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What is (and isn't) working for our family this summer
Published 21 days ago • 5 min read
Happy Friday!
I'm a big podcast listener, and one of my favorites is The Lazy Genius. She recently shared a list of what's working and not working for her family this season, and it inspired me to do the same. It's such a simple way to check in on your routines and notice what's making life easier, annnnd what's not.
I'd love to hear something from your own list, too!
What's working for us this summer
Meal planning based on our energy. We don't plan ambitious meals on our busiest days. If we know we're going to be out in the heat or running from activity to activity, we plan something super simple and save the more involved recipes for days when we actually have the time and energy.
A pool bag that's always packed. Between swim lessons, park trips, our waterpark vacation, and random pool days, it's been so nice to have one bag that's always ready. As soon as we get home, I restock it, wash the towels, and put everything right back so it's ready for next time.
Family game nights. David and I have always loved board games, and we're finally at ages where the kids can really join in. Logan is almost 5, so we're still easing into games, but two favorites have been:
Piles– a fast-paced race to sort laundry into matching sets. We partner up young kids or simply deal Logan fewer piles to make it easier for him to play along with us.
Survive the Island – you're racing to escape an island while avoiding sharks, sea monsters, and erupting volcanoes. It always gets us laughing - our 4 year old is especially into this one!
Rush Hour - technically a one-player logic game, but my kids like when I play with them. Your cars start off in a big traffic jam and you slide the vehicles around until you've cleared a path for the red car to exit.
A central charging station. A basket by the kitchen holds a power strip and every charging cord we need. Everyone knows where to plug things in, and we're no longer hunting for chargers or dealing with dead devices when we need them.
Sunday cleaning day. I added recurring cleaning tasks to our Skylight Calendar every Sunday. We turn on music, set a timer, and the whole family tackles the main living spaces together. Making it an official checklist has made it much easier to get the kids involved!
A shared grocery list. Everyone adds things throughout the week. If you finish something, add it. If you want something, add it. It keeps the "Mom, can you buy..." conversations to a minimum and everyone knows if it's not on the list, it won't get added to the grocery order.
Our lemonade station. This one is just fun! I keep Crystal Light lemonade packets and a few flavored syrups on hand so everyone can make their own flavored lemonade. It's inexpensive, easy to keep stocked, and always a hit with both kids and adults. I don't really buy soda or other drinks much, so a fun flavored lemonade feels like such a novelty! See our setup in this video.
What's not working
My morning routine (or lack of one). I've realized we're in a new parenting stage where the kids don't need me every second before work...and I'm not sure what to do with that extra time! Part of me thinks I should exercise or clean, but after chatting with some of you on Instagram, I'm also warming up to the idea that maybe it's okay to simply read a book or go on a slow walk around the block. I'm trying to give myself permission to feel out what I want that time to be instead of forcing myself into a big official routine (my natural tendency).
After-dinner cleanup. Somehow we've gotten into the habit of jumping straight into the next fun thing and leaving the kitchen behind this summer. We definitely need to get back to everyone spending five minutes clearing the table and loading the dishwasher before moving on because I'm tired of playing catchup with the dishes the next day.
Chloe's summer schedule. She's home while we're working remotely, and keeping her busy has been trickier this year. Last summer she naturally found neighborhood friends to play with, but those friends aren't home as much this year so I've had to make the effort to schedule a lot more playdates. I even had ChatGPT help me create some daily routines for her (which she was excited about), but real life kept getting in the way and that never really stuck. At this point, we're just winging it until school starts in a month!
Weeding. We're just not gardening/lawncare people. My goal is simply to avoid having the worst yard on the block.😅 Unfortunately, I tend to ignore the weeds until they become an entire weekend project. If you have a system that actually helps you stay on top of them, I am all ears! Maybe that's what I should be doing with my mornings...
Now tell me something that's working (or not working) for your family this summer. Hit reply and let me know!
-Emily
On My Mind This Week
Before school starts, add these hooks to your car so your kids can hang their backpacks and jackets on them.
One of our biggest goals with the basement remodel was creating an epic game room, and it's finally coming together with a wall of board games and a giant game table. I shared a video all about the table yesterday, and if you've never seen a board game table before, I think you'll be amazed by all the features. It's so cool!
Since our basement remodel includes a bathroom, I had to stock it with the essentials. This toilet brush was an immediate must-have. I also grabbed this cute blue trash can. You can open it with the foot pedal or simply press the lid to pop it open which is a really handy little feature.
Also, we have had two very heavy rainstorms in July, to the point where streets are flooded and the local facebook group is post after post of people asking for help with water in their basements. Which, considering we just dropped a bunch of money on a basement remodel, has sent my anxiety through the roof. I am so grateful our basement has stayed dry. We just had a backup sump pump installed which will help me sleep better. I also set up these smart sensors that will sound an alarm and ping my phone if they sense any water. I put them by our sump pump, water heater, egress window, and on the floor behind the toilet. At least this way, if we DO ever have a water issue, we'll be alerted right away so we can get on top of it.
And you can always shop my recent posts and find things I'm loving in my Amazon Shop and the LTK app.
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