You have a week off work to oragnise your life... what are you doing?

[OnlyHerefortheBiscuits]

Somewhere around 2022, my get up and go… got up and went.

I want to take a week off work, to set up my days so that they work out of the box if you know what I mean—more organised, less forgetful, and free from distractions that don’t serve me (looking at you, social media and unavailable men).

I want to actually have a plan for the 8 days off so that I don't waste them! I'll prob take the final day as rest.

Help me brainstorm? Here's what I have so far:

1. Map out a 12-week meal plan (no thinking, just follow the shopping list and cook what today says knowing you have whats needed in the larder)
2. Map out a realistic exercise routine.
3. Deep clean the house—start fresh after the 8 days.
4. Plan a 6-month budget to get me to a better place.
5. Gather things to sell or donate.
6. Work out which podcasts worth subscribing to. No more mid-walk fumbling—just press play and enjoy the latest episode.
7. Paperwork, you know the kind you have to keep but make it organised not just stuffed in a drawer.
8. Consolidate my pensions
9. Establish "laundry days" ; bedsheets on a Monday, my clothes on a Sat, dog stuff on a Friday or whatever

....?

Anyone done a reset like this? What am I missing?

Context: single, live alone, one dog.

Neurotypical , No ADHD or anything like that

Ok thats fine its just that I have ADHD and I'd make a grand plan list like that and then find it overwhelming and do none of it.

I'd make life easier if I were you - I'd sack off the meal planning stuff and focus on what annoys you most. For me it would be decluttering and organising my home - I'd also book a 1 off deep clean from a local cleaner for the end of the week to give you motivation to get it done. I'd look into gousto or hello fresh instead of meal planning, if you're on your own you can freeze/use the excess portion of the meal for lunch the next day etc.

You would naturally find things to donate/sell etc as part of your decluttering so that ticks that off.

A budget you could do one evening with a glass of wine, excel spreadsheet and your bank statement.

The pension thing - book in for a 1 off review for some time during the week with a reputable financial planner - use www.unbiased.co.uk to find one.

@FusionChefGeoff yes good point about "miss it and move on".. keeps you moving forward

I hate cooking. Absolutely hate it.. though I know it's the healthiest way to feed myself. PPs are right - I'll hate it even more if I never get a day off from cooking and prob fall off the wagon faster resorting to pizzas, cheese/crackers etc. Home made freezer meals will give me a day off cooking, and I should make that a part of how I eat....

To save time you could ask ChatGPT to come up with a meal plan, exercise plan etc.
If you can afford it don't bother putting cheap stuff online to sell, it can take ages and you've still got the clutter while you wait for a sale. Easier to take to a charity shop.

My friend did a declutter which involved chucking out one thing on first of the month, 2 on the second etc. Not just big things, random plastic lids count!
I'm sure I still have to do lists since March 2020.

I would do 5 and 6 and park the rest.

Get a cleaner to do a one off clean to reset. Then follow the organised mum method (being a mum is not a requirement).

Re: paperwork. Go through your bank account and delete any long forgotten subscriptions or direct debits.

I would read a book, do some sudoku, make some marmalade, go for a swim, generally chill out and recharge.

Sounds bliss.

Following

Days 1& 2 - Massive declutter. Post on Ebay/Vinted/Freecycle anything I think might sell or be wanted locally. Take the rest to charity shops or the tip, same day. (This might not take everyone 2 days but it would me. Include sheds, garage, attic, car, handbag, make-up bag etc. If there's time left over, use it for minor DIY jobs - tightening screws, regluing loose chair legs, hanging a painting, regrouting etc.

Day 3 - deep clean the house. Take duvets, curtains etc to laundrette with big machines for service wash and dry. Buy stocks of things like lightbulbs that fit your fittings (including for the extractor hood of the stove etc) fuses, medical kit etc so you always have what you actually need to hand.

Day 4 - sort out paperwork - make sure all bills and subs are up to date including any clubs/school trips for DC. Set up online grocery shopping list for basics on a fortnightly delivery plan. Transfer savings into highest interest accounts with reliable banks, switch utilities providers to best rates with reliable firms. Book medical check ups. Get up to date with email and cancel any subs you don't need or want.

Day 5 - in advance book hair and dental appointments, and brows/facial/nails if wanted or needed. Book fun - meet ups with friends, holiday reservations, theatre or gig tickets etc, so there's something to look forward to at least once a month for the next six months.

Day 6 - mega wash loads and batch book. Make meal plan for a six week rota. Always include 2 nights a week which are very easy or freezer based, so that if plans go pear shaped, these can be moved around.

Day 7 - rest. Plan a day out of the house so it stays clean and tidy, meeting up with friends or visiting somewhere you have always wanted to go. When you get back, lay out outfits for the week ahead for you and DC, including sports and swim kits in correct bags.

I'm not sure how feasible it is to have a fully planned menu for 12 weeks, but how about collating recipes that share similar ingredients together then make up a shopping list for those, say 4 meals. So like fajhitas, beef stroganoff, burritos, and sweet chili chicken wraps. All use a variation on cheese, wraps, sour cream, peppers and onions so you aren't buying a tub of sourcream and only using a small bit.

Or just collating a list of recipes that you can pick from when creating a meal planner, I find that helpful as my mind goes blank and I end up with a frozen pizza.

I'd also spend time filling your kitchen cupboards of long life basic ingredients. As in, pasta, tinned tomatoes, herbs and spices you use often, sugar, flours as well as some complete meals for the freezer. With the best will in the world sometimes you just don't want what is planned, and then its easier to get something out the freezer than phoning a takeaway.

Love this thread

Also if you want meal prep lists I love the book "The Kitchen Revolution" - really good weekly lists and recipes

I will look at my huge lost of things to do and try to one at a time. You know the ones, always pushed to the bottom lol 😆

Most importantly catch up more with family and friends! Xx

You're so right! X

It sounds great. How effective it is will depend on what caused things to get out of control in the first place though. I've tried numerous methods and plans to reorganise my life, but essentially my workload is unmanageable, so none of my plans solve the problem. I catch up a bit on work in the holidays, but I'm running to keep up within a week of being back. I think the only answer is to outsource things (get a cleaner etc) and to take time for myself even if ny work suffers!

I’m off work next week and so I’ve been reading through for inspiration…!

I’m trying to do this before I go back to work. I realised that I have no systems in place and lose everything.
im ok with meal planning and usually double cook and freeze 1/2 portions so it builds up and doesn’t feel too arduous. Have a 2–4 week meal
plan and rotate.

my plan (loosely) is to think about where I go wrong and fix that eg finally I have a place for my keys.
I can’t find anything when I’m getting ready for work so im getting all that together in one place so I can drop it in same place and pick up on way out.

Paperwork- shredding and filing.

And yes decluttering and selling.

Hire a small skip and get rid of a load of junk. Honestly the less 'stuff' you have the less stress in my opinion..
Once you've made your list asign things to each day. I would take a day midweek to do something nice for yourself, hair , nails, meet a friend for eg and last day have a chill day not leaving the house, watch TV, read, order in

For a few years I used to follow ‘January Cure’ I.e. sort your home out in January with one task a day (look it up). I haven’t stuck to it this year but the best days for me were always:

• deep cleaning floors and skirting boards which makes your rooms feel so much cleaner
• do a ‘walk through’ of your house: in each room, write a list of what needs Decluttering/improving/fixing/deep cleaning, then you have a to-do list for the rest of the year. Maybe start with this task on Monday, then pick a few, high priority realistic things to achieve in the week? And save the rest for another time?
• on the last day, buy a treat for your house like bulbs in a pot, daffodils, a big fruit bowl.

so I completed this last month and I would say:

1. the idea of mixing it up so that you're doing a bit of admin, a bit of dirty work and bit of tidying etc each day is no good. If you're jet-washing, do everything that needs it at once, it's hugely messy. You're not gonna want to get that all back out again tomorrow, (plus set up time for all the hoses, leads etc!) If you're bleaching just dress for the day in your bleach friendly clothes and do the lot. If you're admin-ing, get out the house to quiet coffee shop with your admin hit list, noise cancelling headphones and away you go... etc.. you get the idea.

2. Estimate your tidying time for each room based on how much stuff is in it, not how big the room is. Bedrooms have a huge amount of stuff, sitting rooms not so much.

3. Expect to live in an absolute tip-mess of a house for the week. Accept it. Focus on one room, don't be distracted for a second with mess in the ones you haven't started yet. "It's not kitchen day yet."

4. Work systematically towards the back of the house. Start upstairs with each room and work your way down, pushing any "maybe crap" downstairs. Stuff, and things just come out the woodwork from cupboards, boxes, wardrobes, drawers. Once a room is clean, close the door keep it that way. Now work towards the back of the house (in my case towards kitchen/diner). This room will end up being an absolute dumping ground and total heap by the time you get there, I could barely see my kitchen table. This will be the crunch time where you make decisions on stuff that was a "maybe". I threw a lot of stuff out and can't even remember any of it.

5. Don't mop any floors until the final day. It's pointless. Especially with a dog. This is the last task.

6. Map out a schedule for the week with actual start/end times and stick to it. All I had to do was stick to the plan and I knew everything that I wanted to get done would get done if I just followed the timetable.

7. Bag up leads and cables into sandwich bags and store. I go to the drawer and now pull out the bag labelled "Micro USB leads" and take one out.

8. You feel huge achievement and positive outlook at the end of the week!

Love this thread!

I was like this recently OP. May I suggest that before you have that ‘week’ you start looking in to some of the emotional reasons why you may procrastinate?
So for me (and I am with you on the unavailable men thing!) if I have too much ‘back ground noise’ in my head - so am ruminating on a situation or a person, I just crash and cannot do anything. I mean, not literally but I am a terrible wallower. Once I am in a good place mentally, I naturally start being more organised and manage to keep on top of things.

One book that was life-changing for me was Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s ‘make change that lasts’ where he talks about the emotional noise we listen to that prevents us from doing our best

I agree with getting rid of junk but may I suggest a company called Clearabee instead? They collect your rubbish in a van and it is much cheaper than a skip, not to mention your neighbours can’t use it either!

Realistically? Sitting on my arse eating biscuits telling myself I will start tomorrow 😂

Just to say I've been steadily decluttering and systemising my house (thank you Sort your life out!) since about August culminating in a week like you're talking about here and it is honestly so worth it. My house is now tidy and sorted out and the kids are respecting the state of it, putting away stuff without being asked, making their beds etc. It's been a game changer!!

Wish I'd had this thread for some of the other self care stuff on it. Hope you have a fabulously productive week!!

Just thought of something else I coukd have added...for anyone who was following - I think there were a couple

Descale everything! From dishwasher, to washing machine, coffee machine, every single shower head...The lot. Especially the big expensive appliances that'll cost you a lot to replace if the damage by limescale isn't addressed.

I'd take one day to write down a list of everything and prioritie the items. Then I'd take the rest of the week to go on holiday and relax, healthy mind and all that 😀