15 Systems That Have Simplified My Life

I want to share some systems that have simplified things around the house and helped me keep my head straight and feel good.

Some of these are family-centric, but not all of them. Even if you don't have kids, you'll still get some nuggets you can use.

My daughters were 13 and 15 when I put this list together, old enough to really pitch in around the house. You'll see that show up in a lot of these systems.

Every family and every living situation is different. Take what you can use, and leave or tweak the rest.

Systems Vs. Routines

There's a difference between systems and routines. Routines are actions you take every day, like waking up, brushing your teeth, getting your coffee.

They're the things you do on automation, the flow of your general day. Systems are how things actually work, the little engine and cog wheels that keep everything spinning smoothly.

Systems are a great way to focus your time and energy if you want to be more productive, find more free time, and feel better in your day. If you want one area to focus on, this is a really great place to start.

Here are 15 systems that we use inside of my home that have simplified my life.

#1: Reminders For Everything

I set reminders and timers for everything, and I mean everything. I've been totally on board with the Alexa Echo Dots, especially since you can attach them to your calendar.

It's one seamless system, and I think it's a beautiful way to collaborate with everyone in the family instead of letting everything fall on me. If one of the girls wanted to know their next orthodontist appointment, they could just ask Alexa instead of asking me.

Nothing has to live entirely in my head as long as I add it to my calendar. Most of the systems we use these days lean on technology in some way, and this is one of the best ones.

It's also handy for timers. If one of us is cooking and someone else comes in, they can just ask how much time is left so they can pitch in and help.

#2: Email Folders

The next system I use is email folders. My goal is always to get to inbox zero every single day.

Folders are handy for things like emails coming from the school district. I can slide those notifications and announcements into the right folder so they're easy to find later without cluttering my inbox.

#3: The Five-Minute Rule

This third system, or general rule, is one I've heard used a lot of different ways. Any task that's going to take five minutes or less, I try to do immediately.

The exception is if I'm intentionally taking a break or a day off and being strict with myself about it. Otherwise, if it's five minutes or less, I just get it done.

I hate having things constantly nagging at me. The buildup of a bunch of tiny things nagging at you makes you procrastinate even more, and it makes a small pile of tasks feel like a heavy burden when it really wouldn't take that long to clear.

If it's something quick, like responding to an email or adding something to the calendar so I can throw a piece of paper away instead of keeping it as a physical reminder, I do it right away.

#4: Batch Everything

Next, I batch everything I possibly can. Whether it's recording videos or doing laundry, if there's a similar task or a similar location, I try to batch those and do them all at once.

I even batch my planning. When you can get your mind into that hyper-efficient focus mode, really zeroing in on one theme, it keeps you from burning through and wasting your energy.

This is one of the systems that has simplified my time in a major way.

#5: Scheduled Time For Tasks

Pretty much any standard task that needs to happen every day, we schedule it. The best example I can think of is taking Charlie out.

We each have our own scheduled time slot for it. If somebody forgets, that person can be held accountable because they had the 2:00 pm slot, and it prevents Charlie's care from falling through the cracks.

Many people assume you have to be uptight to keep a set schedule for every little thing. I actually find it has the opposite effect.

Because we're all on the same page with these set schedules, nobody has to nag or get irritated when someone's not pitching in. It takes away a lot of that tension.

#6: Shoe Rack At The Door

Shoe racks by the door save so much time and so many dirty floors. Every time people come in, we all know to take our shoes off before we even enter the main floor area.

It also makes leaving the house easier, since we're never hunting for shoes tumbled across the living room floor. Each person keeps only two pairs out at a time, which tends to be plenty for any given season.

Our shoes might look different in the rainy, muddy Portland winter versus flip-flops and sneakers in summer. Either way, keeping the shoes right at the entryway has been a great system for simplifying and keeping the floors clean.

#7: Vacuum Timer

We have a robot vacuum, and I have a timer set for it to go off and vacuum automatically at times when we're not readily awake and downstairs. Right now it's set for 7:00 AM, before I mosey down to the living area, and it makes things so much easier.

The way robot vacuum technology has gone, it just keeps getting better. Ours was gifted to us and we call it Ultron.

It's one of the systems that has simplified our lives, and I'm really glad we got it when we did because Charlie's hair has been out of control.

#8: Greenlight App

The eighth system is related to the kids. We used the Greenlight app for chores, which works like a debit card for kids without having to open a bank account for them.

We liked this one because you can attach chores to it right inside the app. The girls, myself, and Matt all had Greenlight on our phones, with every chore for the week listed there.

The girls checked off chores as they finished them. Every Friday, Matt and I added up how much they'd earned and that became their allowance.

I really liked this system because it was more than just handing them money every week. I wanted them to feel like they were earning it and get a sense of what it's like to work for something in the real world.

#9: Divide Meal Duty

We divide meal duty, and we've been doing this for a while now. Once my kids were old enough to start doing things for themselves, I started letting them.

I've found that when I give my kids more responsibility, treat them as capable people, and support them as they need it, we function better as a family unit. We're all contributing and respecting each other.

It's been a real positive give-and-take relationship. We set the structure and make sure everyone is safe and provided for, but at that age they contributed something instead of being completely carried.

My oldest daughter turned out to be a better cook than I am. Every week we'd ask everyone which two meals they wanted to make, and no matter whose turn it was to cook, we all ate dinner together at least five days a week.

#10: Pinterest Meal Boards

I keep Pinterest meal boards divided by type of meal, one for instant pot recipes, one for chicken meals, one for snacks. When I need a recipe, I have one spot to go instead of ten or twenty different cookbooks, papers, and digital files scattered everywhere.

#11: Grocery List On Alexa

We also keep our grocery list on Alexa, and it's been a total game changer. We don't write grocery lists anymore since everyone can pull up the Alexa app on their phone at the store.

Anyone in the house can add to the list from any room. Before I go order food I'll ask, "anything else you're running out of? Add it to Alexa, I'm about to go shopping."

#12: Amazon Fresh Deliveries

We do Amazon Fresh delivery for our groceries, and it's been remarkably accurate. We used to be big Safeway shoppers, and we still use Safeway to fill in things when we need to, but their delivery service messed up our order every single time we tried it.

Amazon Fresh hasn't messed up a single order. We've also saved money ordering delivery instead of walking past all the fresh baked cookies and chips you happen to pass in the store.

#13: Massage Exchanges

This one is specific to Matt and me. We do massage exchanges, minute for minute. Usually we go for 15 to 20 minutes, probably every other night.

I'll pop something on the TV and we'll do our exchange. It saves money and it's really good for your health and wellbeing.

It's a real win-win to help you calm down and relax, and we do it at the end of the night before bed. If you have someone you can trade that with, why not?

#14: Google Sheets For Finances

Another system that has simplified things for us is our financial Google Sheets for tracking monthly bills and spending. We copy each sheet to the next month, clear it out, and re-enter the information, and the formulas are already loaded.

We also used a Google Sheet for one of my daughters' finances once she got her own phone service. Because of our chores and allowance system, part of what she saved up for was paying $15 toward her phone bill every month.

It was one of the areas where we tried to instill financial responsibility early.

#15: Parental Guidance Tip

The final system is one we used with our kids around parental guidance. Raising teens can be tricky, especially once they're old enough that you have to loosen the reins a little while still holding some kind of parameters.

There's no one-size-fits-all and no book of rules. Everybody has to find what works for their own family.

Something we started here was that when our oldest wanted to watch a movie rated R, or a TV show marked mature, we'd have her read us the parent's guide on it out loud. If it had things in the sex and nudity department she wasn't comfortable reading to us, then she wasn't ready to watch it.

My youngest wouldn't take us up on it at all. If a show had anything even mildly sexual in it, she didn't want to read it out loud and would just skip it, which meant the system was working.

That's all 15 of the systems I can think of that have made my life as a mom, a business owner, and a human in this family of four so much simpler.

Each one is simple on its own, and they just add up over time. They all fit into the bigger framework of how to simplify your life.