Life is about maintenance more than achievement. It’s about running each week, not the marathon you ran four years ago. It’s about regularly tidying up the hallway closet and switching things out each season, not going to the container store once and thinking you’re organized and done.
With running, consistency is key for improvement, maintenance is key for not slipping back.
So many areas of my life are like that, too. I used to get frustrated by the need to clean out the pantry or my closet twice a year. Why wouldn’t it just stay organized? What was I doing wrong? But that’s not how it works. I need to practice organized living by putting everything back in its place, not over-shopping, and checking inventory before I buy something. I need to do regular maintenance by going through my closet occasionally and seeing if everything fits, reminding myself of the clothes I have, shifting their location so the seasonal clothing is most accessible.
I’ve realized that many items should not be on a “to do” list, so much as a “best practices” list of things I should be doing every week, and some of the bigger items should be on a maintenance list of things I do a few times a year.
Here’s a few best practices for life, ones that have the biggest impact on my happiness when I do them regularly:
Meal Planning: It’s stressful not knowing what you’re going to make for lunch or dinner, especially when you have children who aren’t very forgiving if a meal is half an hour late. To have a good day, I need to know what we’re eating each meal of the day.
Grocery Lists: This goes right along with meal planning. Every time I go to the grocery store without a plan, I end up with duplicate items that I’m shoving into the fridge or pantry because they don’t fit, and a whole lot of half-planned meal ideas where I’m usually missing a few ingredients. It’s stressful, unpleasant, and often causes me to waste food and money because I bought things without a plan to use them.
Planned times to exercise: Sometimes I just wing it, and throw the kids in the stroller when I feel like going, but I find that I exercise more consistently if I know when I’m going to run, and what my workout goal is for each run, before the day or week starts.
Making the bed in the morning & cleaning up the toys at night: When I make the bed in the morning, I feel organized and put together every time I walk by my bedroom during the day. When I clean up the toys at night, it stays cleaner all day. It’s hard to ask Will or Andrew to put their toys away before lunch when it’s two days worth of activities strewn about the family room. It’s easy to ask them when they started with a blank slate and are just playing with the blocks. I try to have everything cleaned up before dinner (when the boys are awake and can be responsible for helping or doing it themselves) but if I don’t, it makes a big difference if I take the time to do it.
Meeting with friends / getting out of the house: If I don’t make plans to see someone, I can end up chasing the kids around the house and folding laundry for the entire week. Other parents can probably relate! It’s much better if I can get the kids out of the house to go somewhere, meet someone at a playground, get to the library. They’re not making a mess of the house, I’m not trying to multi-task (which I do all the time at home where there’s laundry to fold and meals to make) and we can all focus on having fun with each other.
Inventorying before I buy anything: I am getting better and better about looking in the kids closets before I buy a single article of clothing for them, and I’m trying to do the same with myself. It breaks my heart to see how many clothes Andrew has that he doesn’t wear, because he has all of Will’s hand-me-downs, and all of the clothes given to him or bought for him in his current size. He doesn’t need it, doesn’t wear it, and it clogs up his closet and keeps me from being able to find his favorite shirts! The same goes for toys, games and other items. Imagine what your house could look like if you only bought something when you knew you had a need for it and had room for it, or you donated an item for every item that came in. Less clutter, more usability of the items you have! Glorious.
Probably none of these surprise you – because all of us know deep down that we would benefit from doing them. I’ve been renewing my focus on practicing these habits recently, and it’s made a huge difference in my mood and my daily experience.
It’s back to school time, and the holidays will be here faster than we think. It’s a great time to do some big maintenance like cleaning out an area of your home or re-hauling your training schedule, and then settle into some of the positive habits that can improve your quality of life on a daily basis.
What do you wish you did regularly?
