Schedules are a must!

For me, organization is key. Plain & simple. If I don't have a list with me while I'm shopping you might as well forget it because it overwhelms me then I become irritated & frazzled. Plus, I end up making a 2nd trip because I forgot about 1/2 of what I should have gotten in the first place. My husband thinks I over do it on the list making but you know what...it keeps this family going. 

One area I have always struggled with has been cleaning our house. I would find an excuse every week: I worked full time, having a newborn is exhausting, I didn't feel like I should do it all, we had too many plans for the week, etc, etc, etc. Once I went part-time things got better but I never felt like I found a groove for cleaning. Let's be honest, it isn't a fun task but it has to be done. Now that I am working even less than before & have a set schedule, life seems much less chaotic. Sure, our house is spewed with toys throughout the day but the overall cleanliness is at an all time high. I credit my cleaning schedule to it. I have found that doing a little bit every day is easiest for me. Regardless if I'm working or not, the household chores don't get out of hand. I have 4 schedules (monthly, daily, & 2 weekly for each of my work schedules since it rotates).

Monthly

Basement

Baseboards

Ceiling fans

Windows

Weekly

Monday: Sweep, Laundry 

Tuesday: Toy room

Wednesday: Sweep, Laundry

Thursday: Bathrooms

Friday: Bedrooms

Saturday: Dust, Doors, Sweep

Sunday: Refrigerator, Pantry, Wash sheets

Daily

Dishes

Clear clutter off counter tops

Put toys away

 1 load of laundry

Gaiser Goals

2016 is a very exciting year for our family. Not because of anything specific but because we choose for it to be. It's time to become better planners & make more lasting memories for our kids. I believe by writing down our goals for the year it holds us accountable & drives us to obtain them. Below are our family's goals for the year:

• Plan 3 camping trips (with our new camper) including 1 trip to a new destination.
• Put more money into our emergency savings. (Who doesn't want to do this, right??)
• Eliminate as much debt as possible.(I'm excited to report that as of yesterday we've knocked out $3,300 worth of debt in 13 days!)
• Attend church more often. (I promised myself last year that I would start going to church more often & I did. Now I want to up it even more.)
• Strive to become a better meal planner.
• Sign the kids up for more extra curricular activities.
• Stick to our monthly budget more consistently.
• Learn the ins & outs of canning since we're planting our 1st garden. (I see a lot of quality time with my mother-in-law in my future.)
• Modify our chicken coop, extend the run, & add to our flock.
• Start saving for our Disney 2017 trip.
• Plan a mini vacation for Brian & I to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.
• Build a fire pit & picnic area to enjoy the beautiful weather with our family & friends.
• Upstairs bathroom renovation.
• Turn our storage area in the basement into my canning & food storage room. (I'm stoked about this one!!)

We have set some pretty exciting goals for ourselves this year. I can't wait to start crossing these off of the list & will update on them as the year goes on. What do you have planned for 2016?