4 Ways to Simplify Your Life

Life is busy. Like, really busy. As a working mom, my time is precious.  I’m sure a stay-at-home mom feels the same way.  Anything I can do to give myself more time is certainly welcome.  Finding ways to simplify my life equals finding ways to give myself more time.  

That’s something we all can get on board with, right?

In hope of helping you find more time, here are 4 easy ways to simplify your life right now:

1. Meal Planning

It can be really stressful when you get home from work and have to figure out what you’re going to feed your family for dinner. Simplify dinner time by taking the guess work out of your day.  Plan all your meals for the week on Sunday.

There are many websites you can use to help plan your meals if you feel like you’re in a culinary rut. If Pinterest is too overwhelming for you, look for a mommy blog that does a weekly meal planning post. One of my favorites is Mix and Match Mama, who happens to be the sister of the former Bachelor Sean Lowe. She publishes a weekly “Meal Planning Mondays” post. Her meal ideas are fairly simple, and she has over 150 previous posts that you can pull your weekly meals from.

Planning meals for the week means that we eat healthier and have more complete meals,  It definitely relieves the stress of the daily grind by having one less thing to figure out in the evening. (Note: This isn’t to say that the occasional, spontaneous take-out pizza night doesn’t still happen.  Sometimes you just DON’T feel like cooking, no matter how prepared you might be!)

2. Online Grocery Shopping

Once you know what you’re making for the week, why not just order your groceries online?  Have them delivered to your door to save yourself the time and stress of the grocery store! HyVee now offers Aisles Online, an online grocery ordering and delivering service. You can choose between drive up/pick up service ($2.95 fee if order is under $100) or doorstep delivery ($4.95 fee if order is under $100). If you spend over $100, either option is free!

By ordering my groceries from the convenience of my home, I’ve found I save not only time, but money too. I don’t have to drag a toddler out who wants everything he sees.  While I’m ordering, I can check my cupboards and know for sure what I have or need.  I can price compare and I don’t impulse buy a bag of cookies or other junk, just because they look delicious.

As much as I love it, there are a few downsides to online grocery shopping.  For one, you can’t use coupons.  So if I have some really great coupons, I tend to just schlep myself to the store. I also do not love the fact that I’m not able to choose the produce for myself. I am fairly picky about choosing produce, so if I know I need a lot of it, I just go in.  For the most part, online grocery shopping is a huge way to simplify my life, and I’m always glad I did it when my groceries show up on my doorstep at their designated time.

3. Put Things Away, Right Away

I wrote about the KonMari Method of Decluttering, and one of the topics from the book I didn’t touch on in that post was this: Put things away, right away. It’s funny how much easier it SEEMS at the time to set a book or magazine on the coffee table rather than walking the extra steps to put it away on the book shelf. The same goes for mail when I bring it inside. Think about how much simpler your life would be if you just got into the habit of sorting your mail the minute you bring it inside, rather than setting it on the counter for a few days first.

Instead of letting things pile up in various rooms, waiting for someone to take the time to put them away, put things away right away.  You’ll drastically cut the time you spend tidying every week. It may seem like a pain in the rear….but it’s FAR EASIER to do it right away than it is to be drowning in piles of clutter.

4. Clean the Shower while You’re in the Shower

I hate cleaning the bathroom, but for some reason, when I’m enjoying a nice hot shower on a weekend (free from kiddos wanting/needing me and a rushed schedule), it sure doesn’t seem so hard to grab my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.  I do a full wipe down and cleaning of my shower while I’m in there. If you aren’t using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean your tub and shower, you’re missing out there. Nothing breaks through soap scum and leaves my shower sparkling and shiny quite like those magic foam pieces. It’s easy, peasy! I keep one in the shower at all times so I can grab it for a wipe down.  It has has completely replaced the need for deep cleaning the shower regularly.

As a bonus suggestion for simplifying your life, if you don’t do it already, try making your bed every morning right when you get up. It takes a couple extra minutes, but I find it puts me in a productive mood to start the day.  I also think I sleep better at night on a nicely made bed. Try it for a couple days, and I think you’ll be convinced that it’s worth the extra effort.

What ways have you simplified your life?