Clearing Space for the Important Things

Does your to-do list span the length of your arm? Do you feel like there is too much to remember and not enough time in the day to get it all done? 

Now let me ask you this. Have you ever looked into your options of automating and delegating regular life to-do's? People and companies out there have come up with some extremely creative and affordable options as they have recognized there are a ton of regular folk out there that just need some help relieving the pressure.

Remember, YOU are a priority. If you have access to ways to take regular life things off your plate so that they are easier - or even better - take care of themselves, this clears space for you to spend time with the things you value.  Do something fun with the kids, go on a date night, take time for a little self-care with the stereotypical bubble bath, or just take five minutes to breathe and recenter. 

Here are some of the services I've found and tried, or am wanting to try in the next few months. The beauty is that you can pick one and try it, and the worst case is you decide you don't like it so you either cancel or don't do it again. Best case is you take some of the drudgery out of your life and never look back!

Toothbrush and toothpaste subscriptions (tried and love)

I first heard about this product and subscription service on a podcast I listen to - Gretchen Rubin's "Happier". I love it, the podcast AND the toothbrush/toothpaste. 😀 Every three months they send you a new toothbrush head, battery, and tube of toothpaste. No more of that standing in the store trying to remember how old your toothbrush is or if you already have an extra tube of paste in the drawer or not... and all for an extremely reasonable price, especially if you just do the year subscription.  I signed up with a company called quip, find it here.

Never experience that feeling again of "adulting fail" the morning you are frantically swishing with mouthwash hoping it will mask your morning breath because you thought you had a new tube of paste but... you didn't!

Online grocery shopping with pickup or delivery (tried and working out kinks)

Do your shopping in the comfort of your pajamas while you sip your morning coffee. Set your pickup time and BOOM! Done. That's right. No getting stuck waiting for some guy to pick out the perfect pickle when all you want to do is grab that jar of dills he's blocking. No dealing with long lines at checkout or the mind-boggling folks that dead stop in the middle of the aisle ahead of you.

Almost all grocery stores now offer this service, and some even have an option for home delivery for an extra charge if you're really strapped for time or convenience.


Some extra bonuses:

• Short circuit impulse buys and easily stay within your grocery budget.
• Easily check just how much ketchup is actually left because your kitchen is right there instead of coming home to discover you in fact have enough stashed away for the zombie apocalypse and are becoming dangerously close to being classified as a ketchup hoarder.
• Lots of stores have special online pickup parking nice and close to the doors (the holy grail of the grocery store parking lot) 

Meal subscription box services (plan to try after holiday season)

This one looks a little pricier from what I've been able to find so far, but, if you're like me and cringe at the dreaded "what's for supper" question you will probably at least consider it like I am. What I'm finding appealing are the ones that let you choose a style of food and flag absolute dislikes then they put together a lovely plan and the ingredients for you.

I'm a little concerned and haven't quite yet wrapped my mind around food coming in the mail - like how do they do that and keep it fresh? Especially the meats? But the allure is there and I've decided we will at least try it for one week to check it out. Now just to choose which service to use. If anyone has tried this successfully I'd love to know and please comment below!

House cleaning services (actively looking for a good fit to hire)

This one might take a bit of a mindset shift. No, having a cleaner is not just for the rich and famous. No, having a cleaner does not equate failure in being the perfect balanced woman who can do it all.

Remember that hiring a cleaner does not mean you need to hire them to do it all. Especially if you are working with someone running their own small business. This is the way I'm leaning as the idea of meeting and hiring the PERSON who will be unattended in my house makes me more comfortable (rather than a bigger company where they are going to send whoever they currently have hired). Often in these cases you can hire them to help with specific things - the things you hate most. Myself, I'm thinking cleaning the bathrooms (there is nothing I hate more than trying to balance and lean in to scrub a bathtub) and a good vacuuming once a week. 

In my mind, this is a win-win. I will no longer have to do the chores I hate and it won't cost very much - I'll be paying for maybe an hour or hour and a half of work each week, not a full day or anything, and I'll be helping out someone looking to make their way in the world and build their business.

With that...

Think about the items on your to-do list. What shows up constantly, over and over, and you can actually feel the life sucking out of you when you think about doing it? Is there something you need to replace regularly but can never remember the last time you did it? Does the thought of deciding "what's for supper" make you shrivel up inside? These are exactly the things you just might be able to get rid of with a quick Google search. Is there a diaper delivery service in your area? Google it. Do you joke about needing an assistant to manage your calendar? You just might be surprised how cheap you can actually get a virtual or remote one.

If you are a bit of a control freak like me, start small. Let the little successes of recapturing your precious time to use in ways you enjoy and find meaningful compound... and just maybe someday you'll be able to look forward to most of your to-do list. You really can be the queen of everything! 👸