You’ve got a lot going on, baby. I know, because I read your blogs, watch your facebook pages, and go to the same schools. Life is busy.
Sometimes I get accused of being organized, when what I really have done is automated parts of my life.
But I’m not talking tech.
Some parts of life can be automated, to save brain cells for the parts that can’t be automated quite as easily. What do I mean by that?
Take breakfast. I am NOT a morning person. So instead of getting up and having to make decisions, I’ve automated breakfast decisions. Through trial and error, I’ve found that my kids have a better day when they have a lot of protein in the morning, so I try to always have eggs, cheese and English muffins in the house, for a quick breakfast sandwich. Yes, there is cereal, and sometimes we have waffles, but mostly, it’s one choice that we’ve already made, so we don’t have to wonder what’s for breakfast.
I automate all kinds of things. Whenever we have an appointment, I schedule the next appointment before the first appointment is over. This is true for the dentist, the hairstylist, committee meetings, and even home maintenance appointments like the furnace cleaning. If I can make an appointment for the next time right now, that will save a lot of back and forth the next time. It’s automating at least one cycle in advance.
My kids have a routine. They come home, go potty, wash their hands, get a snack, and do homework. It’s the same routine every single day after school. I’m convinced this is keeping them healthier. At least I know they wash their hands this one time each day.
Speaking of kids, you all have seen my Getting out of the House Routine printable. Yep, I’ve automated my kids think about leaving the house each day. It’s magical.
I’ve automated cleaning up the playroom. The house rule is that we don’t turn on the TV until the kids put all the toys away. If this, then that. If you want the TV on, then you will pick up the toys. I have enough to do after they go to bed, so picking up after the kids are in bed happens very, very rarely.
As much as I love organizing closets, I almost never organize mine, because the way I load my new laundry into the closet shows me the clothes I’m not wearing, front and center, every day. So taking out the items I no longer love and wear takes me seconds.
Gassing up the car is pretty much automated. Whenever I pass a Wawa with gas, I stop almost every time.
My keys are never lost. That’s because I’ve automated the fact that they hang on a hook by the door. (Otherwise known as a place for everything and everything in it’s place.) They could go in a bowl, in my purse, on the dresser, or any number of places. There isn’t a magical spot, but since I’ve automated the spot where the do go, they, in fact, always go there.
Car cleaning is automatic. If you brought something into the car, you are responsible for taking it out. Everyone picks up bags, books, and trash before they leave the car. Mom isn’t doing it. There is no Car Cleaning Fairy. It’s a carry in-carry out van.
You might be thinking that this is a lot of rules, but it’s really just automating the parts of my life that don’t need higher-level or creative thought.
Because I like to use my brain cells for things like planning a trip to Paris, making the house pretty and doing fun things with the kids.
When the basics are organized, life is less stressful and more fun.
What about you. Are there ways that you have or you could automate your life?
[bctt tweet=”When the basics are organized, life is less stressful and more fun.” username=”DarlaDeMorrow”]
