Operation Organization

I've been going over in my head what it is I would share with you all in this post, because truthfully, I don't know as I'm that organized. However, you all seem to think so, so I'm here to give you a few tips & tricks that help make my life {a little} easier.

Grocery Game

To be honest, I don't really have a routine anymore. Now that I work remotely three days a week, I go whenever. However, I have shaken things up a bit on where I go and why.

Meijer: I go to Meijer when they have 10/$10--usually they have some of our favorites and staples like: lunchables, vitamin water, colored bell peppers, pretzels/chips, rice/potato sides, Annie's Mac & Cheese, etc. 

Horrocks: If i'm making something SOON, I always go to Horrocks for my produce. It's so fresh though, that if I don't use it right away, it goes bad. I also like to browse the clearance rack in the produce section and will buy fruit for smoothies and freeze it! Or if I need salsa...because their fresh salsa is life. (& also bulk spices, I know I've showed you this before in a video on Insta)

Walmart or Kroger: Pantry stock-ups or just regular trips, I actually really like Walmart or Kroger. If I need produce, I'll go to Kroger. If I don't, I'll go to Walmart--but that's really just because I don't have a Kroger in Charlotte. I've found the Good Value or whatever their brand is called to be pretty good...actually, our favorite tortilla chips are Walmart's .98 cent Chili Garlic--SO good! 

Aldi: I go here every once in awhile. I actually really like Aldi. It's just a pain in the ass between the damn quarter cart, bags, etc. 

Whole Foods: Let's be honest, only when I feel like I'm trying to be super healthy and feel like spending a lot of money.

Pantry

I've shown you all before on Insta my pantry. It's safe to say we'd survive awhile if anything should ever happen. I keep a STOCKED pantry and it is so damn satisfying for some reason. Here's how I organize:

Top shelf: Chips/Cereal boxes

Next shelf: Baking items all in pop-top (I don't know the fancy name) containers and then also all the pastas (mostly in containers)

Next: Misc. extra items like: BBQ, Ketchup, Mustard, Vinegars, Soy, Terrayaki, Pasta Sauce, Salad dressings. And then I have all the boxed/package items in rows. A row of packaged rice sides, macaroni & cheese, noodle sides, etc.

Next: CANS!!! I love me some cans. I have any kind of tomato you could ever want. But I keep them in columns. Columns for: Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes w/ green chilies, soups, beans, mexican items (like enchilada sauces), canned vegetables, canned fruits

Bottom shelf: I have all the grab n' go items here. Canisters of cheese-its, goldfish, and then two BIG buckets of all the kids stuff. One is snacks: granola bars, nutrigrain bars, raisins, and fruit snacks. The other is mostly a breakfast bucket: Oatmeal packets, poptarts, muffins, and more granola bars.

Also have bread & tortillas in the pantry, but I'm always moving that around. And I keep potatoes in the pantry just on the bottom shelf. 

Meal Time

I try to always at least have in mind what I'm making for dinner. It always depends on who we have home on that night. Is it all of us? Just the boys & I? Just D & Co and I? D, Co, myself, and Randy? Who knows...but I'm not the best at getting stuff out in the mornings, but hey, that's what the defrost is for on the microwave. 

Anyway, I usually only make ONE meal for all of us. I only make something for the kids if I KNOW they don't like what I'm making. I also will sometimes makes something extra to go with their meal if I know they won't eat enough of what we're having to be full. But other than that, the kids eat what we eat. No special treatment here :)

Schedules & Appointments

We have a command center! Calendar, clock, and a cubby system for each kid's school work. Check it out below. 

Nightly Routine

I'm a stickler for abiding by my bedtime rule with the littles. Routine typically consists of: dinner between 5:30-6:30, play for a bit, 7ish is bath time--they just started taking separate baths. 

While each kid is the tub, I get their pjs, fresh underwear AND their outfit (including shoes if I want particular ones) for the next day out and put everything in their bathroom. 

After bath, I dry their hair (in winter) and then only after that are they allowed to wind down by watching their tablets. Typically the only exception to having tablets before dinner or before bath is if I need a sanity check or have work/something important to get done.

Bedtime promptly at 8 pm. VERY rarely are their exceptions. Weekends are 9:30 at the latest unless we have plans/are traveling. 

For Kaiden, Randy runs the same tight ship for the most part. Kaiden usually does a couple chores when he gets here and then plays with the littles or the boys go outside to toss the football/practice baseball. We have dinner, then he's off to do his boy stuff for the night. Bedtime at 9:30 for him.

I also almost always shower at night so I have extra time in the mornings that I have to take kids to school (either Lansing for D & Co, or Ionia for Kaiden to get picked-up by Randy, or both on Fridays). I try to blow it dry enough so it's not too cray so I can just put a few curls in it and away I go. Also, my make-up I do daily takes less than 5 minutes and I try to have something in mind the night before for what I'm planning to wear the next day.

Morning Routine

Momma is up first! I always hit snooze a few times (at least) and I can get ready pretty damn quick. Mondays it's just the littles and I and I don't go into the office, so I basically roll out of bed and brush my teeth and throw my hair up. Wake the littles and help them get dressed. They take after their momma and aren't huge breakfast eaters, so they typically grab muffins or a poptart to take in the car. I pack their lunch (I almost always have fresh fruit cut up and with our new fridge, I have all the kids stuff in a seperate frige door. Lunches are usually a lunchable, Annies Mac & Cheese cups or leftovers along with an applesauce/yogurt/string cheese, a fruit, and an Honest juice pouch. We keep it simple around here--plus, they're still picky (well, Delaney is). 

Tuesdays I go into the office, so same routine except I actually put my face on and get dressed. I usually have the littles bring their clothes in (remember, they're already out in their bathroom from bathtime the night before) and they dress themselves as much as possible. I usually will do D's hair while I'm already in the bathroom if she decides to let me do it that day.

Wednesdays--it depends on the time of year. Now that baseball has started for Kaiden, I don't drive to Ionia anymore since he isn't with us during the week (insert sad face). But for the first half of the school year, I would take him to Ionia Wednesday mornings to meet Randy (he's just getting out of work at 7:20 a.m.) and he takes him the rest of the way to school. 

Thursdays--the littles are with Grant (Tuesday night through Thursday afternoon) so I get ready solo and head to the office, picking up the littles at 5 when I'm out.

Fridays--Again, first half of the year I would drive the littles to Lansing to school, then head to Ionia to take Kaiden to school, then back home to work the rest of the day. 

Bedtimes

Simple: 8 p.m. school nights, 9:30 weekends (littles)

Road trips/Getaways

My only advice here is SNACKS and limited beverages--haha. Otherwise, may the force be with you.

No but really, I pack lots of snacks and make sure each child has a beverage. For the littles, I keep their drinks up front to control how much they drink to try to limit potty breaks as much as possible. 

I also ALWAYS have a blanket for each kid in the car. In summer, in case they're too cold w/ the AC and in winter, because winter. 

House Cleaning

We vacuum almost daily. I mop usually once a week and I dust....not often enough. The kitchen gets cleaned daily and the counters and sink must remain empty. 

Laundry

Sundays are laundry day! I start first thing in the morning and do it ALL every.single. Sunday. It gets washed, folded and put away. Towels are also washed every week and bedding is every 1-2 weeks (for the littles) and at least once a month for the rest. 

Yard Work

I have a black thumb and just beginning to tackle ALL the flowerbeds (or weed beds now) that this house has. But as far as managing the 3 acres of grass, I mow once a week and weedwhip (or Randy does) probably once a month. That's about all we can manage at this time with this big of a yard and busy/opposite schedules. 

Anything else your curious about? Drop a comment and I'll tackle your question! But really, it's just about routine and what works for YOU. This may be the one area where having a smidge of OCD comes in handy. 

Cheers to organized chaos.