Resetting my space for a new week

published July 21, 2023
#productivity
I used to have a much more organised way of doing things, and my routines and habits were almost set in stone (I remember fondly back to the day had an 800+ day meditation streak, in spite of conferences, intercontinental travel, and Taekwondo exams). With a toddler, everything is different and more prone to become chaotic. Most parents will tell you this, and often you might think that it’s not going to be the same with you, but most likely it will. Regardless: it’s possible to somehow, somehow, regain your footing at some point, slowly but surely. And when that happens, you can start to look at the little spots in your life where you want to introduce those tiny habits again.

For me, that’s the start of a new week. I love the feeling of starting fresh, and even though I don’t always get around to doing the full reset I used to do and would like to do, here are some things that help me manage the sometimes unmanageable (i.e. life with a 3 year old who has a lot of opinions on literally everything).

#1: Tidy and wipe the kitchen surfaces

“The place I like best in this world is the kitchen.”

This is how one of my favourite novels of all time (Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto) starts. And it’s a little bit true: For many people I know, the kitchen is at the heart of a home in many families across generations. Our kitchen is an open plan kitchen that can be seen from both the dining and living areas, so it not only gets cluttered fast, but it’s also visible immediately. Ideally at the end of each day, but for sure at the end of each week, I make an effort to collect everything that has accumulated on countertops, put it in its place, and wipe down the counters and surfaces.

#2: Take a moment for self-care

On Sundays, whenever I can find the time, I usually spend a little time on myself: It might mean moisturising — which I do way too rarely — or removing old nail polish and giving my nails some extra love, or doing a face mask or taking a bath, or even going to bed early; pretty much anything I feel like I hardly have (or take) time for during the week and which lets me feel like I’m starting the week with a clean slate.

#3: Get the next load of laundry ready

I know that laundry inbox zero is a utopia and I’ve now come to accept it — but I still like to kick off the week by getting the next load of laundry ready to go, and turning it on come Monday, whenever I get the chance to.

#4: Planning the upcoming week

This is my favourite way to get a head start on my week, and one of the things I used to love doing on Sunday evenings: Sitting down at my desk or in front of my planner, and looking at all the upcoming appointments and tasks for the week. I try to schedule in some time for learning or focus throughout the work week, and prepare myself mentally if my calendar feels overloaded. It allows me to prepare for the days to come and to also set my expectations accordingly (i.e. if I have a busy work week, I may not want to work too much on side projects in the evening and might instead want to focus on exercising a little bit more or just on taking it easy).

#5: Emptying and taking out the trash

There’s nothing worse than opening the trash can on a Monday morning and finding it filled with stuff from the weekend, or putting an empty juice bottle in an overfilled container. On Sundays, I usually make a quick round through every room with bins (bathrooms, office, etc.) and make sure all the bins are at least empty; I also move the contents of our smaller recycling bins (plastic/metal and paper) in the pantry to the long-term storage in the garage. It sounds silly, but it’s nice to start the week with the bins empty.