I won’t lie. This past fall and winter have been crazy for me.

Hard. Good. Insane. Exciting. Exhausting.

I’m clinging to my healthy resolutions by my fingernails–to keep them from slipping through my grasp. Not giving up. But not climbing up like I’d like. My perfectly carved out schedule of last spring and summer is a thing of the past. I know in my mind that this year has been unique–joining the church is no small commitment–weekly RCIA meetings since September, faith formation classes for the girls. This, on top of the usual stuff that goes with kids–like soccer games and 4-H meetings, and choir practice and playdates. So while my days are already chock full with work and homeschooling and animals, my nights are just as booked.

I read this over the weekend, and in some ways felt like I was reading my own biography. I am wound tightly most days, balancing so many balls, wearing so many hats, attempting to do so many things well or good enough. So many things I could be doing. Should be doing. Want to be doing. Need to be doing.

There are moments where I know I’m wasting my own time–the scrolling, the surfing, the connecting.

And the moments where I know I’m going to drop everything and do what’s really important–the family dinners, and late night sledding, and little kid baths in the middle of the busiest part of the morning.

But in all the chaos and the wrapped-up-tightness, there’s one day of the week I’m reclaiming: Sunday.

I’m building a wall around Sunday and protecting it’s preciousness. It’s not just about productivity and planning meals and getting all the laundry done and ten more things to be tightly wound about. It’s about a few little tasks, and quieting the chaos around me–even if it only lasts for a few days, a few hours of Monday morning–and giving myself the best possible start to the coming week.

I’ve been walking around with a little notecard tucked inside my planner. Keeping a running list of the little things I can do on Sunday to set me up for a great week. To help settle my heart, my home, my mind.

I thought I’d share my list with all of you. I don’t do all these things every Sunday. But they are a few of the most important ones on my list. And when I’m able to do as many of these as I can, it makes Monday morning a sigh of relief and peacefulness, not a sigh of exasperation. 

7 THINGS TO DO ON SUNDAY TO JUMPSTART A GREAT WEEK

*Clean out and stock the refrigerator. I have to admit I’m a little obsessed with cleaning out my refrigerator. For me it’s one of the key elements to eating healthy and feeling organized for meals for the week ahead. I go through leftovers, wipe down shelves, and put the 17 blocks of half-used butter sticks in the butter compartment. Here’s a peek inside my fridge after my obsessive cleaning and clean out on Sunday. You can also read this blog post for more healthy food options.

*Fill in day planner/calendar for the week. Nothing stresses out my mind more than knowing I have “stuff” coming up but I haven’t taken time to find out exactly when and where, or taken time to put it on my calendar. Doing this on Sunday helps me know if I have anything that I need to plan for, anything that’s going to require superhuman amounts of driving and drop-off coordination, or anything that requires a google hangout meeting wherein I should probably have showered and gotten out of my ratty torn tshirt before signing on. (here’s a post about my planner and how I use it.)

*Unplug well before bed and go to bed early. I’ve been guilty of burning the midnight oil on Sunday nights trying to catch up or get ahead. But it only gets my mind churning and makes falling asleep even more difficult. So I’m unplugging, turning off the phone and trying to be technologically inaccessible so that I can get some complete rest before the week begins.

*Read something inspiring, but quieting. For me that means no back issues of Martha Stewart and Real Simple, but something that fills me up and calms me down. Right now, it’s revisiting this favorite. Some nights, it’s daily readings in my Bible. But it’s all about finding things that slow me down, instead of giving me more things I should be doing.

*Set out workout clothes. If you’ve got five pairs of black workout pants, but only one of them is really public/gym material–digging through that pile of darkness is enough to make one swear off the workout they were about to do. If I have my workout clothes laid out on the chair in my room, it sure makes throwing them on and doing something that much easier. This week I’m treating myself to clean sneakers. How have I never washed my sneakers in the washing machine? Fingers crossed.

*Fill water bottle and set it beside bed for morning. It’s such a quick and easy thing, but if I grab it when I’m on my way downstairs for breakfast it seems so much easier to get all my water in for the day. It’s there waiting for me, ready for the drinking.

*Find a quote, verse or words to keep close by for the week. This is something that I’ve recently started doing, but a practice that I love. Finding a small quote or a few words to tuck into my planner, post on my wall, or write on the kitchen chalkboard help remind what I want and what’s important. The one above is mine for this week. And it pretty much sums it all up perfectly.

P.S. I’d love to hear from you…do you have certain habits that you commit to at the end of the week that help prepare the week ahead?

 {photo credit : foggy mountains by Jay Mantri, watermelon by MMT.}