It’s that time of the year when we start thinking about resolutions for the New Year and many times they involve getting things to run a little smoother.

I’m going to share with you a file system that we had set up a couple of years ago and we still refer back to it every now and then or when things seem to have gotten a little off track.

We had a similar system set up many years ago and it really helped me get my house in order. We felt like we were always running behind and never getting caught up but our routine system helped us get and stay more organized.

I recently heard that routines have been proven to help you be more productive and less stressed as they lessen the number of decisions you have to make on a daily basis… it definitely helps us!

You can set yours up however you like but this is just an example. I also have a similar binder system with just the basics that the kids pull out regularly.

So this may look like a mess but it’s an organized mess. It may seem a bit too complicated as well but you can take bits and pieces to make it work for you.

We also use a similar set up for our memory work for school and it allows the kids to memorize an astonishing amount of Bible verses, quotes, and poems.

There are several sections in this basket but we’ll look at them one by one.

• Daily Tasks – things that need to be completed daily
• Weekly Tasks – things that need to be completed weekly
• Monthly Tasks – things that need to be completed monthly like:
  • Zone cleaning
• Annual Tasks – things that need to be completed annually
  • Special holiday plans
  • Special events
  • Garden tasks
• Miscellaneous
  • Emergency info
  • Storage Master List
  • Plans for home/garden
  • Things to buy

This may seem like a lot to do but just focus on one area at a time.

Daily Tasks:

Our first card is our Morning Routine… it may seem like a lot but we’ve been doing this for so long that most of it is automatic.

When you first set up your routines you start with one or two things… usually the highest priority tasks and when you have them going well you can add something more. Having a list helps keep you on track.

Next we have our quick pickup tasks that we do after breakfast… this may not be part of your routine if you go to work or school but for us we divide and conquer.

Next we had our school routine which looks a little different right now but this is always something I can go back to if things get a little crazy.

I also have the therapy routine that we used for Shyanne when she was smaller.

If it’s not a school day then we just skip over that card and move to the next.

I’m constantly trying to declutter so I added a reminder to set up a decluttering station and then a ‘hot spot fire drill‘ for after school while someone is fixing lunch.

After lunch we have a quick clean up and then back to school work… you’ll notice a card about the bathroom. We usually set the bathroom rug out to air on the back porch but people are always forgetting it so we have a reminder to bring it in.

After school the kids have snacks and some free time. I try to use the time while the little one is napping to declutter or tackle ‘zone cleaning’ tasks before starting dinner.

After dinner we have another quick tidy before bed. Once we are finished we play games or watch a movie together.

These are the basic outline for my weekly tasks and my ‘rules’ to help me stay accountable.

Here are the fronts of the weekly cards…

The fronts just have a basic run down of our day with more details on the back.

And the backs… you can see the sticky notes when I have something important to add to my day…

The backs have a quick reminder of what needs to be completed. I can refer to other sections for more information if I need it.

Let me know in the comments if you’d like more details about these cards.

Our zone cleaning tasks are divided up by days 1-31 and by even/odd numbered months.

I had the cards color coded at one point too. The 31st usually has something that doesn’t need to be completed monthly.

Then we have our monthly tasks… these are divided by tabs for each month and have various task cards behind them.

I have a card for monthly holidays/special events and on the back it has reminders for upcoming events that we need to be thinking about.

I also have a card for my garden tasks:

Click HERE to see our Garden Progress on YOUTUBE!

I also have some A-Z tabs which we plan to use for our friends and family members. We can write their birthdays and anniversaries down as well as any important information about them that we’d like to have on hand like things they like, hobbies, or even allergies.

Next is a section for Holidays… I haven’t added much to this yet but I thought it would be useful to have for ideas that we wanted to try or to note down traditions that we have so we can use the notes to help us prepare for them.

Ex: We usually celebrate St. Nicholas Day and we need gold covered coins for that so we can jot it down to help remember to get them ahead of time. We also have folders in our party planner with detailed information for different holidays.

We are adding the Biblical Feasts to these as well and updating notes as we go.

In addition to these we have some cards for other special events that we host at times… these notes really help to pull things together quickly.

I have a notecard for other information like ‘storage’… there is a small notebook somewhere that goes with that card. I use it to note down where I have stored various items so we can find them easily.

As you can see, nothing fancy. I scribbled down things with intentions of going back and making them neater. Maybe that will happen this year and maybe it won’t but the framework for our routines is there and we can build on it for the future.

I suggest using a ‘rough draft‘ like ours to begin with until you see what works for you and what doesn’t. It is very disheartening to put a lot of time and effort into making something look pretty only to learn that it doesn’t work for you.

I really need to find a better container for our system so I can keep it in the kitchen where we can access it more easily. The baby loves to dump this out and it gets frustrating to sort it all out again so we put it where she couldn’t reach it which means it was more ‘out sight, out of mind’.

The kids fell out of routines while I was away and it’s been a challenge to get them back on track but this will help because they can use this system without constant reminders from me.

I’ve started reading ‘Habits of the Household’ and maybe that will give me a little more insight on things we can change to help make our lives a little less hectic as well.

Don’t be afraid to change something if it isn’t working for you… there is not any ‘one-size-fits-all’ routine that will work for everyone 100% of the time. Routines only work when you make them a habit as well… if you put in the work now I know you’ll reap the rewards in just a short amount of time.

God Bless!