Our home in a word for 2018- chaos! All kinds of chaos. Some is good- two crazy boys running around, coloring on any surface (appropriate or not). Some is bad- school starts in 15 minutes and we have no lunch, no underwear and no keys… Whether good or bad, the chaos is a huge part of our life. I’ve learned to embrace it, but as 2019 approaches, I’d also like to learn to simplify it just a tad. For 2019, my word for home is easy- simple!
I’m not one for resolutions, as they often seem to fall flat for me, so instead, I’m dubbing these “New Year’s Evolutions”. The following “hacks” have helped me take my everyday household tasks from daunting to (mostly!) painless.
Groceries
Up until recently, I was at the store 2-3 times a week and spending an exorbitant amount on groceries. In the fall, I instituted two new rules in my house. One- it must go on the shopping list. If it’s not on the list, you have to wait until my next scheduled trip. Two- USE THE LIST!
Enter AnyList, a great app for tracking your grocery list. Anyone in your house can have access, and you can check off items as you shop. I’ve also started to take advantage of ordering my groceries online and picking them up. Most groceries stores have some kind of pick-up program, and it’s both a life and time saver!
Meal Planning
There are so many meal planning resources available these days. It’s really a matter of what you’re looking for. From providing menus to providing everything you need for dinner; meal prep and planning is hot! The key is really to simplify dinner.
If you still like the adventure of preparing a meal, you can use a meal-kit service like Blue Apron. Want your seasonings and ingredients provided, ready to throw in the oven? Check our Prepped or Back to Basics Kitchen.
If you still want some skin in the game in your meal planning, Once a Month Meals is a great go-to. You can pick and choose your meals, build them into a menu, and you even get a shopping list! If you want to take it one step further and have someone send you your full week’s menu, check out Six Sisters’ Stuff.
Simplifying my Mailbox
I have no idea how, but I have ended up on approximately 2.7 billion mailing lists. Not only is it annoying, but it wastes so much paper, which pains me greatly. It’s a bit of a hassle, but when catalogs come in the mail, I’m taking a moment to unsubscribe. It’s simple- it takes a few minutes to do, but in the long run, it pays off for both this mama and Mother Earth.
Chore Chart
I fought this one forever. My husband keeps telling me that if I write chores down, he will do them. I fought him and kept insisting that he was an adult and didn’t need a chore chart. Guess what? He needs a chore chart, and so do I.
We are starting off the year with a chore chart, so we can stay on top of the cleaning and stop fighting about it. Or let’s be honest, so we can stay on top of the cleaning and my husband doesn’t have to listen to me yell about it!
It’s simple- I list out the rooms of our home, what needs to be cleaned and who does it. We will swap every couple weeks and check things off as there done. This also helps me avoid the cleaning/playing on my phone/getting distracted vortex of chore time. As our boys get older, they can get in on the “fun” of chore time, too!
Making time for Me
On the never-ending quest for inner peace and harmony, I must keep remembering to make the time to take care of myself. Last year, I kept making excuses that finding the time to work out and taking the time to calm was just too much.
In 2019, I’ve found that I can abbreviate this time but still get a huge return on my “me-time” investment. For all things mamaste, I continue to rely on the meditation app, Calm. You can meditate for as little as five minutes and you’re a new woman! Since it’s an app, it’s simple to use and easy to pull out wherever you are. I’ve also hopped on the kick-boxing bandwagon and joined my local 9-Round. Thirty minutes start to finish, and I have not only worked out my body, I’ve cleared my mind.
As a Mom, I have learned that I can’t be good at everything all the time- and that’s OK. What I can do is work to make every day more simple. 2019 is about evolutions & keeping it simple- and for me, approaching these tasks in a new way helps ME continue to evolve.
Cheers to a New Year, Mama, and to keeping it nice and simple!
