Oh boy, have I got a treat for you! (Spoiler alert!… Mom chart!) My friend Katie and cousin Erin shared with me some of their secrets for keeping organized and ahead of the game. And I get to share them with you! Keep reading to find out what they use in their organization charts for cleaning, meal planning, and more.
Now, before I launch into this further, let me say… this is NOT meant to stress you out! Give yourself some flexibility with the charts because some days you gotta just go with the flow! Use these charts as a guideline for what you COULD do. These charts are supposed to make your life easier and less stressful, not miserable.
Katie’s Cleaning Chart
My wonderful friend Katie is an on-the-ball person. She was looking for a way to keep her house cleaner all the time, so she came up with what she calls her “chore chart.” Katie organized the chores she and her husband have to do around the house by their frequency (i.e. daily, weekly, etc.). Then she designed the job rotation to only have two or three things per day and nothing on Sundays. She gave me permission to share it with you all!
I love how Katie includes smaller, daily jobs as well as big project jobs on her chart. Katie said she isn’t perfect at sticking to the schedule, but it’s a great tool for her to use to keep a clean house. If you love her cleaning chart schedule as much as I do and want to download a free version of it, click on the download button below!
Katie's Cleaning Chart ScheduleErin’s Mom Chart
My beautiful cousin-in-law Erin is genius and came up with a mommy chart. And because she said it more beautifully than I ever could, here’s her story…
Quick message for current or future stay-at-home parents: this chart changed my life.
I did the stay-at-home mom thing for the first five months of [my son’s] life. While I wouldn’t trade the time I spent with him, I found that I often battled either complete boredom or an overwhelming list of things to do. I was also unable to track progress toward an overarching goal. And on top of all that, I felt guilty for not completely loving every minute with my cute, fun baby.
For these reasons, I was worried as I approached my graduation date last December. Upon graduation, I would be home with my kids full-time as my husband went to work each day. I realized that if I was going to be home all the time, I wanted to enjoy it and do it well.
Fortunately, I remembered a system my mom had for meal planning when I was a kid. Monday was “ethnic night,” Tuesday was “pasta,” etc. I decided to adopt this system for meals and quickly realized that I could apply it to cleaning, activities, and exercise as well.
What I like about this chart is that it provides structure and organization without dictating exactly what I do every day. It creates opportunities to have fun with my kids and teach them without it feeling boring or overwhelming. It helps me to have an almost constantly clean home without thinking much of it. It has made meal planning more doable. And it reminds me to make exercise and myself a focus.
In hopes that it could help some of you, I decided to pass the idea on. If you’re interested, here is the outline I follow:
Monday: Cleaning- Laundry; bathrooms; organization | Activity- Educational (library or museum) | Dinner- Asian food | Exercise- Running
Tuesday: Cleaning- Vacuum; dust; blinds | Activity- Active (playground, bike ride, sensory play, etc.) | Dinner- Barbeque | Exercise- Biking
Wednesday: Cleaning- Laundry; doors; mop | Activity- Barnes & Noble (they have reading time at 11 here) | Dinner- A new culture | Exercise- Running
Thursday: Cleaning- Bathrooms; fridge | Activity- Active | Dinner- Mexican food | Exercise- Biking
Friday: Cleaning- Laundry; baseboards; light switches | Activity- Somewhere/something new | Dinner- Italian food | Exercise- Elliptical and yoga
Saturday: Cleaning- Vacuum; dust | Activity- [my husband] studies for the GRE and I do curriculum work | Dinner- Leftovers or [my husband] cooks | Exercise- Running
Sunday: Cleaning- None | Activity- Outdoors | Dinner- Breakfast food | Exercise- Family Walk
I switch things around when necessary and daily clean the glass, appliances, vacuum the non-carpeted floor, and then wipe down the bathrooms as needed.
Here is a picture of Erin’s stay-at-home mom chart. She uses a white board which is convenient for those who want to update/alter their schedule from time to time.
I LOVE how this chart helps Erin stay organized with different aspects of caring for her kids and family, but it also reminds her to focus on herself a little during the day.
Mom Chart: Job Chart Printable & Meal Planner Printable
If you’re wanting to start a job chart or meal plan to help you get organized at home, then here are some printables that you can download for free. Click these links if you would like to download the free blank Weekly Job Chart Printable and the Weekly Meal Planner Printable that you see pictured below.
If you want some additional ideas for what to put on your weekly meal planner, below are some ideas. The Healthy Dinner Plan Inspiration board uses alliterative words so that you can more easily remember what the inspiration is for dinner that night (e.g., Lean Meat Monday, Whole Wheat Wednesday, etc.). The second weekly meal planner is also alliterative (e.g., Slow Cooker Sunday, Mexican Monday, etc.).
If you’re curious and want to know which mom chart meal plan I use, I’ll post mine below. Some days I don’t follow it, but, if I’m ever wondering what to make for dinner, I’ll check the meal planner to get some inspiration. It has helped me stress less. And interestingly enough, it has helped us eat a wider variety of foods! I guess creativity loves constraint.
As a mom, one of the best things we can do is spend time with our husband and little ones. By having things more organized and planned ahead, like meals and cleaning, we can be more efficient with those household duties and get back to our families sooner. And usually for me the more organized I am the less stressed I am–meaning my husband and baby get a happier wife and mom.
Hopefully this gave you some ideas for coming up with your own mom chart, whether that’s a cleaning chart, meal planning chart, or full blown mom activity chart. If you have other ideas for a mom chart or just staying organized at home please share in the comments below!
