Staying Organized – In the Life of a PhD Student

Hi guys!

I have been meaning to do this post (maybe a series? lets see how this one goes, shall we!) for a while but you know – LIFE. Anyhow, last week I asked you all in my Instagram stories if you wanted a series on organization  96% of you said  YES.  So here you go, my lovely friends!

First off – let me preface this by saying that these are some things that work for ME. You may want to tweak and fiddle with them or not even try them if they seem to be too much work. No hard feelings! But, the overall goal is to inspire you and if you are struggling with staying organized whether it is in meal planning, grocery shopping, keeping the house tidy – just know that we are all in this together!! Some weeks, I don’t do anything and I am a lazy bum and we eat food from the freezer or chicken nuggets for dinner.. the WHOLE WEEK. Because you know.. LIFE!!

So for this post – I am going to focus on meal planning. Because for most people, this is the part they DREAD heading into a new week. Figuring out breakfasts, lunches, dinners.. all of it can be so annoying. We are a family of 4 adults (in laws and us) and my daughter so we go through ALOT of food. I mean, when my in-laws are away visiting family, the amount of food I cook is automatically cut in half because I am against throwing food out. I also have a chest freezer in our garage.. so you will notice that there are a bunch of meals that are “freezer” meals from when I made a double batch and froze the leftovers.  Below are my must do tips for a hassle free week of meal bliss!

TIP NUMBER 1

Plan out your meals the week before! For us we plan out meals on Thursday/Friday and grocery shop on Saturday morning. Our meal plan includes meals for the weekend through to next Friday. I bought this cute notepad from Indigo to help us this year. But you can use any note pad/paper etc you like! I highly recommend doing this so you can check your pantry and fridge before hand to help you make a more organized grocery list. This grocery list note pad makes my life a little bit easier! also.. my daughter does NOT make the menu every week.. I do 😉

 

TIP NUMBER 2

Set aside 1-2 hours on a weekend for meal prep, every weekend. This time will pay off in spades the whole week – I PROMISE YOU THAT. In this time frame, you can prep your breakfasts, assemble your oat jars, make your smoothie bags, chop up veggies for all your meals for the week and so on! I typically do this right after grocery shopping, before the stuff goes in the fridge. I cut up all the veggies, or organize the fridge as I am going along.

 

TIP NUMBER 3

Train your husbands to do the grocery shopping. This is my top advice to you as a woman (because I know mostly women read this blog). Let them do the grocery!! Go with your partner/spouse/significant other a few times to the store so that they get a chance to know what you like to buy. And then let them do it. I mean, a balanced work load for everyone is always good. My husband and I both trade off – he does the grocery shopping on Saturday morning (with my daughter.. AMAZING.. I KNOW.. i can have my tea while its actually hot) but I do ALL the laundry including washing, drying, folding and putting away on Sunday. We both do jobs we despise the least (for me laundry > grocery shopping!). If you can get your spouse on board, it will make your life SO MUCH EASIER. Also.. I know some of you may be like “but he buys the wrong thing all the time” – and my husband does too and he calls me all the time from the store. But try to keep the bigger picture (or your hot beverage.. haha) in mind! Also, i totally get this tip may not be for you – and thats totally cool. Lets still be friends.. okay? 😉

** i don’t have a photo for this haha!

 

TIP NUMBER 4

Ive tried this both ways – but I like the weekend option more. Try not to let laundry linger! I hate laundry.. and doing it is so annoying. I cant even. But you know whats more annoying? Unfolded laundry that my 2 year old is going to throw out of the basket to use the laundry basket as a boat.  URGH! So my new method is to get all the bajillion loads of laundry done in one day (sometimes 2) and then put on a good show after my daughter goes to bed on Sunday night and fold laundry and put it away before sleeping. You know why? Because then my whole week is spent laundry -LESS and I love that. Netflix and laundry is the new thing guys.

 

TIP NUMBER 5

Talking about laundry.. no one likes ironing. I hate ironing! So when the clothes come out of the wash, I HANG THEM ON HANGERS. and then I go around the house hanging them on door knobs. They air dry, and NO FOLDING REQUIRED. You can even put up hooks in your laundry room to help you hang the hangers there. That way, less clothes are the dryer and your clothes will actually also last longer because they are air drying. Also no need to iron (mostly)!! Below is a crappy photo of our laundry room which has ZERO natural light.. but I did put this sign in there with hooks to hang up stuff to dry! By far, the best $30 I spent at Home Sense! 

 

 

Okay so those are my top 5 tips for you guys! Stay tuned for a new post on how to stay organized in my life, where my schedule changes daily and some days I have meetings all day while others I work at a my local Starbucks. If I don’t stay organized or dedicate time to staying organized, everything falls apart in the week leaving me stressed, anxious and unable to focus.

If you found this post useful or tried something or have a question, leave me a comment below! I love hearing from you guys!

xoxo

Areeba

 

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