Are you looking for ways to make life less stressful? I don’t know a lot of people who can honestly answer “no” to this question. In fact, I think even the mums who seem to have it together the most are still always looking for more ways to make things a little easier on themselves. After all, we can’t do anything about the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day! 

If stress keeps making its way into your life, these five tips may help make your days smoother.

1. Adopt a minimalist lifestyle

If your closets are overflowing with clothes and your kids’ rooms are overflowing with toys, it may be time to adopt a minimalist lifestyle. Studies have shown that minimalism can reduce stress. It makes you more mindful of your belongings and surroundings, and it minimizes clutter and distractions. 

Going minimalist to make life less stressful doesn’t require a radical transformation. Start by getting rid of things that don’t have a clear purpose in your life or provide you with pleasure, and pare your closet down to a capsule wardrobe. When it comes to toys, prioritize open-ended ones that can be used in multiple ways and spark creativity. The idea is to minimize the clutter so you can spend more meaningful time with your family. 

2. Exercise together

Did you know that research shows that exercise of any type can keep stress at bay? If you’re laughing at the suggestion that you can somehow fit exercise into your already insane schedule, I hear you and I have a solution for you: exercise with your kids. 

Whether you go for walks or ride bikes together or blast your favourite music and dance like no one’s watching in the living room, there are lots of ways you can get the stress-busting benefits feel-good endorphins of exercising while spending time with your kids. The best part? It will help their stress, too, which benefits you even more!

3. Shop online

I’m a huge proponent of shopping online whenever possible. It really is such a huge time-saver, and it’s all that rushing around and resulting lack of time that is at the heart of so much of our stress! 

Besides eliminating the need to get in your car and go somewhere, you aren’t confined by a store’s opening hours when you shop online. You can do it first thing in the morning or late at night after the kids have gone to bed – and perhaps best of all, you can do it in your pyjamas!

4. Meal planning

Trying to figure out what to cook can occupy a lot of your time each day, and then you still have to go and get all the ingredients. By planning your meals in advance, you can eliminate this common source of stress and save money on your groceries by knowing exactly what you need and don’t need. 

A weekly meal plan can go a long way toward making life less stressful, whether you use different themes for specific days of the week or set up a couple of weekly schedules and rotate them. If you combine this with my previous suggestion of shopping online, you can easily establish a system where you plan your meals, get your groceries delivered, and eliminate running around for food from your life!

5. Freezer meals

How many times have you wished you didn’t have to cook dinner night after night? Whether you can’t cook because of an after-school activity or you’re just plain exhausted and not in the mood to stand over the stove for an hour while keeping your toddler out of trouble, even the cooking enthusiasts among us often long for a break. And if you use freezer meals, your wish can come true! 

When you double or triple a meal you’re already making anyway and save the extra portions for another day, you get homemade, healthy food without the work for a night or two. That’s also a night or two without needing to clean up the kitchen! 

These essential ways to make life easier can help you say goodbye to stress and all the damage it causes our health and our mood. Give them a try and see how much better you feel!

PS: if you’d love to do 4 & 5 but need a magic wand to make them happen...I have something for you that’s the closest thing to that 🤭 I can give you meal plans and easy recipes to follow myself. One recipe a week will be a freezer meal recipe. This way, after a few weeks you’ll only be cooking a maximum of 3 times a week 🥳 It cannot get any easier (actually it can, because I’ll give you shopping lists too 😉) — all you need to do is join The Dinner Plan meal planning membership when we open doors April 21st! Get on the waitlist HERE not to miss out!

Love,

Nakita xxx