Written by Florena Davies
Life can become stressful at times. We are often on the go between working 8 + hours a day, appointments, family activities etc. life can become hectic. Due to all the activities that have us on the go its important to take a bit every weekend to plan out the upcoming week.
Start with a Plan
Schedule a time on the weekend to plan out the upcoming week, sit down with your significant other, children or whoever else is in your household and quickly nail down a plan. In this plan should be Meals, upcoming Schedules, Chores, Priorities & Review. Make sure everyone has their schedule on them as well as a note taking device so as to not miss any important information they may forget later.
Scheduling
Keeping your family up to date on upcoming schedules is so important. Finding out the day your family members have an appointment, who’s going to take the children to the appointment or activity & who’s going to pick up and drop off the kids to school. We can ensure during scheduling there are no overlapping appointments that may need changing. This also is important if you are a family or household who shares a vehicle, so someone isn’t relying on the vehicle while someone else has the vehicle out.
Grocery shop
Although the weekend is not the ideal time to shop for groceries due to high volume of traffic it is important to get the groceries out of the way for the upcoming week. This step will take away the extra running around after work when your already hungry and tired.
Meal Planning
Before Grocery shopping planning out your meals is important. This Step will save you so much money, time and frustration. This sets up your grocery shop for success and time in the grocery store wandering around trying to figure out what to buy in in turn buying things you won’t eat, don’t want and will just rot away in the cupboards or refrigerator. It also helps to keep a list for your household members available for them to write down items running out. Its frustrating when you go to make a salad and realize there is no dressing left and must run to the store mid week to purchase an item that should have been part of the grocery shop. Also, with rising gas costs, these small trips are beginning to cost us more and more.
Meal Prep
Prepping and Setting Up your meals for the upcoming week is huge for a few reasons.
It keeps us healthier, saves time, and creates consistency in our daily routine. Having lunches pre prepared will save a lot of headaches and frustration in the morning, no one wants to get up earlier to prepare lunches for the upcoming day, and if we accidentally sleep in, we set ourselves up to either be hungry all day or eat fast food which is financially straining as well as unhealthy. Pre preparing suppers is phenomenally helpful to save time after work. Crock pot meals are ideal although may get boring if you utilize them too often.
Chores
Write a list of chores that must be completed through out the week and assign each of them to a household member. As stated above, scheduling is very important and do not forget chores in the schedules.
Priorities
Go over upcoming Priorities with everyone. These may be tasks like Dentist appointments that need to be made, Vehicle needs to be scheduled for servicing, Family walk, exercising, Lawn needs to be mowed etc. Try to Schedule in one major priority per day to alleviate the congestion of having too many top-level priorities to do at once.
Review
Doing an overall review with your household of how last week went and how you’d like to see the upcoming week go will Keep household communication open. This will keep everyone on the same page, keep surprises at bay and keep conversations flowing among household members.
Overall planning the upcoming week will keep the week flowing smoothly and efficiently. Start scheduling it into your weekend and prioritize sticking to it for at least a month and see how much more smoothly your life flows.
Melanie McConnell is a Professional Organizer and the owner of Mello Spaces. She helps busy professionals and parents get the organized home of their dreams. Check out her website www.mellospaces.com and follow her on Instagram: @mellospaces
Florena Davies is a Professional Organizer and Owner of Organize by Flo. She uses her experience as a wife and mother of 2 to create real life organizational systems and changes for work and home that allow our 2 worlds to co-exist and 'Flo" together. Check out her website at https://www.organizebyflo.com/ and on instagram @organizebyflo.
Marybeth Welty helps women create calm and healthy homes and lives. With over 12 years of experience in organizing, interior design, sustainable building, and mindful living, Marybeth is passionate about improving your mental health, your work, your relationships, and supporting the life of your dreams by starting with where you live, your home. You can book a free meeting with her at https://sustainablelifestylesolutions.com/20-min-free and connect with her on Instagram at @this_sustainable_lifestyle.