Clawing back the Routine - Part 2: Written Down Routines

We're still in a mess.  Yes, having meals planned and the food in the house has been brilliant.  We are eating better and I'm not in a daily panic about the evening meal.  I'm even having wild thoughts about a FORTNIGHTLY meal plan.  Going to the supermarket once a fortnight - do worlds like this exist?? Can it be true??

Now I did say I'd be doing all this meal planning on Saturdays - but I've changed that so I can resume going to the Hornsby Farmer's Market on Thursday and getting my hands on some high quality, cheap fruit and veg - rather than expensive supermarket crappy stuff.

So Wednesday will be meal planning day and Thursday will be shopping day.

The next step in getting this disaster zone back on track is written-down routines.

At the suggestion of Miss 5s OT Lady we have, for the last few weeks, had an evening routine that looks something like this...

The Going To Bed Routine

Each step is laminated with a velcro dot on the back, so when she's done she can pull it off and put it in the finished box.  Miss 7 has a similar one, but just words, no pictures.



The Going To Bed chart has helped massively.  Its turned a nightly one hour screamathon (that happened when hubs and I are at our most exhausted) into a workable routine (we do still have blow-ups, but they are comparatively minor).

So I am now expanding this and am making charts for the two other manic times of day...

1. Morning routine
2. After school routine

These charts will be for the whole family (and dog and chooks!)  

Step 2: The Written Down Routines

Morning Routine:

• Wake up
• Get dressed
• Feed chickens
• Breakfast
• Pack away breakfast
• Wash hands and face / brush hair
• Hat / Blazer / Bag/s
• Into Car
• School

After school routine:

• Hang up bags, hats, blazers
• Afternoon tea - chill out time
• Unpack bags
• Homework and diary on desk
• Lunchbox in kitchen
• Homework
• Pack bags for tomorrow
• Jobs/chores
• Mum getting dinner ready
• Kids doing their assigned chore
• Free time 
• Dinner
• Feed Dog
• Pick up Daddy
• Start Going to Bed routine