Saturdays are for Family Adventures.
Unless we need a House Day.
Let me back up.
When deciding our Morning Outings for the week, we decided Saturday mornings were for Family Adventures. Which may sound pretty insignificant, but for us this was huge - assigning Family Time and Exploring our City and Going on Adventures to a very specific day and time each week is really what helped us prioritize that to be a big part of our life.
Do other things on Saturday mornings sometimes pop up? Absolutely. But, we’re very careful and particular about what invitations we accept since we know it takes away from Family Adventures. and we aren’t in a season of weekend sports/activities (and we purposely haven’t signed KK up for any activities, similar to the reasons Busy Toddler has), so blocking off Saturday Morning for Family Adventures works really, really well for us.
Because we learned we do better when we over plan and edit as needed, instead of flying by the seat of our pants and hoping for the best. So one of my monthly routines is to tentatively plan Family Adventures for the next month or two.
(And if plans change for whatever reason - the weather doesn’t cooperate, someone gets sick, etc - no big deal! we pivot and do something else. but I’m always so thankful to have potential Family Adventure Plans in place in case we need them.)
Of course, when planning ahead of time, I take into account some of our traditions and this helps planning Weekend Adventures tremendously. I use my Yearly Tasks + Expenses list to help me remember annual traditions. Here’s a full list of our traditions, too.
Another list that really helps me is my Local Places List - a place that I write down places we’d love to try: Weekend Adventure places, Toddler places, Annual Festivals, Restaurants with Playscapes, Date Night places, etc. Anytime I hear of a rec or see a great reel on Instagram, I add it to my list. And I reference the list whenever I’m planning adventures.
But I leave some Saturdays open for House Days.
Because sometimes, we need a Saturday to hang around, work on house stuff, and rest. So we made an unofficial rule: anytime our beloved library has a craft day or fun event on a Saturday, we will attend. And then after a trip to the library, we spend the rest of the day slowing down, tackling house things, and being together.
And because let’s be real: library visits and house projects count as Family Adventures, too.
So Saturdays are for Family Adventures.
Unless we need a House Day.
I have a note in my Google Keep titled “House Day Saturday Template.” And when we have a House Day on the calendar (usually every month or two), I’ll make a copy of the template, and add to it anything else we need to get done:
things from my weekly list,
things from my monthly list,
things from my yearly list,
things from my deep cleaning list,
things on our fridge whiteboard system,
things we’ve talked about,
and things I’ve noticed.
And while we don’t intend get the entire list done, it still feels good to have a day set aside to knock a few things out, and it feels good to have a running list of a few things we’d like to try and knock out.
Did you catch that? We don’t intend to finish the entire list. We work on House Day Tasks for as long as it works.
And! Let me be clear: this is an enjoyable day. We look forward to House Days just as much as we look forward to Family Adventures. We like our kids to see the value in being home, and in finding joy in caring for our home, just like we like our kids to see the value in Family Adventures.
So we make sure to stack some fun, special treats with House Day:
a special daddy date to the library
special drinks, like a juice for the kids and a cocktail for parents
we don’t buy juice unless we’re sick, so this is a huge treat!
a special take-out lunch
we eat at home a lot (here’s our big motivator!), so this is another huge treat!
lots of Playtime, Outdoor Playtime, and helping Mommy and Daddy
fun music
and our usual Snack Dinner Saturday + Family Movie Night to end the day :)
see why this weekly dinner theme is crucial for me as a mom here
Here’s a deeper glimpse into things we do on House Day!
And again, we don’t do the entire list - we just like having a House Day every 4-6 weeks to check-in on these things and knock a few of these things out. :)
Brett:
Take Julie to the library for the craft/special event
Stop by the grocery store to pick out fruit + fun beverages for the day
Pick up a special lunch - usually pizza or Chinese
Charge our Theragun
Clean our ice maker
Clean vent hood filter
Give our thick wooden cutting boards a good oil
Use disposal cleaner
Put this drain cleaner and deodorizer down all drains
Shake out our huge door mats
Empty out our mini compost bins into the big compost bin, clean
Pick up dog poop
Check salt levels in the water softener
Blow out garage, tidy garage
Give door to the garage a good wipe down
Does anything need to go up to the attic? Or come down from the attic?
Blow off back patio, tidy back patio
Give door to the patio a good wipe down
Wipe down patio chairs
Wipe down our beloved grill prep table
Clean big back window with this brush and this bucket
Clean any laptops/iPads/TVs/screens/etc that could use some TLC
we have this cleaning kit, this spray, and this brush
Vacuum car seats, vacuum car
We love our car wash subscription and use it every Sunday (at a minimum!) but House Day is also a good time to see if either of our vehicles need a deeper interior clean.
4 reasons I love our car wash subscription, especially as a mom
Does anything in our home need some touch-up paint? WD-40?
Are there any home maintenance projects on my yearly list we need to do?
What about my deep cleaning list?
Knock out anything quick on our fridge whiteboard system
Are there any bigger home projects we need to tackle?
*Since we’re home the majority of this day, Brett may smoke something, too!
Here’s our favorite grilling and smoking essentials.
I love to freeze smoked leftovers - a gift for Future Us!
Haley:
Clean dishwasher filter with my favorite deep clean brush set
Clean out the magnetic lint bin on the side of our dryer
Clean off dryer lint tray area with this cleaning kit
Wash couch covers
we have secondhand slipcovered couches that I love with all my heart, so adding these blessed couch covers on top 1) means I don’t worry about our couches being destroyed and 2) means I’m not constantly washing a slipcover. these couch covers are the best insurance policy.
Clean clip-on couch tray
Clean diffusers
Throw bath toys, play kitchen toys in the dishwasher
Do I need to deep clean any pillows, Nugget covers, comforters, rugs, towels?
See a list of our favorite bedding - and how often I clean it all - here.
Throw washable bathroom rugs in washing machine
Wipe down indoor fridge, garage fridge*
Wipe down oven, air fryer, microwave*
Wipe down any cabinets that are annoying me
Vacuum/wipe down any kitchen drawers that are annoying me
Vacuum/steam mop any tile floor that’s annoying me*
I loveeeee my steam mop
Catch up on any cleaning tasks that are glaringly annoying
Catch up on any admin/household things
Check my to do list*
Update Subscribe & Save order
Clean out The Box*
File away kid things in our Childhood Memory Boxes
File away car papers in The Car Binder
Is there anything on my yearly list I need to do?
What about my deep cleaning list?
Are there any bigger home projects we need to tackle?
*These are things I have as apart of my weekly routines - but I like adding them to my House Day List to give space to these important items, in case they need some more TLC. :)
And that’s it! House Day Saturday! A time to be together and a time to care for our home. A good, good day cultivating contentment and togetherness. :)
You deserve whatever you need to take care of yourself. A House Day every month or two is one of our favorite ways to take care of our family.
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