Things I Do To Make My Life Easier

This is a list of things I do daily to help make my life easier. Between work, school, kids, and life - it gets crazy around here. If you're already doing them, great! If not - try it out!

1. Go to bed with no dishes in the sink. I hate waking up in the morning knowing I have dishes to do. It's just one more reason for me NOT to get out of bed. Even if you have to stay up just 10 minutes later at night, trust me that you'll feel better about it in the morning. Yes I have a dishwasher, but I do hand wash a lot of things and always rinse before loading the dishwasher. 
2. Have the kids clothes laid out the night before. This one helps save a little bit of time in the morning. Anything to make getting to the bus stop on time is a win. 
3. Never wait until you have a full load of laundry to run the washer. You're setting yourself up for failure at this point. Folding is the worst part about laundry, folding smaller loads is much more manageable. If I waited for full loads I wouldn't need to do laundry everyday, but then I dread the massive amounts of folding that would have to be done. Instead, I choose to do smaller loads more frequently. 
4. Prioritize. What actually needs to be done today and what can wait. Visualizing this helps a lot, so write your list down. I leave my list right on the kitchen island where it's easy to see, this helps to keep you on track. If the baby sleeps an extra long nap - do extra on the list. If things get a little crazy - just do what you can. 
5. Clean at least one thing in each room. It might be vacuuming, dusting, or picking up laundry - do at least one a day. Some days are better than others so if you just keep up with at least one daily, you'll never be too overwhelmed. Sometimes I can get this all done in one day, but when I can't it doesn't look awful because i've kept up with it on other days. 
6. Make lunches the night before. This goes with #2 - it just helps to make your morning run smooth. If you're a meal prepping type of person (awesome!) then you've got this one set for the week. 
7. Purge as you go. If I open a drawer and see something I no longer need, I don't wait and say i'll clean it later - instead I take that time to get rid of it. This ultimately equals less to clean! I love getting rid of things, I usually end up throwing out about a trash bag full of things we no longer need a week. 

When I follow this list, it makes cleaning and staying organized manageable. I feel less overwhelmed each day. And if I have a bad day (feeling sick or cranky kids) and i'm not able to do any of these things? Well because I try to do things daily, missing one day isn't a big deal and doesn't create too much excess work for the next day. Are there any specific things you do to stay on top of the day to day tasks? I'm always looking for a way to make my day easier!