Tag: cleaning

Creating Healthy Habits

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After graduating from college in 2016 I really struggled with creating healthy, sustainable habits. Once I entered my full time job it was even harder to balance work, life, and my health. Recently I’ve been focusing more on some of the small things that I can do to create daily habits to make my life easier and more enjoyable.

Here are some of the things I’ve been putting in place

  • Loading the dishwasher as I go. Instead of waiting to do the dishes when the sink gets full I’ve been rinsing off and loading the dishwasher as I go and running it at night once it’s full. This has been much easier than spending a few minutes every couple of days loading it and being annoyed that I have to take the time to do it. It’s a super simple change but it’s made a big difference!
  • Doing a load of laundry a day (if needed). I used to do all of our laundry in one day over the weekend. Now I’ve been trying to do a load of laundry every day and folding it right away. I’ve found that I don’t always need to do laundry but splitting it up makes it easy to deal with.
  • Setting a step goal and sticking to it. Having a desk job makes it so hard to get in a healthy number of steps a day especially on the days when I work from home. I’ve been working hard to set a step goal and work towards it. If I’m working from home I try to walk on the treadmill during my lunch so I don’t have to try to get in all of my steps after work.
  • Going to bed by 10 pm. Having a nighttime routine has been one of my favorite things that I’ve incorporated in 2021. I feel much better when I go to bed at a decent time every night so I can make sure I’m getting in enough sleep. This also helps me to wake up earlier the next morning!
  • Taking breaks away from my computer. I am the worst at taking a lunch when I’m working from home. It got to the point where Brett was bringing me lunch most days because I couldn’t even spend a few minutes to make it on my own. Now I try to take at least 30 minutes away from my computer for a lunch break and a few minutes every hour for normal breaks.
  • Reading at least one chapter of a book per day. I love reading but tend to spend long periods scrolling through my phone instead of reading. I’m trying to put my phone down and read instead of scrolling through TikTok.
  • Doing a 15 minute house re-set every night. I like to spend 15 minutes before I go to bed folding blankets, wiping down counters and tables, putting things away, and just getting my house in order. Then I can wake up to a clean house and go about my day.

I recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear and one of the things that I took away from it was starting small and trying to improve by 1% daily instead of rushing to 100% improvement. This feels more sustainable to me and will hopefully help me create some lasting healthy habits.

One another note, I’ve really been missing blogging and feel like I might be getting back into a better place to start writing more. Hopefully I’ll be back soon!

Photo by Lala Azizli on Unsplash

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2020 Spring Cleaning List

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spring cleaning list

I shared my spring cleaning list for 2019 and really enjoyed having it to reference this year. 2020 is a bit different since I’ve been home basically 24/7 for the past 2 months so my house has been a bit more organized than it normally is. I still have some deep cleaning and organizing to do though!

It’s been raining pretty much non-stop in Michigan which means our water table is super high. We have a partially finished basement and have never really had any issues with flooding. This week, however, we started to get a puddle of water on the finished side of our basement. It’s leaking up through the cement and into the carpet. There’s not a ton we can do about the situation other than to try and keep it dry. We will most likely need new carpet though! I will just have to live with the fact that my basement won’t be clean and tidy this spring.

Here is my 2020 spring cleaning list. Let me know what’s on your list to tackle this year!

  1. Move furniture and clean the floors
  2. Clean and organize the fridge and freezer (house and garage)
  3. Dust the blinds and wash the curtains
  4. Organize the basement “pantry”
  5. Deep clean the laundry room
  6. Clean out and re-organize the storage room
  7. Dust the shelves in the dining room and re-decorate
  8. Mount the TV in the living room and clean out the TV stand
  9. Take out winter clothes from our closets and add in spring clothes
  10. Deep clean the mudroom and put away winter boots and shoes
  11. Finish painting the rest of the furniture
  12. Clean out dressers and donate/sell clothes
  13. Power-wash the outdoor furniture and patio areas
  14. Dust the walls and ceilings

It’s Memorial Day on Monday which means we have a 3 day weekend! I’m hoping to cross off a few of the items on my list this weekend since we can’t go to the lake like we usually do for Memorial Day.

What are your plans for the weekend?

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My Sunday To-Do List

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Sunday is a hard day for me because I feel so pressured to get everything done. I try to write my to-do list on Saturday so that I can cross off a few items before Sunday rolls around. We usually have plans on Saturday though so it’s hard to get too much done.

After my post last week about the things I do to prepare for my week I thought it would be fun to actually share my to-do list for today. I know that I probably won’t be able to get everything done on this list but I always try to!

  • Clean the bathroom
  • Empty all trashes
  • Clean out the fridge
  • Sweep and mop the floors
  • Finish the laundry and fold/put away clothes
  • Wash bedding and make the bed
  • Deep clean the kitchen
  • Go grocery shopping
  • Prep lunches and snacks for the week
  • Vacuum the couch
  • Change the kitty litter
  • Tidy the living room
  • Dust the furniture
  • Wipe down surfaces
  • Clean the mirrors
  • Organize the coat closet

If I have time I would love to put up my spring decorations. I haven’t re-decorated since Christmas so my house has looked empty for the past few weeks. I’m ready to add some color back into my decor!

Since it is Superbowl Sunday we will be heading to my parent’s house to watch the game and have dinner. I’m going to attempt to make some sort of Keto friendly appetizer for me and my mom.

Who are you rooting for to win the game today? I know nothing about sports so I’m really just in it for the food and commercials!

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4 Things I Do For A Productive Work Week

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Last year I wrote about the “Sunday Scaries” and about being so anxious on Sunday that I wasn’t able to enjoy my day off of work. I feel so much pressure to get things done that I can’t just relax and take care of myself like I should. Since then I have been working on learning how to breathe and enjoy life.

Even though I am enjoying my Sundays now more than I used to I still have a small list of things that I do during the weekend to help me have a productive work week ahead. I hope that these help you if you are also feeling anxious about getting things done!

  1. Create a meal plan and go grocery shopping. I hate making unnecessary stops on my way home from work. On Monday the grocery store is always super busy and I don’t want to wait in lines or be stuck in cart traffic jams. I like to browse the store ad online, create a meal plan, and go grocery shopping early in the morning on Saturday or Sunday to avoid crowds. I feel really good if I can check this off my list right away!
  2. Make my kitchen spotless. I’m one of those people who just can’t function if my kitchen is messy. I hate cluttered counters, dirty dishes in the sink, and a messy floor. If I am able to start my Monday with a clean kitchen I feel much more ready to tackle my week. I’m also more motivated to cook dinner when I arrive home from work if the kitchen is clean!
  3. Laundry done plus clothes folded and put away. I used to have a bad habit of doing my laundry and then leaving it in the basket for a few days before finally folding it and putting it back in the basket. I hated putting my clothes away in my closet or dresser. Now I make it a goal to have all of the laundry done and put away before Monday morning.
  4. Realize that I won’t be able to get everything done. I’m just one person and there’s no way that I can tackle my whole to-do list in one weekend. I try to get the basics done and make small lists to accomplish during the week. I have stopped putting so much pressure on myself to have the perfect house and I feel so much better! It’s okay to leave some items unchecked on your list. You’ll get to them when you can.

2018 was a really dark year of me but it taught me that I needed to learn how to put myself and my mental health first. Last year I struggled with finding a healthy balance of productivity and relaxing. I’ve made a lot of really good progress and I contribute that to learning how to set myself up for success.

How do you prepare for your work week?

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What I Do When I’m Feeling Overwhelmed

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One of my most annoying traits is that I am very easily overwhelmed. I’ve known this about myself from an early age and have always blamed it on the fact that I’m an introvert. Being around people drains me and I get so overwhelmed that I have a hard time functioning.

As I’ve grown older I’ve come to realize that my environment is what overwhelms me the most. I avoid being around large groups of people because having many people talking at once makes me completely lose focus. Sometimes I can’t even hold a conversation with the person sitting next to me because all I can hear are the other voices around me.

When Brett and I bought our house my mental health started to deteriorate. I was so overwhelmed with cooking, cleaning, laundry, unpacking, organizing, etc. Brett and I had an apartment before so it wasn’t the stress of moving in with him that created this monster inside of me. We had way more space in our house than our apartment and I was feeling overwhelmed taking care of all of it.

My environment is important to my mental health. When my house is clean, I am calm. When my house is a little messy, I feel a bit chaotic. When my house looks like a tornado blew through it, I am a hot mess. 

Let’s be super honest here, I’m not the neatest person in the world so I constantly feel chaotic. I’ve learned to deal with these overwhelming feelings in a couple of ways.

  1. I take a quick break. Sometimes I just need a moment to breathe away from the chaos that I’ve created around me. I’ll grab Oscar and head out for a quick walk around the block or just hang out with him in the backyard for a bit. Anything to get me out of my head.
  2. I read a book. Reading is so therapeutic to me. I love getting lost in someone else’s story and it makes me forget about my life for a few minutes.
  3. Create a to-do list. When I’m feeling super overwhelmed I grab my notepad and jot down all the things I think I need to do. This is fun to look at hours later when I’m not so stressed because I can tell how chaotic my brain was when I wrote it. Creating a list gets my stress out of my body and onto the paper.
  4. Have Brett talk me down. Brett and I have been together for almost 9 years so he almost understands me better than I understand myself sometimes. He knows how to deal with me when I’m at my most overwhelmed and always talks me back into a good place.

Being overwhelmed is a normal feeling and there’s nothing wrong with feeling it at times. I always tell myself that I’m stronger than any feeling I’m having and I’ll get through it like I always have before.

Life is for living. By being so overwhelmed with housework I was truly forgetting to live. I’m trying to be better about how I spend my time. One of my Q1 goals is to spend more time tidying and less time cleaning. I hope this helps me calm down and enjoy everyday.

I hope these tips help you if you are also feeling overwhelmed! Let me know if you have any other tips.

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2019: Second Quarter Goals Recap

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In April I posted my second quarter goals with the hopes of accomplishing everything on my list. I think I did a pretty good job considering that Q2 flew right by! I’m starting to think that I have a terrible sense of time because I blink and it’s the end of the quarter.

  1. Create a self-care routine. I’ve come to the conclusion that self-care is different for everyone. I’m not really the bath and face mask type even though I really want to be. I spent Q2 creating a non-stressful nighttime routine including a time to be in bed every night. I took melotonin so that I could sleep better and started doing at home workouts and nightly walks. All of these things made me feel like I was taking more time for myself instead of being so stressed out all of the time.
  2. Learn two new recipes to add to our dinner rotation. Done and done. I wanted to include learning how to cook a ham for Easter in this but decided that I should learn something else. 🙂 I learned how to make crack chicken in the crockpot and lemon chicken with feta and garlic asparagus. Pretty proud of myself since I despise cooking.
  3. Start planning out our summer schedule. I hate coordinating my busy summer schedule with Brett’s even busier summer schedule. I feel like I never get to see him and that’s why I wanted to prioritize our schedules this summer. So far everything has gone well and both of our schedules are mapped out.
  4. Finish my spring cleaning projects. I didn’t get everything done on my list but I do feel really good about the progress I’ve made organizing our house. The basement and storage room still need help but I think that the rest of the house is looking really good! We even got around to power washing the house and cleaning the gutters.
  5. Get a quote to have our driveway re-done. We got the quote and it’s pretty expensive. We bought our house at the top of the market so we decided that it’s probably best to only do one big house project. We’d rather spend the money on a new bathroom instead of getting the driveway re-done.
  6. Go shopping and do a spring wardrobe refresh! I pretty much failed at this. I was able to buy a couple new pairs of work pants and some shorts and tops. But I didn’t go through my closet and donate/sell the clothes I’m not using. I really do need to buy some more clothes but I’m trying to be extremely picky.

Q2 was really great and I’m looking forward to a busy and rewarding Q3! I’ll be posting my Q3 goals soon so be on the lookout for those.

How was the first half of 2019 for you?

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2019 Spring Cleaning List

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2019 Spring Cleaning List

We moved into our house in March of 2018 so this is technically our second spring. Last spring we were still trying to unpack and organize our belongings so I didn’t really do any spring cleaning. Plus, the previous owners of our house left it spotless when they moved out. I did a little cleaning before we unpacked but for the most part everything was ready to go.

This year I am already in the process of deep cleaning everything and re-organizing. My house isn’t clean all the time but I do love having everything super organized. I’d love to be one of those people with a clean house all the time.

I’ve been working on my spring cleaning list so I thought it would be fun to share and maybe give you some inspiration for your own spring cleaning!

  1. Clean out and vacuum both Cars
  2. Clean out the garage & shed
  3. Organize the main level guest room aka my “closet” room
  4. Clean out the storage room in the basement
  5. Rake the leaves in the backyard and bag them for spring pickup day
  6. Deep clean the basement entertainment area
  7. Paint both dressers and the desk
  8. Deep clean fridge/freezer
  9. Organize upstairs closet
  10. Organize the coat/cleaning closet
  11. Organize the pantry
  12. Sort items in the dining room hutch
  13. Organize and clean out the kitchen cabinets
  14. Move the furniture and sweep, mop, or vacuum underneath

Will you be doing any spring cleaning this year?

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What Are The Sunday Scaries?

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What are the sunday scaries?

I love Saturdays but Sundays tend to be the most stressful day of the week for me. I try to relax Saturday and then cram way too many activities into Sunday. I hate starting my week off on a bad foot so I do everything that I possibly can on Sunday to prepare myself for the busy week ahead. This includes grocery shopping, deep cleaning, changing the bedding, and doing ALL the laundry. I also like to have Sunday night dinner with my family which means about an hour of driving added in.

I don’t know about you but nothing stresses me out more than a dirty house. My house is never 100% clean and most of the time it’s pure chaos. I love to re-organize our bedroom and closets which means that I usually have a few random piles throughout the house that need to be cleaned up. Our dog Oscar also likes to de-fluff all of his toys so we have tufts of stuffing floating about the house.

I saw the term “Sunday Scaries” somewhere on social media and I finally had a phrase for my Sunday stress. It seems like I’m not the only one who finds Sundays to be overwhelming and emotional. I love my job but I’m never quite ready to go back Monday morning and it’s even harder if I don’t get all my chores done on Sunday.

Keeping a clean house with a husband, dog, and cat is not easy. I know it will be even harder to maintain when we have kids so I’m trying to enjoy this time in our life where it’s just us. I dream of an organized, beautifully decorated house.

Do Sundays stress you out too?

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