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Oftentimes, I find myself looking at other people and thinking,

“Man, how do they do it?”

I think it’s been over a year that I’ve had the topic of “life hacks” sitting on my content calendar with absolutely no ideas coming to mind. Over the last few months, I’ve added a handful of “hacks” that I use in my life currently, and I think maybe one or two people might appreciate.

Because I have in my head that everyone that reads this blog has their life together. I feel like I’m a rookie most of the time and I’m writing for people who know more than me. Which is weird, because obviously this blog is targeted toward people like me. People who are “hot messes” if you’ve been here since the beginning of my little blog escapade.

It occurred to me this week that I can be both. As long as the important stuff is taken care of, the rest is just details. Earlier this week, I was sharing how I felt like I didn’t have it all together with my sister. I was saying that I couldn’t have my life together, because my house has dog hair all over it. She said to me

“Rebekah, having dog hair in your house doesn’t mean you don’t have your life together. It just means you have a dog.”

And for some reason, it stuck with me. I can be a responsible wife and mother, work full-time, keep my life in order AND have dog hair in my house. Because I have two dogs. And they matter way more to me than the hair they leave behind.

Today, I’m sharing a handful of random life hacks that I probably can’t live without.

check-ins + planning meetings

I’ve shared about my planning meetings before, but they really do make a difference. On Sundays, Elliot and I sit down for 20 minutes with our planners and go over our week, day by day. We review any appointments we have, evening plans, meal ideas, workout times, etc. This way, we both know what each other has going on and there aren’t as many surprises.

We also try to do a weekly marriage check-in. There are several questions:

1. How do you think this week went?

2. Are there any unresolved issues/conflicts you’d like to discuss?

3. What are 2 things you appreciated about your partner this past week?

4. How I can show up for you in this upcoming week?

I find this to be really helpful to regularly check in and talk about how things are going and how it can be better.

dog dry shampoo.

I know it sounds silly, but if you’ve ever had a VERY stinky dog and no time to bathe them, this is for you. We use it a lot in the winter, as I bathe them more often in the summertime, but it’s so easy to freshen them up and give a good brushing, especially during a busy season. They’re good as new! Well, almost.

blueberries + yogurt

My chiropractor shared with me one of his favorite healthy snacks, and I’m hooked. Apparently the Wyman’s blueberries have double the antioxidants as regular blueberries, and Costco sells them at a great price. I mix a handful of frozen blueberries in some vanilla greek yogurt and voila! A sweet, cold, healthy snack for those late night cravings. I have this at least 3 times a week.

surprise vegetables.

While I’m a stickler for a balanced meal, sometimes I really want a warm, cozy meal that is served in a bowl. Recently, we’ve been throwing random veggies in our meals and it has changed the game forever. Throw a bag of frozen mixed veggies in your Hamburger Helper, and you have a complete meal. We do the same with a bowl of Ramen noodles. I even tried chopping up a zucchini and tossing it in my favorite IP stroganoff and it was amazing.

chores throughout the week.

I save the best for last. I’ve only recently implemented this one to our home and it is the best. I have a schedule on our refrigerator calendar for each day of the week, that lists one cleaning chore for each of us per weekday. These are split up into chores that take 20 minutes or less to complete, and suit our preferences. For example, Elliot doesn’t like to clean toilets, and I don’t like to clean the bathtubs, so on Mondays, I clean the toilets and sinks in our bathrooms and Elliot does the tub and tile floors. This way, our house is clean by Thursday on a good week, and on a busy week, we can catch up on Friday. By Friday evening, our house is clean and we can enjoy the weekend and it’s activities.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28