Episode 78 - Everything BACK TO SCHOOL - Strategies for a Successful School Year, Easy Meal Planning, Homework Habits, Simple Systems & Solutions for Moms - with Sarah from Peace and Productivity Podcast - Intentional Edit

A new school year and all things back to school doesn’t have to be overwhelming and complicated. This episode of The Intentional Edit Podcast is a joint interview with Sarah Dalton from The Peace and Productivity Podcast – this conversation is full of strategies and tips on how to simplify your routines, create healthy habits for your family, easily meal plan, get homework done and so much more. This is an episode that you don’t want to miss!

Listen to this episode of the Intentional Edit Podcast now!

book mentioned in this episode

Full Episode Transcription (not edited):

A new school year and all things back to school, doesn’t have to be overwhelming and complicated. This episode of the intentional edit podcast is a joint interview with Sarah Dalton, from the piece and productivity con podcast. This conversation is full of strategies and tips on how to simplify your routines. Create healthy habits for your family, easily meal plan, get homework done and so much more. This is an episode that you don’t wanna miss, and I’m happy to have you here today.

Speaker 1 (00:29):

Hey moms, welcome to the intentional edit podcast. Do you wanna stop feeling overwhelmed and finally get your home organized. Do you find yourself up late at night, worrying about how you are going to get everything done and not drop the ball? You are wondering where to start and what to do. There is never enough time in the day. The piles of laundry are building up and it’s already time for after school activities, homework, snacks, and carpool. Oh, again, I’m Lauren. I too want an organized, clean home where my family can make long lasting memories and be present in the moment feeling like there’s never enough time to complete all the daily tasks is exhausting simplicity all around a healthy meal on the table at dinnertime and a family that contributes to the chores really is attainable. Stop telling yourself that you have to do it all or it will never get done. Or that picky eaters will never allow for a complaint-free dinner. And this podcast, you will learn exactly how to declutter implement systems and maximize routines that remove the overwhelming unorganized parts of life. Bringing simplicity to your life and home. Come on. It’s time to create a life you love.

Speaker 1 (01:39):

Hey friends, welcome back to the intentional edit podcast. I am so glad you are joining me for another episode. This episode is amazing. There is so much goodness. Here we are talking all things back to school strategies for a successful school year, a little bit of meal planning, how to make homework time, easy and healthy homework habits for your family. Simple systems solutions for busy moms and so much more Sarah from the peace and productivity is joining me today for this guest interview, where we hope to bless each other’s audiences with a little conversation back and forth, where we are giving our knowledge and expertise on all things. Systems, routines, meal, planning, healthy habits, creating solutions for your family to make life easier. When school starts this back to school, time of year, this is the perfect time to dive in and get these things dialed in for your home and your family to really bring simplicity to your life and your home.

Speaker 1 (02:46):

I am happy to have Sarah joining me today. And again, this is a joint interview. So we just really have a conversation and go back and forth to share what we know and what has worked in our own families. And with our own clients. I’ll give you a little background on Sarah. She is the founder of a company called your simply big life. It’s an online community that empowers women to step out of the overwhelm and take ownership of their day. Her mission is to help busy moms make the most of their time and energy so they can go after their big goals and be present for their family. You know, that all of that is so important to me and Sarah and I have a mission that really aligns. She’s also the creator of the peace and productivity planner, as well as her online course, peace and productivity foundations, which helps moms to gain clarity around their priorities design rhythms throughout the day, and learn how to stay focused so that they can get things done, have time for themselves and enjoy the life they are creating.

Speaker 1 (03:49):

You always hear me saying things like make life simple, come up with solutions so that you can have time to spend with your favorite people doing the things that you truly enjoy. And Sarah really does that too. She hosts the peace and productivity podcast, where she has weekly conversations with like-minded women. In addition to weekly solo episodes, where she offers inspiration on all things, time management, productivity, and living and intentional life. So you can already see that Sarah and I mesh really well together. And I’m looking forward to having this conversation and giving all of our listeners so much information that they can take home. So you guys can take this home, apply it and start doing the things that we share in this episode today. Thank

Speaker 2 (04:37):

You so much for being here today. Can you tell my listeners a little bit about yourself?

Speaker 3 (04:43):

Absolutely. So I am a mom. I have an eight and a 10 year old and two older stepsons as well. So we definitely have a full house, a full life. As I know, basically everybody listening can relate to. And what I do, I have, I’m the host of the piece and productivity podcasts. And I have online courses that can help you to really just simplify every area of your life. And I really love to help moms get more time and energy and just make the most of every day. So it’s through routines, the systems, what I like to call rhythms and just creating that intentionality behind every single day, which as you can see, we are super aligned. <laugh> in that way,

Speaker 2 (05:28):

For sure. I love it. And I’m always saying things about simplicity and how to make life simple so that you have more time and more energy to spend with your favorite people, doing the things that you actually want to be doing. So this is gonna be a great conversation today and I’m really excited to have you here.

Speaker 3 (05:46):

Yeah. Thank you so much. Yeah, I’m really excited. I feel like the back to school season is, is huge for moms. I know it is huge for moms. It’s, it’s almost like another new year’s for us, us. I feel like to really get back to reset the routines, especially after summer, no matter how the summer went. And I’m big on talking about just knowing the seasons you’re in. So the physical seasons and also just the seasons of life. So moving into this new season, I think getting a handle and getting the clarity around, how do you want this season to look right? How, where, what is your schedule? What is your family? What are ki activities? Are your kids gonna be in? So I think what we’re gonna go through, right. Just talk about routines and, and that’s where I love too with the, what you talk about that, the tangible, how you set up your home, how can that help us with the back to school? So I think maybe starting, I think the routines is probably a really good place to start where we can maybe give some of our best tips and things that have worked for us and that have worked for the women in our community as well. For sure.

Speaker 2 (06:49):

So, yeah. And so I think I love when you said back to school is almost like a new year for moms. And I kind of feel like the back to school time when kids are finally back in at the classroom and you have that calendar, the, that component of the calendar, and then you have activities in sports and all those other things that time of year is almost more significant than January 1st, which is the true new year, because as mom is our life revolves around those school calendars and schedules and all of the things that we have to do to get our kids places and be the chauffeur and be involved in these activities. So for sure, the routines that we set up around that are essential to feeling like we have it under control or feeling the like chaos and like we’re gonna burn out and it’s just barely starting.

Speaker 3 (07:41):

Absolutely. Yes. And I, and I, before we dive in, I think the one thing that I, I will say just this idea of heading into this new season, I think getting a clear vision for how you want it to look and you know, really how, how you want to feel. I, I think about it too. Like at the end of the season, I did this going into summer, right? How do I want it to look? What is my, what are my priorities, my top priorities. Because as we know, we have, we wear so many hats all the time as moms and we can do all the things, but not all at once. So getting clear in this season and this back to school season, what do you want it to look like? What do you need it to look like? And then, then when you’re clear with that vision, you can go in and really design what we’re gonna talk about the routines and the flow of your home to support that vision.

Speaker 2 (08:36):

Absolutely. You have to have those priorities, like you mentioned, and be intentional with what is important to you. What, what do those priorities look like? And then the decisions that you make, what you’re saying yes. To what you’re saying no to these things that you’re signing your kids up for, or that you’re agreeing to participate in. If they don’t align with your priorities, then you are not going to achieve the goals of having the life that you are desiring.

Speaker 3 (09:04):

Exactly. And you’re gonna end up at, at the end of the day, at the end of the season, the week, whenever just with that overwhelm feeling, first of all, that overwhelm, because it’s, we’re out of alignment. Right. And then also almost that nagging feeling of like, I’ve been doing so many things, but what have I actually done? <laugh> that’s, that’s the thing, like the root of, even back to my story like that, I felt so often, and I was like, what is that thing? Why do I not feel that fulfillment or that piece that I talk about too? So that’s where, again, like you said, just that alignment, making decisions and alignment with a vision. So let’s dive in that. I know everybody’s like itching, cuz now it’s like, okay, what do, what are some of the most tangible things that we can really start to put into practice to go back to school, feeling equipped us and our children, our family, the whole thing. So let’s start, I would love to hear Lauren, how you approach morning routines or just routines in general with back to school, where would you start with that?

Speaker 2 (10:06):

Okay. So when I work with my clients, I like to just make sure that they’re aware everything we do throughout our day is some type of routine or some type of habit that we are doing. And I often use the, the word systems, routines and habits kind of interchangeably because from the basics of waking up in the morning to brushing your teeth or going to get your coffee first and not brushing your teeth, whatever the order is that you do that in that is your habit. That is your routine. Every single part of your day has some type of routines. And when we haven’t been intentional about setting up routines that bring success to our lives, then we have unhealthy habits or bad habits that are not serving us that are not aligned with those priorities that we just talked about. So in terms of the morning routine, I like to have a morning routine that is simple, where we take away a lot of the extra stuff, the excess, like don’t turn the DV on in the morning.

Speaker 2 (11:11):

If it, if it doesn’t make sense and if it’s not gonna set your day up for success, then it doesn’t need to be part of the morning routine. But with the morning routine, I really love to have a great evening routine. Mm-hmm <affirmative> that where you have decided to do things and be again, be intentional with the things that you’re putting into your evening routine, like picking out outfits the night before, or even on the weekend, picking out outfits for the whole week ahead, packing lunches the night before filling water bottles, if you need to. So that in the morning, all you have to do is add a couple ice cubes and an ice pack to the lunch, and then it’s ready to go, making sure that the backpack is packed up by the door and everything that, that you need is available so that all you have to do is pick it up and set it in the car.

Speaker 2 (11:58):

Things that you can do the night before in the evening routine, make it so that your morning routine can be quick and easy and have the essentials. And that’s especially important if you have to get out the door quickly and early, if you’re lucky to have kids that don’t start school till nine o’clock or something, and have a lot of free time in the morning, doing some of those things in the morning makes sense. But again, it’s creating systems and routines that make sense for your family and your life with the ages that your kids currently are. And like you say, in this season of life, in this stage of life, so that’s kind of like my take on it. What do you think in terms of the morning routine? Like mm-hmm <affirmative> what, what are you doing in your house?

Speaker 3 (12:44):

Yeah, I love that so much. So I mean everything you said, obviously I am I’m on board and I think what, what kind of sparked in me then is thinking through, okay, these, these, and I like to tell them rhythms, like you said, you kinda use the systems, the routines interchangeably. And for me, I was getting, I was personally with my personality. I was getting caught up in the definitions like, ah, but is this, what is this? And, and it really doesn’t matter. Like it is what it is, it’s the habits, it’s things we do recurringly. Right. So I just use the word rhythms, cuz it also brings that, that piece, that I’m always, I’m looking for that I’m kind of like, okay, this is, you know, it’s just simple. So when I think about the rhythms in the morning, then it’s really getting that clarity for the kids.

Speaker 3 (13:28):

It’s almost like separating it, knowing what the kids are gonna be doing. And then also for you, what is your morning rhythm looking like? Right. And we talk so much. So it’s getting those two things. I mean, pieces I think to work together also is super important because if you are, and we talk about that, right? We talk about a lot about morning routines in the personal development space, um, for like that grounding. What, what are you doing in the morning to set yourself up for a good day? So we wanna do that for ourselves and we wanna do that for our kids. So I love what you said too about keeping it very simple and age appropriate. So I’ll start with the kids and for us, what we started doing last year, which was really helpful, we have a whiteboard in like in our mud room and basically I just wrote a very simple morning checklist and so that they would kind of go through that, you know, see it every single day.

Speaker 3 (14:24):

So it’s get dressed, brush your teeth, you know, make your bed, eat breakfast, get your backpack. So those that’s five things and my kids are eight and 10. So they’re, they’re at that point right. Where they can really breeze through that and you know, make it work for them. And so that was working that worked really well for us last year. So we’re definitely going to, and we have to reset that big time because that was not happening over the summer. Right. That’s not what it was looking. It was looking like, like you said, lots of there was basically the, the habit right now is wake up and turn on the TV and then that just bleeds into all the things. So we are, as of this recording, we are a week and a half, like a week out from the first day of school.

Speaker 3 (15:11):

And I’m like, and it starts now that I think that’s the other thing as you guys are listening, like as you know, you may already be wherever you’re at, you may already be back to school, but it’s, it’s never too late for sure to reset and to start with healthy, you know, rhythms that are supporting you. But as the sooner, in my opinion, the better, you know, a week or two before school starts to start drop, dropping the hints and start like, we’re gonna start this routine. We’re gonna move back in this direction of this rhythm. Right. Because it does take a little while to reintegrate into for us and our kids. Um, so just having that clarity and I will say, well, I’ll talk about that. Just remind me, cuz I wanna talk about having a family meeting cuz that’s just the communication piece.

Speaker 3 (15:55):

I think once you set these routines is super huge. Um, but we’ll circle back to that. And the thing I do for me, I, in the morning I call it my am reset and it’s really, I have my grounding time in the morning where I’m reading, I’m journaling, whatever. And again, this could be, this could be five minutes. This could be 10. It can be whatever you have, right. Like you said, depending on your morning, what that looks like when you have to get out the door. And I mean, I, so I have, I work from home, it’s all. So basically I can kind of be a little bit slower in that way, but then the kids obviously have to get out the door at a certain time. So making sure that I’m filling my cup is, is always a non-negotiable for me. And then I always do a load of laundry.

Speaker 3 (16:39):

I make my bed because if I’m asking them to make their bed right, like that’s a big and it just, there’s a lot of science behind making your bed. And I think it’s really helpful thing. It’s not, you know, you don’t have to, but it’s something that I like to do. It starts my day off. Right. Um, and then I just kind of reset the kitchen after breakfast and this is all it typically I try to get it done before the kids are out the door. But if I don’t, it’s right when I come back. Right. So then that’s sort of my morning rhythm that encompasses, um, you know, all the things that I do a version of that in the summer, but it’s very different. It’s more intentional, more specific in the fall because I know that I only have a certain amount of hours that they’re gonna be in school. <laugh> right. So setting myself up for the day in that way.

Speaker 2 (17:28):

Okay. There was so much goodness in what you just said. I wanna go back to something just to emphasize it. When you said you got this whiteboard and you put it in your laundry room and yes, you made the checklist and I can see some people are very literal and they get hung up on, oh, well my laundry room is in the basement. My kids would never see that. So again, we’ve both emphasized. What ages are your kids? What season of life are you in? What is appropriate for you? If your kids are at the ages where they need to see this checklist to know what to do, you might write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the bathroom mirror. Mm-hmm <affirmative> who have to do what makes sense for your family. And you as a very like organized, structured person, you figure this out, this is working for your kids and you have this successful system in place.

Speaker 2 (18:17):

So you don’t, you don’t need to change it because you know that it works for your family and to all of our listeners, when you have to do what works for your families too, for what is appropriate for age appropriate for your kids. So it might be a whiteboard in the laundry room. It might be a sticky note on the mirror. It might be something where a parent plays more of a role because your kids are very young and you need to be more involved with the things like getting dressed and brushing the teeth and putting the meal out and all of those things. But if you have older kids, it might be a digital reminder of, Hey, these things need to be done and it’s a no on their phone. Yeah. So do what works for you. And it, I think in all of the suggestions that we make or the ideas that we give, apply it to your life so that you can have success. And if something doesn’t make sense, don’t just stick it in because experts in this area are telling you, this is a good idea. Make sure it makes sense for you in the season of life that you are currently in and that it aligns with the priority is that you have set for yourself.

Speaker 3 (19:22):

Exactly. No, I love that. And I, and I think I’ll just add to this. I think my biggest thing, and I know is, is not keeping it in my head. Right? Like these, the expectations, the idea is like, get it out on paper some way, even just, if you are in your own notebook to start, as you’re listening to this, right. You’re getting ideas, you’re jotting it down. Honestly. I love, I mean, I love pen to paper because I think it’s super helpful. And then just what is your ideal? What is the kid’s ideal morning routine, start with you figuring that out. Right? And then you can bring it like I was mentioning and I’ll just throw this in now because it’s something that has been really, really helpful for us is having a weekly family meeting. That’s a weekly rhythm that we do. And it’s it especially important.

Speaker 3 (20:10):

I feel like during the school season, because, and especially as the kids get older, they start to have their own lives. Right. They start to have their things, their projects, their homework, their sports, that their time with their friends that still, that you really need to keep track of as well. Right. So just getting on the same page when I say on a family meeting for us and it can look again, look different for everybody, but just the concept is sitting down with your family and going over the schedule for the next week and all getting on the same page as well as this is where we discuss our routines and our rhythms. And so sitting down with your family before school starts and saying, okay, this is, these are some of the things, some of the ideas that I had about our mornings and what maybe what worked last last year, this worked really well. This didn’t work so well. What do you guys think might help this the mornings to flow a little better, right? And then get their input too. So like you’re saying, and then that would really ensure right. Then they get excited about it. They are invested in it. They’re like, okay, this is my morning routine. Right?

Speaker 2 (21:18):

One great thing about what you’re saying with the weekly family meetings is if you notice that your kids are struggling in the Mor or they’re having times of frustration, or they’re not able to sit down to do homework right after school. And they’re very irritable at those times, you, they have the same feelings and emotions that we can have. And if something is overwhelming or frustrating to them, they might not be able to identify it or verbalize it, especially in the moment. But if there’s something that you’ve noticed and it’s happening more than once throughout the week, you can talk about that and have open communication at this family meeting, which is probably just a few minutes each week, where everyone is getting on the same page, but then you give them a time to say, you know what they’re so frustrated about? Or is it that sometimes you have kids that are a little perfectionists and they now have taken on the duty of making their bed, but it’s not.

Speaker 2 (22:14):

It doesn’t look like when mom makes the bed and it’s frustrating. And it’s not something that we would think is a big deal, but maybe that means removing some of the pillows or not putting so many stuff to animals up. They’re not going to be able to verbalize that to you in the moment when they’re frustrated and about to have a meltdown or having a meltdown, removing themselves from the situation and addressing it in the family, meaning is something that then you can look at, okay, how can we make this change? Let’s take off some of the pillows or let’s do something different. Maybe I can go in there and help you for one minute so that you can have success with this. The intention behind having these morning routines set up where it simplifies and it truly makes life easier. You bring it back to that because if there’s something in your morning routine, that’s causing frustration, your morning routine, isn’t serving you the way that it should.

Speaker 2 (23:04):

So I love what you said about doing the weekly meetings. I love to do a, I call it like a weekly R and R, but just, you could say like, kind of like a little refresh, restock reset for the week. Totally. The same idea as the family meeting. And I encourage parents to have some kind of a calendar where they put everything and most of us these days are using a digital calendar. But possibly if you have a mudroom or command center set up somewhere, have a calendar where you can fill in what is going on this week. You do this during our weekly R and R. And it’s only a few minutes. It’s really, it’s so, so simple. It’s just a few minutes. You’re transferring things from your digital calendar, making sure everyone’s on the same page, letting everyone know what’s happening. If you have something where you’re normally the person who picks up your kids from school, and one day you have a commitment.

Speaker 2 (23:59):

So a babysitter is doing that, or they’re participating in carpool. Then you let them know on Sunday evening, this is what’s happening on Wednesday. So, and so is picking you up. Or if you are implementing new chores that week or have something different, a new activity is starting. Then everyone knows what to expect ahead of time and is prepared. And then if you have a birthday party on the following weekend and you need to get a gift, you can get that ordered or go to the store and purchase that. If you have to bring cookies to school for something you’re not doing it last minute, you’re not waking up in the morning. And you’re all of a sudden you’re overwhelmed because you realize you were supposed to bring whatever it is to school that day. Absolutely. Or you don’t have a birthday gift and you have to be at the party in 30 minutes when you spend 10, 15 minutes ahead of time earlier in the week, you have your whole week lined out. And like, I love the idea of the weekly meeting, where then you’re talking to your family about it in this kind of like fun meeting format. Mm-hmm

Speaker 3 (24:59):

<affirmative> yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:59):

Or just simply like a little check-in it’s just a few minutes, but it saves you time and it simplifies the entire week.

Speaker 3 (25:07):

Oh, completely. I love this so much. And I’ll be honest we’ve I that’s, we do. We have that Google calendar, right. Where I have the kids it’s like color coded and all the things. And I’ve kind of dialed in like my system, right. My thing that works for planning and the older my kids are getting, I know you have a daughter who’s going into freshman year. Right? So the older they get, I feel like minor eight and 10, again, that the more they need to know, they need to be on the same page. The more they want to know also. And they’re like, oh, I didn’t know about this. I didn’t know about that. The more they have going on as well. So keeping it all in a, in a place where they can see it. I do that with the meals as well, a meal planning board, right?

Speaker 3 (25:50):

Like this is what’s for dinner. So you’re not constantly asking what’s for dinner. Right. And I will throw into what I love the R and R that you call it that I think there’s, there’s just whatever you wanna call it. And however you wanna do it. I just think that idea right. Of getting on the same page is a real at, at some point during the week’s just so important. And what I do is usually either Thursdays or Fridays, I’ll do what I call my weekly refresh. We have have all these cute names for everything. Um, and I plan my, my week right. In my planner, in my Trello board, like with, and I make sure I’m clear on what’s happening. I do that first and separate alone. And then I bring to the family meeting, okay, this is what, right. This is what’s going on.

Speaker 3 (26:35):

And during my, my personal planning time as well, I will be sure to think through. I like to think through what can I edit? Right. What can I delete? What can I delegate? And then what can I automate? So just literally going through, as you’re like writing things on your list, your to-do list, your schedule, all the things thinking through, because a big part of that right. Is, oh my, like you were saying carpool or, okay, then I’m gonna be doing a podcast interview at this time. So I need my husband to do this, or I need the kids to do that. Right. So it really, it just kind of like, that’s the flow, the sequence that works for me at least. And I think just some semblance of that, that idea of it can even, it can be five minutes to get into the habit and the routine of a family R and R meeting takes time because we it’s, we’re still in the process of figuring out the format that works. And I do think I’m probably gonna do a podcast on it. I might have bring somebody on, who’s like an expert in like, because just getting the kids to, again, depending on their age, like to stay engaged and the whole thing can be a process in and of itself. But I, it gets super, it’s been really helpful. <laugh>

Speaker 2 (27:47):

Well, and I think what you’re saying is one person takes the lead. Like you are the captain of the ship. That’s right. So you have your time where you are figuring out the course for the week. Yeah. And then you plug it in, this is what’s happening with the calendar. This is what we need to do. This is what we need to buy. This is what we need to be prepared for. And then you take that to the weekly check-in or the weekly meeting. And so your kids aren’t involved the entire time and we are throwing a lot of stuff at the listener. Like you’re doing this, this, this, and this. And these are things that individually take just a few seconds or a few minutes, right. This does not take a lot of time. You have your little 10 minute sit down, you prepare, you know, what is happening for the week ahead, you have your calendar aligned and then you take it to your family and you say, okay, this is what’s going on. And that’s another few minutes. And it gets everyone on the same page. It really does save time. And it, it prevents those meltdowns and that frustration yeah. For the entire week going forward.

Speaker 3 (28:51):

Absolutely. So I’m wondering for you, how do you approach meal planning? And I know, again, this could be a whole episode in and of itself, but if we just, if this is kind of the last piece of the planning and the routines, what does that look for you like for you, especially with the back to school.

Speaker 2 (29:10):

So I actually have a, kind of a unique meal planning system that, oh gosh, at least five or six years ago, I was starting to share about on social media. And then I was asked to teach a course on it. So I’ve taught this process and I’m going to bring something back in the next couple of weeks that will be available because this time of year, people are asking about meal planning again. And what I like to do is like what you said automate, like, what can I automate? What can I do to save time? So my meal planning system is a, I plan for two weeks at a time. And what that means is I am, have drastically reduced the amount of time that I go to the grocery store. Or now that you do grocery pickups or yeah, however you’re doing my meal planning system is a two week reusable meal planning system.

Speaker 2 (30:02):

And you come up with the things that your family will eat. This is not the time to try a ton of new recipes and see what’s gonna work or practice cooking what you’re gonna make. Like for the upcoming holidays, it’s simple, basic meals that you can actually make on busy week nights that, you know, your family will eat, jot those down and create a grocery list for those meals. For my family. I know what works for us for two weeks. It’s reasonable that we make dinner 11 nights. Yes, there’s 14 nights, but there’s no way that I am cooking all of those nights. It just doesn’t work into our schedules. So you have to come up with what works for you. And when I teach this, I really explain that process. But if you can create a reusable meal planning system, then you can use that over and over and you have a list and you have your grocery list, you grab those two things.

Speaker 2 (30:59):

And then each week when I do my little weekly planning time for 10 minutes or so, I look at the schedule and based on that list of meals, I plug them in at that time. And I know that I have all the groceries for it because I do the shopping. And there’s so many things I could tell you, but like, if you have a lot of meals with fresh ingredients, you’re gonna wanna use those earlier in the week. And then if you have a couple of frozen options, then you use those, like towards the end of the two weeks, if you have meals that take longer, you obviously wanna make those on nights where you’re at home, more love, like sheet pan dinners, or one pot meals, things that are healthy and that have the nutrition, but that are simple and don’t make a big mess. Mm-hmm <affirmative> so again, what will your family eat? How can you simplify this? And what can you do to not have to spend 30 minutes an hour, an hour and a half meal planning, grocery shopping, figuring all of this out every single week. Yeah. Which is something else to simplify. So that’s the, the basics of what I do for meal planning.

Speaker 3 (32:03):

I love that. I love that. Yeah. I mean, I think what, you know, what I’m loving and, and just learning the more like I’m in, I’m in this online space and productivity, intentional living for moms, like all the things I just soak it all up and there is so much, right. Like everyone, that’s the beauty of it. I think too, is that we are all so unique us as moms, our families, our season. And so learning from everybody and then taking what works and even maybe taking all of it, taking pieces and just like making, creating your, what, your own, your own version, you’re putting your spin on it. So I love hearing, and that’s the thing. And then also, again, going back to the seasons, maybe what worked last fall, isn’t necessarily gonna work this fall, depending on so many different things, right. More activities.

Speaker 3 (32:55):

I mean, that’s a big one. When the kids go back, start going back to activities and then you are driving all around and you’re just an Uber for, depending on how old your kids are. I’m just beginning to get into that stage. <laugh> and it’s real. Um, and then, you know, so it just, again, that, that planning ahead, that thinking ahead is, is so important to where and aligning your meals with your actual life and your actual schedule and what your family will actually eat. I love how you said that. So our big thing is, or what I tried to do and keep building out is our family favorites list and just keep growing that, and that is what they will actually eat. Not just what I would love for them to have, be their favorite, but no, when I make it, I know they’re going to eat it. And you know, of course, again, we could get, we will not continue going on and on, but there’s so much kids change their preferences and all this, but this is why having a, like, see, going back in and looking at these routines and updating them is so helpful. So it’s just kind of what we’re asking them to do. Right. Just kind look and see what’s working. <laugh>

Speaker 2 (34:00):

When you establish any type of routine or system or rhythm, and it’s working for you in that timeframe, you will see, it will be very obvious when something is not working. And then you make the little tweak right there. Yeah. You can see, okay, this doesn’t work in this season of life or our schedule has changed. So now we can’t do homework between school and activities because we don’t come home anymore. We go straight to the activity. Right. And so how does the homework routine have to change? It’s usually small, like very tiny changes because when you have that good foundation, a little change makes a big difference.

Speaker 3 (34:39):

Absolutely. Yes. I love that. So as we’re kind of wrapping things up, I am curious for you, especially as a professional organizer, what are some of the ways that you set up your home or that you encourage the moms to set, set up their homes and the flow for optimal right back to school organization? When, I mean, papers is big one, right? Right. Backpacks, all the things, sports gears, just all the different things that go into back to school time. What are some of your best tips when it comes to how we can set up our homes?

Speaker 2 (35:14):

I just recorded an epic episode, uh, yesterday about what to do with the papers and the art projects and all of that stuff that comes home from school, because that can be overwhelming in itself. So again, creative system set that up. Um, that will be episode 77. It, I think perfect. It’s actually coming out right before this one will, if you’re, if you wanna go listen to that, all the details are in there. But again, all of these things with setting up your home, it’s setting up a system so that your kids have some, like they know what to expect. They know what to do. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So with the backpacks, something as simple as adding a basket or a bench where the backpack is supposed to go, when it is not at school or a hook on the wall or a hook on the door, whatever makes sense for the house that you currently live in, make that work for you.

Speaker 2 (36:08):

It doesn’t always have to be on a hook. It doesn’t always have to be in a bath, uh, basket establishing a routine. And this is where you kind of get into the difference of what is a routine. What is a system? The routine would be to do the homework. When the homework is done, put everything in the backpack, have the backpack ready to go. And then the backpack goes on the hook. The system part of it is that you added in this hook for the backpack to go to a hook for your purse, your diaper bag, whatever leave is the house, and then comes back. But you don’t really use it when you’re in the house. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, but setting up things, making them simple in the kitchen, figure out if you’re packing lunches, have a designated place for lunch boxes to go. When they’re not at school and stock up on the ice packs, the containers, the Stacher bags, all the things that you use to pack lunch and then have those in one designated spot.

Speaker 2 (37:00):

You might be packing lunch. Now with younger kids, as your kids get older, they might take over all of that or part of it, but make it easy for them so that they can have success so that they can pack their lunch and not have to open up every single cabinet in the kitchen to get the containers that they need, or to be able to package up the food, to take with them. Mm-hmm <affirmative> things like that. Uh, homework station I love or homework supplies, just all in one area, whether it’s a little caddy or a rolling cart or something, if they do the homework in the kitchen, having a drawer where they can pull out the drawer, something that contains the majority of the things that they would need to have success with their homework. You can get that out. They do their homework with minimal distractions and not having to leave the area until it’s done.

Speaker 2 (37:50):

And they’re finished with the homework, another one setting up some type of a command center. And this kind of goes back to having supplies readily available and a calendar that everyone can look at and be on the same page, possibly. Oh, a list of the, like a grocery list. You might do that like on a digital format too, but again, make it work for your family and what you guys do. Explain these things to people, go back to your priorities that we talked about at the beginning, when we started recording and what can make life easier, what can make things flow naturally so that you can live a life that’s aligned with your priorities?

Speaker 3 (38:32):

Oh, so much goodness in there. I love, I love the idea. I love how you teach, especially that it, because again, all of our lives are different and all of our homes are so unique and different. So one organizational tip or tool that might work for me because I have a mudroom. Right. Might not. And I haven’t always had a mudroom like that might not work for the person. Listen, the other person listening. Right. So literally, and just thinking outside the box, I love how you encourage that and making it work for you. And it just has to make sense for you and for your kids. Right. So that they know where the backpack goes so that you don’t have everything piled up on your kitchen counter when you’re trying to make dinner. Like, that’s the goal. Right. Um, so two things that came to mind while you were talking and is that basically, and you covered, I love everything.

Speaker 3 (39:21):

You shared this, we do a family action bin or basket, whatever, a family action basket. And it’s right under, it is, again, our mud room is kind of like our command center. Like it’s kind of, it’s a place we go in and out the garage, you know, that’s where, you know, everybody’s gonna see everything. So for us, I just have this bin and I labeled it family action bin. That’s where we put library books. Right. If you go through and like, okay, so the kids that’s, that was a big one. Now that we’re back to like checking things out. And so every Tuesday or whatever day it is, they have to return their library books. And to even just things as simple as that, if they’re, if they’re up in their rooms stashed somewhere, they’re not gonna remember. Right. They’re so having those visible and w creating, again, it, it does combine those routines and systems.

Speaker 3 (40:09):

Obviously they are like married. So having that routine where, okay, we know we put, when we’re done reading the book, right. Put it either, put it in your backpack or put it in the action basket so that you see it when you’re walking out the door. And I do that, whether it’s like a birthday present for a friend that I’ve already wrapped, I’m like, where do you put that? Right. Like you just, if you’re, if you have it ready to go and the action basket, they remember to grab it. And the other thing is that we started doing is putting the socks, like a bin of socks down by, in the mud room, under the action basket right next to the shoes, because literally we were, I mean, that was the, the, like, whatever, the, the thorn in the morning, for whatever reason, it was so simple, but they would forget their socks and they didn’t wanna go back upstairs to get their socks.

Speaker 3 (40:58):

And so literally I’m like, and I know I’ve heard some other moms doing this, but I’m like, that really changed. And like you’re saying, it’s just those small tweaks too, that can really make a big difference. And now when I fold the laundry, I don’t put the socks in their drawer. I put the socks in the bin and the sock bin in the mudroom and that’s, and that’s that. So those are just two things. Just literally thinking through, as you’re, as you are moving into the, these mornings, you know, the new mornings back to school, just start to be more aware. I would say that’s probably, as we’re sort of wrapping up for me, that’s like the action step, the takeaway from this, cuz we did give you so so much <laugh> and you know, do a brain dump of all the things, you know, write a list and, and know that you do not slash will not go after all of these all at once, but start with, you know, just really just that awareness piece what’s working. What’s not. And then find one thing that’s maybe not working and try something new, right?

Speaker 2 (41:55):

With your sock example. I think it is the perfect example because it is something so simple and it changed the course of your morning. It changed the mindset that everyone is in. It makes it so that you can all leave the, and walk out that door feeling good and not frustrated and overwhelmed. And it was so simple. Like you moved the location of the socks when clients come to us or moms are talking to us, it often seems like there is no way out. And the, the overwhelm is real and it’s taking over and it’s seems so daunting to have to set up this entire morning routine and an afterschool routine and an evening routine. And oh, now I need a meal plan. And you know, all of these things that you can do, and you’re also supposed to go on a walk and get fresh air every day.

Speaker 2 (42:48):

It’s like one thing after another, how do you actually implement all of these things? And I will say you can’t do it all at once. You have to find what is your biggest struggle? What is your biggest point of frustration throughout the day and go from there. And if that’s your morning routine set up your morning routine and give it a chance, you can’t think, oh, it, it wasn’t perfect. The first day, I’m not gonna do this anymore. You really need to do it for a month and have success with it. But I will even cut it back and have two weeks do it for two weeks before you make any changes and then evaluate, is it starting to work? Is there one piece that really isn’t working and then change that one part that’s not working. Mm-hmm <affirmative> it move from there. And when it becomes something that is successful, it might take you five, six weeks to really dial it in so that it is saving you time.

Speaker 2 (43:41):

It is making life easier. You have that mastered then move on to the next thing. Yeah. And identify what is the next struggle, but you’re not doing it all at once. If you do, you, you won’t have success with it. Yeah. And you are doing this to make your life easier. I always go back to that. You, you want to simplify one thing as we’re wrapping this up, I do want to ask you just as we’re kind of talking about the overwhelm and how to make sure that you can have success with this. You’re so big on the peace component. And I love that. Do you have any advice like to stay in a better mindset when you really are a mom that is struggling and you don’t know where to start? Like what can they do to stay in a positive mindset when they’re starting to make all these changes?

Speaker 3 (44:31):

Oh yeah. That’s such a good question. Yeah. Mindset is huge. Right? I think the thing I hear it’s, it’s the, the stories we’re telling ourselves too, it’s those what, again, kind of whatever you wanna call it, limiting beliefs, stories, the things that we’re saying constantly to ourselves. I don’t have enough time. I never have an, any time for myself. I can’t possibly do this or this or this, and just constantly beating ourselves up. Or of course this routine didn’t work. Right? Like nothing ever works. And, and, you know, just think about how we’re, you’re talking to yourself, first of all, and the words that you’re saying, I know we’ve heard this, we’ve all heard this. And especially more as the, you know, it, all the mindset people are talking about it, but they’re talking about it for a reason because it, it works. And it’s super, I mean, it’s real, it’s real.

Speaker 3 (45:20):

There’s again, the science to back that up of how we’re talking to ourselves will literally impact the actions that we take. So if you are saying constantly, if the, and I will just mention this, this book that I’m reading soundtracks by John AK is incredible. It’s a great resource. It’s super simple. And he’s funny, which makes it easier to read, but it’s, it’s just the soundtracks, the soundtracks. If you think about a soundtrack, it’s just playing over and over again in our brain. And if those are mostly negative, especially when it comes to our time, our energy, even our value as a mom, right? Like, I, I know for me, that’s, I mean, the thing that matters the most to me, so I’m the most sensitive about that when, if I feel like I’m quote, unquote, failing as a mom in some way, whether that’s setting up a morning routine or doing a meal plan.

Speaker 3 (46:08):

And I feel like I I’m constantly, like it’s not working, that’s when we tend to just scrap the whole thing. Right. And we’re like that overwhelmed that we’re like, well, if we can’t do this, then we can’t do it. You know, we might as well not try. So I guess that’s the biggest thing is just starting to be, oh, pay attention to the words that you’re using. And that you’re saying in your head to yourself when nobody’s around. Right. And start, try to flip that script. And again, pen to paper is super helpful to get them out and being really honest, like what are some of the things? And that’s so, especially when it comes again to our time and our energy, like I never have enough. I’m never going to be enough. Right. I all these things, those are things I hear a lot or that guilt that if we’re, you know, doing something, trying something it’s not working like, well, you know, I’m, again, just not enough as a mom in some way, I feel like is a huge trigger and a huge point of contention that a lot of us can relate to.

Speaker 3 (47:07):

So that will stop us. And, and that connection is huge because that will stop us from making the forward momentum and movement towards these helpful routines and rhythms. Um, so the more that you can flip the script, and if you even just pick one, find one soundtrack, one limiting belief, one thing that you find yourself saying over and over, and that’s not helping, that’s not, you know, know, setting you up for a great day. And what can you say instead? What can you, how can you flip that script? I like to say, I mean, even just things as simple as, so it’s a mantra and affirmation, again, whatever, whatever you wanna call it, but just, I like to say, keep it simple, or I have enough time for what matters most today. Um, you know, and just really thinking through that and being aware of the words that you’re saying, and then also listen, I mean, it’s a lot in our culture too, right?

Speaker 3 (47:59):

If you’re talking with your other moms, if you’re listening to the conversations, we’re having the word busy gets thrown around, how are you? I’m super busy, right? And if we’re putting those labels on ourselves, then if you’re too busy, you’re too busy to create a new routine, right. Or to spend the effort to do these things. So I think it starts there. I think that’s been something that really helps me too, because, and it’s, it’s an ongoing process because maybe you figure out one soundtrack, that’s not supporting you. And then you’re like, oh man, I’ve got another one over here. That’s not. So it’s just one at a time. And, you know, letting that be kind of, um, I guess what guides you into that, that momentum, because we’re not always gonna have the motivation,

Speaker 2 (48:43):

Right. And momentum build. And so you have made one change if you’re always eight and you’ve been playing the soundtrack in your mind that, well, I’ll just never be on time. I’m always, that’s just how I am. Once you have developed the routine to conquer that, and now you’re not late anymore, you can, and you should let yourself feel proud. Feel the excitement, enjoy the accomplishment. You have changed one of your bad habits. Yeah. And now you’re not late anymore. That’s not something that you can identify with because you’re on time. You’ve changed the course of your day. You’ve made little adjustments now you’re on time and you’ve had success with that. So then let that momentum build. And once you have had success with a few of these things, and you’ve implemented a few of the things that we’ve been talking about, or the routines or the changes or whatever, the homework caddy or all of these things start to happen, and you see the benefits for yourself, you see the benefits for your family. Then the natural motivation kind of comes in where you’re like, okay, I’ve got this. And you may not actually be fueling that in the moment, but you, your actions will demonstrate that yes, you know that you can do these things. You might need a little help. You might need to read a book, listen to a podcast, episode, book, a session with a coach, take a course, whatever it is to get the information, but you can do it. And you can make the changes with simple modifications to how you are going through your day currently.

Speaker 3 (50:13):

Absolutely. Uh, I love that so much. I feel like that’s such a great place to, you know, end on because it’s, it’s just so uplifting and that we’ve, you know, we’ve figured out what works for us. We’re still figuring it out. But that’s the beauty of it is that for me, that there’s always, if something’s not working, oh, the other, the other soundtrack, I love everything is figureoutable <laugh>, that’s my Marie Forlio. I’m like, boom, like literally everything is figureoutable. You can do this,

Speaker 2 (50:42):

Right. Don’t stay in this stuck. There is always a solution. Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (50:47):

Ah, Lauren, this has been so much fun. And we knew, we knew when we hit record that we could literally talk about this forever and we could go for another hour, but we’re not. We let

Speaker 2 (50:56):

Guys, you could keep going. We could keep

Speaker 3 (50:58):

Going. We, we literally could break down all these things. And, but this was such a blast to chat with you. And I’m so excited to connect with you and your community.

Speaker 2 (51:06):

Can you share with my listeners where they can find you?

Speaker 3 (51:09):

I do enjoy connecting with like-minded women. And I feel like it’s a really nice way, you know, to stay, to let everybody know when a new podcast episode is coming out. So it’s the piece and productivity podcast. And I am to keep it simple, the piece and productivity podcast on Instagram, I just changed that name. So it’s kind of all flowing. And then my website is your simply big life.com. And you can, then that’s probably a great place to go to because you can find my new course, uh, the podcast, you know, connect with me in any way. Um, so yeah, so that’s what, we’re where we’re at, but I’m with you, I’m still trying to figure out how to spend less time on social media and more time. Definitely. With the podcast and, you know, kind of really digging into the things, the areas that I absolutely love <laugh> in this business.

Speaker 2 (52:00):

Yes. It’s always fun that recording podcasts, especially when you get to do guest interviews and things like that. Yeah. I love the conversations that come out of the, for these episodes.

Speaker 3 (52:09):

Totally. Well, thank you, Laura. And this was awesome.

Speaker 2 (52:12):

Yes. Thank you so much. We’ll have to do something in the future

Speaker 3 (52:15):

For sure.

Speaker 1 (52:16):

Thank you for listening to the intentional edit podcast. If you found today’s episode valuable, tell your friends about it by taking a screenshot, sharing it on social and tagging me at intentional edit. I’ll be back soon with another episode in the meantime, find me@intentionaledit.com and be sure to follow intentional edit on social platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, to ensure you catch future episodes, click the subscribe or follow button. Now I am grateful for a five star rating and review from you. Be sure to let me know what you liked about this episode and what you want me to cover in the future.

Listen to other episodes of The Intentional Edit Podcast.

You can listen to THE INTENTIONAL EDIT PODCAST anywhere you listen to podcasts!

If you have questions please send me a DM on Instagram. I do my best to reply to all the messages I receive.

Lauren is the founder of Intentional Edit, a home organization and lifestyle company focused on consciously editing to create efficient and organized spaces. Lauren believes that a functional home that looks and feels good has a positive influence on all aspects of life. Creating systems that allow for the home to function more efficiently, therefore, eliminating most of the clutter and chaos is her priority. While trends come and go organization is always in style!

I’d love to have you follow along. Find me here:

Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook | Blog

Intentional Edit participates in select affiliate advertising programs. If you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or any related social media platforms, Intentional Edit may make a commission. All opinions are my own.