My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Austin, Texas. It was beautiful and refreshing. We also left the kids at home.

The reason I was able to leave the kids behind is because they have ROUTINES and a regular schedule.

Therefore, my close family members could read the 5 page printout of instructions I had prepared because the routines were easy to follow and continue.

You can incorporate routines into your schedule. When I say regularity, I do not mean rigid tight schedules.

Here is an example that may or may not work for you.

1. Go grocery shopping on the same day each week. I recommend going Tuesdays because the beginning and end of the week are usually busy.

2. Designate 2 days a week for laundry. I do not worry about the piles of laundry on any other day except Sunday and Wednesday. That way I don't stress out about it until the regularly scheduled days.

3. I like to grocery shop Tuesday morning and then come home and cook it all Tuesday afternoon. I buy loads of fresh foods and then I freeze it after my cooking fest!

You can create a time map for yourself by listing all of your responsibilities and then plugging them into hour increments. So for me, a list would include- laundry, cooking, shopping, website editing, exercise, newsletter writing, etc.

Then, I plug all of these responsibilities into some hour of my weekly schedule. I try to make that hour the same every week. It's easy to remember.

Think of what your responsibilities are-they probably do not change much from week to week- and create routines. You can even call it a "ritual" or "event". Those words are more celebratory and make it fun.

So my "laundry day parade" on Sundays and Wednesdays is somewhat fun. (I try to spice up my life as much as possible)

What are your ideas?

Rebekah Slatkin is a professional organizer with a website full of information dedicated to getting you organized. Check it out at http://www.best-organizing-products-superstore.com The organizing product reviews and ezine are very helpful!