Scrub the Bathroom During Bath Time? Brilliant.
When a mom-friend doubles as a systems genius, you listen! These four routines are amazing tips to help a parent’s day go just a little smoother.
Guest Writer - Whitney Ewing, mom of 2 amazing boys and one of those rare magical system creators!
After another one of our hours-long coffee hangouts – talking all things motherhood, relationships, travel, and books – Hailey asked that I take a closer look and try to identify the systems that work in my home and with my family. My immediate thought? Ehh… Hailey… I don’t think I use any systems… do I? That was the last time I questioned my good friend and the systems-expert! With that being said, here is a short run-down of a few systems that seem to work well for my family. (I choose to put “work” in air quotes because the reality is, it’s hard for our family to keep all of our systems functioning and in place AT ALL TIMES. We regularly revisit or do a “re-set” of our systems to get back on track… this is what works for us!)
Four easy routines to help manage your home:
The “Too Small” Bin: Place a bin in each kid’s closet for outgrown clothes. Rotating clothes for my fast-growing kids takes way more time than it should. We put a bin in each of our boy’s closets to put outgrown clothes. The kicker? Now the boys will put their own clothes in the bin when they no longer fit!
Quick bathroom clean-up during bath time: We use bath time to put away items left on the counter from getting ready in the morning and do a quick wipe down of the counter tops. We also use that time to clean the toilet while keeping an eye on the boys. This takes all of five minutes and it’s one less chore to do during the week.
Bath time is laundry time: If we aren’t cleaning the master bathroom during the boy’s bath time, we will put away all the folded clothes that we washed earlier in the day. If the clothes haven’t been folded yet, I’ll sit and fold clothes while the boys take a bath. I hate folding and putting clothes away, but it just makes sense when I’m already upstairs for their bath time.
All hands on deck after dinner: The last system we use that works for us is during dinner clean-up. We always prioritize cleaning up everything in the kitchen right after dinner. What I’ve started to do lately is box up any leftovers for my husband and my lunchboxes. All the items are already out, so it’s no extra work for me to divide it into containers for lunches the following day.
I can’t wait to see and hear about all the systems others use to organize their lives and homes. Even better when it’s a system my boys can help with!
