ruthless. If it doesn't fit, It's damaged, or I don't love it I'm donating it. Join me?
Take it to the next level:
Completely clean out and reorganize your closet and dresser. Get rid of junk. Vacuum, organize, make it look pretty, and find a place for everything. For Inspo check out The Home Edit Books.
This one will be a hard one for me honestly. My laundry is in the basement on the opposite end and floor of the house from the bedrooms. Sometimes I have some mobility issues and cannot use the stairs (and the more I use the stairs even on a good day the more I struggle), and this really gets in the way of keeping up on laundry. I'm going to have to get creative, and i'll report back to you! I'm reminding myself again that I get to choose my hard: laundry is hard and tedious but so is having an overflowing pile of dirty clothes and none of my comfy outfits clean.
Below I will link a few things that have made doing laundry easier for me over the years:
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