A day in the life: Monday

Today is Monday, so that's a great place for me to start.

First I should say that, though I live by schedules, I and my life are very flexible -- we make detours, go with the flow, and we do what comes up. So this post should actually be titled, "An ideal day in the life:  Monday."

We begin each week with chore day. I never liked having to spend my weekends cleaning when I was a kid (and I still don't want to do that), so I don't expect my family to do that either. The plan is to spend Saturday making a mess with family, friends and pets; relaxing, reading, and going to church on Sunday; and then we regroup and clean up on Monday.

The house -- and my life, basically -- is divided into six zones. We (OK, mostly I do) tackle a different zone each week in addition to our regular Monday chores (laundry, vacuum, and cleaning up the bathrooms). For each zone, I have a list with each chore that needs to be completed -- floor to ceiling (fan blades and light globes included), and wall to wall. Sounds crazy? Just wait...you'll begin to see the beauty.

I love schedules -- they can intimidate, for sure, but they don't intimidate me. I actually feel better having things plotted and planned. The key to staying sane, though, is that you find your happy place in having a schedule. The simple beauty is that once something is on your schedule and you know that everything has a place, and a time to be cleaned and put back in that place, then you can relax. You don't have to worry. It all will get done. Eventually.

The beauty of rotating in zones is that, if you miss something in a particular zone (or a zone altogether) one week, you don't have to worry -- you can be certain that it will remain undone and waiting for you until the next time that zone's week comes around. It really takes the pressure off.

We have a pretty small home, so I insist that the living and dining rooms, kitchen, and hall bathroom stay picked up so that we (again, mostly I) don't freak out when someone comes to the door.

Zones work for me; life is good.

We homeschool as well -- this year will be 3rd and 10th grades; enrichment classes with homeschool friends; some dual-enrollment at the local college; and regular life and remedial work with our oldest child, who is an adult with developmental disabilities and medical issues -- so after chores and lunch, when it's a school week, we make time to get some school work and reading done.

And, yes, our school schedules are also on a zone rotation, but that's another post. Basically, we school year-round because we take plenty of time off for field trips, swimming, fun, etc. So we have five weeks "on" and the sixth week "off" -- that last week is primarily for my mental health; that's when I get to the stuff I want to do, not necessarily the stuff I need to do.

Dad just phoned. We're starting a business -- he has invented several things in his lifetime, but this latest one he wants to develop and market. Looks promising. So, in our spare time, we've been learning all there is to in that vein and we meet each Monday afternoon to touch base and brainstorm. I'll keep you posted.

Also, I've just recently added "columnist" to my freelance work that I'm doing. You can follow me there.

That's clearly enough for one day. Take care.