Ten Things You Can Do On Sunday To Make Your Whole Week Better
With another new school year just around the corner, it's time to start settling back into a routine. Structure is the name of the game, but it doesn't have to be the death of you. Here are ten simple things you can do on Sunday to make your whole week easier and less stressful. Everyone's situation is a little different. You don't have to do it all! Be patient with yourself. Do what you can. And if you don't get to it all... well, tomorrow is another day. Cheers to a happy and productive week.
1. Ease into the day
In the final stretch of the weekend it can be easy to feel rushed, pressured, or otherwise overwhelmed. Jumping out of bed to begin a mad dash to get it everything done is certainly not the best way to begin the day. Take your time waking. Make a nice breakfast, grab some coffee or tea and sit for awhile to peruse the newspaper, your favorite blogs, Pinterest, whatever... Pajamas optional, but highly recommended.
2. Exercise
Bring yourself to life with a quick 30 minute trek. Whenever possible, get outside, especially if you spend most of your week inside. Take advantage of this time to free your mind and prepare for the day ahead.
3. Schedule
Coordinate everyone's schedule, assignments, and events, then sync it all together. Anything you can do to alleviate overlaps and minimize rushing. This calendar coordination also makes it easier to plan quick, easy dinners on the nights you have to run out of the house early for an event. If you know you've got a fuller-than-usual day coming up, shoot for a crockpot meal that evening. You'll thank yourself for it later. And if you get yourself in the habit of doing it every week, it shouldn't take more than ten-fifteen minutes to put together.
4. Shop
Now that you've got your schedule all mapped out, you can go about the business of planning the weekly meals. Shuffle off to the grocery store, list in hand, to hunt and gather. Shopping strictly from a list took me some time to get used to, but I'll admit that it really does help me shop more efficiently, spend less time (and money), and keep healthy meals on the table. Once I have a list I can usually get in and out of the store in less than an hour. If you're struggling to come up with dinner ideas, theme nights are always fun. Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, etc. Get input from the kids. Maybe you can make something to represent a particular country they're learning about at school. Anything goes, really. Oh- and there's no law against 'Pizza Friday'. In fact, there should probably be one requiring it.
5. Plan Ahead
We all have one of 'those' days every now and then, and knowing you can grab something out of the freezer and throw it together is a dream come true. Less work and you still get to look like a kitchen hero. So, whenever possible, I always make extra food to set aside and freeze for later. I do this with cut veggies (like green peppers, onions, etc. to sauté later) as well as meals like meatballs and breaded chicken or eggplant, etc. (If you could freeze a salad, that'd be in there, too.) I also love my crockpot and was thrilled to recently discover that you can put entire meals together ahead of time in a single freezer bag, and pull it out and dump it all in the crockpot later on when you're ready. (Thanks, Pinterest!) Here are some of my favorites.
6. Prep
Take a few minutes to pre-pack snacks for the week. Cut up fridge items like fresh vegetables and cheese and put them in portioned baggies. You can do the same with crackers and other dry foods. Just grab a bag every morning when you're packing lunches or even as a mid-day snack if you're at home. There's something so awesome about having those pre-portioned snacks all ready to go. Not only does it things easier, it also helps control annoying calories.
7. Laundry
Planning and coordinating weekly outfits really helps make hectic mornings so much easier to deal with. Not just for parents, but for kids, too. Laying out clothing for the week takes so little time, but has such a huge impact on already busy mornings. Get kids to help with this one! You don't have to do it all. Plus, it's never too early for them to get in the habit of learning how to plan and coordinate on their own.
8. Tidy
Everything has a place and there's no time like Sunday to put everything back in it. Vacuum, dust, and declutter. This is another great job for kids (and significant others) to help out with while you're handling the other chores of the day. Again, when done weekly, this shouldn't take more than an hour or so to complete. At some point, if time allows, you should spend a few moments decluttering your digital world as well by clearing out your inbox, Facebook notifications, texts, and voice mails. It's nice to begin the week without a digital backlog.
9. Quality Family Time
At the risk of sounding all June Cleaver-ish, Sunday dinners are a big thing around here. We really enjoy rounding out the week around the table over a lovingly prepared dinner and conversation. We use it as an opportunity to find out what everyone is up to in the coming week. It's also a nice reward for a long, productive day. Family game nights or movie nights are also a big hit. We love to bust out our favorite popcorn bowls and crash out in front of a good movie.
10. Treat Yourself
Try to carve out a little 'me' time. Get a pedi, read, journal, grab a coffee with a friend. Whatever makes your heart sing. It's been a busy day, you deserve it. Making sure you get some guaranteed time to yourself is a nice treat to look forward to every week and makes it all worth it. What things do you do to prepare for your own busy week?