I have created a tool to help you put into action what we are talking about today. You can grab it at the end!
My partner Mike and I both thrive when there is order in our house.
So we have created our schedules to include some pretty clear timelines on when things need to get done in order for our house to be organized with the laundry put away, the grass cut, the groceries done and most of the meals made by the time the school and workweek come around.
That way we can focus on work during work hours and relax in our home when it is time to relax.
Do not get me wrong. I have never been the Martha Stewart type.
‘Organized’ is clearly not my middle name and anyone who has peeked into my drawers and cupboards can attest to that.
I am capable of tripping over a pile of junk at least seven times before I even clue in to the fact that whatever it is, it does not belong in the hallway and it would actually be easier for me to pick it up and deal with it than leave it as an obstacle course.
There have always been some things that do not get done in my house as often as they should and there always will be.
But now that I am working more hours a week, that list is growing.
Like the socks… those pesky little socks. We seem to have hundreds of them and ½ of them have holes, which I promised myself I will sew one day.
Some of them seem to have eternally lost their mate (sadly left behind in random places by my child Ashton who has this rather odd preference of only wearing one sock) and… well… here is what I have to say about the rest...
They are just not on my list of priorities anymore.
And that is so liberating to admit.
Instead of looking at that sock basket every day and hoping that Mike or I will make time to pair them up, I have made an executive decision, or an honest realization, that at this point in time, the Gibson/McCaig socks are not getting paired up.
I have other priorities.
I wrote a blog a couple of weeks ago about how you can get more stuff done in your life and after getting those thoughts down on paper this thought kept crossing my mind:
If creating great health is at the top of your priority list it is vitally important to get certain things done on a regular basis when it comes to your home environment.
Clutter and mess lead to overwhelm and stress. And when you are in a state of overwhelm, other priorities like exercise, cooking and even sleeping can be affected.
But there are some things that are just not worth stressing over at this point in your life. And in fact, it may be healthier for you to choose to let those things wait, like the socks.
For today’s blog, we are looking solely at the home environment. Of course, sleep, movement, having a properly functioning nervous system, and living according to your values are essential as well…
So what cannot wait? Let’s take a look..
1. Menu planning and groceries:
If you are putting off creating a menu plan and grocery list and instead, stopping into the grocery store every day to grab just what you need for dinner (or even less ideal, stopping for take-out), you are wasting a lot of money and time.
Pick a day and time that you can commit to creating a menu plan, grocery list and do the shopping. You do not have to do all three things at once… just decide when each of these things will happen and stick to the plan.
2. Cooking and food prep:
Some people like to take a few hours every week to prepare their meals for the week ahead. If that is too much of a commitment for you right now what can you do in advance to lessen the amount of cooking you will be facing?
Can you get out the food processor and make tonight’s cauliflower rice while you wait for the kettle to boil for your morning tea?
Can you barbecue the sausages for lunch tomorrow at the same time that you are cooking supper tonight?
Can you make double the salad and just leave it undressed so that half of your lunch is made for the next few days?
Can you make a big batch of nutty cereal instead of throwing it together every morning?
What can you do to get a few steps ahead? Unless you outsource it, cooking is pretty much a prerequisite to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
3. Organizing the house:
You do not need to have sparkling floors every day.
But keeping a sense of order in your environment really does contribute to less stress and more productivity.
Can you straighten things up every night for ten minutes before bed?
If you cannot get the kitchen cleaned up at night can you at least organize the dirty dishes into a “neater” pile so that your kitchen doesn’t look like a bomb went off when you stumble into the kitchen every the morning? It’s pretty amazing how much of a difference this simple step makes.
Can you prioritize to get the majority of the laundry put away before Monday... even if the socks don’t get paired up?
What other tasks do you absolutely need to get done every week in order to stay on track?
Ok. Now let’s identify a few things that can wait.
1. Facebook:
Check out this awesome app that disables your newsfeed. You can turn it on and off at your leisure but this app ensures that if you go on Facebook to do something specific, you don’t find your self scrolling the newsfeed thirty minutes later and trying to remember what you came here for in the first place.
If you are not sure how much time you are spending on Facebook download this app. It will calculate the total minutes or hours spent (or wasted) on Facebook. You may be shocked when you see how quickly it adds up.
2.Some household tasks:
Do you really need to wash the floor every week? Can it be washed every two weeks unless absolutely necessary? Take a look after you pass the vacuum this week and decide.
3. Lunch:
Lunch actually cannot wait. But making a fresh lunch every day is not necessary. We always recommend that our nutrition consulting clients cook once and eat twice. This means that you intentionally cook enough supper that you have leftovers for lunch the next day.
What else do you stress yourself out trying to accomplish each week that realistically can wait?
Mike and I both really want systems that create a sense of ease and organization in the big picture of our lives.
And to be honest, since he is a super organized person, I know he would be happiest if we could manage to get those darn socks paired up (and arranged in the drawers in some color-coded sequence for each day of the week, I am sure!)
But in the spirit of compromise, clear thinking and prioritization, we have decided to match up seven pairs of socks for each kid, every week, and leave the rest in the basket for another day.
I know that it really does simplify everyone’s morning when we do not have to add in the extra two minutes to locate matching socks from the basket… because as you know…those two minutes really do count.
I have created a free Prioritization Tool to help you identify what you need to get done and what can wait so that you can create more free time in your life. This is really going to help you. You can get it HERE
I’d love to hear what you have decided to put off. Tell me in the comment section below. You might help me grow my list of “things that can wait.”