Can you believe that it’s February already? It seems that everyone has been saying how fast January sped by… apart from for those I know who did Veganuary and the days dragged on and on! New year’s resolutions have never appealed to me and I guess it’s because I’ve preferred to make changes as and when I feel the need to. I’ve really struggled with my energy levels during my 3rd pregnancy and I know it’s only going to get harder once baby arrives!
I was starting to slip with missing the odd appointment or playdate and then feeling super guilty for not being more on the ball. I thought I’d try making some small changes at home to help me and my family become more organised and then share those that worked best with you all! The thing is, I’m not a disorganised person at all!
It seems that no matter how organised you’ve been in your life, as soon as you have kids it gets thrown out of the window! Like many people, I’ve become so overwhelmed. Struggling with being pulled in so many different directions and I was getting fed up at being that Mum who’s yelling at the kids to ‘hurry up or we’ll be late’. The thing is, we’ve never been late for school – ever. But I end up resorting to yelling and threats of no treats or Minecraft to actually get out the door on time in the mornings.
It’s not a nice way to start the day and leaves you feeling drained by 9am. So here are three small changes that we’ve tried out this January and have had a real impact for us and I hope they do for you too!
Grey Arabic flint wall clock from Thomas Kent clocks
Keeping an eye on the time
This may seem like a really obvious one, but for some reason, no matter how many times you say ‘5 minutes’ – little people simply tend to ignore you. So I decided to replace our Jack Vettriano print with this beautiful large grey Arabic flint clock from Thomas Kent Clocks.
It’s amazing what supersizing your kitchen clock can do to help kids keep track of the time. It’s also stopped us from falling into that trap of not realising how late it’s getting in the evenings as well as how much longer dinner needs in the oven. With such a beautiful wall clock, you can’t help but keep an eye on it!
The raised rose gold numerals offer a rich contrast against the matt grey clock face. The open convex clock face gives a contemporary finish and blends in beautifully into my Farrow and Ball Cromarty kitchen wall.
Hey Google shopping list
You’re in the middle of cooking dinner or changing a nappy and remember that you’re running out of something. By the time you’ve finished one task, you’re already onto the next one and totally forget to write it down. For Christmas, my husband gave me a Google Home mini (the one that looks like a pebble) and it’s been a revelation! Now I just ask it to add items to my shopping list as and when I think of them. You can then access your shopping list on your phone or ask Google to tell you your list as you’re doing your online shop. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve saved by doing this – especially not having to go back into my orders and add items later on as I remember something that I’ve forgotten!
Weekly planning
As much as you can embrace technology, there’s just something about writing things down. A few of my most organised super-Mum friends have a whiteboard in their kitchens where they schedule everything for the family. I call this the maximalist approach to weekly planning… mine is a little more minimalist. To be honest, I don’t even like hanging a calendar on my kitchen wall. They’re either too small to actually write anything down or they’re huge ugly and bulky things!
My compromise is this weekly planner from Flying Tiger. You use it as a diary and write down your events in the book. Then once a week/fortnightly you rip out a page and stick it to your fridge to have the latest one in view. I’ve found that sitting down for 20 minutes on a Sunday and going through my phone, emails, post etc. and popping appointments/playdates/school stuff etc. in the calendar for the week ahead works best for me. I then ask my husband what he has coming up that week.
It leaves me feeling far less anxious on a Sunday evening knowing that I know what’s coming up in the week ahead. Just making a few simple changes also feels more manageable in an already mad house!
Natalia xo
