Simple, Purposeful Living With Routines (Part 4)

Hasn’t this series been fun? I sure think so!

I’ve loved sitting down with you each week diving into these topics on how we can live simply on purpose! If you know me, you know I love a good schedule. And routines just fit so nicely with them. So I’m SUPER pumped about talking about how we live simple on purpose with routines.

I was the BabyWise mom. The one who did the whole sleep training thing. I’m not a crazy person about schedules. I don’t lose it if we’re off our schedule and I’m definitely going to let my kids have fun and every once in a while we’ll kick the bed time to the curb. But man oh man, do routines help my family run well.

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I’m all about being efficient. Like I refuse to make unnecessary trips from the car to the house. So I’ll totally carry a thousand grocery bags on my arms until they almost break just to save me a trip. If I have to go upstairs, I’ll do the same. Carry ALL the things so I don’t make several trips. And emptying the dishwasher? I’m for sure putting away the dishes in the most effective, efficient way.

Now before you think I’m crazy, or maybe you’re thinking “this girl just read my mail,” I don’t care about schedules and routines just to care about them. I feel so passionately about making routines for my family so we can really enjoy everyone, so life doesn’t pass us by full of chaos, but even the routines in our family have purpose.

Know these are just a few things that have worked for us. You’ll need to find routines that work for you and your family. Our routines might be strange for you, or maybe it’s something you haven’t thought about. Either way, find what works for you!

Quiet time and Bedtime

I was a first grade teacher for seven years. I learned first hand what happens to children when they don’t get adequate sleep. Sleep is really important in our family. Every night my kids get around 12 hours of sleep. We have a regular bedtime and they always wake up at around the same time every morning. There are so many studies that show the importance of sleep, especially in regards to behavior and hyperactivity. So this is a must for us!

Every day we also have quiet time. What started as nap time when they were little has evolved into quiet time over the years. Micah still naps most days, but my older two play in their rooms. Everyday from 1-3pm they can count on quiet time (and I can too!). Of course things come up and sometimes if it’s a special day or we’re out doing a special thing, we skip quiet time. But most everyday, you can count on quiet time happening at our house. I don’t care what they do during quiet time. They can read or play in their rooms or write, but it just has to be quiet. We do quiet time everyday because Micah still needs to nap, but also my older two need time to decompress and rest. I want rest and sabbath to be apart of the culture of our home. The more and more I learn about the heart of the Father, the more I’m finding He calls us to stop doing and just to be with Him. Quiet time is our break from the day.

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A Clean Kitchen and Coffee

Every single night before I go to bed I clean my kitchen. My toilets can have rings around them, I can have laundry coming out of my ears, but my kitchen HAS to be clean. I make sure the dishwasher is emptied and there are no dishes in the sink, the counters are all disinfected and wiped down, and everything is clean for the next day. I’m sure this is true for you too, but I feel like the kitchen is the dump all place in our house. When my oldest is home from school all of his school papers and flyers end up on our kitchen island. There are always cheese its left over from Micah’s therapy that day and Selah most certainly has left a Shopkin or two on the dining room table. This isn’t to even mention all the toys strewed across the living room rug. So before everyone heads upstairs, they help me pick up downstairs and put things back in their place. Everything doesn’t feel so chaotic if my kitchen and living room are clean. Starting and ending the day with a clean kitchen just does something to my heart.

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This also might seem strange, but I have a crush on my programmable coffee maker. I’m not kidding you, it helps me get out of bed when my alarm clock goes off knowing that when I come downstairs my coffee is already made. So after I clean my kitchen every night, I make and then program my coffee. And it is glorious. It’s like giving myself a present every morning. Am I weird or am I weird? Can’t help it. And no thank you for your fancy coffee makers, I like my Mr. Coffee one just fine.

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Walking downstairs, starting my day, every single morning with a clean kitchen, clean downstairs, and coffee waiting for me to pour makes me feel like Wonder Woman every morning. Unstoppable.

Coffee and Jesus

Speaking of mornings. I start every day the same.

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I know myself, I know my kids, and I also know our crazy schedules in this season. If I don’t get time with Jesus first thing in the morning before they are all awake, it’s not happening. And it’s the most important thing for me to make happen. Not just so I can check it off, but because there is ACTUAL treasure He has waiting for me in those moments with Him. So often we wonder why we don’t know Him like someone else does, well maybe it’s because we haven’t put the time in with Him like they have. My relationship with Abba has been cultivated over the years. Every morning I sit with Him. I read His Word. (If you don’t know where to start, start in the Gospels and just read them over and over and over. It will change your life.) I listen to what He says, and I write what He says down. Sometimes all I do is just be with Him. I turn on music and think about Him for a straight hour or so. We can’t listen to Him if we don’t know His voice. And we can’t know His voice if we haven’t spend time with Him. It’s not something that happens overnight. No relationship is. It has to be cultivated. And that’s what I do with Him in the mornings. The best thing is that I don’t stop talking to Him or thinking about Him then, we continue our conversation all day. I’m constantly communing with Him. Asking Him things, listening to what’s He saying throughout the day. But I learn to hear Him, we have our dates in the mornings.

I’m sure we have other routines, rhythms in our family that keep us moving. But these are the ones that are most important to us. I’d love to know the routines you have for your family and if you have rings around your toilets too. Just kidding.

I really hope you’ve enjoyed this series, friend! I think living simply with purpose is something we all want to do. And I think we can when we set our minds to it! I’d love for you to hop over to my friends’ blogs and see the routines they’ve made for their family.

You can check out Amber’s blog here.

Lindsay, over at The White Buffalo Styling Co, here.

And sweet Eileen, at Eileen and Co, here.