Mindfulness: how to make your day easier

[peachsmama]

So as I was shopping for my 2021 calendar there was one about mindfulness and had a monthly challenge.

Januarys (the only one I could read because I didn't buy it) was to change something that could make your day easier or less stressful.

So I'll start.

One of my daily frustrations is my damn eyebrows. I know it sounds stupid, but they are blonde and my hair is dark. So I fill them in so you can actually see them. I've tried 30 different products and hate them all. And I never get them right or even. It drives me nuts. Every.single.morning. So during my hair cut today I mentioned it to her and she put a little color on them. It's not hair dye, it'll last a month but was only $15 and omg. Life changing. I'm so glad I mentioned it.

What's something you can do or change about your day to make it easier/less stressful/not (as) frustrating ?

[vino]

I love this. I’m all about efficiency and leading a low maintenance life.

[vino]

In the past I’ve been really bad about all of us taking our vitamins. I had the kids one place, ours another etc. When we redid our kitchen I found a large white bin that holds all of our vitamins and sits in the cupboard nicely. I now take out the bin at the end of the day and line them all up for us to take.

[nam2013]

Sounds silly but a few things have helped me a lot.

- meal planning on Sunday, it takes us one hour every Sunday (ordering the groceries) and saves so much time trough out the week.
- putting the kids stuff/clothes out for them at night to put on in the morning (les important now they don’t go to school.
- making sure everything is being put away at night, so you have a fresh start the next day.

[nam2013]

Oh and another... Before was searching for matching elastic bands for dds braids almost every day, because these thing apparently eat themselves. I went on to ones of those Chinese sites and ordered 50 pink / 50 navy ones for a few bucks. Amazing!

[vino]

nam2013 yes to putting everything away at night, makes such a difference for the next day.

[peachsmama]

Something I plan to do in the future, because mj would dump them and un match them constantly. But I saw somewhere to put a basket of your kids socks by the shoes instead of in their closet. My kids hate socks and like to put them on right before shoes so I'm always sending them to their room. It would be easier and make getting out the door faster if they were by the door.

[wedding]

Jan 2, 2021 12:57:22 GMT -6 peachsmama said:

So as I was shopping for my 2021 calendar there was one about mindfulness and had a monthly challenge.

Januarys (the only one I could read because I didn't buy it) was to change something that could make your day easier or less stressful.

So I'll start.

One of my daily frustrations is my damn eyebrows. I know it sounds stupid, but they are blonde and my hair is dark. So I fill them in so you can actually see them. I've tried 30 different products and hate them all. And I never get them right or even. It drives me nuts. Every.single.morning. So during my hair cut today I mentioned it to her and she put a little color on them. It's not hair dye, it'll last a month but was only $15 and omg. Life changing. I'm so glad I mentioned it.

What's something you can do or change about your day to make it easier/less stressful/not (as) frustrating ?

I started dying my brows a couple years ago and I love it! They aren’t hard to do yourself either if it will be a bit before going back to the salon. For me they don’t last as long as my hair color. I’ve done it with hair color and also Just For Men mustache/beard color.

[wedding]

I made a glove/hat basket by the shoes so we can grab what we need for the day on our way out. The weather changes so much here and I don’t want to have to keep gloves in my bag all the time.

I also put a mask hook by the door leading out. When I unpack Cs backpack at night I get a new mask and put the lanyard on and leave it on top of his backpack.

I hate clutter and toys being out. Our downstairs closet became a toy box. I bought one basket and C can only have enough toys that fit in that basket. Otherwise they need to be in his room or in the finished basement. It has helped a lot. If he has more toys in sight he drags everything out even though he really only plays with a couple.

Lastly I got a roller cart for crafts. It has four bins and I’m able to sort coloring, paint, craft kits and finished pieces. We roll it out when we need it and pack it away when done.

[vino]

Because MH is away all the time I found I was wondering about house stuff and if he had done it etc. So we came up with this, a white board with dates listed. It has helped tremendously for both of us to remember to change out filters/bags etc

[lahdeedah]

Jan 2, 2021 16:26:28 GMT -6 wedding said:

I made a glove/hat basket by the shoes so we can grab what we need for the day on our way out. The weather changes so much here and I don’t want to have to keep gloves in my bag all the time.

I also put a mask hook by the door leading out. When I unpack Cs backpack at night I get a new mask and put the lanyard on and leave it on top of his backpack.

I hate clutter and toys being out. Our downstairs closet became a toy box. I bought one basket and C can only have enough toys that fit in that basket. Otherwise they need to be in his room or in the finished basement. It has helped a lot. If he has more toys in sight he drags everything out even though he really only plays with a couple.

Lastly I got a roller cart for crafts. It has four bins and I’m able to sort coloring, paint, craft kits and finished pieces. We roll it out when we need it and pack it away when done.

M constantly leaves art stuff all over the house. At any time he will take out colors/markers and do his art at the table, on the floor in the living room, in his room, in the guest room. It annoys me so much because he never puts it back in a single container. I have tried to make designated containers and he always just dumps everything out and mixes everything up in different bins.

It’s all supposed to go in a buffet cabinet by the kitchen table, but it ends up everywhere. He asked for an art table for Christmas, and if I had a good place for it to go, I would have gotten it for him so he would keep this crap in one spot.

I’m tempted to buy this cart so he can just roll it around wherever he wants to be creative and keep it contained.

[peachsmama]

Jan 2, 2021 16:20:07 GMT -6 wedding said:

Jan 2, 2021 12:57:22 GMT -6 peachsmama said:

So as I was shopping for my 2021 calendar there was one about mindfulness and had a monthly challenge.

Januarys (the only one I could read because I didn't buy it) was to change something that could make your day easier or less stressful.

So I'll start.

One of my daily frustrations is my damn eyebrows. I know it sounds stupid, but they are blonde and my hair is dark. So I fill them in so you can actually see them. I've tried 30 different products and hate them all. And I never get them right or even. It drives me nuts. Every.single.morning. So during my hair cut today I mentioned it to her and she put a little color on them. It's not hair dye, it'll last a month but was only $15 and omg. Life changing. I'm so glad I mentioned it.

What's something you can do or change about your day to make it easier/less stressful/not (as) frustrating ?

I started dying my brows a couple years ago and I love it! They aren’t hard to do yourself either if it will be a bit before going back to the salon. For me they don’t last as long as my hair color. I’ve done it with hair color and also Just For Men mustache/beard color.

I might do that between hair cuts. Thanks for the rec!

[wedding]

Jan 2, 2021 20:28:31 GMT -6 lahdeedah said:

Jan 2, 2021 16:26:28 GMT -6 wedding said:

I made a glove/hat basket by the shoes so we can grab what we need for the day on our way out. The weather changes so much here and I don’t want to have to keep gloves in my bag all the time.

I also put a mask hook by the door leading out. When I unpack Cs backpack at night I get a new mask and put the lanyard on and leave it on top of his backpack.

I hate clutter and toys being out. Our downstairs closet became a toy box. I bought one basket and C can only have enough toys that fit in that basket. Otherwise they need to be in his room or in the finished basement. It has helped a lot. If he has more toys in sight he drags everything out even though he really only plays with a couple.

Lastly I got a roller cart for crafts. It has four bins and I’m able to sort coloring, paint, craft kits and finished pieces. We roll it out when we need it and pack it away when done.

M constantly leaves art stuff all over the house. At any time he will take out colors/markers and do his art at the table, on the floor in the living room, in his room, in the guest room. It annoys me so much because he never puts it back in a single container. I have tried to make designated containers and he always just dumps everything out and mixes everything up in different bins.

It’s all supposed to go in a buffet cabinet by the kitchen table, but it ends up everywhere. He asked for an art table for Christmas, and if I had a good place for it to go, I would have gotten it for him so he would keep this crap in one spot.

I’m tempted to buy this cart so he can just roll it around wherever he wants to be creative and keep it contained.

This is the one I got

www.michaels.com/lexington-3tier-rolling-cart-by-recollections/10503531.html?r=g&cm_mmc=PLASearch-_-google-_-MICH_Shopping_US_N_Seasonal_N_Smart_BOPIS_N-_-&Kenshoo_ida=&kpid=go_cmp-9982987347_adg-98032309822_ad-433378147620_pla-1005597852462_dev-m_ext-_prd-10503531&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzo6Ew_X-7QIVFXiGCh2Q_wcvEAQYASABEgKccvD_BwE

They had a ton more though.

[nam2013]

Seems appropriate for this thread. How did you moms with kids in different grades make the homeschooling work better/easier?

[guster]

I love threads like this!

I do at least one load of laundry, a day. I never take a break from it – Thanksgiving, my birthday, a lazy Sunday — always laundry.

Everything that can be done the night before is done the night before. Kids clothes and backpacks are out and ready; same with my clothes and bag.
If it can go into the car the night before, it does.

We have a little 1 inch deep serving tray that I put out every night with plates and glasses and everything we need for breakfast the next morning. I don’t do this on the weekends or when they are not in school.

There is a post-it note on the fridge that we read out loud before we leave the house. It’s just a final checklist of the things we have to do every morning and the things they have to take with them.

The biggest one for me is two lunchboxes for Josie (next year I’ll have two for Charlie as well) and at least two sets of lunchbox organizers snd accessories. This way I don’t have to wait for her to come home to wash everything to make and pack a new lunch. I can make it whenever I want during the day, I don’t have to add an extra thing to the afterschool rush.

[guster]

Oooh, i’m also a zealot for library books in the same place at the end of every day.

[wedding]

Along with what guster said about lunches, I have three lunch bags for C and I make three lunches on Sunday and the other two mid week. It saves a few minutes daily but more so I can take that mental piece out for a task.

[flamingo]

Jan 2, 2021 17:58:58 GMT -6 vino said:

Because MH is away all the time I found I was wondering about house stuff and if he had done it etc. So we came up with this, a white board with dates listed. It has helped tremendously for both of us to remember to change out filters/bags etc

Similarly, I have a list of things to do the first day of each month...check propane tank, salt for water softener, dog's flea/tick/heart-guard meds, air filters. 

[flamingo]

Backpacks, snacks, water bottles, & fresh mask are all packed the night before. We have a note by the back door similar to guster 's.

First of the month is my big day to check house/maintenance stuff (see above).

One last tidy-up at night before bed...I set the timer for 5 minutes and everybody pitches in. I hate walking into mess in the mornings.

I like the rolling cart idea wedding . We have ours in a dedicated lower kitchen cabinet near our eat-in area, which is fine b/c we have plenty of cabinet space. But it's a bit awkward for storing things like coloring books, paper, etc. so maybe a cart is the solution.

[guster]

Jan 3, 2021 5:43:46 GMT -6 nam2013 said:

Seems appropriate for this thread. How did you moms with kids in different grades make the homeschooling work better/easier?

Obviously, Charlie didn’t have remote learning this year or last, but for both kids I bought a rolling cart (similar to wedding’s art cart)
Josie‘s is filled with whatever she needs for school, but for Charlie’s I put things in to keep him busy when Josie is on a zoom. There are magnets and a new cookie sheet, couple of puzzles, blank paper with scissors, pencils, and crayons, a Geoboard, a magnadoodle, matching cards, and these little ball and/or peg games.
This way he can sit at a table near us or even on the floor and keep himself occupied for the length of her zoom.
A lot of times he just runs into the playroom and plays alone.

[nam2013]

guster that sounds useful. I don’t have the space for extra carts. I got a big crate with Ds’s stuff. I’ll put the practice booklets I got, an extra slate & chalk, modelling beeswax, colouring stuff and a notebook dd in them, that way she’ll can mimic ds or occupy herself.

[klong11]

You you guys are way more organized than me.
That is all.