5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier

5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier | Outfit Details

Dress: Ivy City Co // Earrings: Kendra Scott // Watch: Arvo Wear // Purse: Sole Society // Shoes: Target // Jackie's Dress: Hanna Andersson // Jackie's Shoes: Target

5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier | Making Life Easier

Before I get into the meat of this post, can we talk about these pictures for a minute? I love this dress. It may look familiar, and it should because I featured the long sleeved version of it in this post last year. This color is perfect for warmer weather and my favorite part is that it is lined! I wasn't expecting to have Jackie in these pictures but she decided I needed to hold her half way through. I included those pictures in this post because it's real life.

Now, onto what I want to talk about today. Sometimes I feel like life is pulling me in a million directions so I have come up with a few things that I do every week that make my life just a little bit easier. They aren't all life changing on their own, but I feel like together, they help keep me sane.

5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier | Go To Bed With A "Clean" House

I feel like our tiny apartment can get trashed in a few short hours. It all comes with having a toddler, right? I have noticed that having a messy house can trigger my anxiety (more on that later this week) so I take the time every evening to clean up. I fill the dishwasher, and start it if need be, wipe down the counters and put everything in the kitchen away. All the laundry is either put away or in the process of being washed. I spend 10 minutes and clean up all of Jackie's toys and put them back where they go so she can find them the next day.

This not only helps with my anxiety but it also helps me be more productive in the mornings. Cleaning up Jackie's toys is another way of keeping both The Husband and I from killing ourselves in the night when we have to get to her room if she wakes up. I have stepped on too many toys and have fallen a few too many times. I also like to take the time when I am cleaning up Jackie's toys to see if anything it missing. She likes to hide things so making sure everything is accounted for is a necessity.

5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier | Listen to Podcasts in the Car

Why does listening to podcasts in the car make my life easier? I actually haven't pinned down why it makes my life easier, but it does make me happy. I have about a 20 minute commute every day so I have the chance to listen to something at least once a week. I don't get to listen every day because Jackie likes to listen to her music and if she is awake enough, she will protest to the podcasts.

I like Jenna Kutcher's Goal Digger podcast and Tara & Layla's Talk to Me Tayla. They are both great for mom's and women who work.

5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier | Wash My Face Every Night

Why wouldn't I do this, you ask? Well until April,  I only removed my makeup every night and then just went to bed. Now I spend an extra 10 minutes and do this skin care routine and I love it. I have seen a huge change in my skin since I started doing it, including an evening of my skin tone and lightening of dark spots.

I usually start my routine before we start getting Jackie ready for bed. That way everything has time to soak into my face before I get into bed. I always wake up loving how my skin feels and I can't get over how good it looks!

5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier | Write Down A To Do List

Everyone has their own way of keeping track of their to do list. I two separate to do lists. One is at work and I keep it in my planner. The second one is at home and I keep it on a white board by our front door. The one at work is obviously more work focused, but I also write down things I think are important like running errands or something I need to remember to do when I get home. That list is color coordinated based on work, home, blogging and Maskcara. You can read more about how I organize my planner here.

My to do list at home is much more broad. Every Sunday, the list is redone to reflect new tasks or rewrite ones I hadn't completed the previous week. Since I started using the white board for my at home to do list, I feel like I am getting much more done. I love being able to check off tasks I have completed and adding things to the list if I need to.

5 Little Things I Do That Make My Life Easier | Use Hello Fresh

Hello Fresh has been the most amazing thing I have done. You can read my review of it that I did last year here. I am thinking once we hit 52 boxes, I will do another review. So far, we have ordered 36 boxes from Hello Fresh. There have been a few hiccups (box was delivered late, box had the wrong meat) but Hello Fresh fixed it every time. Using these boxes has reduced the amount of groceries I have to buy and I don't have to meal plan. I think my favorite part is how easy it is to make the meals. The Husband has always said he doesn't feel comfortable cooking. With Hello Fresh, he makes dinner about 40% of the time! I can't tell you how amazing it is to walk in the door and have dinner already made and waiting for me!