The Daily 5 - Organization that leads to a little more calmness

​In January my husband and I realized we were really coming to the ends of our ropes.  Every night felt like a strategic battle of figuring out how to unwind and get everything done we needed to. Most days we would just sit on the couch and zone out until it was too late to do anything.  Worst part, every morning we woke up in much the state.  We knew something had to change. 

We were sitting together after putting our daughter to sleep and everything just felt like a mess - we had to improve how things were working in our household to help things be more sustainable in all the other aspects of our life.  That's when we remembered a story a friend told us of her Daily 5. If we could just remember the big stuff, the little stuff wouldn't feel so overwhelming. Thats when we started the doing The Daily Five and haven't looked back.

It sounds simple, and it is. 

The Daily Five is our personal list of 5 household/family tasks that we make sure to get done every night before we go to sleep.
We wrote our 5 things and posted it to our whiteboard. As soon as we put our daughter to sleep, we jump into action. It takes us 15-30 minutes if we do it together.

Here's our daily top 5 list:

1. Gather and wash dishes 
2. Throw out trash/recycling/compost out (if full)
3. Prep lunches 
4. Clean the litter box
5. Answer as many emails as we can in 10 mins 
6. Do what ever we want and relax!

Your list will likely differ depending on your  needs. Here are some tips to make The Daily 5 work 

Keep It Short
Keep your list to about 5 items or less - even if Your Best Self vacuums every day, prioritize what truly needs to get done on a daily basis. 
Update It
Your daily list will change over time. When we first started we were in the midst of tax season and that took priority. 
Post It
Once you have your list, post it somewhere you can see it.  Even months later, I sometimes have to look at the list to remember what to do. Why? Because after a long day my brain isn't running on all eight cylinders.  Paper is way better at keeping track of things than your overloaded brain is.
Make a Habit
Help yourself get off to a great start by keeping track of every day that you get your list done in the first few weeks. Create a place you can check a box each time you do the daily list. Visual trackers are great for accountability and habit-building.

The benefits of doing this consistently have been surprising. Our mornings, while still a little crazy (we still have a 2 -year-old after all) are way less intense than they used to be. Dishes and trash aren't piling up. Because we know how hard it is when we don't get this list done at night, we very rarely miss doing it.