Do you love to DIY? Do you love the idea of grab-and-go? Do you find yourself with no time to do all those sustainable crunchy things because there are too many ingredients and not enough counterspace?

I love to craft and DIY. But I often find myself not making time to actually do it. I also find myself buying products that I could easily (and want to) make myself. Or I’ll buy all the ingredients to make something but it’s too inconvenient to make and use in every day life. Also I never want to clean up the mess I made DIYing. Unfortunately, though, I don’t have a solution for that.

BUT I have found that designating time to prepare batches of “products,” whether it be meals, personal or household products, etc, saves me time and mental clutter down the road. AND physical clutter! It saves me time in my day-to-day and makes me more likely to choose cleaner healthier options. And it’s a guarantee I get some DIY time in.

I’m sitting here in my hotel room that is currently housing myself, my husband, our two toddlers and our dog for the next month. I’m dreaming of all the things I used to do to make my life easier. So I want to share 5 ways that you can pay it forward to yourself to help you create a healthier, more sustainable household.

1. Plan and/or Prep Your Meals

I really want to full-out meal prep, but I’m also super picky about what I “feel” like on certain days, and also about the texture of my food. There are only certain things I’m okay with heating up after being fully cooked. I hate soggy peppers, and the only meat I really eat is seafood, which isn’t that great for re-heating. So I meet myself halfway and I spend a few hours every Sunday chopping vegetables and separating them into meals that I’ve already planned for the week. After I have my chopping sesh I separate the ingredients by meal, put them into gallon sized Ziploc bags, label them, and put them in the fridge. Most meals I make are prepared in a wok or in a big soup pot, so it’s a dump-and-go kind of deal. Bonus.

Doing this saves me a ton of time on dishes – I use my giant cutting board and knives one day a week, wash them, and then I don’t have to wash them again. I may use a smaller one throughout the week for berries or salad toppings, but for whatever reason I can manage that. It also makes dinner time a breeze as I don’t have to rummage through the fridge, chop anything, portion out spices, etc. Love making easy buttons.

2. Consolidate Pantry Items

If you want to take the above a step further, you can also consolidate ingredients you use often into storage bins. I started doing this in Germany since their garbage/recycling system is so intricate. When I’d open a package I’d have to put the cardboard in one bin and the plastic in another, etc etc. It’s a small thing but those steps add up and it’s time consuming! Side note: I LOVED Germany’s recycling program. I feel awful throwing away snack wrappers now because EVERYthing made of plastic or foil could be recycled there!

So this works really well for bulk dry items (think rice, pasta, canned goods, even individually wrapped snacks). For example I often use chick peas and mandarin oranges as toppings on my salad. I can empty a few cans of chickpeas or oranges into one big Pyrex which saves me time opening and draining, and it will last me all week. Sometimes I put all my toppings in one bowl (if they won’t get soggy) so I can just dump it right on top. My kids also love apple slices, and pre-slicing apples for snacks makes it a grab-and-go item when the need arises. It seems like a small thing to open and prepare some olives for a salad, but with two toddlers in the house I really appreciate the ease! These little tasks throughout the day and week add up. Also I’m super lazy and having things ready for me makes me more inclined to be an adult and eat a salad and feed my kids apple slices instead of a piece of bread (yes, I’ve done that on more than one occasion, judge me).

2. Make Essential Oil Roller Bottles for Mixtures You Use Often

I love love love to use essential oils, for many things. I use them in my daily skin care routine, I diffuse them on the regular, and huff them when things are a little rough. However, essential oils are very concentrated and need to be diluted. It’s so much easier to have diluted oils ready and available for a specific purpose than to have to make a concoction in the moment. I have a million roller bottles around my house for purposes varying from acne help, headache help, or I just I-need-to-smell-this-ASAP help. I buy these rollers from Amazon, label them appropriately, and store them in the house/in my bag where they will most likely be needed and can be grabbed easily. This makes me way more likely to use the oils, use them safely, and integrate them into my life. You can do this with room sprays in spray bottles, and with diffuser blends in dropper bottles or empty EO bottles as well. Extra hack: I also put the Young Living insect repellent into a roller bottle for easy application and to make it more convenient to carry around with me.

3. Pre-Mix Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) Mixture

I’ve been using the OCM for almost a year now, and I absolutely love it! It’s really transformed the health of my skin and I love knowing that my cleanser only has three or so ingredients in it, and that they are 100% pure. After experimenting for some time I settled on a mixture of pumpkin seed oil, rosehip oil, and frankincense essential oil. I used to keep all three bottles on my bathroom counter and I’d mix them in my hand for each use. This was messy and time consuming and took up counter space on my already cluttered vanity (again: lazy and messy). I buy these dropper bottles and pre-mix the oils in there (I do 2 parts pumpkin seed oil, 1 part rosehip oil, and a few drops of Frankincense) and VOILA! I have one simple bottle of cleanser by my sink, which is completely reasonable, and will last me for about a month. Laziness can’t stop me now.

4. Prepare Household Cleaning Solutions for Every Purpose

I use Thieves Household Cleaner for pretty much everything in my house. There are so many options and concentrations that you can use for all sorts of different things. As such, you really need pre-made bottles for every purpose! I have a simple diluted bottle of the cleaner within easy reach in the kitchen for everyday use. I also have a separate bottle with more concentrated cleaner + vinegar for tougher issues, and one with some lemon essential oil for extra degreasing power. I also keep duplicate bottles in the bathroom so I can take care of messy bathroom things without having to run to the kitchen. MAKE IT EASY. It will help. Especially when your kids like to pee on the floor while waiting for the tub to fill up. It happens. Having these solutions ready for any mess is invaluable and takes MAYBE 30 mins of prep time. And the bottles will last you a while.

5. Set a Loose Schedule

This one seems a little broad to be just one item on my list. But I’ll keep it in the most basic form: Have an idea of what you want to do with your day (or your week). As a new SAHM, I stole the idea from a friend to designate a letter, number, shape, etc., for the week to work on with your kids. That way when the moment arises, you already have ideas on what to do during your intentional time with them. A general schedule will also help make sure you get outside if you want to, or designate quiet time. If you work, schedule small personal breaks, plan your meals, schedule exercise. Just something to keep propelling you forward. I tend to get “stuck” when I have too many options, and I end up doing nothing. Which is the worst kind of self licking ice cream cone. But if I spend a little time to plan, and I know what’s coming up next, I don’t have to burden my mind with as many decisions. I’m currently loving Plum Paper’s planners and other products (their planning notepads aren’t pictured here but I love them!).

The extra bonus to all of this valuable leg-work is that it creates a more sustainable household for yourself. Planning and preparing your meals in advance greatly helps to reduce wasted food. It also makes it easier for you to eat real, good-for-you food. Stocking up on and consolidating nonperishables allows you to buy in bulk, reducing packaging and trips to the store. Using homemade personal care products reduces the amount of chemicals and plastics in your home (all my OCM ingredients come in glass packaging and are 100% pure ingredients). Having these things already done for you makes your precious little mind more sustainable during your busy day, because you lessen the task load and the drama that unfolds when your toddler is upstairs covered in poop and your Thieves cleaner is in the kitchen. And yes you can hose them down with that – win!

Like I said, MAKE IT EASY. Pay it forward to yourself. Spend a little time on Sunday chopping, consolidating, refilling, planning, and placing things in your house where you use them. You will THANK YOURSELF for being so smart and thoughtful. Thank you, self. You are so kind.

This post may contain affiliate links for products I use and love.

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