Establishing Routines and a Space to Live for the New Year

If your Holidays were anything like mine, you have just started to see the fog part and routines and normal life get rolling again.  My mom and stepdad just left on Wednesday morning and all day I found myself during Reagan’s naps either asleep or wishing I was.  I thought to myself, “oh, this is my new normal until baby #2 is 18, boo”.  But luckily, I woke up Thursday refreshed and able to tackle more of my list than Wednesday would allow.

As I get back into my routine of normal life (post-holidays), I’ve been working to get rid of the clutter in my life. I started by getting my living room organized and decorated so that we have a haven to retreat to and I’ve established an evening routine to help me get ready for the day.  These two small changes, have made a WORLD of difference in our home.

Living Room Upgrade:

I couldn’t have MADE curtains, upulstered our coffee table (pictured) AND hung pictures without the necessary help of my mom and stepdad (and hubby for his mad staplegun skills).  But, these little touches have created a room that we LOVE being in and that allows us to have more quality time as a family and helps us to unwind. 

If you don’t have a place to relax with your family because of clutter or you just haven’t gotten around to it, I’m here to say that it really does make a big difference to have a room that is set up as a haven. 

A great place for ideas, is the blog Young House Love.  I used THIS tutorial for adding a cushy top to our dangerous coffee table.

Establishing a Routine:

I do so much better when I have a routine… but I feel restricted and claustrophobicwith a rigid schedule.  So, I’m making small strides to have a morning and evening routine that will help get me ready for the day.  Right now, I’m focusing on the evening… because that’s when Reagan isn’t distracting me with her cuteness. 😉

I’ve been reading through SimpleMom’s book Organized Simplicity and it has some wonderful little gems for my little minimalist self.  Sigh, it’s been awesome to implement some of her genius into my day.

So, what do I do?  Well most likely what my Type A friends do at night:

1. Make my list for what I’d like to do the next day – I include “What’s for Dinner” and any appointments I have.  I also include any friends that I want to connect with.  My list is never more than 10 items and I always have a Top 3 that must get done.  Some days I can get everything done and some days, I’m lucky to knock out the Top 3. (It’s not making the list, so much as giving myself a deadline for when the list for the next day needs to be completed – because this scatter-brained-girl can forget to even do that!)

2. Declutter – My goal each day (and it doesn’t ALWAYS happen), is to have a home that is picked up completely.  This includes the kitchen is in order and all the little piles of paper or books etc are put where they belong.  This depends on my energy level, but it always feels awesome when I make it happen

What have you done to get your New Year started right?  Find any great online resources that have helped you CHANGE something in your life?  Spill it!

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Joy is the Co-founder of Scottsdale Moms Blog and absolutely loves living in Scottsdale with her hubby Kevin and their daughter Reagan (born August 2009) and Baby Boy (coming May 2011).  She is a lover of nature, a research analyst on all things related to life, a home manager, a crafty art-eest, Chief Marketing Officer for Cactus CrossFit, mommy, daughter and friend.  You are always welcome to e-mail Joy at [email protected].