The three Sunday routines that help me optimize my week. Quick, easy, and effective for getting the rest of your week off to great start.
Raise your hand if you love Sundays! Why do I feel like I’m being judged for my love of Sundays. I know this means tomorrow is back to work for you, a partner, and school for the little ones. May I suggest warming up to Sunday and embrace its opportunity to set you up for a great week.
Like everything, I am not a fan of complicated, time consuming tasks you end up dreading. Simplicity is the name of the game. I don’t dread Sunday because I don’t complicate it. Here’s the truth – I’m not taking time away from playing with Amelia to cook full meals for the week. But, I do meal prep so that I can carve out time during the week to enjoy time with my family. I secretly love Sunday because it’s a chance to start fresh.
The week ahead gets crazy between getting yourself and your littles out of the house in the morning, rushing to pick up, making dinner, and a mad dash to clean up before you crash into bed. Maybe you can make that hustle a little easier on everyone. Here’s a little background context for you.
I’ve never been as exhausted as I was the first few months back to work; yup, that includes those newborn days. There were huge meltdown from Amelia who naturally decided she was too cool for naps and wanted to play with me. A handful of nights with me on the verge of tears and seriously second guessing what the hell I was doing made me realize I needed shake things up.
Your Sunday routine might have more or less to do items but for our family there are THREE things I do that set us up for a good week.
Wash your bedding
Tell me, how awesome is it to crawl into a set of freshly washed sheets? This is number one on Arthur’s list of Sunday routines and its a simple pleasure. I strip down the bed, wash our sheets with Nellie’s Laundry Soda, and get them back on the bed. There is something so refreshing about the smell of clean sheets am I right?
Maximize your time with those super soft and crisp smelling sheets by giving yourself an early bedtime. Get to bed and wake up ready to conquer the world (ie. the mountain of paperwork or errands) on Monday morning.
Meal Prep
Again, I preface this by saying I haven’t be successful cooking full meals for the week. What I have found is I eat more balanced meals and have more time to spend time with Amelia when I have prioritized making a few staples as part of my Sunday routines. The work week is too freakin hard when you’re juggling it all in a tiny window of time.
So what do I make?
Breakfast
We are the worst at getting organized in the morning. Arthur loves sleep like no one I’ve ever known and I’ve been known to hit snooze lately. Knowing this I try to keep my fridge stocked with quick, nutritious options that take no time at all. For me, this isn’t necessarily prepping so much as having done a well rounded grocery trip. Millie’s favourites are Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery toast with almond butter and banana or avocado and hemp seeds, yogurt with berries and chia seeds, or eggs sprinkled with curry powder with avocado. I love to have mini muffins on hand like Joyous Health Apricot Oat Granola muffins.
Lunch
In addition to not being so great a morning I personally stink at snacks. Some days I’ll find myself starving by lunch that I’m shoveling it back rather than enjoy. Not a great plan! To combat this I make a HUGE batch of homemade granola. This doubles as a breakfast option when I’m not feeling like a smoothie and a quick snack. I top it with seasonal fruit, throw in some almond milk or yogurt and there ya have it.
I always make a BIG salad for the week of mixed greens. My favourite mix is lettuce, kale, and sprouts. I wash it all, spin it dry, and throw it in a bowl. No dressing, no toppings, just greens. The stigma around why salad sucks is because its boring to eat the same thing every single day. So don’t! A big bowl of greens is step one then throw in your favourite toppings each day.
Speaking of salad I make up a dressing; two if I’m organized enough so I have some variety. I’m not in the business of judging so if you have a favourite store bought dressing you go for it – I’m all for convenience. I haven’t found a reasonably priced dressing that has simple ingredients I like. It’s so easy to make dressings I’ve stopped looking. I love me a good Caesar salad but finding a good dressing was a tricky one – look no further than The Minimalist Baker 5-Minute Vegan Caesar Dressing! Seriously! So much flavour and SUPER easy to make. Throw everything in the blender and call it a day.
Dinner
To make dinners quick and easy I swear by two things: batch cook grains and plan out your meals. I make a big pot of brown rice or quinoa every week. It cuts my cooking time in half sometimes and it saves me the trouble of scrubbing pots every night. I will make meals ahead if I can and if the recipe is a bit more time consuming but more often that not I simply plan. This simple steps makes it easy to not have to put any thought into it in the morning or get home. It’s also helpful if Arthur has to jump in and make dinner if I’m stuck at work.
I keep it simple. Nothing fussy. I have found since I’ve better organized my grocery list and taken the time to prep a few things the weekdays go so much smoother.
Maximize the benefits of meal prepping by making your lunch the night before. I would be willing to bet you’d eat a better meal and save money on eating out. A teeny tiny step that will maximize your time.
A little TLC
The days are long but the years are short. It’s a sentiment we need to remind ourselves but holy cow if those days aren’t so long sometimes. You’ve done the laundry, prepped food for the week, all the while chasing around tiny humans. Make sure one of those Sunday routines is showing yourself a little love. Whatever that looks like for you. For me, it’s showing my skin some extra attention. A hot bath with Epsom salts, a scrub, and a face mask is all I need. My skin is happy and I feel like a rock star with my feet up knowing I got it all done.
Whatever tickles your fancy, make time for it. Starting your week off well rested and pampered is an easy way to set yourself up for a good week.
There you have it. The three things I do every Sunday to set myself up for a good week. The truth is you’ll thank yourself when you’re not juggling multiple balls while standing on one foot cooking dinner. It’s a little extra time but well worth it in the time you’ll get back enjoying yourself with your family.
What are some must-do Sunday routines for you? Leave me a comment and let me know!
