I've only been married for nine months, and never realized how hard it is to manage my crazy life-- okay, it's really not that crazy. But just trying to manage cleaning my apartment, cooking, working, and trying to find time for both my and my husband's families, it's exhausting. Here's what I've found helpful.
Start off the day with praying
Praying and Reading the Bible are crucial to life in general, so it definitely helps to try and get things in order. If you don't have time in the morning, or like to sleep in like me, you can have your devotions at night before you go to bed. Either way, talking to God helps lift your spirits and helps you keep strong throughout the day.
Make a weekly meal plan
On a Saturday or Sunday night, sit down with your spouse and/or kids and think of what you want to make for dinner for the week. You can even go grocery shopping after you've made it. Or you can go before you've made it and just use the groceries that you know you already have. This meal plan helps you to plan what to make so you're prepared if you're going to do a crockpot meal on Wednesday, or need to defrost some chicken on Monday night for Tuesday's dinner. It's been extremely helpful for the two of us!
Prep your veggies and meals
This trick I haven't actually tried, however many people have told me that it works. You basically take one day out of the week, say Sunday, and cut all the vegetables or separate all your chicken for the week. Then, on the night you have to cook, you can just start throwing things into your pan, oven, or crockpot!
Buy groceries every two weeks
Instead of buying them every week. This also means you'll be paying more every time you go to the market, however it ends up being the same amount per month. The reasoning behind this is that you're not constantly making trips to the store throughout the week, and also, you don't have to go every week!
Make a chore schedule
If you break down your cleaning throughout the week, things get way easier. For example, every day you wash the dishes, make your bed, and do a load of laundry. Then each day you do a specific chore like dusting or vacuuming. Separating it out like that makes it a lot easier in the long run.
Decide what's most important
Sometimes while juggling everything, you have to take into account what is most important. I had to walk away from something that I knew would make my mom and brother unhappy, but I realized that it was taking my time away from my husband. I feel better, less stressed, and actually the reaction from my mom and brother were not what I expected. Weigh your options-- is working an hour of overtime worth spending less time with your husband or kids?
These tricks and tips are to help you manage a busy lifestyle. Try them and let me know if any of these work for you!
-Audriana
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