Preparing Ahead

As much as possible I like to prepare ahead for the things. This really helps me with my house full of little ones. One little thing I do that helps is every morning I set up the playpen that gets taken down each day so that it is ready for nap time and I don't have to wrestle with it when I have a tired little one waiting to get into it.

I also make their lunches in the morning so that all I have to do is warm it up and set it out. Hungry little monkeys are seldom patient!

This goes for the start of the week as well. I like to have the beds changed, the house all clean, baking done and laundry finished on the weekend so that I can start the week with everything fresh and clean and done. I used to have Mondays as my day to change the beds and do laundry but I found that on Mondays the monkeys are a little too wild for me to get much else done which caused me to push those chores back a day, sometimes even two which threw off the rest of the week. Preparing ahead and having all those things looked after makes for a much smoother start to the week and much less stress.

I also like to make my to do list for the next day the night before. This helps me get to sleep because if I don't do this I lie in bed thinking about what I have to get done the next day.

I would love to menu plan but my hubby likes to choose what we will have for dinner the night before. However I can still prepare ahead by making sure that our cupboards are stocked and I have most things on hand that I will need to make dinners. I love to stock up when there is a good sale and we have a pantry cupboard downstairs as well as shelving where we store canned and dry goods. We also have a stand up freezer downstairs which has a quarter beef and half a pig in it as well as several free range chickens. We also have fish frozen that my hubby catches for us. So we are prepared ahead with lots to eat. This may not be possible for everyone but I would encourage you if you are able to purchase your meat in bulk from a butcher shop or right from the farm. Going in with others is a great idea too. You will save so much money though it requires spending quite a bit all at once. I also like to start dinner preparations in the morning - anything I can do ahead so that dinner preparation is easier and less rushed as that is about the time I have little ones getting picked up.

There are so many ways to plan ahead. Shopping sales and second hand store bag sales at the end of the season for clothes and items for next year is another way. When my son was little I was always able to get his snowsuits for the next year at a bag sale at the end of the season or during the winter on sale for the next year. This saved so much money. I also like to pick things up when I see something I know someone will like for their birthday or for Christmas and store it away. You can save alot of money by doing this and spread your shopping out throughout the year thus avoiding big spending in December and possible debt.

I keep a little notebook in my purse with the measurements of my windows, doors etc. so that I am prepared should I find curtains, even a screen door etc. then I will know if I should purchase the item or not - I also carry a small measuring tape. You could also put a dab of the paint in each of your rooms or a paint chip or wallpaper snippet so you will know if an item will match your color scheme.


I like to think about what I can do early in the day to free up more time later on. I am a morning person through and through so that is when I have the most energy and ambition so I try to do everything I can early. ~smile~

Life is so much easier when you prepare ahead. What are some ways you do this?



Happy Monday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Picture above from www.allposters.com