things that make my life simpler

Over the recent weeks/months, we've made some little adjustments and changes that have made our lives simpler.  While not all of these things are technically "new" things or even "blog-worthy" things, I wanted to share them in case they helped the efficiency of your daily grind.  The flow of our household and my own sanity have greatly improved because of this little list. 

CLOROX WIPES

I've never really gotten into the cleaning wipes thing.  I think my logic has always told me that I'm wasting money.  Why not just buy a cleaning product that lasts much longer and use a rag I have at home?  I'll tell you why.  Convenience.  Convenience is worth all the monies.  Rather than doing an intense clean every time I clean the bathrooms, I can just pull these babies out, do a quick wipe-down of toilets, surfaces, and floors, and feel like I've done something productive.  Now, I save the whipping out of multiple products for the deep-cleaning types of days. 

LAUNDRY SCHEDULE

I asked the Facebook universe about laundry schedules several weeks ago.  Up until that point, I'd always had a laundry day.  But now that Nova is older and I'm doing laundry for four legitimate humans, that system stopped working.  It was way too much laundry at one time and it was way too overwhelming.

The "one load a day" answer seemed to be the most common among my Facebook friends.  But still, it felt a bit paralyzing to me because I really hate doing laundry.  So I found an in-between solution.  What works for me is if I use Monday thru Thursday to do laundry.  One load a day for four days.  My goal is to be done by Friday so I have the entire weekend away from laundry.  It has been so much better this way.  I feel like it is doable.  Now, that's not to say that I don't have days where it piles up.  But when I have my act together, this system is perfect.

VOICE MEMOS

With my songwriting, I've always stuck to pen and paper.  I have never been one to record my songs as I write them.  But after becoming a mom of two, I realized that the moments of time I had to sit down and focus were even more seldom than before.  A few months ago, I started recording bits and pieces at the piano throughout the day when an idea came to mind.  I've realized that in this busy, mind-clouding season of life, it's important that I do this.  Many times, I'll listen back to these clips and think, Wow.  I'm so glad I recorded that.  I totally forgot about that part.  Because of this, I think I've written and completed more songs post-motherhood than pre-motherhood.

MY LITTLE HELPER

Having a little person in the house who can actually help you with the household duties is an amazing thing.  These are the things Duke is responsible for doing (some of them are habits for him and some of them take a little nudging and reminding):  bringing dishes over to the sink after every meal, putting shoes away in his room, putting the clean silverware back in the drawer from the dishwasher, picking up toys, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, bringing dirty clothes to the washer, and setting the table for dinner.  It's so good for him to do these things, and they genuinely help me.  He lights up when he puts the silverware away and I think it's because he loves being able to do an activity with us and on our level.  I also think responsibilities like these make him feel big and important.

FRIDAYS OFF

Starting Nova in Kid's Day Out in September was one of the best decisions I've made.  Leading up to it, I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing.  Part of me was surprised and maybe a little guilty feeling that she wasn't even 1.5 years old and I was asking for a day away from her each week.  But the other part of me realized that if I didn't do it, I would lose my mind.  Every Friday, I am a free woman.  I can walk in and out of places quickly, I can go on a run around the lake, I can sit at a coffee shop alone, I can write songs, I can clean the house, I can have lunches with people.  It's a wonderful thing for me.  It's also wonderful for Duke and Nova to play with friends and have other people tell them what to do besides boring ole me.  I'd get tired of me too if I were them!  Fridays are good for all of us.  We all get a break from each other, I get things done, and we enter into the weekend feeling refreshed.