How I Get Organized for the Week

In a word: Sundays. That’s how I get organized for the week.

I rely on Sundays to get prepared for the week ahead. If we have a jam-packed Sunday and I skip these steps, we’re all feeling it by Tuesday.

Update My Planner

On Sunday mornings, my husband takes the kids to play in the basement while I hang out in my office. I get out my planner and our family calendar, and open my Outlook calendar for work. I get everything synced so that no matter where I look, I know what’s coming up for the week.

Many people have switched to doing this digitally, but the paper calendar seems to work better for us. It’s also helpful for my mother-in-law who watches our kids a few days each week. She check our family calendar to know what’s going on with us on any given day.

Meal Plan for the Fam

I also spend some time figuring out what we’ll have for dinner each night of the upcoming week. Breakfasts and lunches can be decided in the moment, but I like us to sit down for a planned dinner. (Because the kids are still so young, it’s not too difficult yet!) I check in with my husband and daughter to see if they have any requests, assess what we already have in the freezer and pantry, and go from there.

While on maternity leave last year, I created some weekly meal plans that I rely on in a pinch. These are usually themed (Italian, Mexican, super clean eats) and use many of the same ingredients between recipes to cut down on waste.

Clean the Kitchen and Family Room

They say that physical clutter can clutter the mind, and for me at least, it’s definitely true. I have trouble focusing on anything when my kitchen counters have papers all over them and the family room floor is littered with Cheerio crumbs. On Sunday, I make an effort to give everything a good cleaning. I wipe down counters, scrub the sink, run the Roomba and dust. Inevitably we’ll junk up these rooms as the week goes on, but starting Mondays with a clean space helps me to focus on other things, like getting us out the door for school and work on time.

Prepare for Monday on Sunday

You’ve heard it before, but laying out clothes for Monday the night before is so helpful. For some reason, I’m extra wishy-washy in the mornings. I can easily stand in my cIoset for 10 minutes debating one shirt vs. another. At night when I’m ready to just get into bed, I’m much more decisive. I lay everything out before getting in bed, and it’s one less decision I have to make in the morning.

We do the same thing for our daughter who is now in pre-K. Before she goes to bed at night, we gather everything she has to wear the next day, including her unders and socks. We fold them up and leave them on the shelf in her closet so she can get herself mostly ready in the morning. This also cuts down on a.m. arguments. We help her make good choices the night before and then we don’t have to debate whether or not a Rapunzel ballgown is appropriate for the playground the next day!

I also prepare food for the next day. I make my lunch and fridge it, and I pour cups of milk for the kids to have with their breakfasts. If there’s anything that can be done for dinner, I knock that out too.

We make sure the dishes are done and put away, bags are packed for work and school, and that shoes are waiting near the door.

Sunday Night Finance Committee

This is a recent addition to our schedule, but I think my husband would agree with me that it’s beneficial. On Sunday nights, after the kids are in bed, we sit down with our laptops, bills, calendars, etc. We review our budget and bank accounts together, look at what bills need to be paid and move money into savings accounts if possible. That’s how we ended up naming this the Sunday Night Finance Committee meeting.

However, we cover other stuff too. We talk about our schedules for the week: any late days in the office, who’s managing pre-K drop-offs, and when we’re fitting in gym time and family time. I think of it as an operations meeting for our family. It rarely takes more than 20 minutes and it leaves us in a great place for the week. We’re no longer texting each other at work trying to figure out who’s going to check that bill A was paid or what the balance is on bill B.

What do you do to get your family in a good place for Monday morning?