Less stress in the Chaos

You aren't alone in the struggles of life.  Seasons changing, schedules are chaos and before we know it....Holidays hit fast and hard.  Here are few changes we've embraced as our daily habits and routines to intentionally live and enjoy the seasons changing and Holiday fun.  

Maintain simplified systems.  Prior to school starting we setup a lunch schedule and organized system for success.  Sunday and Mondays are systematically set for our meal planning and food prep. Think of this as a mini home team meeting- we make sure we're on the same calendar pages, the weekly schedule is updated in our command center and we shop the groceries at home to plan meals for the week.  How is this helpful with the changes and holidays?  By the time October rolls around adjustments to the 'new routine' have been altered and now,  we're living into Habits built into our days.  Lunch making is no longer a thing to remember but simply a habit like brushing teeth.  

Continue to let things go.  We have built in boxes for donations.  Regardless of the time of year,  season of life or level of schedule chaos....if a shirt no longer fits,  it automatically goes into the donate bin.  Before school starts each year, we do a clothing purge.  Now, if the gifts of the Holidays bring new clothes or closet items, the space is already created.  Part of our September calendars include a toys/books purge week.  It's simply one bin, 15 minutes or 15 items a day for one week.  By the time the weekend hits,  we've got the donation bags loaded into the car and additional space created inside our Home.  Why do we dedicate an entire week for purging toys/books? 1) Schedules are chaotic and goodness knows we don't have a day to spend to declutter.  2) Space is needed for any gift blessings that may come in. 3) Less stuff = less stress.  Removing items to manage in the day-to-day gives us more free time to embrace moments.