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In the United States, Labor Day is considered the end of summer; for many of us, it is time for our kids to return to school. The kids and I have enjoyed the unstructured days of summer this year. Now that the calendar has flipped to September, I am looking for ways to reduce stress in my household as we transition from the freedom of summer to a more routine that the school year demands.
Today, I left my phone/headphones at home for a lovely walk through the neighborhood and tossed some ideas around in my head that I believe will reduce my stress. I share them with you today in the hope they will also help you. These simple ideas may bring you one step closer to stepping into your Star Stunning self.
Evening Meals
The first area I considered was the evening meal. When it comes to meals, I want to keep it simple. One of the last things I want to do after a long day of working is to cook, but without a plan, the meal can be less on the healthy side. One of the ways I have found to mitigate this is to plan two crockpot meals a week, usually on Monday and Wednesday. Mondays are marvelous because you can put it all in the crockpot on Sunday evening, store it in the refrigerator, pull it out on Monday morning, and plug it in. Typically, Monday’s meal can serve as leftovers for Tuesday. I try to pick a meat item I can use in several ways. For instance, Pulled Pork is a favorite served on buns on the first and second nights served as tacos. An excellent go-to cookbook for this is The Art of the Slow Cooker by Andrew Schloss. This cookbook is beautiful, and there is an excellent pork/bean recipe on page 109. I have used this book for years and enjoy it because the recipes have a gourmet flare. They are not overly complicated but can take longer to prep, so Sunday is the perfect prep time. Utilize Tuesday evening to prep a new dish for Wednesday; again, store it in the refrigerator, bring it out in the morning, and plug it in. A good idea for the second dish of the week is a soup/chili or bean dish served over rice. This meal, too, will likely generate a second meal. One of my favorite cookbooks is by Stephane O’Dea, 365 Slow Cooker Suppers. She has a chocolate chili recipe on page 68 that is a house favorite. What I appreciate about Stephanie and this cookbook is that she shares a verdict on how well received it was in her home by both adults and kids. It helps guide which recipes I use. I genuinely believe a crockpot is a working mom’s best friend. I hope the crockpot can be a great friend for you as well.
A Consolidation Space
If your family is anything like mine, getting out the door for school each morning can be a scavenger hunt. Whether it is homework, the backpack, their library book, or their shoes, I feel like we are constantly searching for a lost item. Last year I created a consolidation zone right off our garage entry. This area includes a coat hook for their backpacks and a desk for homework. We have a shoe area by the garage door, and the biggest hurdle here is getting the kids to take their shoes off right when they enter. If they do, the shoes are there. Finding things in the morning is much easier if there is a specific place to go. Shoes always go here; backpacks always go here; anything that needs to go in them, such as homework, is on the desk and returned to the bag when the assignment is complete. We are not practicing this perfectly, but I feel if I keep my messages consistent, each day will get better, especially when it comes to shoes.
Alarm Games
Nothing makes the morning worse than if someone refuses to get up, whether one of the kids or me; a late arise will create an unnecessary rush to get out the door. I am the first to admit that I frequently use the snooze button. Last year I attended The Productive Women planning retreat, and one of the takeaways for me was to place my phone, which serves as my alarm clock, away from my bedside table. Having the alarm afar requires me to get up to turn it off. It worked. Once I get up, I am up, and now I am very consistent. This concept can also work for kids. My kids have an Alexa, which currently serves as their alarm clock. The kids agreed to locate it across the room, and we used the freeze button to require it only to shut off if someone gets up to turn it off. It is working for my kids. This simple shift was significant this year as we switched to riding the bus, requiring the kids to be up 15 minutes earlier than in previous years. The school year started for us last week. It has only been a few days, but so far, so good. If you have school-age kids, this, too, may work for you.
The transition from summer to back to school can be a stressful time. Take some time to consider what might help you and your family handle this transition with less strain. I hope that the ideas shared today will be helpful to you. In summary, first, consider ways to make your evening meals simple. Slow cooking has worked wonders for me; maybe it is something you want to try. Second, identify items you often hunt for around the house, create a space specifically for them and reinforce to the family where they belong. Third, move the alarm clock away from your bedside; you will be amazed at how well it works. I hope you will try these ideas, or if you have other ideas to manage the transition from summer to back to school, I would love to hear from you to share your thoughts in the comment section.
This brings me to today’s Star Stunning realizations:
- Please keep it simple; keep it slow. Meal planning doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can keep it simple by choosing two crockpot meals a week. Stretch those meals over two nights and reduce your meal prep in half.
- Identify things that are often lost. Instead of spending hours looking for lost items, Take some time to consider the items that slow you down in the mornings. Whether it is your keys, your kid’s backpacks, or their shoes, identify a specific place for those things and reinforce with the family how important it is to develop a habit of always putting them in a particular area. Share with them how this will save precious minutes and allow a more enjoyable morning experience.
- Sometimes, it is better to make it harder. Do you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock too many times? Do your kids ask for another 5 minutes of sleep each morning or refuse to get out of bed? Consider moving the alarm clock to the other side of the room. This simple move will not only get you out of bed, but it will get your children up too. The key is to not go in the room and turn it off if they haven’t yet gotten up.
- Give yourself thinking time. Anytime we reach a transition point, we must set aside time by ourselves without the noise of the TV, radio, or Podcast. Consider the things in your routine that can cause stress and identify ways to overcome the challenges.
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