If you’re anything like me, no matter how hard you try, you cannot keep consistent with a routine. You get grand plans to start a morning/ evening routine, or a workout routine, or a cleaning routine, or whatever; and you’re really consistent and feeling good about the whole routine thing, until life happens. You end up falling off your routine and it feels impossible to get back on top of it, usually resulting in giving up entirely. Yeah, like I said, me too.
It was when I was pregnant with my first baby, suffering from severe morning sickness, and generally just struggling to find energy (especially towards the end), that I really realized the rigidity that, I perceived, came with “routines” was not working for me. However, I still had meals to cook, a house to clean, and even hobbies I wanted to work on. Getting “into a routine” was just not an option anymore, I needed a way to get things done but also be gentler with myself, and this is where I came up with my concept of rhythms in homemaking.
My Favourite Rhythms in Homemaking
Rhythms are essentially routines, but the change in the wording allows for a little more flexibility. A rhythm should be something you do regularly without really thinking about it, and that can be adjusted to your energy or ability level. Here are some of my favourite rhythms that help me get things done without getting burnt out.
- Baskets
Baskets were the first rhythm I started. (Disclaimer* I am not saying I originated this idea as there are many other people who have talked about using baskets, especially for someone with ADHD.) I had/ have a bad habit of leaving things that needed to go upstairs on the stairs of my house, which usually ended up tripping me or my husband. In order to avoid tripping us, I just put a small basket in an out-of-the-way place on the stairs where I put everything that needs to go upstairs. That way it’s easy to grab when I am already on my way upstairs. It’s as easy as that. And that also leads into my next point.
- Tidying as you go
Something that helps me to maintain a clean house is to tidy as I go. If I see something that needs to go upstairs I will put it in my stair basket and carry on. That way I don’t have to stop everything and go all the way upstairs to put the item away. This helps me keep a flow or a rhythm of tidying.
Another way that I tidy as I go is cooking. This is something I learned from my dad who was a professional cook for about twenty years. As you cook there are often brief moments where you have downtime, while you’re browning meat or boiling water or baking something. During that downtime I try to wipe down the counters or wash a few dishes. This helps to keep my space clear and also safe and it helps me not have a mountain of dishes to do after finishing the delicious meal I just made.
- Half-a**ing it
If you are someone who struggles with procrastinating, ADHD paralysis, or maybe even just exhaustion/low energy, this is your permission to half-a** it. Again, when I was pregnant with my first baby and sick with morning sickness, I struggled to do anything because I felt like if I took the laundry upstairs I would have to fold it and put it away all at the same time. Because of this I ended up just not moving the laundry at all, or I would force myself to move, fold, and put away the laundry, which overtime would burn me out. When I was heavily pregnant and exhausted I started to give myself more permission to half-a** things, and I actually ended up getting more done this way because the weight of all my tasks was reduced to just doing the first part of a task. This meant I was more likely to at least start the task and more easily finish the task later.
How to Start your own Rhythms
These are all examples of rhythms that work for me and my family. If these don’t work for you that’s totally ok! My hope is to inspire you to try new or different methods of keeping your space clean and calm. If you want to start using these rhythms, but my suggestions don’t work for you, I would said just look around at your typical tasks and responsibilities and find what is and is not working for you. If something is working for you, try to apply those concepts to other things that you are finding difficult. This is very much a trial and error process that I myself am also still figuring out.
If you have any questions about the rhythms I talked about or other ways I use my rhythms let me know down in the comments, or let me know the ways you are using rhythms in your home!