What small thing are you surprisingly on top of.

[2021x]

Rather than focus on all the shit that is drowning me I was thinking about what I was surprisingly on top of.

drum roll…..

Setting all my email preferences so I don’t get marketing emails and my inbox is manageable. I saw my friends inbox and it has 10,000+ unopened emails and I got so stressed!

Share any mundane things that you are completely on top of… cleaning schedule, fixing clothes and shoes etc….

How did you do it?? Mine aren’t too bad but I think I’m not consistent enough….

I’m very impressed and a bit envious! Do you work and do you have children, and if so how old? (Please say you’re not working and your children are all teenagers so you have a bit of time 😂)

Christmas - with the exception of last year (we were going through the adoption process and LO came home in November).
I like to make some gifts so have to start early.
I always aim to have outings, cards, gifts bought by 1st December. First week of a December should see cards written and posted and decs up with boxes promptly back in the attic, second week everything is wrapped (I like doing it with the decs up and Christmas films on) and plans to see all parts of the family made.
And the week after Christmas I buy any wrapping paper and cards I need in the sales and chuck them in the attic to come down with the decs next year.

Emails - home and work are brought back to 0 every day or 2. Anything else makes me stressed - but I have set up rules for work emails that I don't really need to see to move into a folder that I check in and clear every week.

Cards - for the last few years I've gone on whistlefish in January and bought all the cards I need for the year (birthdays, Father's Day, anniversary etc) and (for extra smug points) have stacked them in the order I need them.
I also bought a pile of cheap generic birthday cards from b&m ready for the random kids birthdays I'm now having to learn to deal with.

I also have a bit of a thing for stationery and as a result, I'm on top of any requirements for pens, notebooks, highlighters, envelopes etc by default.

As for washing, meal planning, housework etc, I'm either 100% on top of it or it's total chaos. Not sure why but I just can't get the momentum to stay on top of it (or anywhere close) long term.
And I dream of a house which doesn't contain cupboard or drawers or a utility room full of random crap that doesn't belong but I don't think it'll ever happen.

Ditto. Most of my life is a 'just in time' sort of arrangement.

But bedtime, school run, no mucking about if going somewhere or at mealtimes - military discipline.

Which is weird, because in many ways, I'm one of the most permissive parents in my circle (no screen time limits, willing to let the kids do what they want to their rooms/try out cooking something/making/doing something), but I expect that when I make a request, it's followed.

Plus taking hours to go to bed (it did when DS1 was under 3) would make my life unliveable. I need my sleep.

So many of these things break me, I'm impressed!

I'm on top of costumes. World book day, Halloween, fancy dress at school, nativity... I'm shambolic for most school things, but costumes are handmade by DC and I well in advance and ready to go on the day.

Also (this is something that only matters to me) I'm on top of DC's screentime. It's one of the few things from my pre-children notions that I've managed to actually do. Obviously can't talk about this IRL.

Oh yes, sleep! We sleep trained early and DC has had a prompt 6.30 bedtime since he was 2. Story, cuddle and kiss, lights out, see him 12 hours later.

What we're all eating this week.
Food planned, bought and prepped.
Menu to accommodate veggie and meaty, working late and evening activities.

Ironing. By not doing any.

This is me too!

I'll be damned if I'm going to let an army I created be in charge of me! (And they are an army, there's 6 of them!)

So when they were small, if we went to a park and they were all off doing things, I'd only have to do a big whistle and they would all stop and pop up like meerkats!

We also trained them to "Marco Polo" if they get cant see us so we always know where they are.

Keeping a tidy house. I get comments about how tidy my house is. It takes about 15 minutes once a day to make sure everything is in its place and the sides are wiped down.

Chin hairs.

I want to ask the exact same thing. How do you set email to reject all the marketing stuff? I have to wade through hundreds of emails daily to find the handful related to work, friends and family.
I am on top of work. I am self employed and years ago decided I would never let a deadline slide or ask for extra time. I create very tight deadlines for myself and book new clients in well in advance so I very rarely let work build up, and if it does, I work weekends to keep the deadlines i promise. I have thexquickest turnover of anyoneI know in my profession and do a very thoroughjob. I'm proud of it and get liads of return clients and recommendations.
Pretty much everything else about me is a bit chaotic and disorganised, so that's the only one I can claim.

My bookkeeping for 2024-2025 tax year.

i normally do it all in one go for the deadline in January, then file my self assessment.

this year, I used FreeAgent (free as it’s NatWest) and did 2024-2025 after 2023-2024

so come April, I can just file and have a lovely 9 months knowing what I owe rather than a last minute panic on January 31st

School uniforms: I have lots of everything needed, all neatly name labelled and in the right dc's drawers. Size up to grow into stored together ready and any grown out of or stained clothes regularly removed from the system.

Clutter. I can't stand it.

Each morning I go around the house with a bag and chuck everything in it that's out of place, then put it all where it should be on my way back.
Done every day, it takes 5 minutes and then I know where everything is.

I also put things away as soon as I'm done with them. Cups, plates, coasters, books, paperwork etc.

Took me years to get into doing it though. I was the messiest person until around 25 ish 😅

Keeping a few meals in the freezer

Recently sorted the lunch box press and binned the ones without lids/ broken. I also organised all the herbs/spices and cans in the utility room

I am actually up to date on laundry. It does usually mean I do a wash daily though.

Photos.

I sorted all our family photos into each holiday, birthdays and Christmas all ordered and labelled in this:

It lives in the memory box, so satisfying!

I LOVE this!! I am soo many digital pics and I do try to print some every 2 ish months. But I don't know where to put them. This is a great idea

Laundry, household admin, general house organisation-I can tell you where pretty much anything is, emails, the house is generally 95% clean and tidy at all times…

Im absolutely not smug about it, it’s a method of feeling in control of my life, and if I’m not the black dog of depression settles very easily on my shoulders. I absolutely don’t have OCD (I think people can be too flippant about this)but it’s definitely about managing my head

People get the grandparents to do the laundry????
This is laziness in the extreme!

Clutter - I declutter one small area a day eg a drawer, a shelf in the kitchen cupboard, a section of the wardrobe. Takes 10 mins. I'm ruthless with binning or dropping to charity shop or giving away on FB marketplace. Use Anglo Collections once a month or so for anything that's left.

Nails: I use semi cured nail strips and a UV light, so my nails are never not done. So much cheaper than salon (and less damaging)

Everything else has gone to shit, mind

Tax. I’m self employed and got caught out badly a few years ago as, surprisingly, I started to make a profit but hadn’t realised the tax implications till I was hit with the bill and three days to pay. I know I should have been on top of this but that year coincided with Covid, divorce and a house move so maybe the stress was already very high. Luckily HMCR are actually quite reasonable when you manage to actually talk to someone!
I have a direct debit set up and pay in advance for each year. It’s still a bit of a guessing game but if I overpay it makes next year easier so I try to overestimate it.
The sense of relief I have for this simple change is huge.

Exercising. I have a 15 minute morning session that is online through subscription, I do a weekly class, and my Fitbit tells me I get plenty of cardio & steps through the day to day school run etc.

I have never ever even felt that I knew what exercise I should be doing, let alone managed to actually consistently do it, before this (started this routine last November). The mental load relieved by ticking that box is immense.

(And I'm enjoying it! I've never enjoyed routine exercise before!)

I have 53,892 emails in my box, only 73 unread.
Cleaning my teeth is my strong point.

Washing up. I bought new crockery so only 6 of everything, and an over sink dish drainer. The latter means that there's no sink clutter, so easier to keep on top of it as you go. Have even trained eldest adult child to do so. No more turns each, no more washing up mountains.

My washing, but I only do my own so when there's a full load, I put it on. I've trained myself to put it away straightaway instead of just taking it upstairs and leaving the full basket in my room.