I'm one of those people that works best with schedules and to-do lists. I like having to check things off because it helps me keep track of the items that I still have left on my to-do list and gives me a sense of accomplishment as the list gets smaller and smaller throughout the day! Near the bottom is a schedule that I tried for a while. However, I found it to be a bit more rigid than I originally thought. No matter ... I'm leaving the info up (including my initial thoughts!) for someone who might find this system useful. Different people, different tastes!

** UPDATE 12/06**
I have become a bit more relaxed in how I schedule our day. Because we homeschool, there has to be a basic structure so that we are sure to get the schooling done first. I do chores and such while the kids work on school and we come together several times during the morning for read-alouds or to work through something a bit more difficult. After school is over, it's time for us all to retreat to what we like to do ourselves ... reading, computer games, crafts/hobbies, etc. However, all chores MUST be done first! At least, that is our goal - sometimes, the laundry is unfolded until after dinner or something like that. As long as it all gets done by the end of the day, I'm not too worried about it. This is WAY different than I was a few years ago. The difference now is that I'm trying to put other things first and not worry so much about the appearance of the house inside. A bit of clutter here and there doesn't matter as long as it's not a long-term thing - LOL!

Ok, let's start with the picture of the entire chart and then I'll break it down and describe what is going on  (click on the pictures to see them closer up!):

First off, I had to determine how many hours I wanted on the grid. I had some of that poster board that has the light grid lines already on it. I marked off the hours on the left and our names across the top. My son is the blue column, daughter the yellow and I'm the purple column. These are post it notes that I used my Creative Memories square cutter on to get them to fit into the grid I created.

The first column of colors is our typical schedule for M, T, Th, and Fri.

I've even marked in when I need to have a snack as I'm going back to my insulin resistance diet which requires me to eat every 3 hours or so. By having it scheduled, I won't be tempted to eat at other times!

The 2nd column of colors is our Wednesday schedule. We have 4H at 1pm and karate at 5:30 each Weds. It's also the middle of the week and a great day to run by the grocery store to pick up some perishable items that I've run out of. In addition, since are already in town, so this will be my errand day after our 4H meeting.  Because I couldn't figure out how to work in the character study that I am making the main focus of next year each day of the week, I decided to group ALL of that into Weds. mornings. This will be a nice mid-week break as we just sit down together to talk about managing a home, money and also talk about character traits and manners.

The third column of color stickies is our chore area. Each child has some lists of chores to do daily, weekly, and on Saturdays. I have my own column, too, as I can get really lax about things like ironing! In addition, you'll see the 3 larger post-it notes: These are my weekly lists - Important Dates to Remember: this is where I'll note new appts. and events that need to go onto the main calendar or to remind myself of Dr.' appts. The 2nd sticky is a To-do List. As I need to add things to do each week, I'll post them here in this central location and tackle them as soon as I can. The 3rd sticky is Groceries Needed: I'm forgetful about buying pantry items that we've run out of. Now I no longer have an excuse for forgetting to buy such items as I have a central location for noting things I need to buy that week.