S02E07 - 4 tygodnie do Świąt: prosty plan, który oszczędzi Ci nerwów

Hi, hello, good morning! Welcome to today's episode. I know you can already hear it from all sides. Christmas is coming, time is running away, and the list of things to do grows every day. And you probably have the feeling that it will be the same as always. Running in the last minute, tiredness, stress, and this thought. But it was supposed to be different. And in today's episode I will tell you how to do it, so that it really was different for you. [Music] Okay, today I want to tell you one thing. I always say that with one idea, there are more of them. But one thing is the most important, such an ultra-important turbo. You don't have to do everything perfectly. Really, no one gives you a medal for, I don't know, polluted floors or for 12 types of dough. And what will really be remembered is whether you were present, calm, and if you could enjoy it. This episode is to let go of what is unnecessary and focus on what really brings peace to the house. I will show you how to survive the last four weeks before Christmas without such a nervousness. And I will divide it into four pillars. Okay, let's start. Let's start with the first part. This is the rotation of the muscles, i.e. four weeks of cooking without thinking. Because we start with something that takes away the most mental energy every day. It's cooking. Actually, it's not self-cooking, but constantly doing something for lunch. You know what's the worst about it? Because it's not lack of ideas, it's decision making. Every day you make hundreds of decisions, what to put on yourself, what to do first, how to solve the problem in work, how to solve some children's affairs in school. And then comes the question of what for lunch and just your head goes to work. Why does rotation work? Because repetition is your friend. I know that it may not be a solution for everyone constantly, but before Christmas it is worth using this solution. You will not be bored for four weeks with repeated meals. And of course, I'm not saying that it has to be the same food. Let's talk more about the structure that takes the decision in your head. You have, for example, seven categories and only change the ingredients depending on what you have in the fridge. In this period, when we have a million other things to do, this is absolute salvation. Save time, energy, money, because you are shopping once a week according to the ready list. What does such an example week look like? It is easy, fast and adapted for the season, i.e. for the winter. In the afternoon you can have a chicken with vegetables. Look, it's already very strong. And it can be, for example, baked ducks with vegetables, carrots, potatoes, onions. You just put everything on one sheet, to the oven, or to the air fryer. Or some quick stir fry, chicken, frozen vegetables, rice, ready in 20-30 minutes. Or, I don't know, parsley, pomegranate sauce with porridge. You can also do that in 20-30 minutes. In the afternoon, my proposal is, for example, thick soup. In general, so that it remains for the second day. And it may be such a day from the oven. You will make a larger amount, so that you will also have enough for dinner and for the next day. Like for the evening, or for the second breakfast, or for lunch, or some other fast meal. It can be a pumpkin cream, it can be a goulash with a large amount of weight. A large, so traditional, warm one with chicken meat. Or a fork, if you like. In the middle, pasta in 15 minutes. Pesto pasta and dried tomatoes. Spaghetti with chicken meat, olives, pasta with vegetables and sour cream. And it can be a frozen mix of vegetables, sour cream and pasta. Pheasant and simple. Carbonara, if you like. Something from the oven. A day when you put it in the oven and deal with other things. For the oven, potato, I don't know, with cheese and bacon. 20 minutes of cooking, the rest is in the oven. And you either sit on the couch, or you do something else. And lasagna, and listen, you can buy it ready, it's not a shame, I'm going to break you apart from that. Cooked vegetables with sour cream and buckwheat. Or baked schaap in a baking sauce. Okay, it will take a little more time in the oven. But you can prepare it a day earlier, put it in the oven, it's done by itself. Friday, fish, eggs, if you have a Friday without meat. It can be, I don't know, salmon baked with rice and vegetables. Or some kind of baked fish. Or anything simple, within one specific category. On Saturday, you can have something family, that is, a weekend when you can join the children. If the partner does not cook every day, then the partner can be, I don't know, for example, homemade pizza. And listen, the dough can be ready, you can buy pizza dough in Lidl. Or you can buy a pizza, or maybe you have frozen pizza dough. Because sometimes it happens like that too, but if you buy it ready, it's okay too. It can be burgers with fries, it can be strawberries, sweet or even lemon. Just what you like and what can also be for you in common time. And on Sunday, like in every traditional Polish house. Fruits and other vegetables, or whatever you want. Or the rest of the week in the form of some kind of tasty baking. Something that will be within one category and will just allow you to stop caring about what is to be eaten according to the scheme. Okay, but how to implement it in life? First of all, write down this plan. You can print it yourself, put it on the fridge, write it down on the phone. Where do you want it, how will it be more convenient for you? Of course, it does not have to be according to the scheme that I gave you, these are just examples. Although I think that they have both hands and legs. Second, make a list of purchases once a week according to the plan. And listen, if you decide on such a category or even specific orders from these categories, then once the list of purchases is made, it will be relevant for these four weeks. Well, for me, a lot of time saving. And because you buy it once, you save time, you save money, you don't waste food, because you just buy what will be in this particular plan. But such a disclaimer, too, let yourself change the day. Because if, for example, in the fourth, you want to make pasta, then there is no problem, you just mix it up. But because you are making one purchase and you have this scheme in a week, then you don't have to, if, for example, you want to make pasta, you don't have to go to the store and buy something, because you just missed it, because no, because it was in this plan. But in order not to be fixed, we keep changing only in terms of this category, which we have identified. Because, you know, this is not a rigid system, this is such a scale that is supposed to support us, but without thinking. The second part, or as it were, the second way is cleaning. And this is cleaning 15-20 minutes a day. And I have a special list for you that should make you happy. Because, okay, this topic causes and causes us the most stress. I know it. In the perfect world, the house should be clean, everything should be perfect, people will come, people will assess, but we are not able to do general order in full life. Side note, no one should judge us by the prism of what our house looks like, but I hope you already know that from my previous episodes. And so, work, children, everyday duties. Whenever we have time to clean the whole house to perfection, and Jesus will love you even if you have dirty windows, seriously. I checked, tested, I confirm. Okay, so, what is the key point here? 15-20 minutes a day is really enough. If you know what to do, set a timer, that's important. No, you know, I'll clean it up a bit, but specifically 20 minutes. And you'll see how much you can do in this concentrated time. First of all, it's not a big amount of time, so you are able to motivate yourself to do it. Second, just turn on the engine in the back and do as much as you can, and then, without a conclusion, you can rest. Or you can continue this task if it turns out that the memory has already jumped, and this task is satisfying for you. And how can we make a precious plan for the last four weeks? In the first week, i.e. the coming week, we will be able to organize the entrance, the living room and the kitchen. So, it's a basic order. Why? This foundation gives us 80% of the sense of organizing, of the space you see the most, and makes it easier to organize the next action, which will go on in this space. That is, we organize the plates, some hot spots, i.e. places that collect everything. I don't know, a commode table, plates at the fridge, I don't know, a island, we organize these things. We do a view of the fridge, a kitchen plate and a sink, i.e. such fast organizing, and an entrance, a weight from the shoes and a jacket. If there is such a possibility of keeping it in the closet, it just makes a huge visual difference. And as I said, another action, such as decoration, shopping, will make it easier to move, when you see that the space and the card, well, maybe it's not empty, but it's really tidy. On the second week, the lighting system of Christmas shopping plans. This week, it gives you a logistic advantage and eliminates the stress of such a last moment. We segregate the lighting, we check what works, what does not, what is missing, we check the lighting. If they don't work, if you do it on the second week, then you will have time to order new ones. You distribute a list of gifts and a budget and an idea for it. You check the products that are worth ordering now, i.e. if you have some, I don't know, a gift paper, an addition to the table, a candle. This is a good moment, because it is not chaotic yet and it will allow you, in any case, to order or go to buy things that you will need. Plus, if you don't have a permanent one, then planning a place for Christmas, for example, we have a Christmas tree in a permanent place every year. Why now? Because in the middle of December, it is too late to order. Remember that these periods of deliveries before Christmas are longer and that is why we minimize the possibility that something will not come to you. On the third week, there was a light version. If we have a common sense and a decorated decoration, then we touch on the rest of the apartment, i.e. you can make a quick look, dress up, i.e. postpone certain things that are not necessary for you, I don't know. If you are hiding a dress or a summer dress, you haven't done it yet, you can throw it away. You can do this on the view of a shelf, after putting clothes on the hangers, so that it visually creates the order. You can do the bathroom, you can do the laundry, some kind of dressing. And it will allow you to have a sense of justice in this space. And thanks to this, it also affects the Christmas preparation and the appearance of new things in your house. And you have this feeling that hey, it's not done, I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it, it doesn't have to be perfect, but it is worth it to be without pressure. And on the fourth week, i.e. the last one before Christmas, which ends on the 21st of December, it's still some kind of light cosmetics, i.e. cleaning the kitchen, food, cleaning the main walls, checking the shelves, packing the gifts, buying a list of groceries, if you are going to do shopping on Monday or Tuesday, it's kind of full-fledged. And these are the last, so to speak, thoughts that will allow you to have a feeling that cleaning is easy. And now yes, a list of things that you can let go of. I will say it loud and clear, with full empathy and confidence in the voice. And if you can say that you were talking about it on the Internet, I will take it for years. You can let go of the windows, seriously, you can't see them in the dark, and the light will turn off the Christmas climate and no. In my house, the window was clean, but I wouldn't wash the windows, because there is no window. Probably they are really dirty, dirty, I don't know, children throw yogurt at me, it's okay, if not, there is no such necessity. Showering the closet from the inside. Nobody is looking at me, looking at cosmetics. If you haven't done it for the last three months, then I think that another additional month your cosmetics will last. All right, in the garage and the basement, and this is the point, I have an impression, for gentlemen, so you can now let go of this fragment of your partner husband. You don't have to clean the garage and the basement before Christmas, Jesus will love us, even if we will have a balcony in the basement. However, he will look at us with a crooked eye, if the carpet will smell and you will run away to the garage. I hope that it will work out. Change of wardrobe for children, for example, because, I don't know, New Year's Eve or, I don't know, New Year's Eve, I don't know if someone does that, but there are probably situations like this. You have already made, let's say, a change from summer to winter, and your children are wearing pants and pants, like thick sweaters and winter jackets. If this is done, then some additional rotation or trimming of the closet is not necessary. If you have a bamboo dryer, you can put everything in a bamboo dryer. If not, then you just press the things that are really obligatory. If you don't do it and it doesn't make you satisfied, then you don't have to do it anymore. Dressing under heavy furniture. Leave it for spring. Now there are many more things that are worth buying. We can leave it for a dream, flowers. Let's get back to it. Nobody will notice these things, and you will save an hour, and even if someone notices these things, first of all, they should not judge and should not look at you through the prism of these things. If they do, then there is a signal for us, a little red flag, that someone will judge us by how our house looks like, and that we have a little leather under a large wardrobe, or that we have fugs that are not dirty, they just got darker. Is such a person, well, is such a person supposed to be in our life? I leave this thought for you and move on to the third way, as if part of the third, i.e. the present plan. This is often the biggest source of pre-Christmas stress. Imagine December 23, a shopping mall, a crowd of ladies, empty shelves, lack of ideas, shopping, whatever it would be, and then you return home exhausted with gifts that really don't satisfy you. So the most important thing, we buy gifts according to the list, not according to the mood. What is the first step? Make a list of people. Take a card, you can get a note, a phone, a card in the fridge, and write down all the people you really buy a gift for. Not those that you should theoretically buy, but those that you really want to buy. Because it is often the case that we put pressure on our heads, I have to buy a gift for Kasia, because she bought it for us last year. But you know, these are not competitions, it should be a gesture, not an obligation. The second step, setting up the budget. You write down budget videos for each person, and here is the important thing. Many people have the feeling that they have to give more to be nice. We don't have to. It's better to buy a simple gift for 50 PLN than something expensive, but buy it in a panic and it really doesn't make sense. I'll say it again, it should be a gesture, not a financial project. The third step, two or three ideas for each person. And you don't have to do that in one sitting, you can do two such approaches. But if you know who and how many, then write down two or three ideas for each person. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it should make sense. And these can be things like, for example, I don't know, for your mother or a cookbook or a story, you can just ask what she likes. A cup and a good tea, or a drink or a massage. For your father or a cookbook, it can be a good coffee and a cake, a book about history, or sports, or something you like. Something for the workshop or for his hobby. I still have a very, very, very good idea of ​​giving, maybe on the occasion of such meetings or a birthday party or a new name, but I think that it will also be true for the holiday. I am a big fan of changing alcohol to a good quality olive oil. I've never been at home with this, and I'm a bit worried, I'm a bit of a difficult case for a gift. It's kind of Christmas, but last year I remember that I got a kilogram of coffee from my sister's husband and her husband. I got some avocado, I got some juice, some fruit, and such things made me more happy than if someone just gave me some, you know, cool outfit. And this kind of olive oil hits me a lot, because it's first of all useful, it means, for me, it's a little bit more than just giving some kind of, well, as I say, I don't drink alcohol, so such a gift is for me, well, without a rule, but that's right. Well, maybe it would work for you too, maybe you have or I don't know, your tester uses something that he likes very much, but because, for example, it's a little bit more expensive, he doesn't use it. I don't know if it's some kind of cream or something, it can be things that we use every day, it doesn't have to be something new again. OK, we have parents in the family, for grandparents, it can be, even children, knowing my children, as if they are writing a letter to Mikołaj, there is no problem with the children, it's easy to decide, if I say about my own children. When it comes to the children's miracle, I am very much in favor of the toys and playing things, so as not to buy a different family for children. I mean, I don't want to give another family, another element that is in the living room, some kind of playing toys, etc. So when I make presents for children, I choose from two categories. Either they are playing games, because I think it's a development and it can be used by the whole family, or books. And if someone is at the home of children who give presents, they are either playing games or books, I simply change it every year. For friends, it can be something at home, some nice vase or a picture, or something that has recently been said that she likes it, but it's a shame, there is something extra here, it can also be a common exit. I invited her for a coffee in February as a gift or for a concert or, I don't know, for a movie and spend such a shabby weekend. For working colleagues, they can be some small, memorable things, candles, I don't know, candles, a mug, a lot of such small things, which you can find in the building that will be interesting. But it makes sense when you start to think about it before you start making these purchases, and not while you are standing in the M.P.C. or in the shopping mall, in the shopping mall, on the 23rd of December. And the fourth step. It's important, set up one or two days of shopping, it can be Wednesday, in the afternoon, Thursday after work, Saturday morning, as you like, but it should be once a week, and what is the strategy here? From my side, I recommend you to buy everything online. You will avoid crowds, compare the prices, calmly scream, come to your opinion. Second, remember to check the delivery terms, the parcels in December are simply going longer. If you are going to the shopping mall, do it for one trip and only for things that you cannot buy online. Buying earlier, i.e. the second week, gives you the feeling of relief and control, and this is priceless in December. And the fifth step. We pack the packages right away, because the biggest chaos is done with things delayed later. Sign up for one evening, turn on your favorite series, make your own tea, put everything on the table, paper, ribbon, cards, and pack everything at once. This can be a really nice moment, not a mess. And remember, the perfectly packed presents are MIG. MIG. Packed paper, simple cards, beautiful and satisfying, you do not need to paint some miracle in Kiev, you know, enter some artistic heights. If it is not something that will please you, it will only be something that will stress you out. And the fourth way, and this could not be missed in our episode, is self-car. And this is something that we always forget. I'll tell you something. December is the time when women take the most of themselves. Presents, food, cleaning, decorations, family, emotions, everything around. And with all this, we treat ourselves as a luxury that does not have time. And this is not a luxury, it is a foundation. Self-car is not a reward, if it is enough time. This is a duty element of the plan, just like shopping or cleaning. Because if you wake up, you wake up the whole house. Burned, tired, stressed mom, these are not peaceful holidays. So a minimalist self-car plan for four weeks. Fifteen minutes a day, not just for yourself. This is not negotiable, everyday, without exceptions. What can it be? A cup of tea at the window in silence before the house wakes up or before you wake up and the whole house falls asleep. A ten-minute walk alone, without a phone. Notes and a long list, writing thoughts, doing a brain dump, something that will calm your skeleton on the nerves. Even a ten-minute yoga from YouTube makes a difference. I recommend Sylvia Yoga. It has great practices that last for 10-15 minutes. A bath, if you have one. If not, then simply washing your hands in warm water, doing a piling, a cream, this is also a moment for yourself. And listen, write it in the calendar. Not as I will find, planned, as every other important meeting. Secondly, one thing a week that will burden you. Once a week you do something that will take away from you the weight. It can be a ready-to-eat order, instead of cooking. Let go of the laundry, let it be one more day. Ask your partner for specific tasks. Buying a dupe instead of doing it DIY. Or, say, not some meeting where it seemed to you that you have to be, but deep in the soul you know that you are not. And remember, it is not laziness. It is the order of energy that you need a lot before holidays, and that you do not have more than normally. Thirdly, the border. Speaking, you do not have to. And here I will be very specific. You do not have to do everything yourself. The partner can do shopping. Children can help by cleaning. Even small ones can wash their skins, put on toys. The family can bring gifts for holidays. Listen, if you do something bigger in Italy, it is not bad to ask your mother if you will make a salad or if she will prepare some sauce or some kind of fish. You can buy ready-to-eat pierogi the same way, instead of making 200 pieces. Or you can remove these pierogi, for example, with your mother or a tester. Remember, a mother's rest is a calmer home. It is not egoism. It is wisdom. Fourthly, the dream. Do not save on the dream. It is not time to catch up with something in the middle of the night. Sleeping body and mind is the basis. Everything is simpler when you sleep enough. And fifthly, reseting in five minutes, i.e. breathing. When you feel that the tension is rising, take a deep breath, bend to the top, breathe out slowly, breathe out slowly, and reset the nervous system. It really works. Ok, we are getting close to the end. Let's sum up again. Four ways to survive the last four weeks before the holidays. First, the rotation of the muscles, the structure that relieves the head and saves us time. Cleaning 15-20 minutes a day, i.e. small steps, instead of a weekend morning, thirdly, a present plan from today, without a 23-year-old lady in the mall, and fourthly, self-care as a foundation, because without all that, there is no point. And remember, holidays are not a competition. No one gives you a medal for perfect windows or perfectly packed gifts. The only person who could give you this medal is yourself. And you probably won't deserve it anyway. It's a bit like... You know, I'll think about it now. It's a bit like with a wedding dress. It seems to you that everyone pays attention to the color of the dress, the vignette, the decorations, how the table looks like, and in the final drawing, no one remembers what it looked like, and plus or minus they know how the young lady had a dress, and for us, the young lady, then it was very important, and it's a bit like that with the vignette. They don't remember what the image was like, whether it was cleaned under the wardrobe, whether it was cleaned, but if you are frustrated, you will have a night's night at the vignette table, you will scream at everyone, because it's already pouring out, then they rather remember. So remember, holidays are time for people you love, and you love yourself too, so for you too, enough good, it's great. And if something helped you with this episode, please write me a message or send this episode to a friend who recently said that she will not make it again, because maybe that's what I need. See you in the next episode.