Revised 9/15/2021
You have some time before you need to go to the grocery store, before you pick up a friend to go shopping, or you make tonight’s dinner. What do you do? For many people, the simple answer is to watch some T.V. or catch up on your social media. What about using that time more wisely? Here are a few suggestions to get you out of your rut and actually accomplish something. At the end of the day, you will feel more accomplished, instead of wondering what you did all day.
- Pay a bill or two. Most of mine are online, but there still are a few which I write an actual check. If you don’t have any bills to pay, get a birthday card ready to mail off to your sister.
- Empty the dishwasher.
- Start a load of laundry.
- Start a project you keep putting off. Once you have started the project, it’s more likely that you will continue with it.
- Plan your dinners for the week. I use a calendar that I picked up at my bank or hardware store for free or at Dollar Tree for $1. I write my dinner on each day. Friday night is leftovers. Saturday night is often bar-b-cue, except in the winter, when we might have homemade soup or a casserole instead. Sunday nights for us are “make your own dinner:” leftovers, canned soup, sandwich, eggs, etc.. The other nights I fill in. If I have plenty of time I might fill in a month’s worth of meal. Occasionally, I put dinner out at a pizza parlor or restaurant, since we try to do that a few times a month.
- Do you have sales flyers and mailers that you keep together, in case you end up shopping at that store before the end of the sale? Go through them and toss anything that is expired.
- Pull some weeds from your yard. Count them as you go. It will surprise you how quickly you can pull 100 weeds.
- Dump all the trash cans in the house and then take the trash out to your garbage can.
- Re-pot a plant that has overgrown its current pot.
- Wash your car.
- Clean the interior of your car.
- Toss 5 things. Maybe focus on dumping leftovers in your refrigerator. Or dump or donate some clothes in your closet that you haven’t worn in a few years. Look for broken toys, books you will never read again, or paperwork in your office. While you are at it, don’t stop at 5. Keep going.
- Go for the walk that you never seem to have time to do.
- Clean and cut up some fresh fruit and store it in a clear container in the refrigerator. I intend to eat fruit. Unfortunately, when it comes to a cookie that is already made and a cantaloup that still needs to be cut up, I pick the cookie.
- Read a few pages or maybe a chapter in the book you are currently reading.
- Step outside and say hello to your neighbor.
- Try a new recipe. Maybe it’s that pumpkin bread recipe you saved 6 months ago on Pinterest. Or decide which recipe you will try next and make a list of the ingredients you need to pick up from the grocery store.
- Run a few errands. Figure out the route you will take and, if necessary, what time the store opens. If you plan ahead, you can accomplish a lot in a short period of time.
- Iron a few items. Or make minor sewing repairs (sew on a button, repair the hem your daughter pulled loose, or darn a sock – do people still do that?)
- Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Take your time and enjoy the conversation, instead of always being in a hurry.
I hope you found a few ideas that work for you. It’s always nice to accomplish something that you have put off for a while or never even think about doing. Please comment below in the reply section to let me know if this post was helpful. Or suggest something else to add to this list.
