Tips to Simplify #2

Prioritize

I write a list each day of what needs to be done. Basics come first. Anything else is a bonus. I try and get as much done as possible while I still have energy. If washing isn't folded and put away before dinner, it waits till the next day.

Little by Little
I wrote a post about this principle not long ago.
I find deep cleaning a little overwhelming. Also, when I'm pregnant I can't do too much standing up without getting dizzy. So jobs are divided between doing things at the table, morning tea, etc. I can't do a whole lot of cleaning at once. And if I wait till I have a big gap of time to do it, it just never happens! But I'm learning that a little bit each day gets the job done.
Since my kitchen is the most used room in the house, it always feels dirty and cluttered to me. And I hardly ever have an uninterrupted hour to get stuck into cleaning. Also, it gets dirty again so fast! So over the last week I put this principle to use in my kitchen. Here's how it works. Since I wash dishes at least 3 times a day, every time I full up the sink with clean bubbly water, I soak the dishcloth in it while the water's fresh and clean and do a minute or two of cleaning while the sink is filling up. I either wipe down a cupboard, the fridge, the freezer, a window sill, a piece of the wall or a bit of the ceiling. It's amazing how much you can get done 'Little by little!' :)

Teach your children to help
Even little children can be a big help, and they need to learn to be responsible and clean up after themselves. At the time it can be quite time-consuming and so much easier to just do it yourself.
This week I made up a sticker chart for each for my girls with a few jobs for them to do each day. Getting to put a sticker on when they're done gives them a bit of extra motivation!

Online Shopping
This is not for everyone, but it's been a huge help to me since my last baby was born. I buy nearly all my groceries online and they get delivered to my door. It saves me the  time and hassle of taking 3 children shopping or the energy of going by myself at night. Although it may be slightly more expensive, I probably spend less, as I have more time to think about what I'm getting, I can remove things off my list (before I've put the order through), I can see exactly how much it's coming to so I can take something off if I'm going over my budget, and I don't see all the tempting specials etc.!
For me it's a lifesaver! I can do it while my children are having a rest. And the children have a ball opening up all the bags of food when they arrive!

Keep toys in the bedrooms instead of in the lounge
Again, this doesn't work for everyone, but in my house it does. I used to have all the toys in the lounge and it was such a big job to tidy up! Now, all the toys are in the bedrooms and the lounge is very easy to tidy. In fact it stays tidy a lot of the time, unless the children cart toys out to the lounge. The bedrooms have doors that can be shut and the bedrooms are not where my husband or visitors walk into when they arrive! :)

Tidy up with a washing basket
I use this for the lounge and kitchen. When there are toys and books scattered everywhere, it only takes a minute to pop them all into the basket and put them away where they belong. It's a lot easier than taking a few toys at a time. And if you don't have time to put them away right then, you can put the basket out of sight for the moment!

Get as much sleep as possible
Coping is so much easier when you're not tired! Especially if you're pregnant or have a baby, you need as much sleep as you can get. It's better to go to bed an hour earlier or get up an hour later and have a better day than to have a long tiring day.

These are a few tips that help me cope.
Do you have any tips to share?? :)