With how demanding our schedules can be, I’ve learned how important a peaceful home is for us. A peaceful home isn’t a pinterest perfect home, to me a peaceful home is a home that’s run well, like a business. It’s clean, organized and things run (usually) on a schedule and on a budget. There are routines, everyone has a role and of course, there are goals and standards that are clearly defined. As long as everyone does what they are supposed to do, things go well. I’m not saying it’s always sunshine and rainbows over here because let’s be honest, two blondes trying to run multiple businesses, stay married, have social lives and keep up with our family? That’s always a bit of an uphill battle.
The best thing I have found to keep our home life solid has been having a household manual a la the Fly Lady Cleaning Method. Now before you roll your eyes, hear me out. I am a naturally disorganized person. I like to move fast and jump from one thing to the next leaving a trail of disaster behind me. I am NOT a natural neat freak but you guys, this method is a GOD SEND. Part of the Fly Lady’s program is having a household manual. Having a binder that outlines not only cleaning schedules but the budgets and calendar and pretty much everything I need to keep my house and family in order (like the wifi password) is the best thing since Halo Top ice cream.
Should something ever happen to myself or Brian, whoever is there to pick up the pieces would literally be able to just pick up on the page where we left off and our home systems wouldn’t skip a beat. This is especially important to us as we get closer to starting a family. I know, I know, I’ve heard it a million times. Kids are crazy, they turn your life upside down. I can hear you saying “you’re so cute with your little systems and pretty home but just wait until your children come along.” I GET IT. Thanks Karen. But my reasoning is that since this isn’t a strength that I naturally come by, doesn’t it make sense to try and start as far ahead as I can? I’ve made it a priority to igraine this so deep in our day to day life that I’m hoping when the kid bomb does drop, I’ve limited the fallout as much as possible and by having put this system into place, I can rely on my little manual to help me get my head back on straight, once the shell shock wears off.
Businesses have employee handbooks for a reason. Systems and roles are in place for a reason. If you want your business to succeed, these things are a given. So in my mind, if you want your home and family life to thrive, why wouldn’t you try to operate in the same way? You can tailor your manual to fit whatever your needs are. Ours includes everything from meal planning, budgets, schedules and cleaning checklists to passwords for accounts like amazon prime and master copies of our goal cards. I created my own documents for each section and used clear page protector sleeves to store them in my binder. Each section has its own tab making things as easy as they can be to navigate. If you are interested in seeing the exact pages that I use, I will have them available to download (for free) soon! Does your family have something similar? I’m always interested to hear what others have found that works for them so feel free to share in the comments below… We all know I need all of the help that I can get.
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