Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to keep it simple. Find one area of your life that you can trim down, let go, or otherwise simplify.
Impact Ratings:
???
Level of Commitment: Up to you!
Nobody will argue if you tell them we live in a busy world. No one is surprised if you say that you’re overwhelmed with all that you have on your plate. We humans tend to over-complicate almost everything.
Making all your food from scratch certainly doesn’t help ease your time management burdens. There are vegetables to cut, bread to make, recipes to test…and then there’s the problem of figuring out what to eat in the first place.
From the mundane to the massive, I guarantee you can find something to simplify this week, even if it’s only in your own mind.
Here are some of my personal simplifications, from the silly to the serious:
- Put the measuring spoons back in the drawer if you just measured salt.
- Let your dishes air dry.
- Skip the bread. I’ve learned in the last few weeks of going grain-free that it’s rather freeing to simply have soup and salad, instead of soup, salad, and bread. No one has gone starving, and it’s been lovely to skip a step. I wouldn’t recommend doing this every day, but it’s nice to let yourself go once in a while (without calling for pizza).
- Recycle rather than file: if you’re a conscientious person like me, you have file folders of all kinds of things. I realize that I have warranty papers for numerous $5-10 items, statements that are also online, and 401(k) prospectus pamphlets that I won’t understand any better next time I see them, all cluttering up my files. I’ll recycle them eventually, so why not right away?
- Let the kids play. Release the pressure in your mind that you have to play with your kids every second of the day. It’s okay to kick them outside and let them play with sticks for an hour. You’ll all be the better for it.
- Have fewer decorations on your surfaces. Less is more, especially when you have to move them all to dust.
- Get rid of stuff. I constantly desire “less stuff.” The more toys your kids have, the more there is to break, lose, change batteries in, clean, and put away. Simplify by blessing others with your abundance. We try to maintain a “one in, one out” rule with new toys. (How to Make Money Selling your Stuff)
- Wear clothing until it’s dirty instead of throwing everything in the laundry after one day.
- Let go of the perfect lawn.
- Have a meatless meal. If you choose the right recipe for simplicity, not having to thaw and deal with meat can streamline your dinner prep for one day.
- Take simple steps to change. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to do it all at once with your nutrition. Try my “3 Easy Changes that Won’t Cost Too Much” (of your money or time) and subscribe to keep up with the weekly Monday Missions (like this one).
- Send a cash donation instead of buying and selling for your child’s school fundraiser – especially if the food isn’t healthy and the items to buy are less than necessary.
- Automate your billing online (I even automate a large portion of our monthly tithe).
- Turn off. The TV, computer, and other techie toys should get a break for at least 24 hours each week. I choose Sunday.
- Let go of your list for a spell and visit with a neighbor or play outside with your kids.
- Say no. I know I’m not the only woman who suffers from “Yes, I can” syndrome. Whether it’s something for fun, a service opportunity, a child’s activity, or another job, prayerfully discern if you need to say “no” in order to trim something from your schedule. (What I think about mothers of young children and volunteering)
- Don’t drive. Walk to your destination whenever possible, or perhaps pull a “say no” just to avoid driving to one. more. place. (Or carpool!)
- Cut down on gifts. My son and I both had no gifts at our birthday parties, and I’ve always been rather determined to make my gift purchases practical and useful, even if some friends think I’m boring because of it.
- Read my essay on seeking simplicity, traditionally (my other post for today).
I’m not saying that you should stop cleaning your house, or neglect your children, or order that pizza every night this week. Life can’t go on without you. But you can release some of the crippling mental pressure that says you have to “do it all” and do it all well. No one can achieve perfection.
And actually…sometimes I don’t vacuum as much as I should.
What little shortcuts do you take, what routines are made easier, or what major mental release do you need to accomplish to keep it simple?
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Have you seen The List: What to Eat, What to Avoid, How to Compromise?
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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Photo from Muffet.
I accept!
As I will be moving shortly, this is a welcome mission. The worst part about packing is realizing how much CRAP you actually have!
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I find my life feels simplified when I think of how fast I can tackle a project. For instance making bread, and doing laundry seem like projects that can take all day. However, if I plan my time wisely I can get other things done while I am waiting for the first load of laundry or while I am waiting for the bread to rise. When I think of tasks in short steps it makes me feel more productive, and I realize I can get many projects done at once! Thanks for the post! It is nice to be reminded of things that can simplify our lives! Have a blessed day!
AFG-
Megan Jenelle
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Great post! I am so bad at trying to do EVERYTHING and do it PERFECTLY. I need to remember to let go sometimes and let things “be”. Thanks for the reminder!
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I need to let myself do simple stir fries and soup instead of feeling like I have to either do something blog worthy or go out for dinner.
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ha! I didn’t realize that letting your dishes air-dry was only for special occasions. I never hand dry them.
And I got rid of four garbage bags full of children’s clothes over the weekend. Feels good.
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Love this, Katie! At this very moment, my two oldest are outside playing with “sticks” (well, bikes to be precise), and my baby is lying in his pack-n-play next to me. They’re all fine. I’ll play with them later, but they don’t always need me.
Thanks for the great reminder.
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I sure agree with you on these. But we do most of these things every day as a way to keep our life simple. My dishes always air dry, I never saw the need to dry them with a towel unless I’m washing a lot of dishes after the guests leave. I’m working on recycling rather than filing and having fewer decorations. My mom comes over and when she sees any empty surface with nothing on it she proceeds with suggestions on what to put there and I politely tell her that I just want LESS STUFF. We always wear clothing until it is dirty, I guess it is a habit I have having lived in Russia, we never washed clothing after wearing it once – that was considered absurd.
I’m also the “Yes I can” type, I’m working on saying no more often if I feel it will take away from my family or my sanity! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas!
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I love this! Especially the point about recycling rather than filing…I know that I have papers filed that I will never look at except to throw away.
Lately, I have been forcing myself to toss things after a certain amount of time. For example, if a piece of paper has been sitting on the desk for two weeks, what makes me think that I’m going to suddenly need it? Same with books that I’ve been intending to read for the past two years, movies that I want to watch but never actually do, etc.
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Since Lil Bit was born, I got my colors done & did a complete revamp of my wardrobe. This week, I am getting rid of the last 3 black items in my closet (consignment shop). I am also giving my too small & black maternity clothes to a pregnancy care center in my town. I’m sure God will be able to provide clothes that fit my..ahem…large tracts of land…next time I’m preggo
.
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Umm, dusting? Cleaning toys? What’s that? LOL
Yeah, I don’t do those things. Except if I have to. I certainly don’t make it part of my usual routine! As for the cleaning toys, germs just don’t live on surfaces the way we think they do, and in a personal home (as opposed to, say, a daycare, where different kids are constantly swapping toys), I just don’t think you need to clean them at all, unless they are obviously dirty. If my daughter feeds her “baby” some chocolate, I’ll take it and clean it. But if they just chew on the toys, meh. Not worth it.
All that said, I NEED a new laundry solution!! Mine worked great when I was childless, or even when I had just one child. Three sorted baskets in my room, one in the kitchen, and one basket and one wetbag in my daughter’s room. Every week I’d wash them all. But now clothes and diapers are EVERYWHERE and there are so many baskets, I’m constantly losing track of things. So something has to change. I already went through my closet and pulled out a bunch of clothes I don’t wear. There’s more to come. We have, like, twice as many as we need anyway. Plus a ton of blankets, sheets, and other fabric junk we just don’t use. If I come up with something really good I’ll let you know. But it’s on my list of projects….
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If we have people coming over unexpectedly, I will stuff misc things in weird places. In the catch all office, cupboards, Closets….seems to happen alot with dirty dishes. One in, one out for toys is on this Christmas. Infact, I think I will be going through toys today to get rid of toys that are too young for the girls.
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Great topic. I used to get panic attacks (sometimes still do) when something was left undone. I now try to let it roll off my shoulders as tomorrow is another day! I have come to realize I needed to re-prioritze what needed to be done and what could wait as I am not super-woman no matter how much I want to be.
Finding time to truly relax is a blessing even if there are dishes to wash or clothes in the dryer that needs to be folded….certainly, the world won’t come to an end if my carpet needs to be vacuumed:)
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So true, Katie.. I’ve learnt to let things take care of themselves rather than depend on me.. Its been tough but totally worth it..
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You’ve listed some things I do and some things I should try more often….
Washing my hair with vinegar has simplified my life because I now need to wash my hair about 1/3 as often as I used to! It’s also simpler to skip showering some days and wash just the most crucial parts. These habits have been especially helpful to me recently because we’re having our bathroom renovated, so the shower has been out of commission for 10 days, we had no tub for 2 days, and now the tub is unusable for another 2 days…but I don’t feel nearly so icky as I would have with my old habits!
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