I've put together some tips for getting together your weekly homemaking routine and a look at some others in history and around the web.

What is one of those great ideas that I wonder how I got along before it came? My Weekly Homemaking Routine. Without it I'm just a mess. Well not a complete mess but things don't run as smooth. That's for sure.

Years ago I had a nice weekly and daily to-do routine in the workplace and actually even had a bit of one for the home that was never put to paper but was committed to memory. The most I can remember is that my husband and I would clean the bathrooms every Thursday night. Something about a clean bathroom spoke to us and we did it as a couple. We had two bathrooms and so we had a little contest as to who could finish cleaning first. His military background came into play here and he was so thorough and detailed. I took notes. Very inspiring.

But....

then I became a stay at home mom and I began to notice more things needing to be done and they would sort of escape my notice until the whole house seemed to be a mess! This can be very aggravating.

So it was time to get busy. Using an outline of steps Emily Barnes lists in her one of her many wonderful and useful homemaking books  More Hours in My Day: Proven Ways to Organize Your Home, Your Family, and Yourself I made up my Weekly Homemaking Routine and placed it in my Home Management Binder .

Some may think a weekly homemaking routine is a bit of a silly idea but why not? I take my homemaking seriously. I feel better knowing my family can find what they need and that the needs that I'm capable of meeting are met. Clean clothing, yummy food, a nice smelling and clean bathroom, pleasant surroundings and a wife/mommy who is not stressed out because she gets very irritated if the house is a mess, not unlived in, but just a mess. A weekly homemaking routine to the rescue!

What does it do? My weekly homemaking routine reminds me of what I need to do on a given day so that things don't go undone.

If you are manager of your home that means you're in charge of making sure things in the home get done and run smoothly and what better way than to set up a weekly routine to guide you along.

Let’s look at an example of my weekly homemaking routine...

• Monday - Clean bathrooms and wash all kitchen and bathroom laundry.
• Tuesday - Indoor plant care and iron anything needing ironing from the day before. Clean kitchen.
• Wednesday - Clean and declutter office area. Church music work. Library day.
• Thursday - Purge fridge and start planning next week’s menu.
• Friday - Wash all bedding
• Saturday - Errand day
• Sunday - Lord’s Day, Day of Rest

This a very simple example of my weekly homemaking routine.  These are some of the things I do each week to keep the home life running smoothly.  As you can see I don’t do the same thing every day. I don’t need to. I don’t need to run errands every day, nor do I need to plan my menu’s on a daily basis. This routine does not show my child's activities or my work. It is an outline to remind me of the perfect day of MY week to get a household chore done.

So how about putting together your own weekly homemaking routine and using a lovely piece of paper post or put it in a place you check often. You know, to inspire you. Next to the family calendar, in your day planner, or a decorative notebook you use to keep notes.

If you haven’t given thought to what you would like to accomplish in your home each week start doing that too.  Look at your patterns. Do you grocery shop on a certain day. Do you notice that certain times of the week you have more free time than others and maybe could tackle some of those pending home projects.  How about scheduling 15 minutes in each day to clean up an especially messy room? What about those family meals? Are you struggling each day to figure out what is for dinner?  Choose one day a week to figure out what would be for dinner the next week.  Now put this all to paper. Pretty paper.

As time goes on if your weekly homemaking routine is not working change it. Simple as that. Your routines and schedules are a forever changing thing.

View some other's weekly homemaking routines on the web...

Vintage Weekly Homemaking Routine

Inspiration for Weekly Cleaning

Sarah's Weekly Homekeeping Routine (very nice and detailed)

Hanah's Homekeeping Routine

Happy Homemaking!

A weekly homemaking routine template is just one of the many fillable checklists available in Household Notes our Homemaking Checklists on CD. Order your CD today and discover how checklists can help you organize all your to-do's.