Brooke Tucker Photography Blog

Ok so that’s not exactly true above… it’s more like you wash AND fold and then I’ll put it all away!  That’s our system right now… for this week anyway!

It seems like the laundry loads are never ending and the piles are always miles high!  The tasks are always never done and our schedules are always conflicting.  I feel like we are always running around ragged and at the end of the day, the two of us are so exhausted that we both crash into bed like two big sacks of potatoes ready for sleep before our heads hit the pillow!

I know others feel this way… those with littles and those without!  There has to be a secret to keeping everything together and although I do feel as mad as a hatter and quite often feel that’s one of my best qualities… with Tuck’s new schedule at work, we had to find a way to get organized!  We needed a system for tasks around the house, like the laundry for sure;  and I needed a system for work hours if I ever wanted to spend some quality time with my family all together!  

So here are some of the things that have been working for us lately!  I know in a few weeks, we will have to change all this up…again!  That’s the funny thing about getting organized:  once you get organized as a family things change and then you are thrown a curve ball and have to rearrange the organization!  Of course, that’s only to figure it out once more and then have to change it again to fit the next curve ball of life!  Am I right?!  Or am I alone in this?!!! Please don’t tell me I’m the only one mama’s!!!!

Tuck and I have finally figured out a few things that are working right now for our crazy lives as a family of three… plus the pittie!

• You wash/fold & I will put away!  Ok so it is NO secret that I seriously struggle with the laundry!  In fact, it’s kind of the bane of my mommy existence.  I haven’t always hated the laundry.  I used to be really great at it (not something I really want to brag about though).  It has only been recently in the past year or so that it’s been a battle of all battles.  You see this is what happens.  I put the wash IN the laundry and then I forget about it.  I get so caught up in all the other things that need to be done that the wash just stays in the washing machine for days, and then it just becomes disgusting!  It smells gosh awful and so it needs to be re-washed and then the process starts all over again:  I forget it’s in there, it get’s stinky again, it needs to be re-washed and so on!  See what I mean!  So, Tuck comes home and takes care of the laundry… HIS laundry and Linc’s laundry.  My laundry is piled and piled and piled in the laundry room so much so that you can’t even walk inside.  I freak out because I’m OCD and it gives me hives to see it like this.  Solution:  Tuck folds it all because he remembers to pull it out and dry it!  He brings it all upstairs and then I put it all away!  It’s actually genius because I am OCD and need clean spaces in order to work and sleep so I will actually put it all away!  It’s a perfect system for the time being.  Sadly though when Tuck is away for weeks at a time the system breaks down.  This is where I need a new system!

• Calendars everywhere!  I realized a long time ago that I can’t DO digital calendars.  I wish I could be saavy enough to rely on my computer/e mail and phone for all my scheduling needs but I just can’t.  I am truly a paper and pen and highlighter kind of girl.  I love lists so naturally I need to write it all down and then cross all my dates and events off in my planner!  I swear by Emily Ley’s Simplified Planner!  I adore it!  I keep it with me at all times!  This works great for me but Tuck never looks at it.  He is a digital person.  So I use 17 hats as well.  He links it up to his gmail calendar!  You think THAT would be enough… but it isn’t.  So we have a weekly white board planner on our fridge…this was working, until it wasn’t.  We forget to update it, so we were on week 1 of the month when it was really the last week of the month!  So we just now purchased a monthly white board calendar to put on our fridge next to the week one.  I know it’s excessive but it’s working now!  We have calendars EVERYWHERE, but it’s kind of perfect because now there is no excuse for either of us to not know what’s going on when or with whom!  All of Linc’s activities are written on all of them, Tuck writes his on the monthly calendar on the fridge and also on his gmail which is linked to 17 hats.  My schedule is linked to my simplified planner along with Lincs, 17 hats which Tuck can check and then also the monthly one as well which has the entire families.  It’s an excessive fool proof system…so far!

• Monday Morning Me Time:  Ok this is kind of a lie!  I have decided to change my working schedule this fall/winter to include a monday morning “me time”. It’s not what you think and I’m not too excited about it.  I guess I could be, because the time is there.  I am switching up my office hours so that I won’t be answering e mails or “coming in to the office” until noon~  This will allow me the opportunity to take Linc to pre-school in the mornings and have a chance to take my time and get some chores done around the house!  I have stressed myself out so much this year and last year trying to balance everything out!  It’s just too hard to fit everything in at the same time without giving myself some grace and actually “scheduling” some time to do it.  If I don’t schedule it, I realize it just won’t get done!  Working from home is hard folks.  It’s amazing, but it’s also hard because you have to really keep yourself accountable.  Scheduling helps with this!  Monday mornings are now going to be a time where I can clean the house (yes I know super exciting, but like I said… I need a clean space to work in because I’m kind of OCD), grocery shop alone, go on a target run alone (can I get a hallelujah chorus from all the mamas) and maybe even meal prep for the week a bit~!  Heck.. I might even get some of that laundry done!

•  Weekends OFF!  This is something that I spent a lot of time chatting about with Amanda Hedgepeth!  She is so sweet to always chat with me and help guide me in my business as a fellow mama!  Just this past season, I had a bit of a breakdown!  Tuck’s new job turned out to be a bit different than we had planned.  It required so much more travel than anticipated and I was finding that my love for photography was fading as I was spending less and less time with my family.  I was working so hard trying to keep up with the photography schedule I had planned for myself before we knew Tuck was taking on a new job but also trying to make it work out with this new schedule without leaving Linc with a babysitter that it was just burning me out.  I was spending more time with other families than I was with my own.  I called Amanda right away because I didn’t want to lose my passion and the heart that I have for my clients and for this incredible job!  Amanda gave me some really wise words and some advice that just clicked instantly.  Some advice that I would have been completely afraid to jump on all by myself, but with her help and guidance and just the way she was able to explain it… just gave me so much peace!  I need to be able to give myself as my own boss the freedom to schedule myself in a way that works for my whole family.  I need to schedule myself in a way that is replenishing and also inspiring!  I am inspired to shoot families because of the love I have for my own!  I need to be able to spend time with my own family so that I can continue to stay focused and full of love and authenticity for the incredible clients I serve.  So, this fall and winter I am only scheduling sessions during the week days!  I know there will be an occasion when I absolutely need to schedule a weekend session here or there, but for the most part, I am keeping my weekends open so that I can spend some one on one quality time with my family… all together!

• Prep during the week so weekends are free to play!  This is something that one of my girlfriends pointed out to me a while ago and I just never really thought about it until she said something.  She said being a stay at home parent is really and truly a gift for everyone because you are able to get all the “chores and errands” run and done before the weekend comes so that when the weekend is here and the whole family is together, you can all just relax and play without having to go here and there!  This is so true friends and I never realized it until just recently. I love it when our little family can just relax on the weekends together, especially because some of those days are the only days that daddy is home.  I would much rather be able to enjoy that time together playing and going on adventures or exploring new things than having to run errands!  This is a huge part of why I decided to take the Monday morning me time.  If I can run those errands, meal prep and even plan our meals for the most part;  then I know we can spend those Saturdays and Sundays all together going to the park or the museum or somewhere fun!  I am blessed that I have the opportunity to do that for my family so I want to make sure I take advantage of it.

These are just some of the things we are doing to help us all stay on track and stay sane!  There are other things I do in my photography business that keep me on track!  Things like keeping a blogging calendar and pre-blogging on the days that I know I need to run errands or will be busy or have Linc.  There are certain apps I like and certain tips I follow from other photographers that help me keep my business running but that’s all for another time!

I hope as a momma or work from home business owner you have found some of these tips helpful!  What do YOU do to stay organized?!  I would love helpful tips! You never know when our schedule will change and I have to figure it all out again!  All your tips would be useful!!!

In the meantime… he will wash and I will fold!

xo

B