Shoes on the stairs, misplaced phone chargers, lost homework folders—these everyday annoyances add up, keeping us from living the calm, present lives we’re all chasing. (There’s some irony in chasing a calm life. But sometimes that’s just how it feels, right?)
When we moved to our new home, all I cared about was setting up systems that would eliminate some of the friction from my life.
A place for everything. Decent habits from the get-go.
Fewer of the irritants that prevent me from living this beautiful string of moments with my family.
To get your wheels turning, I thought I’d share 20 things you could do to reduce friction in your home life and help you live more fully.
Reducing Friction to Live More Fully
1. Designate two to three spaces where you are allowed to set down your devices. At our new place, I chose a spot on each floor where I keep my phone. It is saving me the oh-too-frequent insanity of “Where did I put my phone??”
2. Hang hooks in your entry. It’s the simplest change that makes a HUGE impact, especially if you have little ones.
3. Get a really good doormat, and help your kids get in the habit of swiping their feet twice before they enter. I’m considering buying this doormat
4. When you make sandwiches for your kids’ lunches, make enough for at least two days. For me, it’s the sandwich that is the stumbling block. Making them ahead = problem solved.
5. Keep phone chargers where you need them, such as by your bed, in the kitchen, in the car, or at the computer. Buy an extra one or two and save yourself some headache!
6. Use the subscribe and save feature on Amazon for items that you need on a regular basis but somehow never remember to put on your list. (I use it for dishwashing
7. Consider using hanging closet organizers for the kids, instead of dressers. Setting clothing inside cubbies is easier for kids (and busy moms!) than folding and putting away in drawers.
8. Have hanging file folders in the kitchen, or wherever you sort through the kids’ papers.
9. Rework your car storage. Think: diapers and wipes, a change of clothes your potty-training toddler, jumper cables, emergency snacks.
10. If your kids tend to get crazy sandy/wet at the park, keep baby powder in the car. A dusting of it on their legs and feet instantly will dry the sand out and allow you to brush it right off, which means…a cleaner car!
11. Buy hooks for your car—to hold purses, backpacks, reusable grocery bags. Hooks of any kind are my best friend. These
12. Set up the world’s easiest chore system for your kids, rather than feeling guilty over the fancy system you never remember to follow through with. (Been there!)
13. Use the timer feature on your iPhone / iPad when your kids use your devices. A timer telling them time’s up seems to spare us a lot of whining / arguing, compared to me telling them time’s up.
14. Choose ONE thing on this list to let go of for a season.
15. Have multiple laundry hampers (lights and darks) so that laundry is sorted before you even head to the washer.
16. Reduce the number of bathroom towels you own. One set per bathroom / family member will do. Having fewer motivates you to wash them and hang them back up promptly, instead of getting backlogged.
17. Make this DIY after-shower cleaner to prevent hard water buildup and extend the time between deep cleanings.
18. Avoid power struggles with your kids by not engaging in any discussion AFTER you’ve given the directions. It’s like quicksand. The more you struggle, the faster you sink! Read more in this great post.
19. Have family meetings! I know you’ve heard me say this before, but a quick meeting where we discuss what went well last week and what we can do better at the following week gives us such a warm and productive forum to broach behavior issues with our kids, and they can bring up issues with us too(!), which helps them feel like they have a voice in the family.
20. Every night when you’re in bed, think through what you’re going to wear the next morning. It’s amazing how twenty seconds of thought can save you minutes of hassle in the morning!
I hope this list gave you some new ideas, but when it comes down to it, it’s not really about what you do; it’s just about doing it. It’s about removing obstacles, setting up systems that make life a little more effortless, and ultimately, connecting more with the people we love.
So let’s hear it—What is a point of friction in your life right now, or one that you recently alleviated?
Photo credit: My incredibly talented, SF-based friend Jen, at Jen J Photo.
I’m obsessed with home organization lately and de-cluttering. It does make life easier! I like your idea of hooks by the door. I need to get some of those. Thanks for the great ideas!
Sure thing, sista! Wish I could see all your organized glory! Perhaps a post on your blog? 🙂
Hooks are wonderful for SO many reasons. Have you embraced the glory of command hooks?
I’m all about simple solutions to make the rhythms of everyday flow with ease. Thank you for sharing your ideas.
I certainly have! Command hooks could have been a point of their own! 🙂 Thanks, Missy!
These are great tips! We use a lot of these, but I’m happy to grab a few new ideas, too!
One thing I do is use the timer feature on my phone to dictate how much time each of the girls gets with a really hot toy. Do you ever have one of those days where they just want to play with whatever silly thing the other kid is holding ALL DAY LONG? When we’re having that kind of day, I just pull out my phone and get it to keep track of each kid’s two-minute turn, and once the buzzer goes off, they know to swap–no argument!
Yes! Aren’t those days the best?? ha. Timers are a lifesaver with kids!
A point of friction for me is (and pretty much always has been) dishes piling up. Not only does it mean more work later when I finally wash them, but it makes it hard to put away groceries, cook dinner, and do other things in the kitchen! So I have been “trying” to implement a new idea I learned from an older, experienced mother on YouTube: run the dishwasher and put away the clean dishes before you go to bed. I love that little nugget of wisdom! I usually run it at night, but I leave it to empty until the morning. And you know what mornings are like with kids, even if you don’t have to be anywhere! 🙂 If there’s a place to put dirty dishes, I’m much more likely to keep on top of them.
I love this list! I’m always trying to make things run more smoothly in our household.
Yes! I’ve taken to running mine after breakfast, right as we leave for school dropoff. Then I can unload when I get home and am just cleaning / hanging with my two who are still home with me. Funny what a big difference such a small thing can make, but you’re right, the timing of running the dishwasher is HUGE!
Oh, I love this! We are getting ready to move, and I am on an organization mission. I want it to be as smooth as possible. These are great tips! Thanks so much for sharing, sweet lady xoxo
This is a great list! (But your link in #18 is broken.) It’s funny how things that seem so small can make your whole life itch.
For me, it’s always been important to have a “staging area” where I put all the stuff I’m going to take when I walk out the door. In this house, there’s very little room right next to the door, but the stairs go up two steps to a landing and then turn, so there’s some space in the outer corner of the landing, which is near the door. So when we moved in, I made that my staging area. Fast forward 12 years, and I now have a 4th grader, who takes swimming and clarinet in school, sharing the staging area, *and* I have to take my baby’s things as well as mine when we go out. The landing was too crowded! I started keeping my/baby’s gear next to her changing area instead. It makes sense because that’s where we keep everything for replenishing the diaper bag, and it’s next to the kitchen where I pack up the bottles. We have gained so much peace from this change! In fact, my son has stopped leaving clutter around his backpack, now that his things are the only things on the landing!
Thanks so much, Becca, for your thoughtful comment and for telling me about that link! I fixed it, and in case you wanted it, here’s the link to that article: http://www.yourmodernfamily.com/stop-arguing/
Best wishes!
I’m all about efficiency and girl this list of ideas is awesome! Definitely going to try some of these!
If you decide to be intentional about things in the home, it can save headaches in the end!! Some of it’s so simple (keeping your phone in the same spot, etc), but it saves time searching. 🙂 Great list.
Thanks so much, Emily! Yes, it’s ridiculous how my lightbulb moments can be over THE tiniest things. But it adds up! You have a great day!
I think my biggest point of friction at home is my family members leaving things where they used them last instead of returning them to their place. I’m still working that one out….
Thanks for linking up another wonderful post to the Sparks of Happiness Linkup. I am sharing this one on Facebook and Pinterest 🙂
Erica,
#20 has saved my life. I also put everything by the door that needs to go out for the next day such as lunches, etc. If there is something in the refrigerator that needs to go, I put a post-it note on the door by all that is packed and ready to go. I like your Amazon tip. I never thought about doing that.
I came here via Works For Me Wednesday link up. 🙂 Pamela – Literate For Life
What a great list! I love it!
I love this list! I’ve been working to get my house reorganized since we remodeled and hopefully I can get done before we begin our addition. Anything to simplify is my bestfriend 🙂
My husband simply cannot understand why I refuse to have extra sets of towels OR sheets. When we married, he had to have had at LEAST 100 towels! (He also had primary custody of his two kids, so it wasnt just him) I wash, dry and hang them back up and for some reason it annoys him, hahaha. I’ll have to make him read this post 😉
Haha, good idea! Sometimes I do the same thing with my husband. 🙂 You know, casually leave something open on his laptop… 🙂
We have a “Things To Put Away” basket. As I find things I just put them there. The kids empty it in the evenings and they’ve learned to look there if they can’t find something.