Guest bloggers rock!
Aug 30 2010
This week's guest blogger is MacKenzie, from The Mama Kenz Studio. Love her (and so will you)!
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I learned a little secret recently, and as a natural born procrastinator it was not one that was easy to swallow, but my oh my, has it ever made a difference in my life! Curious? It is called... being prepared! I know! Crazy, huh?! Who would have ever thought that that would be a helpful thing to do?
It's funny because I always thought I was prepared. I am a "lister" and a "planner" but I ended up finding out that those things do not necessarily make me a "preparer"! I always had a tendency to get everything done at the last minute and had talked myself into thinking that that was always when I did my best work! I mean, I had my lists, so I knew I wouldn't forget anything, even if I was accomplishing it at the eleventh hour. I've been like this for as long as I can remember, and I always (or almost always) got everything done on time, but it usually did involve late nights and a fair amount of stress.
Early this year, however, the stress just became too much. With two young children I wasn't making my deadlines anymore and began to run late everywhere I went. Forgetful and frazzled I realized that something had to give. As much as I hated the thought, I was going to have to make some serious changes, even if I wasn't entirely sure how. That also happened to be about the time that I heard about pre-prepped breakfasts! It was such an ingenious idea I couldn't believe I had never thought of it before myself! Basically, while you are making dinner each night you prep all the ingredients for the next morning's breakfast, taking all the prep work and a good amount of the cleanup out of the early morning hours, leaving you with just a simple cooking task. I loathe serving my children cereal but it had become my standby since our mornings always seemed to be either too early or too rushed to make anything else happen. Pre-prepping our breakfasts was a feasible way that I could feed us all something nutritious without feeling overwhelmed. Who doesn't love that?!
As the months progressed I started applying this prep-ahead principle to other areas of my life and it has made such a difference! Some of them may seem fairly obvious and simple, maybe even silly, but they make my days easier! Here are a few that I have been incorporating with great success:
Don't stop at just preparing your breakfasts in advance, make your lunches too! This includes you homeschool moms! Bento box-style lunch boxes are perfect for doing this (such as those at EasyLunchBoxes.com).
We're on a roll now so why not get dinner ready in advance too?! Consider doing Once a Month Freezer Cooking or setting aside an afternoon one day a week to cut all your veggies and cook all your bulk meats (like hamburger and diced chicken that you will be adding to dishes).
Another HUGE key to getting your meals prepped in advance is having a well thought out meal plan. Planning your meals a few weeks or even a month at a time allows you to take better advantage of sales, buy in bulk and actually get things done ahead of time. Plus, not to mention what a relief it is to not start panicking and wondering at 5:00 everyday about what your going to serve for dinner!
Lay out your and your kid's clothes every evening, whether you are going anywhere or not. This is a huge time saver- not just for finding the clothes but for making the decisions (ladies- you know what I mean!). Also, make sure your kids no where they are!
Clean things as you go- especially when it pertains to dishes and clutter! If you put things away right when you are done and do your dishes as soon as you finish with them (even throughout your cooking process) you are essentially prepping your house for less work later. Prepare yourself for not having to do a sink full of dishes and pick up your whole house at some late hour when you should really be relaxing or even going to bed!
Blog in bulk! Write a few posts at a time and schedule them to publish throughout the week.
Consider showering in the evening. This is definitely a personal preference, but I find that showering after my kids are in bed helps me to unwind, gives me one less thing to do in the morning and I can throw my slightly damp hair into a braid and wake up with great wavy hair, full of body! Double bonus!
Pack any bags (diaper bags, back packs, your purse, etc...) the evening before you have a day with an outing and, if you are able and it's practical, even go put them in the car. This way you can be sure that you don't forget anything and you aren't trying to find everything that you need the minute you are supposed to be heading out the door.
Purchase Christmas and Birthday gifts throughout the year as you find them and you have the money, AND wrap them (don't forget to put a tag on them though)! This way you don't get saddled with having to fork out a lot of money at once and you don't have to stay up until 1:00am wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve!
Have your children make thank you cards the week before their birthday and get all the envelopes addressed before you ever head out the door to their party. That way you are sure to get them finished and sent out in a timely fashion.
If I really boiled it down and weighed it all out, my workload is still probably about the same. However, the simple fact that each day I am preparing for the next day, all the while knowing that most of my work for the current day is already accomplished and I am not going to be relocated to any last-minute scrambling, makes my life so much less stressful that it feels like I have less work. In all honesty, I don't always follow all my own advice, but man do I pay for it when I don't! Getting things done in advance is such a savior to me I really only wish I would have figured it out sooner!
So why not start pre-prepping your life and reducing your stress too? Now is the perfect time of year as kids head back to school or you begin homeschooling again and you are starting to get into more of a rhythm and routine! Give it a try. Before you know it you won't believe that you were able to get by any other way!
MacKenzie Monroe is first and foremost a wife and mama, who writes and works as a birth and postpartum doula and natural parenting counselor on the side. She blogs about life and homemaking at The Mama Kenz Studio and all her family and homeschool adventures at The World According to Them.
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