Simplify: to make less complex or complicated; make easier
My Life: working mom of two small children, wife, blogger, neighborhood event coordinator, friend, soccer mom, school volunteer, seamstress, house cleaner, paperwork filler-outer, reality TV junkie ………. And often times, all at once!
My Resolve: to find a way to keep my head above water.
Let me start by saying, I love my life! I feel so blessed with the amazing family I have and all the opportunities I have to fulfill my life with things I love doing. I have however come to the realization that there just are not enough hours in the day! DUH, you might be saying … but who out there doesn’t want to believe they can be supermom and somehow find a way to fit it all in?? So this year, my mission is to find ways, even the tiniest of ways, to try and simplify my life. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
Prioritize: As in think twice before readily agreeing to do everything. This is probably the easiest, and most obvious one. I am notorious for having a To Do list spanning both the front and back of a piece of paper – I can guarantee you that if it doesn’t all fit on one side, it will not all get done! By keeping my “to do’s” at a minimum, it forces me to think about what I really want to accomplish. This means also learning to say “no” every once in a while.
Delegate: While I might believe that “it’s just easier if I do it”, there is no reason Dad can’t help fill out the endless forms that come home from school or daycare. There are many things that by themselves are not huge time suckers, but when you add them all up … where did the time go?? As moms, I think we want to have control over the situation and therefore have a hard time letting go. Or maybe it’s just me … but I do use the phrase “it’s just easier if I do it” – whether at home or at work – way more than I probably should.
Hire help: This is a tough one, particularly in this economy. For years I have yearned for a cleaning lady but have never been able to bring myself to foot that bill. Last year for Mother’s Day, I asked for a one time brigade to come clean our house and I honestly think the residual effect it had on me lasted for weeks. The older I get, and the more precious my time becomes, I truly believe time is money and I would so much rather pay someone to take care of the tedious chores I don’t enjoy doing for some extra time to do the things I love.
Organize: The spring cleaning bug has bit me early this year. I have been on a rampage trying to bring more organization to our house – starting with the kids rooms. I filled bags after bags with toys that are no longer played with or clothes that no longer fit and have gotten them out! Just having a clean room and a place for everything provides such a calming effect. I even tackled one of my own personal issues – shoes! Living in a small 1950’s house does not warrant much space for all the shoes I apparently have. After years of stashing some here, some there, and most under the bed, I finally sought after a better solution for shoe storage – and as silly as it may sound, I couldn’t be happier!
Plan ahead: We hit the HT no less than 4 times a week. Sometimes even multiple times in a day! There was a time where I prided myself on weekly meal planning and made a big run every Sunday for that week’s groceries – I need to get back to that. And I know we’ve linked back to this post a gazillion times before, but I must throw it in here again – e-vic’ing is a total time saver, one that I’ve fallen off the wagon of and must climb back aboard. Still have not tried online grocery shopping, but feel I must give it a try.
And while we’re on the topic of food,
Easy Dinners: Dinner time, or what I call the witching hour, is by far the most stressful part of my day. Everyone is just getting home; tired, hungry, and often irritable (and I’m not just referring to the kids here) and then we all have to wait while dinner is prepared. I’m on a quest to find some quick, easy, and healthy dinner options – stay tuned for a post on this specific topic soon!
Time flies. Life is busy. But if we don’t take a minute to stop and enjoy it, we’ll wake up one day and wonder where it all went. So this is one resolution I am going to work really hard at. What smarty advice do you have? Would love to hear how other moms find ways to simplify their lives … or more importantly, just keep their heads above water!
13 comments
I am in the process of making a notebook filled with easy and good dinners that I like. I have cut out recipes and have a file filled with ones that I have never done. My goal over the year is to go through the file, throw out the ones that I know are too time consuming to make, try the ones that sound good and if they pass the test then they go in my notebook. The goal is to try 2 a week until I have 3-4 weeks worth of good and easy dinners that we can rotate through. And it is even more of a bonus if I can double the recipe and freeze one for a later date. Have just started a chore chart for the kids, the basics of picking up clothes, making the bed, picking up toys, feeding the cat, but we have now tied it to an allowance, so if things are not done and checked off for that day then no allowance for that day (50 cents a day), amazing how much more eager they are to do the things that I have been nagging them to do before.
I can relate – I'm barely treading water day in and day out in my life. It's all self-induced, I wouldn't change a thing. I totally agree with everything you mentioned. Saying no is a tough thing to do, especially when you are the go-to person for everything. I plan on saying no in the fall – I'm already way over-committed/volunteered at the moment:-) One thing that I have been consistent on is how my dinnertime routine has changed for the better since ordering weekly from http://www.simplyfreshtoyou.com. When you log on, you might think it seems to expensive. But when you really calculate how much you spend on your F-O-U-R weekly Harris Teeter trips which I'm sure you don't get out of there under $100, you come out ahead with this service, or at worst, break even. And that doesn't calculate a value on your time – which again, is precious. SFTYou delivers right to your door, it's healthy, easy and from fridge to table, takes 20 minutes. So now we can enjoy soccer practice or gymnastics and never be tempted to run through a drivethru b/c I have a healthy, delish dinner waiting for me at home. I have been ordering for 14 months and it's the best thing ever! Also, you have to play around with how much you really need to order to feed your family. For example, my family has two adults and 4 children (only one big eater). So if we order a baked ziti meal, I order three adult portions and that feeds us perfectly. If we order salmon, I only order for myself and my hubby and maybe I'll feed the kids hot dogs or spaghetti that night. I can't speak highly enough about Marc & Patti Liersaph – for all of you working moms out there, this will save your life, pinkie swear!
This couldn't have come at a more perfect time! I just spent ALL day cleaning out my son's room and am getting ready to tackle the girls room. My goal: how can I make it easy for them to keep it clean and organized and take me out of it!!As for meals, I sat down and came up with a monthly rotation of meals. I looked at the calendar and planned leftovers for nights with activites and large meals..think baked ziti, etc, on nights that I could put it in the oven. I'd double batches and have one in the frezer for times when I needed to pull it out quick. I managed to cut the grocery bill, my time and the kids love it! I included some crock pot dinners and then some dinners out. It cut way down on the kids asking when we were going out to eat as well!It takes lots of time, and I'm still in the process! I just have to learn to say "NO!" Good luck to all the others out there in the same boat! Let's simplify!!
would love to see some easy, healthy crock pot ideas-maybe in another post?
I second the crock pot ideas or any easy and healthy favorites that readers have
First let me say that Tracy is a rock star. She is our neighborhood social organizer and she is on top of everything! Thank you for such great tips/thoughts. My new year's resolution has been to simiply my life as well – not sure it is working, but I love knowing there are other moms out there struggling to do the same thing.
Would love to see a post about where to donate unwanted items. I have lots of stuff, don't want to save to consign, just want it to go to a good home. Someone who can really use it and appreciate clothes and household items.
What is the SFTYou that Jen P is referring to? Would love to know more. THANKS.
SFTYou is Simply Fresh to You – a dinner option where delicious fresh meals are delivered right to your front door. Check them out at http://www.simplyfreshtoyou.comAlso – stay tuned for a full post dedicated to easy dinner ideas! Keep yours handy because I'd love to create a smarty resource for us all to share!
I have started using my crock pot a couple of times a week and so far so good. My mom gave me a new crock pot cookbook for Christmas (Simple 1-2-3 Slow Cooker Recipes by the Rival Crock Pot Brand), the one I previously had was too complicated for quick and easy crock pot cooking! So far, this new one is pretty good but would love to find another good one. Also, I am a big fan of the slow cooker liners- makes EASY clean up!! But, I am wondering what that means I am cooking our food in. I have no idea what the liner is made out of. Would love to find out if I am cooking in something that is super bad for us just to have easy clean up!
Here is a great website for crockpot ideas. Hope this helps. There are a ton of recipes and you should be able to find almost anything you are looking for.http://www.50plusfriends.com/cookbook/crockpot/index-5b.html
I, too, work full time and have a 3.5 year old and a 4 month old, and I always feel like there's not enough time in the day to see them!I used to hate dinnertime. It was always a struggle to think of something to eat, and as a result, there was a lot of take out for many years. Several inches on my waistline later, I decided enough was enough. I sat down one day and made a list of main courses that we liked to eat (from all walks of life – tacos, chicken sandwiches, grilled marinated meats, hamburger helper, meatball subs, etc.) and then got a blank weekly calendar from Amazon that sticks on the fridge with a magnet. I then proceeded to put a main course on every weeknight (Monday is always pasta night) and I started out having 6 weeks of dinners. As I thought about it more and tried different recipes on Saturdays, I have expanded the menu to 10 weeks worth of dinners for weeknights. I round out each meal with rice, potatoes or a pasta side and frozen or canned veggies. On Saturday morning I sit down and look at what's on the next week's menu and make my grocery list, and then I go to the next blank week on my calendar (that's now 10 weeks out) and write in the food that we've eaten that previous week. It takes the guess work out of menu planning and saves lots of time. On Saturdays it's either pizza or a new dish, depending on what's on the agenda for that day, and Sundays we eat with my in-laws or host them, but I know that in advance so I can buy food on Saturday at the store. If anyone wants my list of foods, I'll gladly share it, as it's been a lifesaver for me and I hope it can help others. My email is betsysprenger@gmail.com
Dream Dinners in Fort Mill has been our SFTY. It is great to pull out and have a meal ready on hand without me having to think about it. We save a ton of money because I don't have to make extra trips to the store or "have" to eat out because I don't have anything ready to get ready for dinner!