BACK TO SCHOOL – SEASONAL ROUTINE RESET
You can hear the audio version of this discussion on my podcast at Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast, on Apple Podcast, and many other platforms!
BACK TO SCHOOL / CHANGE OF SEASON
It’s back-to-school season. Whether you have children in school or not this signifies a change in the season from summer to fall. Often our routines change with the change of the seasons, but the most dramatic seems to be with the transition into and out of summer. Even though some of the routines we had before the summer season may have only changed a couple of months ago, we often forget them. We establish new routines based on our current situation and don’t always remember those great routines we had in place before.
It is not important to reestablish those exact routines we had before. We don’t want to delay establishing good routines because we focus too much on trying to remember what we were doing before. Instead, we can focus on figuring out what works best as the season is changing and get ourselves set up with something that works right now. You can always improve your routines as you go. Often the old ones wind up naturally making their way back.
ROUTINES NEED TO CHANGE AT TIMES
The need to change up our routines or put them back in place does not only happen when seasons change. It also happens when there is a change in our situation. Our work schedules may change with things like getting a new job or just being in a busy season. Sometimes an illness or holiday season can throw us out of our routines. Routines help keep life on track, but they can be forgotten due to unforeseen circumstances. If you need to reset your routines, don’t aim for perfection. Avoid procrastination and start small. Once your basic routines are in place you can adjust them to make them even better.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO RESET OUR ROUTINES?
Routines that work at certain seasons or times of our lives don’t always continue to work. The timing of things changes. Certain times get busier and other times get freed up. For example, in the summer I take about 20 minutes each morning to water my outdoor plants. When the summer is over, I am no longer watering those plants which frees up 20 minutes in the morning to do something else. Before summer, I was using that time to get some work done on the podcast or update my budget.
It is not always easy to remember what we used to do with the time that gets freed up and it is also sometimes difficult to remember what else can be changed to make time for things that are new to the season. The transition between these seasons can feel a little bit out of sorts without taking a little bit of time to reset our routines. Having good routines in place can help us better manage the change in the seasons.
CLOTHING
Most of us have some sort of seasonal wardrobe. We can get in the habit of wearing certain clothes for the season that we are currently in. If you are like me and do a semi-uniform where you wear the same basic clothing each day, you can get into a routine of your daily favorites! I’m not looking to give up my comfortable shorts and T-shirts just yet. But, I know not long from now I will be back to loving my leggings and comfy sweatshirts!
COOKING ROUTINES
Often our cooking in summer is geared toward cooking outside more. If not cooking outside, when the weather is hot, we tend to say away from dishes that take to cook longer in the oven heating up the house. Sometimes, we just cook quicker easier meals because we want to be able to spend more time outside or doing things that only can be done in the summer season. Our cooking routines can be quite a bit different in the summer than the rest of the year. If you are like me, you need to readjust and remember the things you used to cook when it was not summer!
Often the ingredients we use in our meals change with the season. For example, in the summer I tried to incorporate tomatoes and basil from my garden as much as possible. With the fall coming, I know I will soon receive a request from one of my daughters to make pumpkin chili! Take a little time to remember some of those seasonal favorites you were making before summer came and add them to your upcoming meal plans!
CLEANING ROUTINES
Cleaning routines definitely change seasonally for me. Summer is my favorite season, so I really kind of cut back to basics when it comes to cleaning during the summer. I’m not really doing much deep cleaning on a regular basis. So, when the summer is over I have to start to incorporate more time to some deep cleaning that has been put on hold. As the weather gets cooler I don’t mind staying inside more and getting some of those things done. In the summer there are likely more outdoor home maintenance tasks going on. Maybe you are taking care of a pool, watering plants, pulling weeds, or cutting the lawn. With those likely being removed from your schedule, you can find the time to do something else. Maybe that might be doing some deep cleaning you may have put aside during the summer!
FUN ACTIVITIES
Our routines for fun and relaxation often change with the seasons. I used to float in my pool and read at least once every weekend during summer. Now that the season is over, it’s important to find something else to do that I enjoy on weekends. In the fall, I love to do puzzles and I will read too. Last year, I set up a puzzle in my family room and would spend a little time each day working on it. This isn’t something I would do in the summer because I would rather spend the time outside.
Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!
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