Make your life easier with effective systems

Life is a whirlwind, right? If you’re like me, it often seems like the weeks go by in a blur of activity … and then it’s the weekend again. Or the weekends go by so fast and when Monday rolls around, you feel like you’ve just started to relax and the week is upon you once again.

The problem with this is that we never have a sense of peace, calm, and control. A feeling that we are directing the course of our own lives. I also go through times of turmoil, so I thought I’d share some of the systems I’ve set up to make life easier for us:

Home calendar

We have a domestic calendar in our kitchen where we mark any commitment such as church, other ministerial commitments, meetings, gym, social events, etc. We use a system of stickers with a different color for each area of ​​life. The great thing about this system is that when there are too many stickers, we know that we are too busy. I also mark recycling collection days, when the meter reader expires, and of course things like birthdays.

I combine this with planning the journal for the next week. I look at my journal on Sundays and put my appointments for the week. I also add the tasks that I need or want to work on, such as writing articles, e-courses, newsletters, etc.

Meal planning

I love planning meals because it saves me time. When I tell people this, they think I’m crazy because “how can all that planning save you time?” It’s pretty simple: a twenty-minute planning session on the weekend saves me time Monday through Friday, when I need it most. No more standing in front of the open fridge wondering what to make for dinner.

And it can still be spontaneous within the plan. I plan meals for the workweek, but if I don’t feel like a particular meal that day, I change it and cook another day’s meal. For example, if it’s really hot and I plan to have baked potatoes with dressing, I’ll put it off for another day and make a pasta salad instead.

Sort and organize regularly

I board an area of ​​our house every weekend. Let’s face it: if we constantly buy things and bring them into our homes and lives, clutter is constantly piling up unless we get rid of some of it.

It doesn’t have to be a great exercise. While you’re busy cooking or baking, you can tidy up a cupboard or two. I don’t trust my oven timer (it’s erratic) so I stay in the kitchen every time I bake to make sure my muffins don’t burn! Then I use the time constructively to tidy up the cabinets, plan my menus, write my shopping list, etc.

When you factor in just 15 minutes of clutter and organization each weekend, you can easily maintain your home if it’s already organized. Of course, if your home is not close to where you would like it, I would suggest 15 minutes every day.

Launch pad

Do you know the place in your house where you leave your bags when you enter? Flylady calls this a launch pad. I like that term because it reminds me of action. We have an interesting corner in our entry hall that I use for my launch pad and my husband uses another section near the kitchen.

Mornings are one of the worst times for most families – you can’t find your keys, wallet, purse, etc. It happens to run frantically and scream and that’s not funny.

The point is, we use our launch pads to get ready for the mornings. Every night I pack my suitcase, work bag and keys, and leave them here. In the morning all I do is grab and go. Literally once I’m out of the room, I walk to the fridge to grab my cooler bag with my lunch, set the alarm, grab my bags from my launch pad, and walk out of there. And that’s two minutes max!

Now it’s your turn. What systems can you implement to make your life easier?

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