What is one thing you did today that made things easier?

[hiker_girl]

One thing I did today is to ask others this question (through this post) so we can learn from everyone's experience on an ongoing basis. You can post about something that made day-to-day life easier, or something that helped you achieve important goals.

One thing I did yesterday was to pursue a bucket list item even though I had to adjust my expectations. With a toddler, a recently sick and recovering husband, it was unlikely that we would be able start at dawn to do a long, popular, bucket-list hike to see the fall colors.  Instead, we left after lunch, shortened the hike significantly, and came back in time to put my toddler to bed. We snagged a parking spot right at the trailhead, enjoyed a beautiful walk, gathered nice memories of my toddler playing with colorful leaves, and everyone got enough rest and exercise.

[GuitarStv]

Last night I cooked all the meals for the rest of the week.  We just pull a couple containers out of the fridge and microwave them for 2-3 minutes each to make delicious suppers during week nights.

[Kris]

I've recently taken over as treasurer of my condo association. The guy who had the position for over 15 years before me was something of a Luddite.

Today, I set up online mobile banking so I could deposit the association dues checks that way, instead of driving them to the bank every month.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I made applesauce for the freezer yesterday, so we can have yummy applesauce for the next few months.

Today I browned ground beef for dinner & did all of the prep work, as I have a crazy afternoon/evening. Putting the final pieces of the dinner together should take less than 5 minutes, so we can eat quickly. I also made a salad in advance.

PS - I like this thread!

[MudPuppy]

Great thread idea!



I prepped some puzzle toys for later this week when my senior dog has surgery. She’ll be on activity restrictions and she’ll need extra mental stimulation to make up for having less physical exercise. This makes my life easier because she has big tantrums when she’s bored.

[Loren Ver]

We decided to do a trip in the middle of the week this week so I went ahead and chopped and froze all the veggies we aren't going to get around to cooking before they start to get iffy.  Now they will be all ready to go into meals when we get home which will save me an extra shopping trip over the weekend too. 
Double win!

[hiker_girl]

Yesterday at work: Streamlined a process, then divided the work. 

Our subcontractors suggested a multi-step process for collecting feedback and revising drafts. Instead, I reduced it two steps: collect feedback from everyone simultaneously, then the subcontractors revise. This saved us 1+ weeks of project time. Since multiple teams are contributing to the review, we made it easier for ourselves by splitting up the areas that we would review. So rather than having everyone review 7 things, my team reviewed 4 and the other team reviewed 3, which saved me at least 2 hours.

[Jenny Wren]

2 weeks ago I froze the lentil soup that was leftover. Yesterday I added a can of tomatoes and some barley to make a "new" quick dinner after a busy day.

Today I am combining errands with my son's driving practice. He hates stop and go practice sessions, but I don't have the energy to spend an extra hour in the car. Plus, it's skills he needs to practice and we waste less fuel.

[cupcakery]

Last night I packed today's lunch after dinner, to save myself time this morning.  I also packed up some leftover homemade soup and put it in the freezer so that we have a quick dinner some night when we need it.  I ordered my first Christmas gift, because an idea popped into my head and it just happened to be on sale when I went to add it to my Amazon shopping list. 

[hiker_girl]

Yesterday, I took a nap.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Set up a recurring monthly bill as an autopay. One less monthly task off of my to do list.

[Omy]

Emptied out the freezer, tossed the ancient stuff, and reorganized so I know exactly what I have and where to find it.

[mspym]

Wrote the month on our dog's pill packet, so now we never have to wonder "did she get <pill> this month?"

[better late]

Sharpied a big letter “S” on the shampoo bottle and a “C” on the conditioner so I easily know which is which when I’m the shower with no glasses.

[oneday]

Made a list of all the things I want to do before I leave the house for 5 days. No prioritization, no regard for if it's all possible in the time remaining. But as the clock ticks down, it's helping me focus on the most important or time sensitive items. Not everything will be crossed off before I leave, but the important things will be.

[Loretta]

I filled up my gas tank Wednesday AM before the price increases with the three day holiday weekend!  Yay me!

[GuitarStv]

Emptied out the freezer, tossed the ancient stuff, and reorganized so I know exactly what I have and where to find it.

Ancient freezer stuff shouldn't be tossed - it goes into soups.

:P

[Nutty]

Emptied out the freezer, tossed the ancient stuff, and reorganized so I know exactly what I have and where to find it.

Ancient freezer stuff shouldn't be tossed - it goes into soups.

:P

Or to the chickens.  They really like the bugs it attracts.

Cleaned the desk to organize my thoughts.  This month has been hectic.

[Britan]

Speaking of freezer stuff…

I made 10 butternut squash muffins this morning. We ate 6. So 4 went into the freezer, labeled with the date. So now I have future breakfast muffins without needing to spend 30-40 minutes in the kitchen baking in the morning! And because I labeled, I’m not going to find them in a month and go “uh i forget when I made these they might be bad” and throw them out.

[cupcakery]

I spent some time working on my calendar and sending calendar invites to family members so that everyone knows what we're doing and when.  It seems to save time and aggravation in the long run.

[anotherAlias]

I switched my ebills from my bank to my brokerage account.  Now that I'm retired and living off my brokerage account, it will be easier to pay bills straight from there.

[MudPuppy]

I changed my specialist appointment today to a telehealth instead of in person. I did not have it in me to drive anywhere.

[Omy]

Emptied out the freezer, tossed the ancient stuff, and reorganized so I know exactly what I have and where to find it.

Ancient freezer stuff shouldn't be tossed - it goes into soups.

:P

Freezer burned waffle soup...sounds delish!

[MudPuppy]

A great example of stoicism at least

[GuitarStv]

Emptied out the freezer, tossed the ancient stuff, and reorganized so I know exactly what I have and where to find it.

Ancient freezer stuff shouldn't be tossed - it goes into soups.

:P

Freezer burned waffle soup...sounds delish!

I've eaten vegan food.  Freezer burned waffle soup doesn't scare me . . .

:P

[Fish Sweet]

Downloaded my digital vaccine card onto my phone to ease of access.

Figured out how to export some shipping data into Pirate Ship to better streamline fulfillment of products. (I had been putting off figuring out and fiddling with it until I understood the process, and wasting my time manually inputting things instead.)

[hiker_girl]

Decided to avoid making a separate plate for my toddler. She eats what we eat. This streamlined dinner prep enough that we were all able to eat together and still have time for a walk. Did she eat what was offered? No, but because two of us were there, we were able to get her to try the food, offer other things, etc. Dinner wasn't as stressful as the times we take turns eating with her.

[Loretta]

A metric ton of laundry!  I also invested in new to me long-sleeved dresses for work as the weather has been mild but will turn cool any day now.  I went with solid colors and pockets!  Yay for pockets! 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Bought groceries for the week, so we can easily make dinner

[hiker_girl]

Learned how to export highlights on Kindle.

When plating my dinner, plated tomorrow's dinner as well. This will save me a few minutes of assembly and clean up every day.

[hiker_girl]

I spent some time working on my calendar and sending calendar invites to family members so that everyone knows what we're doing and when.  It seems to save time and aggravation in the long run.

I'm jealous. My family doesn't plan. Everything happens at the last minute and I never know what's going to happen, or when.

[hiker_girl]

Chores really do expand to fill your time. Rather than doing dishes/puttering around the house during my lunch hour, I set a 20 minute timer in the evening. Lo and behold, the same stuff got done in half the time.

[Present Muse]

Spent three 15 minute sessions doing some home improvement work during my breaks from work.  I ended up getting a bunch of work done without much effort since I split it up across multiple hours.  Tortoise vs. Hare - not sure who wins, but the Tortoise is so much more relaxing.

[Dicey]

I like this thread idea. I'm going to cheat a bit for my first entry, but it's better than "PTF". After hiking 9+ beautiful miles in Moab today, with @NinetyFour as the best guide, I came back to camp exhausted. I popped a pan of homemade lasagne in the microwave, made a salad and boom, dinner was done. Last week, I pre-made lasagne, manicotti, taco fixings and marinated chicken breast. I froze it all so I would have fast dinners every night.

[Dollar Slice]

From a few days ago, but it will save a ton of effort for my 76-y.o. dad.

My mom had surgery, is mostly bedridden, and needs to be icing and elevating her leg as much as possible for the first few weeks. They have a side-by-side fridge in the kitchen which never has any space in the freezer, so Dad put all the ice packs in the basement fridge, which has a much more spacious freezer and is in the exact opposite corner of the house from the master bedroom. After a day of two flights down/two flights up/all the way across the house to swap out her ice (4x a day) I relocated a bunch of frozen items from the kitchen to the basement so that we could fit the ice packs there and only have to go half the distance and climb half the stairs.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

While I'm making my coffee in the morning (espresso maker needs to heat up), I unload the dishwasher. It's almost always perfectly timed, and sometimes I really dread empty the dishwasher, which is nuts, because it's a three minute task or something. By doing it while I already have to be waiting, it somehow seems easier. And, we can then load the dishwasher throughout the day, saving the need to hand wash.

[Jenny Wren]

While I'm making my coffee in the morning (espresso maker needs to heat up), I unload the dishwasher. It's almost always perfectly timed, and sometimes I really dread empty the dishwasher, which is nuts, because it's a three minute task or something. By doing it while I already have to be waiting, it somehow seems easier. And, we can then load the dishwasher throughout the day, saving the need to hand wash.

I feel the same way about cleaning the litter box in the morning, and implement a similar technique to get it done. It takes the same amount of time to scoop, refill, and wash hands as it does to microwave my oatmeal.

[oneday]

Served a portion of frozen berries and put them in the fridge to thaw for tomorrow's parfait. Today my snack schedule was all thrown off because I didn't have any thawed berries. Usually I do this every day after whipping up today's parfait, but have just been out of town. It's a good feeling to get back to regular habits.

[cupcakery]

I did a bunch of things this weekend that will save time/money in the long run.  I made a pitcher of iced tea that will last the week.  I cooked a whole chicken.  I made a pot of soup which we had for three meals with enough leftover for the freezer.  DH took part of the chicken and made some sandwiches and used some of the broth to make this quinoa thing he likes, so he has a few meals in the fridge for the week.  I worked on my calendar a bit.  I also reorganized my laundry storage room.  We keep extra non-perishables and paper goods in there and the shelves were getting so out of control that I couldn't find anything.  I had to throw out two things that had expired, because they were hidden.  Ugh!!!  I really hate wasting food.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I made a couple of dinners last night - one we ate last night, and one as an extra for tonight. I often cook ahead on weekends, so I can save time & avoid takeout

[jeninco]

While I'm making my coffee in the morning (espresso maker needs to heat up), I unload the dishwasher. It's almost always perfectly timed, and sometimes I really dread empty the dishwasher, which is nuts, because it's a three minute task or something. By doing it while I already have to be waiting, it somehow seems easier. And, we can then load the dishwasher throughout the day, saving the need to hand wash.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does this, although in our case it's time for the water to boil as we use an (insulated) french press.

Empty the dishwasher, put away the hand-washed dishes that have been drying overnight, BOOM -- the coffee is ready, and the kitchen is straightened up and good to go for the day.

[hiker_girl]

I stopped doing chores during my toddler's nap. Now it's for special projects or working out. Yesterday I filled out two pages in her baby book and did strength training during naptime.  Getting the important stuff done really boosted my mood. The chores got done during the small pockets of time I got when she was awake. 

Also noted that I didn't use my cell phone for several hours yesterday (not even while working out). I felt calmer, more focused and stuff just got done.

[RunningintoFI]

I made 5+ lbs of chicken tacos over the weekend.  Half went into the freezer and the other half will serve as meals for the foreseeable future.  Unbelievably easy to make in a crock pot and unbelievably cheap on a per meal basis! Don't even have to think about dinners for at least this week now!

My freezer is now so full of prepared food that I can stop grocery shopping until at least December outside of replacing fresh fruit and veggies once/week.   

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Made a double batch of cookies. Baked up six for the crew last night, and froze the rest (maybe 30?) for future treats. They freeze really well, and you can just grab a couple at a time, and bake them when you want a fast dessert with no effort.

[oneday]

Relocated some office supplies that I use fortnightly. They were in a less accessible location because they are not used often, but I realized that every two weeks still seems like "all the time".

[hiker_girl]

I went for a hike. I'm recovering from a cold and feel pretty good except for a very stuffy nose.  The 3 hours I spent walking was the most relief from congestion I'd had for 3 days. Apparently adrenalin and increased circulation opens up your sinuses. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@hiker_girl - I've had a cold for about ten days now, and light exercise has also really helped me. I try to go out every morning & get some fresh air.

As for me, I asked my parents for help. They are here visiting, & love to help with meal prep, kid driving, etc. Planned out the week & our menu, so I'd know how to best leverage everyone.

[Dollar Slice]

I've been really struggling this month to keep myself going, I'm having a chronic illness flare-up along with using all my energy helping other people. But last night I managed to do a batch cook of something with ground turkey and three kinds of vegetables that should keep me fed all week. Hopefully that helps a little! It certainly will make things easier this week.

[BZB]

I have been doing batch cooking sessions to refill my chest freezer. Today I will make a big batch of spaghetti sauce in the crockpot to freeze into 1 quart bags. I will also place a curbside pickup grocery order for ingredients I couldn't find at Aldi, so I can keep up the cooking momentum.

[oneday]

Set up a heating pad for my cat! He has been trying to get on my lap while I'm working much more often now that the weather is cooler, but with the heating pad, he happily snoozed on the chair next to me instead. This will be a benefit all winter.