By Danielle Graham
Every Sunday morning, before I’ve even had my coffee or said good morning to my family, I rip the sheets off the bed and throw them straight into the washing machine. I immediately think about Bedtime Danielle and how happy she’s going to be climbing into a fresh bed that night.
Truthfully, I think about Future Danielle all the time. Whenever I know she’s going to appreciate one of Present Danielle’s decisions, I give myself a little wink.
You’re welcome, girl.
I would never pretend to be your life-hack bestie, but I thought it might be fun (helpful, even?) to share a few of the little things that make my life feel lighter and more manageable.
Randall and I use a grocery list app called OurGroceries that we both have on our phones. Whoever uses the last of something adds it to the list right away. No trying to remember. No standing in the grocery aisle wondering, Do we have panko? It sounds ridiculously simple, but it’s taken so much mental load out of shopping. And let’s be honest, grocery shopping and meal planning already feels like an unpaid part-time job.
To take even more guesswork out of the week, Tuesdays are always tacos in some form. Everyone knows what’s for dinner. Everyone is happy. Taco Tuesday is one of my favourite days of the week because I don’t have to think, and I know everyone will eat.
Future Danielle also books the next dentist appointment before she leaves the office after a cleaning. She fills up the car, even when she really doesn’t want to, before it’s on empty. She does a load of laundry every other day so it never has the chance to become an overwhelming doom pile.
Little favours for my future self that I’m always thankful for.
Speaking of doom piles, can we talk about digital clutter?
I know I’m not the only one with thousands of duplicate photos, blurry pictures, random screenshots and things I saved because I was convinced I’d need them one day. My camera roll is basically the equivalent of a kindergartener’s backpack. Chaotic. Confusing. Somehow there’s always a random rock in there.
In fact, while writing this article, I found an actual picture of a rock in my photos.
I’ve slowly been tackling the shame that is my camera roll one day at a time—literally. My system is simple. Search today’s date (without the year) in your Photos app. It’ll pull up every July 29 (or whatever today’s date is) going back years. Spend 10 minutes deleting duplicates, screenshots and photos you don’t need, love or want anymore. Tomorrow? Search July 30. Rinse and repeat.
It’s surprisingly satisfying, takes almost no time, and I genuinely feel lighter afterward.
I’ve started doing the same thing with my inbox. I’m one of those people with far too many email accounts and an embarrassing number of promotional emails arriving every day. What can I say? I love a welcome discount. Now, whenever one lands that I know will show up again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, I scroll all the way to the bottom, find that microscopic unsubscribe button and proudly press it.
It’s amazing how much quieter life feels when your inbox isn’t constantly yelling at you.
While I’m definitely a future-oriented, Type A, get-it-done kind of gal, I’m also an overstimulated, perimenopausal, working Mom. Which means I’ve learned that adding an impossible to-do list to my already full plate doesn’t make me more productive. It just makes me feel like I’m failing.
Instead, I set a handful of realistic monthly goals.
This month it’s reorganizing my youngest daughter’s dresser to see what still fits and what we need to get, pulling out the basement sofa to clean behind it, and having the girls help me do a toy room purge and reset.
That’s it. Not twenty-seven things. Three that I feel confident we can get done. Enough to feel like we’re moving forward without feeling buried. As a recovering perfectionist, I’m learning to let progress be enough.
There’s one more gift I try to leave Future Danielle, and it has nothing to do with getting organized.
I love, love, love having something to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be a vacation or some huge milestone. Sometimes it’s dinner with my girlfriends. A visit to my parents. A movie night with the kids. Something on the calendar that reminds me life isn’t just appointments, errands and playing catch-up.
I know none of these habits are particularly life-changing on their own. Fresh sheets won’t solve your problems. An organized camera roll won’t magically make you less stressed. Taco Tuesday isn’t exactly revolutionary.
But stacked together?
They make life a little lighter. A little easier. They create a little more breathing room.
And these days, that feels an awful lot like having my life together.
For more from Danielle, explore her HERE’S THE THING column on 29Secrets—where she dives into beauty trends, relationship moments, and the real-life conversations we’re all having right now.
