Simple things to make your life easier/less stressful, etc

[Ottakee]

I went backpacking last weekend and it was so nice.   Surviving with just what we could carry on our backs.

that got my friends and I thinking about needing to simplify our lives a bit. 
 

what simple/easy things have you found/done to make your life easier/simpler, etc?

One of the first I thought of was to unsubscribe from all those random emails I don’t need

[Calizzy]

I use Instacart for all of my shopping and I can’t imagine my life without it. I started before Covid and have made 141 orders. That’s 141 times I didn’t have to take 4 children to the grocery store. It also saves me from getting fast food. I’m an Instacart evangelist. 

[saraha]

Menu planning. I am strict about making sure I’ve planned meals and then its only one trip to the store and no wracking my brain trying to decide what we’re having 

[mom2scouts]

Using the alarms on my cell phone improved my life. I used to always watch the clock and stress about forgetting to take a kid to an extracurriculuar activity or pick them up. A few times over the years I did forget a kid! Now I have repeating alarms for all of the activities and an alarm that means it's time to get ready. I'm so much less stressed when kids are at activities.

[regentrude]

5 minutes ago, saraha said:

Menu planning. I am strict about making sure I’ve planned meals and then its only one trip to the store and no wracking my brain trying to decide what we’re having 

But you have to decide what you're having while writing the meal plan 🙂
I, OTOH, find not meal planning to be a simplification. I go to the store, buy what looks good/is on sale/feels appetizing. Then I just have to open fridge/pantry and cook what's there and don't have to decide what we're having ahead of time 🙂

 

[73349]

I got rid of all clothes I wouldn't wear again tomorrow if the weather and occasion warranted, and set up a weekly laundry schedule. DS's clothing is now between my size and DH's, and we don't have to try to sort.

 

You might like the book The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi. She lists principles for making life easier, like "Decide once," "Live in your season," and "What can I do now to make things easier later?"

Edited April 27, 2022 by 73349

[Ann.without.an.e]

What a great topic because I’ve been thinking on this too and looking for more ideas. 
 

What I’ve been trying to do lately - 

get rid of things I don’t need

unsubscribe from mailing lists 

delete unwanted pics, notes, emails, etc

narrow down my wardrobe

streamline my pantry and have plenty of what I use often (less trips to the store)

 

 

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

3 minutes ago, regentrude said:

But you have to decide what you're having while writing the meal plan 🙂
I, OTOH, find not meal planning to be a simplification. I go to the store, buy what looks good/is on sale/feels appetizing. Then I just have to open fridge/pantry and cook what's there and don't have to decide what we're having ahead of time 🙂

 

this is what I do too 🙂

[regentrude]

Having less stuff.
Kon-mari-ing my closet. That has eliminated all the clothes that I kept out of misplaced guilt/frugality but never wanted to wear. No I only have clothes I enjoy wearing.
Having several identical pieces in different colors. I have my favorite winter sweater in six colors and wear it with jeans all winter long.

Owning one kind of socks per each member of the household. 

Allocating less time for chores. Housework will fill whatever available time you are willing to give it. 

Edited April 27, 2022 by regentrude

[Excelsior! Academy]

18 minutes ago, Calizzy said:

I use Instacart for all of my shopping and I can’t imagine my life without it. I started before Covid and have made 141 orders. That’s 141 times I didn’t have to take 4 children to the grocery store. It also saves me from getting fast food. I’m an Instacart evangelist. 

It is life changing!

3 minutes ago, mom2scouts said:

Using the alarms on my cell phone improved my life. I used to always watch the clock and stress about forgetting to take a kid to an extracurriculuar activity or pick them up. A few times over the years I did forget a kid! Now I have repeating alarms for all of the activities and an alarm that means it's time to get ready. I'm so much less stressed when kids are at activities.

I just starting doing this too.  Much less stress!

 

Keeping the gas tank above 1/2 a tank.  Not only is it better for the car, it is much less stress.  Once we had to outrun a tornado and realized mid-trip that our gas tank was low. All gas stations near us were full or having issues.  

[Drama Llama]

Taking a break from DH?  

We generally have a rule that if something comes into the house  that isn’t perishable something else goes out.  So, for example I had a birthday recently and got several shirts,  That night I made plans for a similar number of shirts to go to a local clothing closet or become rags or something.  

[Excelsior! Academy]

8 minutes ago, regentrude said:

But you have to decide what you're having while writing the meal plan 🙂
I, OTOH, find not meal planning to be a simplification. I go to the store, buy what looks good/is on sale/feels appetizing. Then I just have to open fridge/pantry and cook what's there and don't have to decide what we're having ahead of time 🙂

 

This reminds me of a meal plan system I once purchased.  The e-book had tons of recipes and a pantry shopping list. To keep the pantry stocked the meal plan instructed you to just replenish supplies on the shopping list, then you had whatever you needed to make anything in the book.  It was genius.

[Ann.without.an.e]

32 minutes ago, Calizzy said:

I use Instacart for all of my shopping and I can’t imagine my life without it. I started before Covid and have made 141 orders. That’s 141 times I didn’t have to take 4 children to the grocery store. It also saves me from getting fast food. I’m an Instacart evangelist. 

 

5 minutes ago, Excelsior! Academy said:

It is life changing!

 

I wish they’d had instacart when I had little ones. That must be so nice. I would totally use that now if I were in your shoes 🙂

[Indigo Blue]

Canceling my landline has relieved a lot of stress. I’m basically scammer/ spam call free. I just love it. 

[stephanier.1765]

I had been creating my own bill planner for years. It worked but I dreaded updating it or making a new one each year. This year I found a bill planner on clearance and decided to give it a try. Love it. I do have to transfer the bills from month to month but I wait until the new month to do that which means updates are easy to insert or eliminate. It went from feeling like a drain to happy every time I needed it. 

[AnneGG]

Shampoo and conditioner with a pump. Any bottle with a pump! Ha. 
 

Subscribe and save subscriptions to things we use regularly. 
 

A little hand held vacuum so I don’t have to lug out the regular one for toast crumbs or whatever. 

Everyone’s shoes in the hall closet. I can’t believe I wasted years of motherhood searching for shoes all over the house. Shoes off and in the closet when you walk in the door. 

Not trying to wake up before the children. It’s just not happening with these guys. They are morning people, I am not. 

 

 

[mathnerd]

Bulk cooking and freezing single serving sized meals. And always having salad ingredients prepped and in a large container in the fridge.

I used to be anxious, panicked and stressed out when my kid had outside activities and I had to wait in a far away and godforsaken place for hours for the sport event to finish and then rush home to make a hasty meal or drive somewhere else to pick up takeout etc and reach home even later for dinner. We also have special dietary needs and hence the choices were very, very limited for us.

Nowadays, I make easy to heat single serving meals and freeze enough for my family for 5 to 6 days worth of dinners. I plan one dish for dinner, make enough for 6 days worth of dinners, we eat one serving and I freeze the rest in single serving ziplocks. I have a variety of frozen dinners, convenience, less stress and less driving for me.

Edited April 28, 2022 by mathnerd

[Ottakee]

I love all of these ideas.   I am trying to downsize as much as I can.   Backpacking teaches you just how little you need to get by.

simplifying electronics is great too….emails, social media, etc.

my kids laugh but I do set alarms for all kinds of things and it is awesome

i would love to simplify my wardrobe even more but I am a hard to fit size for pants (heavy legs are not fit for skinny fit jeans) so I struggle to find clothes that fit decently.   I am working towards that though and only buying what I LOVE, not just “I guess this is good enough”.

[fraidycat]

A "magazine" rack on the wall in my dining:kitchen/main room for all incoming/outgoing/to-do papers. It has four slots. I have 1 file folder in each of 3 slots (to do, to file, coupons) and the fourth is a "to read" slot for the local weekly paper and other random magazine type items that might come in.

All mail gets tossed in front of the to-do file, then when I open I sort accordingly. It keeps all of the active paperwork in one place. Everybody needs their papers for taxes? Look in to the to-do file. Want to grab lunch out? Check the coupon folder, if you want to. To file file getting too thick? Time for me to take it to the office and put in the filing cabinet.

All paperwork is up and off the horizontal surfaces. Life changing.

 

 

[Arctic Bunny]

2 hours ago, Calizzy said:

I use Instacart for all of my shopping and I can’t imagine my life without it. I started before Covid and have made 141 orders. That’s 141 times I didn’t have to take 4 children to the grocery store. It also saves me from getting fast food. I’m an Instacart evangelist. 

 

2 hours ago, saraha said:

Menu planning. I am strict about making sure I’ve planned meals and then its only one trip to the store and no wracking my brain trying to decide what we’re having 

 

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

But you have to decide what you're having while writing the meal plan 🙂
I, OTOH, find not meal planning to be a simplification. I go to the store, buy what looks good/is on sale/feels appetizing. Then I just have to open fridge/pantry and cook what's there and don't have to decide what we're having ahead of time 🙂

 

I subscribe to a service that plans meals I like. I put the recipe and the assigned date in Cozi while putting the grocery list into the app for our store, then go through the digital flier to add fruit etc that’s on sale, then place my order and pick my time for pickup. Those the subscriptions save me soooo much time and money!

[HS Mom in NC]

Cook Once, Eat (at least) Twice: If I'm going to shop, cook, and clean up for a meal, I may as well make at least a double batch, if not a triple batch. I serve one batch the day I make it and keep another batch in the fridge for later in the week. If there's more, it goes in the freezer.  I don't make many recipes that don't freeze and reheat well. One shopping trip, one cooking session, one kitchen cleaning, three meals.
 

[ScoutTN]

No FB, IG, Twitter etc.

Limit news intake.

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by ScoutTN

[Kassia]

7 hours ago, fraidycat said:

A "magazine" rack on the wall in my dining:kitchen/main room for all incoming/outgoing/to-do papers

 

 

Thank you so much for posting this!  I just ordered one for a birthday gift for DH.  I had no ideas of what to get him and I think this will be absolutely perfect!  

 

[Clarita]

I am team not meal planning. I watched Alice Water's Masterclass on cooking which taught me how to do her style of "meal planning". Keep your pantry stocked, then just buy available produce from grocery store, mixed in with a lot of how to learn to cook from scratch and eating fresh things. (She big on the farm to table, eating seasonally and locally thing). 

Then joining a CSA, who decides a sizable amount of our fresh seasonal fruits and veggies.

Asking my husband for help. Having him take my son to teeball sometimes without me has reduced a significant amount of stress in my life. I'm able to make a homecooked meal on those days and I get a little break in the day instead of having to go go go until bedtime.

[Eos]

10 hours ago, regentrude said:

Owning one kind of socks per each member of the household. 

This, plus all socks the same color per person.

Being outside is the simplest, best stress reduction thing I do.  I don't know if it makes life easier but it certainly makes my brain better.  It sounds like this is a big part of OP's life too.  Singing also does something for me - endorphins?  dopamine?  I don't know, but it's consistently helpful.  

Making things easier: protein in the freezer, grains in the pantry.  I don't meal plan but will always have something to cook with veggies.

 

[Carrie12345]

Most of what I do has already been covered here, lol.

I’ll add that the hive’s suggestions really helped me adjust to my new garbage pick up. I have an alarm set to remind me to leave myself a not for the morning. It still sounds funny to me, but I haven’t missed once since!

I did a thing I never thought I would. I have an Apple Watch coming today, almost entirely to help manage my anxiety. I figure, if it says my vitals are fine, I can spend less time playing Anxiety Or Dying and it can pay for itself with just a single avoided ER trip. I can’t vouch for it yet, but I do think it’ll be a huge stress reducer!

I used to have a 100% perfect laundry routine for 7 people.  I’m still trying to adapt to 5 people, 3 of whom are still mostly wearing “house clothes”, lol. If I ever do nail it, I’m sure it’ll be just before we have another big shift that’ll need to be reworked.

I don’t think I could live without meal planning. As it stands, I make a list of 7 meals that can be shuffled around as needed, and still find myself hemming and hawing about choices.

Homeschooler confession - I pay for an online program I don’t like, but it’s there for any day I can’t/don’t want to work directly with the boys. One kid actually really likes it, so it’s win-win with him.

[HomeAgain]

My current one is meal subscription.  We are getting 5 dinners from Hello Fresh each week.  The cards go on the fridge in the order we're cooking.  Each person takes a night to make the meal.  I am now at the grocery store weekly for the basics and lunch/breakfast.  That's it.  We're having a lot less food waste because of this.  I think our last fridge clean out had 1 plate of leftovers, a cheese sauce, and a cream sauce that made it into the trash (the cream sauce was a mistake.  Dh didn't recognize it but it should have gone with lunch that day).

My other is going back to Flylady routines.  Every day the little things get done: toilet swished, shower doors wiped down, tidy of common areas etc.  I don't usually have a ton of time right now to make sure things get done around the house.  Doing it all in 1-5 minute bites is much easier and keeps the place presentable.

[elegantlion]

Recently, I went through my wardrobe. After two years of being home, I'm shifting how many business casual clothes I need. I set up a plan and "graded" my clothes from A to F. I also have a hard to fit body type and I can't really know if something will work until I've worn it several times. It was very freeing. I also decide on my week's outfits on Sunday. I hang them in order so I can just grab and go. 

I gave up on any notion of downsizing books. We're hoping to buy a house in the next year or so and there will have to be room for all of our books. We have a lot even considering homeschooling standards of "a lot." Knowing that we'll probably never have shelf space enought to display them all, we've archived some books into banker's boxes. When they are well organized and labeled, it's easy to just pull the box we need. It's working well.

 

[Emba]

Meal planning simplifies things for me too, as well as “cook once, eat twice” type strategies. I am always on the lookout for quicker but “as good” versions of recipes we like, and shortcuts.

a big thing for me which I know I’ve mentioned on the board before is making my children responsible for their own laundry. I don’t buy them clothes that need special care ( I don’t often y them for myself either), they don’t separate their laundry, and I buy laundry pods to avoid messes and spills (from Dropps, so they arrive in the Mail and I never have to shop for them).

i used to have my closet pretty streamlined but that has gone by the wayside. 

I can do my basic makeup in 5 minutes and all of it fits into one smallish zipper pouch for travel.

[Ann.without.an.e]

4 hours ago, Clarita said:

I am team not meal planning. I watched Alice Water's Masterclass on cooking which taught me how to do her style of "meal planning". Keep your pantry stocked, then just buy available produce from grocery store, mixed in with a lot of how to learn to cook from scratch and eating fresh things. (She big on the farm to table, eating seasonally and locally thing). 

That sounds like an interesting master class. This is how I cook. We grow a good bit of our own produce and it’s currently the time of year where my family is getting tired of asparagus 😅

 

3 hours ago, Eos said:

This, plus all socks the same color per person.

Being outside is the simplest, best stress reduction thing I do.  I don't know if it makes life easier but it certainly makes my brain better.  It sounds like this is a big part of OP's life too.  Singing also does something for me - endorphins?  dopamine?  I don't know, but it's consistently helpful.  

 

Currently DH and my 2 boys are all in the same size so everyone having a distinct look to socks and undies is a must. Oldest wanted a pair of athletic shorts that were the same style and brand as younger ds so I ordered him different colors than the ones we already had. It has to look different or I’d lose my mind lol. 

 

19 minutes ago, elegantlion said:

I gave up on any notion of downsizing books.

Is downsizing books a thing? 😂. I’m pretty sure most of us would agree that books aren’t allowed to be downsized under normal circumstances. 

[Ottakee]

More great ideas.   Outside time is so helpful for me.

When I use my motivated moms weekly checklist it is so much better….I just need to do it.   I can assign the kids chores by highlighter color….and most don’t matter what day they get done, just so they get done at some point during the week.

i also simplified laundry.   The lid to washer stays open and as we have dirty clothes they go right Into the washer.  When it is full I run it.   No more sorting clothes by color, bleaching whites, etc.   It is just 3 of us who wear casual clothes and don’t have anything fussy so it works great and is stress free.    If we have really dirty clothes or a big loads of whites I will do those separate but that is rare.

my laundry method stresses out my friend, but works great for me.   If I had to wait for a load of whites it might be 2 weeks.  When there were 7 of us living on a hobby farm I did sort clothes 

[BlsdMama]

15 hours ago, saraha said:

Menu planning. I am strict about making sure I’ve planned meals and then its only one trip to the store and no wracking my brain trying to decide what we’re having 

 

15 hours ago, regentrude said:

But you have to decide what you're having while writing the meal plan 🙂
I, OTOH, find not meal planning to be a simplification. I go to the store, buy what looks good/is on sale/feels appetizing. Then I just have to open fridge/pantry and cook what's there and don't have to decide what we're having ahead of time 🙂

 

Menu planning is the thing I thought of as well - it might have to do with family? If there were just 2-3 of us it wouldn't be worth the effort, IMO.  We also live "out" of the city so running to the grocery store every day would be an incredible stressor. The menu is extra work for me. (I also have a Master List of Meals so I don't have to think and a pre-made grocery list where I check what I need.)  However, it is stressful to not have an ingredient or get to 4:00 pm and realize the meat for the night is frozen.  Maybe it's the season for me? With 7 kids still at home, it's rare to say, "Grab what sounds good to you," and not have chaos.  And there are still three little kids who really don't prep their own meal short of a sandwich or something from the microwave.  I'm squarely on Team Menu Plan. 😉


 

15 hours ago, regentrude said:

 

Owning one kind of socks per each member of the household. 

Allocating less time for chores. Housework will fill whatever available time you are willing to give it. 

YES to the last!!! I can't get DH to grasp this.

And to the socks - I'm really considering this.  The question is do I have the guts to throw out all our socks? (And I have a thing for quirky wool socks so I hate to deny them this joy.

[sassenach]

Boxed meal services- Marley Spoon, hello fresh etc means 3 meals a week that I don't have to think about

Shipt for grocery delivery. I don't go to Safeway anymore. I still shop Trader Joe's

No purse, just my cell phone with cc holder. I leave the house with my phone and keys, that's it

Small closet=simple wardrobe

TV generally doesn't go on until after dinner

No news apps or watching. Yes, it's a little head-in-the-sand but my stress is lower

 

[prairiewindmomma]

I wouldn’t throw away wool socks. They are so essential for winter, and hiking quality wool socks cost $25 a pair to replace. Here every person has a lingerie bag for their socks. They toss their socks into their bag and when it’s full zip it and toss it into the laundry. Everyone’s socks are returned to them and they fold their own. 
 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

For me, just taking notes for a few days helped me figure out what I needed to streamline. It prompted a major downsizing 8 years ago, a huge shift in menu making and eating and grocery ordering, and me reclaiming my time and stopping doing a lot of things.

[DreamerGirl]

Instant Pot

Sheet pan cooking

Roomba - one for each floor

Robust pantry/buying in bulk including meat and seafood. Shop pantry and top up as needed saves a lot of time

Food prep and freeze 

Growing herbs, salads so no need for being on top of fresh food shopping

Alarms, apps and reminders

Black pants only be it yoga or formal. No wasting time or thought if the top matches

Meditation

Exercise 

 

[HS Mom in NC]

Making clothing easier really helped me. 

Laundry: Everyone in my household, including my husband who has worked from home for 25 years, does their own laundry; clothes and bedding,  by age 10 (step stool nearby for shorties.) I only worry about my own laundry and the kitchen and bath towels. For a while I assigned a weekday day per person to minimize traffic jams at the washer and drier, but with only 3 of us at home now it's not necessary.

Wardrobe: I do like clothes and fashion, I just want it to be easy and long term. When I changed sizes and needed new clothes I did it very strategically by first watching Youtube videos about dressing my specific body shape (petite, long torso, short legs, hourglass, full bust, with a bit of a tummy.) It's really paid off. Youtubers Chi Li and Marie-Anne LeCoeur helped me more than anyone else.

Smaller, simpler wardrobe: all tops and bottoms in almost exclusively solid colors with a few timeless geometrics (stripes, polka dots) that all work together in layers:
no-iron for almost everything (with 4 pieces that are exceptions)
easily laundered at home
limited color palette: 2-3 skin flattering, favorite colors per season
limited neutral palette: 3-4 favorite neutral colors for bottoms, bags, shoes, and belts
top pieces in each color and/or neutral: sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve, light sweater, heavy sweater
bottom pieces in each or most neutrals: shorts, skirts, pants, jeans
one piece items: jumpsuits, dresses
outdoor work clothes: 2 sets per season (one to wash, one to wear)
exercise clothes:  2 outfits per season (one to wash, one to wear)
1 swimsuit and cover up
trench coat/lighter jacket
heavy winter coat
only what currently fits me well (anything else is donated or stored and labeled if I'm between sizes)
limited jewelry pieces in same metallic(s)- simple, classic pieces: studs, hoops, dangles, bracelet, necklace, ring
undergarments: light neutrals, dark neutrals, neutral long/thermal underwear

My wardrobe made up of classic, timeless pieces
Spring/summer- colors: light blue, light green, light rusty rose
                           neutrals: nude/beige, cream, light and dark wash denims
Fall/Winter-        colors: teal, burgundy
                           neutrals: cream, dark wash denim, navy, black
trench coat-beige
heavy coat- very dark teal
gloves- black, navy blue, burgundy
hats: Spring/Summer: nude/beige (straw)
         Fall/Winter: black, navy, burgundy, cream (felt/wool)
winter scarves: burgundy, cream

Accessories that work with everything:
Jewelry: my metallics: silver, gold, copper, pearls
Shoes, belts and bags-Spring/Summer: nude, cream
                                    Fall/Winter: black, navy
Undergarments: Spring/Summer: nude, cream
                           Fall/Winter: black, grey, navy  (wish I could find more navy in 100% cotton)

Simple Make Up/Polish
long wear lip colors in liquid form with wand for mixing colors together to make more colors
long wear eyeliner
long wear mascara
2-3 nail polishes

My colors
lips- Spring/Summer: light peachier color; light pinkier color
        Fall/Winter: dark warmer red; dark cooler red
eyeliner-dark brown gel pen
mascara-black/brown
nail polishes-Spring/Summer: lighter peachy/pink color that works with both lip colors
                      Fall/Winter: darker neutral red that works with both lip colors

[regentrude]

More simplification: no makeup. No lotions, nail polish, styling gels, skin tonics....

No-styling haircut.

I aim to not need more than 10 minutes for shower, hair, teeth, dressed, ready to leave. 

[Condessa]

I only buy large packs of identical white socks.  I used to be able to have just one size/style for all the kids.  They all matched with every other kid sock, and they all got paired and tossed into the basket I attached to the wall beside our shoe rack.  Now we have two styles and two baskets on the wall, one for the girls and one for the boys.  (The baby is eventually going to throw a wrench in this system, but for now he doesn't need many socks since he is usually wearing footie pjs.)

Edited April 28, 2022 by Condessa

[Condessa]

I used to have major whining when I expected older kids to do more than younger kids, or when I started asking more of a kid than I had previously as they grew older and more capable.  So I tied it to their ages.  "Everyone fold your age of laundry" or "Go pick up four times your age downstairs" pretty much eliminated this type of complaint.  

[Brittany1116]

Just now, Condessa said:

I used to have major whining when I expected older kids to do more than younger kids, or when I started asking more of a kid than I had previously as they grew older and more capable.  So I tied it to their ages.  "Everyone fold your age of laundry" or "Go pick up four times your age downstairs" pretty much eliminated this type of complaint.  

I just watched someone say something about this. She said, always delegate a chore to the person with the lowest skill set required to get it done. So instead of Oldest getting a chore when Youngest is born, and then adding more to each as they grow, hand down chores when Youngest is capable and ask more of Oldest. That may look like Oldest having 3 chores that take a total of an hour, and Youngest having 7 that total 45 minutes. 

[Brittany1116]

I was pondering why everyone here has a sock issue and then remembered we live in FL. 🙄🤣

[wintermom]

Working at home with no commute to work has simplified life emensely for me. The organization required to have everything I needed for the day ready to go to catch a bus was exhausting. I remember the organization it took me while homeschool to take the dc to a park, activity or appointment - especially in the winter. So happy to be past that season of life!!

[Pawz4me]

 Some things I do --

Keep a well stocked freezer and pantry. We're almost never out of anything. I never meal plan more than a few hours ahead of time, but I've always got what I need. I shop to keep us stocked, not because we're out of stuff. I think of it as proactive grocery shopping.

I have a cleaning/household chores daily schedule that I try to stick to as much as possible. I don't get nuts if I miss a day, but overall I find it much easier and less stressful to do a little bit every day rather than to have a ton to do all on one day.

I don't really care about fashion and so keep my wardrobe very simple. Pants are all black except for a very old (but still in great shape) pair of gray dress slacks. I don't do dresses or skirts. Blouses/tops are all solid colors. It's pretty much a uniform wardrobe. As long as I'm clean, neat and don't look out of place in a crowd then I'm good. I'm working towards buying all my clothing from a handful of places, finding what's comfortable and sticking with it. I really don't enjoy thinking about shopping or clothing any more than absolutely necessary.

We're a "place for everything and everything in it's place" family. Mail, paperwork, keys/phones or odds and ends are never left in random places, dirty clothes always go in the hamper, etc.

I've gone totally makeup free. I always hated it because it makes me feel so dirty. Masking convinced me to be done with it entirely. The closest I've come to makeup in over two years is tinted lip balm.

For environmental reasons we've switched from body wash to bar soap. I'm using it for my face soap, too. One less product to buy and less plastic trash. I have super dry skin and need lotion, but I use the same one for face and body.

I buy concentrated multi-purpose cleaner and use it (and sometimes dish detergent) for most cleaning tasks. I haven't found it necessary to buy a dozen different products.

[Shoeless]

Take responsibility for nothing that eats

 

[Ottakee]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

More simplification: no makeup. No lotions, nail polish, styling gels, skin tonics....

No-styling haircut.

I aim to not need more than 10 minutes for shower, hair, teeth, dressed, ready to leave. 

This is me.

[Excelsior! Academy]

7 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I wouldn’t throw away wool socks. They are so essential for winter, and hiking quality wool socks cost $25 a pair to replace. Here every person has a lingerie bag for their socks. They toss their socks into their bag and when it’s full zip it and toss it into the laundry. Everyone’s socks are returned to them and they fold their own. 
 

 

I started having dh do this.  It helps tremendously!

My dd suggested something I have yet to try.  She follows a YouTuber that was having trouble getting up at her desired time each day and found a method that finally worked for her by making three separate morning schedules.  One is her ideal morning schedule, one is her only necessities, lazy schedule, and one is somewhere in the middle.  When she wakes she chooses whichever schedule she is in the mood for that morning. I plan to try something similar next school year.  Some days are just lazy days, we might as well plan for them.

[Resilient]

Lots of things upthread Apple Watch motivates exercise and let’s me turn off all the rings on my phone, gives me a flashlight for everywhere, and let’s me automatically go Do Not Disturb when I am on church property until I leave the property. 

One kind of socks of three kinds:  wool, athletic, dress (yes I still wear knee socks under my pants).  

A uniform. At least 60% of the time, I’m in jeans and a tee.  

Spending some 10 minutes in the evening planning the next day.  Morning and evening prayer time. 

Obey my calendar.  If I agree to do something I put it on my calendar and then I just obey my calendar.  Keeping an accurate calendar is a big stress-reducer and obeying it cuts the stress of deciding again and again.  

Daily walk.  Even if it’s only 10 minutes.  

Minimize social media and unfollow anyone who makes it not-a-happy-place. Put tech away for at least a solid hour a day and preferably two hours.  
 

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Resilient

[Clarita]

11 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

That sounds like an interesting master class. This is how I cook. We grow a good bit of our own produce and it’s currently the time of year where my family is getting tired of asparagus 😅

It definitely was for me. Although for people who've been doing that sort of thing for years it's probably less interesting since her recipes tend to be on the easy side. I don't believe one could be tired of asparagus. When we were one time long ago I made sliced asparagus noodles, it was way yummier than I thought it would be. Essentially thinly sliced raw asparagus (I used a mandolin) with a light dressing (mine was a small dash of soy sauce and rice vinegar, not even sure if the dressing was necessary). 

 

11 hours ago, elegantlion said:

Recently, I went through my wardrobe. After two years of being home, I'm shifting how many business casual clothes I need. I set up a plan and "graded" my clothes from A to F. I also have a hard to fit body type and I can't really know if something will work until I've worn it several times. It was very freeing. I also decide on my week's outfits on Sunday. I hang them in order so I can just grab and go. 

Back when I was working I gave myself a uniform for work. I had 8 shirts and 3 pants and they all go with each other. So every morning I would just grab a shirt from that area and a pair of pants from the pile. 

[MercyA]

Giving things away when we don't want or need them anymore. I used to save stuff for garage sales and it's not worth the bother, time, and space it takes. 

The key for me is either giving things to people I know will use them (books to fellow homeschoolers, clothes to friends, etc.) or giving things to a thrift shop whose mission I wholeheartedly support. I never loved giving things to the large chain-type thrift shops because I didn't know if they'd be wasted or exactly where the profits were going.

We have a couple specific places we put donations and then they go out the door when the opportunity arises.

I still need to take the plunge and donate all the vintage stuff in my "eBay closet," however. 😬 

Edited April 29, 2022 by MercyA