How to turn a crazy week into an easy week

Let’s face it, life is super busy and it’s not slowing down no matter how hard we try. We can’t add any more hours to the day and we can’t stop or even slow down time. With a husband, two kids, a dog, a cat, a full time job and recreational activities for the kiddos…oh ya and sleeping somewhere in there, my days can seem like a blur. Typical days like this can leave us constantly asking ourselves, ‘where did the week go?’ Ferris Bueller sums it up best:

Now I’m not suggesting that we skip school or call in sick as an answer to taking the time to ‘stop and smell the roses’. What I’ve found works best for me is with some preparation and organization I can take some of the stress out of those crazy busy days. Injecting a few things into my daily and weekly routine not only helps me keep my sanity but I find that I have more ‘little pockets of time’ to catch a breath and enjoy the amazing life in front of me. Here are a few things that I do to help make my weekdays a little less stressed:

1. Prep the night before
   Weekday mornings are so rushed…especially for those of us that like to hit the snooze button over and over and over…and…guilty! What can I say, I’m not really a morning person. But one of the things that I do love about my mornings is that my coffee is ready and waiting for me as soon as I get up. I like to prepare as much as I can the night before so that I’m not rushing around in the morning because who really wants to start their day off frazzled and rushed? My nightly routine consists of: preparing and programing the coffee maker, making lunches, filling water bottles, packing school bags, making sure breakfast items are ready and helping the kids gather books, homework and other essentials needed for the school the next day. Taking a little time at night to prepare for the next day makes a huge difference in an otherwise busy and rushed weekday morning.
2. Clean before you go to bed
   I know what you thinking… ‘Are you kidding…I can barely find the time to clean once a week let alone every night!’ Believe it or not, tidying up before you retire for the night can help you feel much more relaxed when you wake up in the morning. I guess it’s a Zen thing, but I feel less stressed when I come into the kitchen to grab my morning coffee and I see a clean empty sink, spotless counters and a cleared off table. I also like to do little clean up tasks daily (like sweeping and wiping down) so that by the time the weekend arrives, things aren’t piled up and cleaning isn’t too overwhelming. In fact by doing these things daily I can even get away with skipping a weekend of cleaning sometimes if we have a lot going on. Just by taking a few minutes each day to tidy up like wiping walls, cleaning mirrors, picking things up off the floor and clearing counter and table surfaces make a world of a difference.
3. Set a meal plan for the week
   This will involve some initial planning and making sure that during your weekend grocery shopping trip that you buy everything you need for the week ahead but it’s so worth it in the end. Each weekend I put together a weekly meal plan. There are lots of free printable charts available online, and with a little bit of research you can find one that’s perfect for you. The weekly meal chart that I use helps me plan my breakfast and dinners for each day of the week as well as school lunches for my kids. My youngest daughter actually loves filling in her lunch ideas for the week which means that she’s more apt to eat it (bonus)! With a little planning on the weekend, this weekly meal chart means one less thing to think about after a long day at work. No more running out to buy last minute grocery items before you get home or getting those fun little texts at 4pm ‘what’s for dinner’? I hang the chart on the fridge so that everyone knows what we’re having for dinner every night. Sometimes when I get home the meal is already made (another bonus)!
4. Organize your closets and drawers
   I recently read a book called ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing’ by Marie Kondo, the creator of the KonMari Method. I like to think that I’m a very organized person to begin with but wow…this book takes organizing and decluttering to a whole new level! We may not realize it but clutter can cause stress in our lives and once you remove the clutter in your home and office it gives you a sense of calm and you can focus better. I started off by following the KonMari Method to organize my closets and drawers. I got rid of everything that didn’t make me happy or that I would never wear. What I discovered when I was done was so cool and made my mornings so much easier. All I have left in my closet now are clothes that I love wearing, so picking an outfit is so much quicker – no more staring in front of my closet forever trying to figure out what to wear. My drawers are now so neat and orderly that I can see everything at a glance making it quicker to find things. I also applied the KonMari Method to other areas in my home. The results were amazing; I could literally go on forever gushing…perhaps another blog article just on that topic alone!

I’ve been doing these weekly rituals for a very long time now and although they don’t bring me more hours in the day they do put my mind at ease and keep me organized and focused so that I can take the time to stop and look around because I don’t want to miss out on life!

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