Labor Day weekend is the monumental ending of summer and the beginning of fall. It’s also the start of your most productive time of year at home and work. While it is 100% essential you make time for your family, perhaps you would better be served by taking care of home tasks as a family this weekend and scheduling time over the next couple of months to do one-off adventures.
Why? Well, one the weather is usually not fantastic on Labor Day, you just came off of a summer in close quarters, and as you look around you likely becoming stressed by the to-do list you blew up in your mind or the state of your home as you may have eased up on the housekeeping to create all of those wonderful memories. Plus everyone is off resulting in over-crowding of the fun destinations in your town.
I challenge you to use this coming weekend and at least part of Labor Day to get your home ready for the fall. If you have extra vacation days consider applying those to make your own long weekends in the stretch between now and Thanksgiving. Remember just because you are doing work does not mean you have to be all work and no play. If you are running errands can you do it in a different town or a more scenic space? For our family, we live about 40 minutes from Lake Erie so we can drive an extra 20 minutes to get all of our errands done up there and take some time to have lunch on the shore. If you are doing home renovations have an end time so you can still watch a movie, relax, or light a bonfire.
Now on to the tasks:
- Plan the rest of your year. Take time now to really sit down and think about what you want to accomplish this fall, map out your commitments, and plan the next four months. If you can try to book all your appointments at this time as well.
- Clean up your paper and office clutter. Give yourself a clean slate to be able to make room for all the new ideas and projects that are coming your way. You will also have less stress knowing where items are and that there is no overlooked bill looming in the junk pile. A great way to do this is by attending a paper retreat which I am hosting this Friday, August 28th, and Saturday, August 29th (shameless plug).
- Stock up your pantry and cook up some food! If you are financially able to, I would take some time to inventory your pantry (food, cleaning supplies, bathroom products). Even if there is not another toilet-paper shortage, the colder weather is coming and it’s one last thing to worry about running out of. If you have food in your freezer, consider prepping some meals in advance to help you save time during the busy weeks to come. Plus a dirty kitchen and a really dirty kitchen take almost the same amount of time to clean.
- Switch over your clothes and minimize your selection-Start switching over to the fall clothes, but if you can only put out the outfits you will truly wear in the next 6-7 weeks. This will limit your decision time moving forward
- Clean up your home, focus on decluttering, and if you are working from home take time to add some special touches to your working space.
- Plan to complete your outdoor chores including winterizing your property, deep cleaning cars, reorganizing the shed, etc.
Imagine if you took these next two weekends and you were able to get your home, paper, and calendar to where it needs to be. Would you have less stress? Would you have more time to enjoy your family over the course of the year? Would you have peace if a friend from school or a colleague stops over? I know it has made an impact in my home, and I hope it will help you in yours.
