One of the more common emails I get when checking on someone who has fallen off the grid is some version of:
This is always tricky, and I like to refer back to my hero Flylady. She is an online organizational guru who help people get control of their homes and lives through baby steps. She gets similar emails from “flybabies” who are nightshifters, students, stay-at-home Moms, “Payroll Moms” (those who also work outside the home) and any other variation on life you can imagine. All want to know if there isn’t a special plan for their specific situation.
Truly, no. The basic bones of her plan are:
- keep your sink clean and empty (because without that you can’t prepare food easily, and you’ll be more likely to order out which is expensive AND causes “Body clutter.”)
- lay out your clothes the night before (because that forces you to check your calendar and not get surprised by something - like a 6am class you forgot you signed up for!)
- get dressed to shoes each day (because you have to feel like you’re ‘all business’ to get things done, even if your company is your household)
- make your bed each day (because that sets the standard for order in your home) and
- declutter 15 minutes a day (because for most of us, the reason our homes get out of control is we have too much crap 😉 )
You have to then decide how to apply those principles in your life.
So it is with the Meltdown.
With planning food, which is absolutely the biggest piece of the Meltdown picture (don’t tell Bill!) you get that old business axiom - fast, good and cheap, and you may choose TWO :). The only thing you have to decide is which two are more important to you.
If MONEY is a concern (and I’m guessing not many of us won that Powerball a few weeks ago!) it’s KEY that we plan ahead so we aren’t caught needing to grab a convenience food that is often more processed, less healthy and more expensive. Make friends with your crockpot. Make a grocery list - you probably buy the same 20-30 things over and over - why not have a printed list? Mine’s in a plastic sleeve that I can use a dry erase marker on. This avoids tons of extra little time-consuming trips into the grocery where we’ll also pick up extra things we don’t need, including junk food.
If TIME is a concern, we also need to plan ahead unless we have unlimited resources to hire a home chef or order in every night. We also need to realize we are just ONE person, with only 24 hours. Engaging other family members in the battle to keep laundry moving and whatever other daily tasks make your household run is key. Especially if you live alone, the “do it now” principle is your saving grace - I took an inventory of the stuff laying around my home not in its place, and guess what? A lot of it was mine. (More of the hair was Michael’s.) 😀
BULK COOKING is a lifesaver - many of my reportees will make a 3-4 day pile of salad fixings, multiple chicken breasts, boiled eggs, and whatever other staples they need to get through a week. It takes exactly as much time to bake 5 sweet potatoes as it does one.
Knowing that some things can take a little time or a lot of time depending on WHEN we do it - Krogering on the south side at 7am right after class? A dream. Krogucci on the east side at 530pm is a nightmare of screaming toddlers, complete absence of parking and endless checkout lines. Think outside the box of your normal routine. On a cold winter morning, you can even skate through the store BEFORE a morning class - stuff will keep fine in the trunk! Again, these are things that work for me; your mileage may vary - 9pm after the kids are asleep is kinda quiet, too!
Until cloning technology gets a little better…..
Pick the battles that are important.
Look for those wasted minutes we ALL have in each day. Consider that instead of saying, “I don’t have the time” that “I’m choosing to spend my time elsewhere.” Then take a critical look at where we _are_ spending that time. One experiment can be putting your phone out of reach for just a little while…
Do what you can do to plan ahead each day - I’m always two days ahead of fridge life since it takes a couple of days for something to thaw!
Let go of perfectionism. (One bad meal does NOT mandate a full cheat day!) Also know that there is NO magic time when the world will suddenly lay itself open with a perfect time for you to live healthfully. There is no do-over on this moment, this day, week or life. People are already signing up for the April bootcamp - that’s WONDERFUL, but my hope is always that no one thinks they have to wait another minute to start taking better care of themselves.
All the best,
Marcey
Coach Marcey Tidwell started as a client with NGPT in January 2011. Joining the team as an accountability coach, she wears many hats in assisting the Meltdown Nation! Nurse Marcey by day, she brings a wealth of knowledge the program! She has given up scheduling routine times to wipe her baseboards but ALWAYS has boiled eggs at the ready.






