Every time we say ‘YES’ to something new, it seems to just make our life more complicated down the line; more events to attend, increased responsibilities and less time to relax and do what we really want to do.
Finding just the right amount of order in your life is one of the secrets to making your life easier (learning to say ‘No.’ is another secret…)
Whilst we can’t just stop growing and adding more to our lives, we can look at ways to make other things in our life easier. From planning our budget to organizing our laundry, no task is too mundane to refine and review!
There are so many great ideas on the web – but here are some of them from www.harvardhomemaker.com.
THE THREE BAG LAUNDRY SORTER
Whether you run a household of seven or live the single life, laundry has to be sorted. It seems completely pedestrian to ‘plan’ your laundry sorting – but it will save you time and frustration which ultimately opens up space in your life.
Set up three baskets or bags – one for whites, one for darks and one for colours. Label it and make sure everyone in the house knows what’s potting. This way – when one bag or basket is full – that’s the load you do. You’ll save loads of time on every load of washing!
THE DOUBLE-COOKING PLAN
When you’re cooking a pasta, rice or curry dish – prepare double the amount that you need and freeze the leftovers. This requires two levels of discipline – the first is in the planning and the second is in the eating!
Cooking double what you need DOESN’T cost you double. In fact, it costs you less: buying ingredients in bulk, using electricity once, and cleaning up pots and pans once. It does require some forethought, it’s not something you can easily do at the last minute on a Tuesday night. Many people who employ this trick will plan and cook meals on a Sunday for the week ahead.
When it comes to dishing up, only put out half of the food to avoid the temptation of having seconds simply because the food is there. Once in the freezer, you can easily enjoy that savvy meal up to a week later.
THE FILING CABINET
These are not just for work! When you receive statements in the mail, have important documents (IDs, passports and certified copies) or information packs that come with your digital devices (these also often have important codes that you may need later), have a filing cabinet or draw where you can store them vertically (like a concertina file).
When you have easy access to this information and the space to store it you will be more likely to file it away safely instead of piling it on the nearest counter to fall over and cause frustration in your life.
Making your life easier is not about changing one thing, it’s about learning how to adjust to the constant change in your life.