Method Amidst the Madness

I have had a method of attempting to calm the madness that ensues at the beginning of a new school year, the start of a new week, the launching of a new sports season, etc. I know you know exactly where I’m coming from and exactly what I mean…. chaos, calendar chaos!

My method of calming the madness has been in place for most of my life, and I carried it with me into my marriage with Matt. We’re very similar creatures, God bless our precious children, and I soon realized that he had very similar methods. I would share my method, or really just be talking about it casually over lunch while at work. So many of my teaching friends were “oohed” and “awwwed” by these methods of mine. They would, in fact, at the beginning of every school year ask me “Do you still iron everything for the week on Sundays? Do you have your meals planned for the week? Are your clothes hung in order in your closet for each day of the week?” I often laughed at myself because it did all sound a bit OCD, over the top, wowzers kind of living. But, this method of mine.. I mean, of ours… has become an integral thread that seemingly helps us ride the waves of chaos.

Now that the kids are older, 17, 15, 13 and 11, I have, over the last few years, questioned the need for such “militaristic” planning. But, that questioning quickly leaves my mind when I reflect back on a hectic week and see just how helpful the method was for all of us. And, even more beautiful is the fact that I don’t dictate the method any longer; everyone has a say, everyone does their part. In all honesty, the method is often our saving grace. I was more deeply reassured that my method was an effective, productive manner in which to live by as I was reading Kendra Adachi’s new book The Lazy Genius. I LOVE this book. If you like easy, simple, quick fixes to managing daily life you must read Kendra’s work. In her book, Kendra refers to an idea called “Decide Once”. As I read this chapter in her book, I was fist pumping, air high fiving, patting myself on the back….. Kendra’s “Decide Once” method, is indeed MY method; the method I have been living by for years…..

So, dear reader, here it is in easy, bullet point format…. MY method, or if you want it to hold more credibility, Kendra Adachi’s “Decide Once” method.

• Clothes- every Sunday, I look at the weather for the upcoming week and I decide what I will wear each day of that week (this includes outfit, shoes, and jewelry). I iron anything that needs to be ironed that day so I don’t have to do it each night.(I “Lazy Genius” this and RARELY do any ironing, because it doesn’t matter to me if my clothes are a bit wrinkled) When my kids were younger, I would help them pick their outfits for the week. They would stack them in a storage bin in their bedrooms in the order of the days of the week. That’s it. No changing my mind. No rifling through my jewelry or shoe boxes trying to make a harried decision. No rush or battle to get the kids dressed. Just put on each day what I/we picked that Sunday. Done. Out the door. Decide Once. Stick with your decision.

• Lunches- Matt and I pack our lunches for the entire week on Sunday. We take the lunches to work on Monday and there they are ready and waiting for us to enjoy them each day at work. Releases the dread of packing lunch after cooking and cleaning up from dinner, and certainly releases the stress of mad morning rush packing. Doing this ahead of time supports us in making healthy choices for our lunches. And, there are no other options when we are at work. We eat what we pack. No decisions of what to eat. We eat what we have packed. Decision Done.

The kids are old enough to pack their own lunches, and they are in the habit of doing it the night before. (Tip to young mamas of littles… they are old enough and more than capable of packing their own lunch by the time they are in Kindergarten. Yes. You heard me right. Take time to teach them and walk them through it a few times, and whalah… no more packing kids’ lunches for you! You’re welcome! Another tip- I would randomly inspect their lunches in elementary school, and they knew if it was nothing but junk and sweets then I would pack their lunches for a week- chock full of fruits and veggies- NO treats! They learned quickly to pack a “well balanced” lunch. I mean well enough, they’re all still standing.)

• Dinners for the week- Yes! I said FOR THE WEEK! On Wednesday or Thursday evening of each week, I sit down with my recipe books and boxes, and I plan the meals for the next week. I plan on a Sunday- Saturday rotation. While I plan the meals, I also generate the grocery list for the next week- think two birds, one stone here. Yes, I sometimes (often) dread this task, but it is so much less painful than facing the dreaded dinner decision on the drive home and having to stop at the store to get what is needed. Also, we use some “staples” in our weekly dinner planning (e.g., every Tuesday is almost always Taco Tuesday, every Friday is Pizza Night, and with the busy schedule there is most definitely a night or two where everyone is home at different times and these are deemed “Kid Pick” or “Leftover” dinners)

With the other nights remaining, I make these decisions based on a few things:

1.What kind of time do I have each evening to cook, and what are some meals I can prep ahead of time and put in the freezer or refrigerator to pull out and pop in the oven the night of? For these meals, I typically prep them on Saturday or Sunday.

2.I let each of the kids pick what they would like for dinner that week. This often leads to dinners of spaghetti, grilled cheese, grilled chicken salad, or angus roast, but the decision is made. Check.

3. Once the meals are planned, I avoid the imminent “What’s for dinner?” question by writing the meals on a framed “menu” board that hangs in our kitchen. No questions, no unknowns, no last minute decisions. Meals planned, grocery list made, menu posted, and sometimes meals prepped in advance. We RARELY stray from the pre-planned menu. Dinner decisions done.

And as the amazing Kendra Adachi says, "Decide once".