5 habits to do every day

Here are 5 habits I do every day that make my day better. There are days when I wake up feeling overwhelmed. When I feel tired and behind before my feet even hit the floor. When I just want to roll over and go back to sleep because my to-do list is too long and the night was too short!

Some days, some months, and some years, life is just very exhausting and stretching. Sometimes, you just wish you could find a way to run away to a very quiet, CLEAN place where you don’t have to worry about cleaning.

If you’re in a season of life where you are feeling overwhelmed or if you would just love to find a way to have a little more order and structure in your life, I encourage you to develop the habit of doing these 5 things every single day. Commit to trying these 5 things for the next 4 weeks and see what a difference this can make each day.

#1 Wake up before your kids and get YOU ready for the day:

Some days this is a hard one and I don’t always stick to it. I homeschool my kids so we don’t get up as early as most and there are days where we have a PJ day and stay more relaxed and some days I don’t get my shower in until 2:00. BUT when I stick to this rule I feel SO much better throughout the day. I like to get up at least 30 mins earlier than my kids and make sure I am all put together for the day (quick shower, hair, makeup, cute clothes) When you put a little effort into how you dress, it can impact your entire day. When I have my hair done, makeup on and something cute on it makes me feel so much better all day knowing I had time to “get ready”.

#2 Make your Bed:

Before you leave the house in the morning (or better yet, before you leave the bedroom), make your bed. If you’re in a rush, pull the comforter up to the pillows, and smooth it out to create the semblance of a made bed. This simple act creates a sense of order in your bedroom and sets your day off on a productive note that’s likely to carry through. Teach your kids to make their own beds as well. It makes the bedrooms more put together even if there is a little mess here and there.

#3 Do a load of Laundry from start to finish:

This is a NEVER ending chore. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just snap our fingers and all the Laundry would be done for us?!? I wish I could have a laundry fairy in my house!

Washing clothes on a regular schedule keeps the dirty pile from becoming overwhelming (not to mention, ensures that no one runs out of clean underpants). Those with big families prefer doing it every morning, but if you live alone, doing laundry a couple of predetermined days a week should suffice. Doing this will cut back on the long days of playing catch up on Laundry. It makes life so much easier!

#4 Keep your Kitchen clean:

When my kitchen is clean, it feels like my whole house is pretty much clean. When my kitchen is messy, the rest of my house can be clean, but it will feel like the whole thing is a wreck.

Maybe I’m the only person who is this way, but I can’t encourage you enough to develop a system for keeping your kitchen clean. What works for us is to make sure the kitchen is completely clean twice a day. At night before bed and in the morning after breakfast.

I HATE, HATE dirty dishes in the sink. Get the dishwasher emptied and ready to go for the day. Doing this in the morning lays the groundwork for an easy dinner cleanup at night and keeps dishes from stacking up in the sink throughout the day.

At night and in the morning I will wipe down/clean up anything that needs to be cleaned. Throughout the day, as we use plates/cups, we rinse and stick them in the dishwasher. Each night we run the dishwasher and each morning we unload it.  If you have granite counter tops CLICK HERE for my FAVORITE homemade cleaner to make your counters shine!

#5 Never leave a room empty handed:

First and foremost is keeping the clutter under control.  Piles of stuff scattered here, there and everywhere can be suffocating and chaotic.  If you don’t have time to de-clutter your home all at once, start with the areas that guests congregate first.  Remember the golden rule: if you don’t love it or use it, get rid of it!

I’ve gotten into the habit of always taking a look around before leaving a space in anticipation of putting it away in the space that I’m going.  Is there a toy that needs to be returned to a bedroom, a cup to the kitchen?  If you happen to be going there, take it with you.  It saves time in the long run because you aren’t leaving it all to clean up at one time. You’re on top of it.

BONUS: Take 15 mins and do something for YOU

Whatever it is, take time to refuel and refresh yourself so that your tank is not depleted.:)

The last time you visited someone else’s home did you spend the entire time thinking about their dust bunnies?  Nope, chances are you didn’t and neither are the guests in your home.   So cut yourself some slack for goodness sake.

Above all, remember it’s all about keeping it simple and not sweating the small stuff.

Here is a link to my FREE weekly cleaning schedule that has helped me out a TON as well CLICK HERE