Happy New Year! As I write my first blog post of the new year, I’ve been thinking about the recurring theme that I hear from so many families: “Life is so crazy and so busy!” “I wish we could simplify life!”
As technology creates more efficiency in our lives, we also seem to be getting busier and busier.
We all need ways to simplify our lives. Therefore, I’ve created this list of five things that we can do to help ourselves out and create more time for us and the things we really love to do!
5 Ways to Simplify Family Life!
1) Prioritize and put it on the calendar! By sitting down, weekly or monthly, (perhaps at a Family Meeting), and writing in the priorities such as date night for parents (at least once/month), 1:1 time with the kids, family meetings/family games or movie night, plus kids’ activities etc. you will be able to use your time wisely and make commitments to one another. Some of the most successful people are such detailed planners that they plan out every hour of every week in order that they use their time in the way that aligns with their priorities. (Read this previous post for setting priorities)
2) Google calendars – Did you know that you and your family members can all synch calendars when using Google calendars on your phones, computers and other devices? No more asking what the plans are for the weekend and who’s got what when!
3) Dropbox – I love using dropbox as my cloud storage. I’ve also recently discovered that I can connect it to my phone so that any photos or videos that I take on my phone are automatically saved to Dropbox. No more remembering to back up the photos and burning CD’s of all the kids’ pictures and putting them in fire-proof safes or storing the CD’s in extended family members’ homes!
4) On-line grocery shopping – More and more grocery stores are offering on-line grocery shopping and delivery right to your home. In Vancouver, Save-on-Foods and Stongs both offer this option.
5) Batch Shopping – Think about all the things that you might need to buy over the next few months such as birthday cards and presents, hostess gifts, etc. and buy it all at once instead of having to do a separate shopping trip for each special event.
These are some of the things I’ll be trying to incorporate into my life this year. What other ideas do you have for simplifying your life? I would love to hear your ideas. Please share using the comment box below.
From my family to yours, we wish you a happy and healthy new year!
Warmly,
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