Habits whether they are good or bad change our lives. One area I was lacking is having a system in place that made taking care of my home easier. I tried various systems available only to have them be ‘All Too Much’.

I then got the idea that I needed 3 parts to my day. (I took my advice from working in the corporate world of sales in communications.) The following are the 3 parts of my day for home keeping with a set of 3 habits for each.

Part 1 – Get Your Day Started

Our homes didn’t get into the state they are in overnight. It is a compilation of bad habits like not putting things away after done with them and many times the reason we have trouble is due to an overstuffed drawer or cabinet.

That’s where you start. You start by establishing the following 9 Daily Habits geared to have your days run smoothly so when the unexpected comes you will be ready.

This is where I failed miserably. I had an overstuffed closet of clothes from another life of various sizes and styles many outdated. It was a CHORE to look for something to wear that actually felt good. (I live with fibromyalgia and I need soft light clothes on my sensitive skin)

If you don’t get dressed, there is no urgency to do something else. You can ‘TRY’ to justify you can get your home in order even if you have not changed out of your pajamas. This is a ‘BIG FAT LIE’! How do I know? I tried for over 5 years living in my pajamas. In the end I was no further ahead than when I started.

I was convinced I could get my home in order in my pajamas, I mean why dirty any more clothes. I had an overstuffed laundry basket full of dirty clothes mainly pajamas. I washed when I ran out of them or if they were all dirty, when I did go to town to get groceries, I would buy more pajamas. (Write a post about it and then can put the link in it.) I will write a post about it in the future of how I was trying to do all of this in my pajamas.

Habit 1 – Get Dressed

I cannot stress this enough if you are like I was, an over 5 year pajama junkie trying to get my home in order. If you notice, I tried for over 5 years! I figured once I got everything in order I would start getting dressed and everything will have worked out.

It Didn’t Happen! What Did I Do Instead?

I got bold. In March of 2011 I made a decision to take a public personal challenge of ‘Getting Dressed’ and posting a selfie on Facebook talking home keeping. I did this for 436 consecutive days and continue today. For it was this habit that changed my life in more ways than one. Go through your clothes and gather 3 tops and 3 bottoms. Rotate them. This is where you start.  Now I had days where all I did was get dressed and eat a meal. The thing was, I was alright with it because I did get dressed. In time I looked for daily habits that would help my day and this is how the 9 Daily Habits were born (link)

One of the greatest tips I learned was to get dressed in my bathroom. I wasn’t sure if I could do it as I have a very tiny bathroom. I made adjustments and by golly it works!

Habit 2 – Swish & Swipe

When I created the 9 Daily Habits I worked in the association memory technique. You see I am also ADHD making this home keeping gig even more of a challenge for me.

Habit 3 – What’s For Dinner?

Now that you are dressed and the bathroom is done, it is time to ask the daily question, ‘What’s For Dinner?’ Yes! This will prompt you to take out the ingredients you need to make dinner early.

Part 2 – Get Things Done

Now that you are dressed, the bathroom has been swished and swiped and you know what’s for dinner, it is time to get things done.

Habit 4 – Load of Laundry

This is another daily habit that has changed my life for the better. No matter the size of the load, I always do one each day. Gone are the days where I let my laundry pile up to the point it was a 2 day event and it is just me. So much of this is how you look at it. Doing it that way didn’t solve anything. Instead of having a pile of dirty clothes, I had a pile of clean that would take forever to fold and put away because of all my overstuffed drawers and closet. I continued to look for solutions. Decluttering is important. The thing is if you don’t have a system in place you will never see progress.

Habit 5 – Tidy 15 Minutes

During the time I was trying to do all of this in my pajamas getting no where fast is I had never set up a time to just tidy up all the things that didn’t get put back and to make this time to reset my home and myself. This is an important habit for it is because not doing it is how the clutter builds up. We have to take the time to take inventory of what we have keeping the things that work and letting go of things that don’t.

Habit 6 – Make Dinner Early

Having ‘3 Go To Meals’ with ingredients on hand makes this habit work. There are various ways to cook and if you are a family crockpots work great. I still struggle with this habit because I base it on my feeling of hunger. I do well with this habit for quite awhile and then something happens. The thing is it is easy to give it a try again tomorrow.

Before you even begin to cook, the best tip I learned was filling my sink with ‘Hot Soapy Water’ so I can clean as I cook. You would be surprised at some of the wait time you have as you prepare. Get all the dishes done that you used in preparing. The only dishes you will have left to do are the ones you eat and drink with.

Habit 7 – Shine Sink

If you can get into the habit of making dinner early, chances are you will get your sink shined to wake up to its sparkles in the morning. Place a plant or something of your favorites like a candle as you are doing this. Invest in some stainless steel cleaner for you sink. It will make you smile!

Part 3 – End Your Day Plan For Tomorrow

We have to have a beginning, middle and end to our days if we want to stay focused and make home keeping easier.

Habit 7 – Shine Sink

Nothing says it more when the kitchen has been cleaned up after dinner. It is a signal that your day is almost done. If you can get into the habit of making dinner early, chances are you will get your sink shined to wake up to its sparkles in the morning. Place a plant or something of your favorites like a candle as you are doing this. Invest in some stainless steel cleaner for you sink. It will make you smile!

Habit 8 – Lay Out Clothes

This is the time to check the weather and if you will be going out for errands and such. Choose the clothes you will be wearing and hang them up in your bathroom. That’s right. Place them in  your bathroom. If you struggle to get dressed each day, this one tip will change things for you. Many times it is easy to choose since you did a load of laundry and some of the choices may just be there making it easy to pick. If you want to make it easier, have ‘3 Go To Outfits’ cued up in your closet.

 Habit 9 – Launch Pad Ready

What are your plans for tomorrow? Do you have everything you need in order to get them done? Write it down. Where are your keys? This is probably one of the number one reasons most are late to work or an event. They can’t find their keys. Designate a place for it. While you are at it, find a home for your purse where you can easily gather things for the coming day making your morning go smoother