Lifestyle

Howdy Y’all,

Happy Monday. Trust your weekend was good. Mine was lovely, Friday night was fun we had friends in for dinner and thank goodness my pizza worked. I can not tell how relieved I am, I have tried so many different pizza stones and baking sheets and finally Sur La Table came to my rescue, I see many a happy pizza night in our future. I also tried a new cheesecake recipe, this was not a baked, meaning I used gelatin. I have avoided gelatin like the plague because I have always been under the impression it was impossible to work with, I am pleased to say that is utter rot. I will now be making many a non baked cheesecake because I think they are delicious. Would you like me to share the recipe? Saturday was quiet, we took a trip to the park where Little L fell off the climbing frame and I tell you my heart stopped to see her fall so far, she was a little winded and her pride a little hurt but other than that thankfully she was unscathed. On Saturday night Mr L and I had a date night, we did our usual which involves a movie and dinner. We went to see Gold, which was super, Matthew McConaughey was first class, He really transforms himself. An added bonus is Edgar Ramirez and ladies if you do not know of whom I speak I urge you to google you will not be disappointed. A  movie we both enjoyed, we grabbed dinner afterwards at Blue Fish, goodness I love Sushi so great night all round. Now if you are American and have not been living in a cave you will know that Sunday was Super Bowl day in the USA. More importantly it was being held near the city in which I live giving me all the more reason to go to ground.

Today’s post is to talk about my Sunday routine. On reflection I am wondering if this might be better as a video, if you think so please let me know and I will record myself. I am all for making life as organized as possible, I like to put in place systems which make my week run smoother. I often find how effective I am on a Sunday reflects how much “me time” I get throughout the week. I had never really thought about it as a routine until last week when I thought I am repeating these things each week, over time I have added more and I have found my weeks have run smoother, I thought I have to share this. Let me preface these don’t have to be done on a Sunday, it could be done in anytime that suits your lifestyle. If I am busy on Sunday I will just make sure I do it on a Saturday.

1. Put a washing load on first thing. This is usually for items that I do specifically once a week, Little L’s school nap blanket, my shower accessories, bathroom hand towels etc. Honestly all my laundry is usually done by Sunday as I do at least one load a day.
2. Do my ironing. Sunday is ironing day I usually do it in front of the TV or YouTube. I love to have my laundry pressed and put away for the new week. I iron my bed sheets, I then place them in the correct rooms ready to be changed for the week ahead.
3. Check and repack my daughters school bag. Self explanatory.
4. Lay out her uniform ready for Monday morning and polish her school shoes. This makes the Monday morning start much less stressful and we have invested in her shoes so it is important to take care of them and for her to see me doing so because one day she will be doing it. Have I ever mentioned how much I love a uniform?
5. Get my dry cleaning ready. I make sure the items are in the bag ready to leave by the front door.
6. Check and clean out my car. This is a habit I love to do, I take five minutes to open each door of the car reorganize, empty the trash, give it a dust, check stocks, and empty the boot, which is bound to have some drink or cleaning items I had purchased but not placed in the garage. I enjoy doing this and I like my car to look clean and together. I get it cleaned in and out about once a month. It also reminds me to put more credit on my Starbucks card if necessary! Priorities!!
7. Clean round my washing machine and empty the dryer lint tray. Very self explanatory.
8. Meal Plan, I love to meal plan mainly because I hate getting to the store and thinking what shall I cook? I have an exercise book where I write my list, this has proved useful when I am in store and not sure if I have purchased something in an earlier week. I also add to the book throughout the week as items need replacing.
9. Clean out my fridge. This is less regimented now since I have recently taken possession of a new fridge/freezer in my garage which has meant fridge real estate is at less of a premium, never the less this is a great habit to get into. There is nothing worse than a rotting avocado at the back of the fridge.
10. Sit and arrange my planner, I take five minutes to look at appointments, enter any important information for myself or my family, enter my meals for the week and try to schedule gym time and blogging. I can also check any impending important dates that I might need to order or arrange gifts/cards for.
11. Delete emails and check admin items. I have a confession I am very bad at deleting junk email, I let it fester. I have added this to my routine to ensure I keep on top of it. I also deal with any returns I may have, get them ready for the post office. I file any coupons I might want or need to use. I clean my electronics with a cleaning wipe, they get filthy especially with toddler fingers.
12. Clean out my purse and repack for the week ahead. I remember a woman once saying you could tell how organized her life was by the state of her purse, that has stuck with me and I will confess that sometimes on a Friday it can look like a black hole, but I do love taking the time to get rid of receipts and snack wrappers, removing toddler cups and making it look together again. I check it is stocked and ready for those emergencies.
13. Put a meal in my slow cooker. Often on a Sunday I will cook something in the slow cooker as our meal for Sunday with leftovers for lunch. If I have selected a non slow cooker meal I will make a soup instead. I love to have a home made soup on hand, either for lunches in the week or if a day runs away with me for dinner with toasties.
14. Tidying and restocking items. I go into each room tidying and restocking, I like to water and feed my plants, restock baby wipes, refill stain remover sprays (trust me we practically drink this stuff I am always spraying rugs or clothes.) I often wiz about refilling coffee pods, the sugar bowl, putting teaspoons near the coffee station anything that will make the mornings run more smoothly. I often try to clean my makeup brushes if time allows!
15. Bake something either for breakfasts or snack time. This can range from breakfast muffins to natural fruit flapjacks, anything my folks can grab or I can offer if people pop by.

I am aware that this list has made it sound a little laborious, I promise you depending on the size of my ironing pile it never takes more than a couple of hours and saves me so much time in the week ahead. Yes, it may allow me that extra thirty minutes to read a book or nap (no that is total BS I will never get to nap again but a gal can dream!) Do you have a routine? Something that you find makes life run smoother? I am always wanting to perfect it, I am considering adding laying my clothes out the night before and laying the table for breakfast but we shall see. Now I will confess I have weeks where I can not be bothered or we have plans and I don’t get through it all and my weeks don’t run so smooth, so I try really hard to make myself do these things and I confess it gets easier. I often will be doing the routine while wearing a face mask because I love to multi task and I do reward myself on completion with a hot bath and some well deserved me time!

That’s it folk. Enjoy your week.

Ta Ta for now

TLL x