Are you ready for Monday?

When I first became a homemaker, one of the greatest nuggets of wisdom I received was to be prepared for Mondays.

Mondays.


You know, the day when you hit the ground running (or wobbling) as soon as your feet hit the floor? Reaching for that first cup of glorious coffee, you look around your house through half-shut eyes wondering where to begin your day.

I resolved to be as prepared for Mondays as I could. And it's helped make the rest of the week go smoothly. In homemaking (and life), one small thing often affects the next, good or bad.

My routine for preparing often begins a couple hours before bed on Sunday night. It will take a good 30-45 minutes, so make sure you leave yourself enough uninterrupted time to get everything done. (If your free time happens to be in the mornings, then by all means, do it then. Do what works for your family!)

There are several things I need to accomplish during this preparation. I like having all the tools at hand so I don't have to get up every ten minutes to get something I forgot. For my purposes, I gather my:

• agenda/schedule 
• homemaking binder 
• recipes 
• notebook 
• and a pen 

Light a nice smelling candle and pour yourself some water or cup of hot tea. It makes the experience that much more pleasurable and adds a bit of calm to the routine. :)

 Go down the list of the things you need to accomplish this week and divide them up. For my household, I follow this plan:

1. Ask God to bless your week and watch over your family. Reflect on the things you want to accomplish this week. Ask him to help you plan your week so that it is all for His good and glory.

2.Weekly Menu Plan: Plan your menu for the week. Then make a grocery list of all the things you will be needing, making sure to check your pantry so that you don't buy something you don't need.

3. Agenda check: Use this time to take a quick glance at what your upcoming week holds. Are there any doctor appointments, dance classes, or soccer games you forgot about? Make sure your dinner plans revolve around these activities so you are prepared. Not planning is a sure fire way to make sure you unnecessarily spend money on eating out. 

4. Home cleaning/organization plan: Plan the things around the house that need to get done this week. It is always a good idea to have one big task each week. For example, does your fridge need cleaning out? Do the holiday decorations need to be put up? Doing one big thing per week allows you enough time to get it done without having to be a harried mess.

5. Weekly Bible study plan: What things do you want to learn and read about this week? Make a plan for it each day so that you actually do it. You have a better chance of getting it done if you write it down.

Finally, it is so important to actually get to bed on time. It is a bad habit of ours to stay up late on Sunday nights. We don't want the weekend to end. Let me tell you from experience, staying up late makes your Monday mornings that much worse!

Of course, this only works for our family. Your list will look different, especially if you have children. Use this as a starting point and tweak it to work for you and your needs. Once you get into the groove of things, I promise it won't be a chore. I love this little time away to prep for my week. It gives me a sense of calm and order and prepares me for the lovely days ahead. :)