Tips to simplify daily routines

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kohler Co.. All opinions are 100% mine.

Use these tips to simplify daily routines in your home, so you can gain back your precious time for what matters most.  Thanks to Kohler for sponsoring this post – as always, opinions are 100% my own.

Life with three kids ages 5 and under is FULL.  Full of snuggles, messes, big emotions, late nights, early mornings, and absolutely full of love.  It’s never easy, but I know these days will go by so quickly!  I’m finding myself more easily frustrated by alllll of the things on my to-do list, and I’m feeling the urge to really simplify certain tasks and routines so I can make space for what matters most – my family.  Here’s what’s currently working to simplify daily life for our family:

Tips for simplifying your daily routines:

Laundry:

Oh laundry – the bane of my existence.  I truly feel like I’m never caught up on this one, and I WISH I could give you life changing advice.  I feel like I am constantly running the wash, sitting on the floor surrounded by my laundry piles, and forgetting to put them all away.  Recently, I’ve been considering doing a “laundry day” – where I run the washer & dryer allllll day, fold laundry as soon as they come out, and then we all work together to put it all away at the end of the day.  The idea of having to dedicate a day to it is a little intimidating, but the idea of not stressing out about it the other 6 days of the week seems really freeing to me!  

Clothing:

Speaking of clothing…I’m planning another big closet purge.  We have small closets in our house, and it’s easy to let them get stuffed.  I realize more and more that I tend to wear the same few things on repeat, and many of the things in my closet are just sitting there on hangers 99% of the time.  There’s a lot of amazing bloggers who have written about capsule wardrobes – I’d love to do something like this and I think it would really take stress out of my day – and hopefully yours as well!

Cleaning:

Oh cleaning – another task I’d just rather not talk about.  When I actually get to clean up all of the kids toys, laundry piles, dishes from the day, and whatever else has made it into our house that day…my energy is spent.  I honestly have a very hard time keeping up with actually cleaning our house.  You know – like dusting the baseboards and scrubbing the toilets. We recently installed the Kohler Corbelle ContinuousClean in our home and it’s been a major help in simplifying our cleaning routine.  Without getting too technical – Kohler has designed their cleanest flush yet with this toilet, and it cleans the toilet with every flush (from a cleaning disc you place in the tank of the toilet – which lasts a whole year!)  By doing this – my mind doesn’t have to be on scrubbing my toilets, but I can focus on more important things – like those kiddos!  To be honest – the toilet scrubbing has taken a backseat way too many times in a row … with our new toilet, I don’t have to feel guilty about that! What I also love is this seat – if you’re wondering why it looks a little different – this is why: The toilet seat is actually TWO seats on top of each other, and you can choose which one you want to use.  It’s got a smaller seat for little kids so they don’t feel like they’re falling into the toilet – and you don’t have to worry about having a potty seat on or next to the toilet all the time!  Brilliant!  I can tell you honestly that Nora loves this seat SO MUCH – it’s really cute.     

Meal planning & grocery shopping:

Meal planning is KEY around here!  I did a poll a little while ago on my Instagram and was shocked that maybe half of my followers didn’t meal plan.  Whaaaat? I sit down with my calendar, phone (for Pinterest recipes) and a piece of paper to write down all of the food needed for meals after church on Sunday.  Then I leave the kids with my husband and go out to shop for groceries for the week.  I try not to have to make any other trips to the grocery store during the week, so this helps us to save time & money. Another way I keep things simpler with meal planning is to utilize bulk ingredients.  I’ll buy something in bulk  (like chicken thighs or tomato sauce).  Then I’ll plan at least two meals that week that use those ingredients.  Or I’ll make a double batch of meat in the slow cooker, and we’ll eat the food the first night from the slow cooker, and then we’ll make a second meal with the same meat, but with different ingredients the next day.  It really helps to cut down on the time I spend in the kitchen!  

Put your phone away

OK – another thing I’m trying to desperately work on.  I find that when I’m on my phone (for whatever reason) my attention is so divided.  I end up taking way longer with little tasks that shouldn’t be that complicated!  I also am a happier momma when my attention isn’t divided between my kids and my work/friends/family trying to get in touch with me. If it’s too hard to have it within a few feet of you during the day – walk to the furthest point in your house and stick your phone there.  Set a timer (not on your phone!) and see how long you can go without looking at your phone.  Make it a game to keep beating that time other days!  

I hope these tips were helpful to you, and you’re able to implement them so your life can be spent with those you love the most – instead of spending all of your time on the mundane chores that need to be done.