to ask for your good habits so I can copy them!?

[cloverlover]

On the look out for great new habits. What are yours? Here are a few of mine to start us off:

• floss and use interdental in the shower
• take one old item out of the fridge each time I open it
• get dressed as soon as I get out of bed to avoid lounging in dressing gown

what are your great habits that help your life run smoothly? I'm in need of inspiration! thanks :)

@PuppyMonkey
We are the same!

Whenever I buy something new I chuck out the old. So if I buy new make up / clothes etc I’ll go through my make up bag / wardrobe and see what I can give away or throw. I do it with kids toys / kitchen utensils, anything really so I never accumulate clutter.

I get up half an hour earlier every day and squeeze in a quick workout followed by a quiet coffee before anyone else wakes. It motivates me to eat well throughout the day, wakes me up and improves my overall health.

I put all school bags in the car the night before after ive filled in homework books so I don’t even have to think about them the following morning. Uniforms for each child including underwear and socks are laid out the previous night making mornings a breeze.

I never leave a room empty handed if there is something in there that shouldn’t be, (towel on the floor, empty cup, book left on the sofa etc) so my house stays tidy without much effort.

To allow myself processing time. I don't stress I don't get up early enough, I haven't been sensible enough, things aren't clean yet etc. I say I deserve time to process, to sit, have another coffee, tea. It all gets done but I'm not stressed in the process.

When I take the washing off the line I immediately fold it and put it in the washing basket. Then I deliver to various rooms and drawers. We seldom have anything that needs ironing (no office jobs) so folding and putting away like this is quick and easy and avoids crumpled clothes.

If it's raining and we need to dry stuff on clotheshorse indoors it's the same routine - folded and distributed as soon as it's dry. (We don't have a drier.)

Make sure you do the housework before you open the wine

When not using the tumble dryer, all tops go on hangers straight out the washing machine then hung on the airer or radiator, to be put away when dry.

Dawn lamp thing for easier waking up in the mornings - no more snoozing!

When wfh, I fill up a 2l jug first thing and keep it next to my desk and work through it during the day.

Book next hair appointment when leaving the current one.

Buy extra birthday cards so there’s always a spare at home.

This is a really great thread!

Mine are:

Always drink a glass of water 1st thing in the morning

Walk the dogs every day (usually around 1pm - I work from home)

Always read a book before bed

I do a budget every month - it’s not always perfecto but it keeps me on track.

I do need to remember to take vitamins!! Literally nothing works for this! They are by the kettle and Iv had reminders on my phone and I still avoid them

I have my phone always on silent and have disabled most group chat notifications.

I put my phone away when I'm with the kids.

(If left unchecked my phone use is excessive so I absolutely need these. ).

I used to put anything I need to remember immediately into Google calendar (with a reminder to dh if required) and set an alarm for it. I've stopped doing that now and constantly forget everything I should be remembering.

Good idea for a thread! I recently read Atomic Habits which got me thinking about this a lot.

I’ve tried to incorporate several habits into my normal daily routine:

15 minute workout on YouTube as soon as I wake up.
10 mins learning French on Duolingo as I get dressed.
Body brush while shower heats up in morning.
Load washing machine as soon as I’m dressed and set on delayed finish cycle for when I get in from work.
Pelvic floor exercises as I drive to work.
Hang up washing in laundry room as soon as return from work, before going to pick kids up from school.
Kids read to me in the ‘dead time’ when we drive to clubs.
Quick toilet clean after morning school run before I leave for work.

You’d never guess from reading the above that I’m the most terrible morning person in the world, swear I must do all the above on auto pilot as I’m not really awake til 10.00am!

@ColourfulOnesie

Always have a bottle of wine in the fridge - you never know how much you need a wine until all the kids are in bed so you can’t go to the shop and you haven’t got any in!

@ColourfulOnesie

You win 🥇

Clean my bathroom everyday still no limescale in my bed build two years later- I’m trying to do that getting showered and me and child dressed straight away when we wake up, it’s so hard sometimes but makes you feel so much better !

I have one designated box in the house for all keys...cars, back doors, sheds etc.

I write a note to myself every night before bed about all my deadlines and objectives for the next day. Otherwise I get distracted and miss them or don't achieve what I wanted.

My one to add is splitting wardrobes by summer and winter. Twice a year I switch and store the season I don’t need in the loft. Sometimes I forget what I own and I genuinely feel like it’s a whole new wardrobe of clothes to wear.

Another habit would be always putting away clothes rather than laying them on a chair. I used to do that and the pile became too overwhelming to tackle. And always making the bed and opening the curtains as soon as I’m out of bed.

Leaving 12-14 hours between dinner and breakfast to give my digestive system a break.

It’s funny that I assume everyone else loves life the way I do until I think of most of my behaviours as individual habits.

Put my clothes for the next day out when I go to bed.

I always put things into my calendar on my phone as appointments are booked. I set a reminder at the same time and share with whichever member of the family needs to know. All in a few moments.

My mind is menopausal mush so it's essential.

Think of 5 things I'm grateful for first thing and last thing at night, helps regulate mood

To those saying use SPF 50 every day. Do you use normal suntan lotion? I don’t understand - it’s only effective for two hours, so you would need to reapply it at two-hour intervals all day long if you want to protect your skin.

Fold clothes immediately out of tumble dryer.

You are all amazing. Mine: Every time child asks for something when shopping that is not on the list, the answer was always no, every time. Every time child asked for extra time at an event or visit, I would usually refuse but very rarely if begged would offer five minutes then ultimately concede ten minutes. Child even as a teen has very poor sense of time passing and really still has no idea that ten minutes isn't very long.

Batch cook and freeze the extra portions

Start to adopt The organised Mum method. It might take a while (if your place is chaos), but it really does work

Don’t waste your life ironing. Shirts/blouses re work - ok, if you really need to. But bedding etc - not worth the time.

If your council has a “green bin” service then use it. The cost per year is minimal and really cuts down on trips to the dump/tip.

Add to savings every month so that you can pay car insurance upfront each year - not a huge saving, but a saving nonetheless.

@Yearsyonder

Any outstanding job that you're putting off, apply the '3 minute rule' which is where you will start it and do just three minutes of it and then it's ok to stop.

I find that I often do more than 3 minutes and somehow it gets done. It's a mental trick I use to overcome my own inertia about starting things I don't want to do.

This is brilliant, I will try this as a chronic procrastinator.

@ginslinger

If I am sending an email with an attachment, the first thing I do is attach the file before I even say who the email is to. Never forget an attachment agains

This is the best one on here.

Can't tell you how many times I've not attached stuff to emails. Sometimes very important, time sensitive things

My favorite is I bought a shoe organizer that looks like a discreet slim cabinet because the shoes go in at an angle. It is close to the front door. Now all 5 family members are trained to put shoes away immediately on entry and can always find their shoes. Game changer.

@ColourfulOnesie

Always have a bottle of wine in the fridge - you never know how much you need a wine until all the kids are in bed so you can’t go to the shop and you haven’t got any in!

Top tip - thank you! ❤️

Pelvic floor exercises at red traffic lights. Have done this for years and years. Never had any issues as a result.