Life is a whirlwind, isn’t it? If you’re like me, it often seems like the weeks go by in a blur of activity…and then it’s the weekend again. Or the weekends go by so quickly and when Monday rolls around, you feel like you’ve just started to wind down and the week is upon you once again.

The problem with this is that we never have a sense of peace, calm, and control. A feeling that we are directing the course of our own lives. I also have hectic times, so I thought I’d share some of the systems I set up to make our lives easier:

household calendar

We have a home calendar in our kitchen where we mark any commitments such as church, other ministry commitments, meetings, gym, social events, etc. We use a system of stickers with a different color for each area of ​​life. The good thing about this system is that when there are too many stickers, we know that we are too busy. I also mark recycling pickup days, when the meter is due, and of course things like birthdays.

I combine this with journal planning for the coming week. I look at my diary on a Sunday and put my appointments for the week. I also add any tasks I need or want to work on, such as writing articles, eCourses, newsletters, etc.

meal planning

I love planning meals because it saves me time. When I tell people this, they think I’m crazy because “how can all that planning save you time?” It’s quite simple: a twenty-minute planning session on the weekend saves me time Monday through Friday, when I need it most. No more standing in front of the open fridge wondering what to make for dinner.

And you can still be spontaneous within the plan. I plan meals for the work week, but if I don’t feel like a particular meal that day, I switch it up and cook another day’s meal. For example, if it’s really hot and I planned to have baked potatoes with a dressing, I’ll postpone that for another day and make a pasta salad instead.

Sort and organize regularly

I tackle an area of ​​our house every weekend. Let’s face it: if we constantly buy things and bring them into our homes and lives, clutter is constantly accumulating unless we get rid of something.

It doesn’t have to be a big workout. While you’re busy cooking or baking, you can tidy up a cabinet or two. I don’t trust my oven timer (it’s erratic), so I stay in the kitchen every time I bake to make sure my muffins don’t burn. Then I use the time constructively to sort my closets, plan my menus, write my shopping list, etc.

When you factor in just 15 minutes of cleaning and organizing each weekend, you can easily keep your home if it’s already organized. Of course, if your house isn’t anywhere near where you’d like it to be, I suggest 15 minutes every day.

Launch pad

Do you know the place in your house where you throw your suitcases when you enter? Flylady calls this a launch pad. I like that term because she reminds me of action. We have an interesting little nook in our entry foyer that I use as a launch pad and my husband uses another section near the kitchen.

Mornings are one of the worst times in most families: you can’t find your keys, wallet, bag, etc. Frantically running around and screaming happens and that’s just not fun.

The point is, we use our launch pads to get ready for the mornings. Every night I prepare my bag, my work bag and keys, and I leave everything here. In the morning all I do is grab and go. Literally once I’m out of the room, I walk to the fridge to get my cooler bag with my lunch in it, set my alarm, grab my bags off my launch pad, and go from there. And that’s two minutes tops!

Now, I come to you. What systems can you implement to make your life easier?