What one thing do you do to increase quality in your life?

[Springhasspung]

What one thing do you do to increase your energy, or improve the quality of your day, I'm trying to steal little ideas that could make my life with two dcs under 5 and a busy DH tips are appreciated!

It is worded badly ok? Skip over it.

I know where Marsha is coming from - I'm sure she didnt mean to offend in anyway - we too have made changes to our spending (eg no takeaways / dropped part of our tv package) just so that we could afford a cleaner for 2 hours, every other week (worked out at £11 per week). It was so brilliant we've recently upped to 2 hours every week by doing more juggling of family finances to make it affordable. Its whatever people prioritise I guess. Some people have sky sports at £xxx per month, some people chose something else (not suggesting you have sky sports and no cleaner tho!)

Make sure all the surfaces, including the draining board, in the kitchen are clear before I go to bed. Don't know why it helps but makes the next day feel like a 'clean slate'

Thanks Sugarhoops. I meant I have grown to rely on something that I used to think was a big luxury. Others might rely on a glass of wine at the end of the week / day or whatever. Not that everyone must have a cleaner. As in everyone must holiday in the Bahamas or whatever.

I'd far rather have Sky Sports than a cleaner

Ha! We don't have Sky. Or takeaways. Or much wine.

I'm a sahm with a 3 and 4 year old and I agree with all the decluttering and housework etc. But I also make time to 'play' with the kids....know this is obvious but i find often you're watching them play. So every day I go on the trampoline with them, if we're at a farm we go to I go in the ball pool or sandpit with them and on the swings at the park....where it's allowed obviously! And I love doing handprints with paint! Don't mean this as a Parenting thing.....just you forget how much energy you can get from things like bouncing on a trampoline if you see what I mean!

I posted earlier but mentioned this to a neighbour who says "Let go of draining, negative acquaintances".
(Hoping she didn't mean me).

Flowers in pots. Whatever's in season and cheap from the market, all over the home. And growing things from seed - I get months of pleasure from seeing my sweetpeas from a Tesco kit froth all over the kitchen - for a scanty fiver.

• A daily shower and I can take on anything
• Also just recently managed to get back into doing a nice pampering skin care routine before bedtime, feel so much better for it
• I love having a neat and nice work wardrobe separate from my cosy but also nice, albeit different type of nice, mummy wardrobe
• Claiming a day for "mummy's day out, alone", every now and then

Hard to narrow it down to just one thing but a regular sleep schedule is always near the top of my list

I regularly recycle clothes (Charity Shop)
Only wear underwear that you wouldn't be ashamed to go to hospital in (other clothes not so fussy)
I don't drink alcohol but I love my coffee
Yankee Candles round the house

I load the dishwasher at night and clean the kitchen worktops and floor. DH is up first and puts the kettle on, so I don't want him having to fight through a load of clutter
Huge drink of water before bed (and my late night cup of coffee) but I have to trundle off to the loo at 3am [sigh]

And lists.
Planning.
I love to plan menus for Christmas and Easter (even though my DC are very suspicious of anything new )

What's all this de-cluttering and getting everything ready the night before malarkey. Just don't get involved with someone who does not do there share of the house work in the first place. That will greatly increase the quality of your life.

I don't do anything after 8pm. OH tidies the kitchen before bed. I don't own an iron. Kids sort out their own clothes for school, OH makes his own packed lunch in the morning.

I have a self-hypnosis track on my iPod that I listen to at the end of a stressful day. It's by the same person who does natal hypnotherapy for pregnancy and birth. Here. It's also good during the day when the DC are napping!

There are some fab ideas here, I just feel a little adrift at the moment, if that makes sense. Like I'm not really in control, I know that if I could just get a grip on a few things I could make life better for the family

I'm sorry Laqueen but many families are living in really difficult financial times. A cleaner for many- or even a care would be out of the question. Many families are having to use food banks in order to feed their children- it's not all a question of priorities.

Taking time to run every day.

I book my next manicure/hair color appt every time I'm leaving the previous one.

No wine until 8pm.

What a great thread, planning to steal some tips for myself!

For me, the following things make a difference:

1)Always having something to look forward to
2)Spending time with friends
3)Fresh flowers

I have noticed whenever someone mentions cleaners on here people get sanctimonious about it - cleaners are way cheaper than many of the other pick-me-ups mentioned on this thread! It is not a crime to not enjoy cleaning your house...