So things don’t slip through the cracks…
Last week we discussed the way a reset can help you maintain daily tasks as well as add new habits to your current routine. You can add exercise to your morning routine after you empty the dishwasher, or you can meditate at bedtime after you brush your teeth. You make your bed and tidy your kitchen so you can “reset” your home before moving onto the next part of your day.
The Monthly Reset
Today I want to dive into my favorite reset - the monthly reset. This covers all the random things that can easily get missed in the craziness of life. It’s the reset of mine with the most tasks and the most randomness and is really just a mish mash of things I want to do often but don’t have a specific time slot to assign them to. They don’t need to be done as frequently as daily so adding them to a daily routine won’t work. The solution: The Monthly Reset. Put them all together in a list and aim to do them monthly.
Prevent Overwhelm
The Monthly Reset helps prevent overwhelm and contains all the nuisance chores into one easy to reference list. Doing these items every month, year over year, the nuisance part starts to disappear and the “yay me, I’m so productive!” part kicks in. There is nothing like checking these tasks off the list - especially if you are a list checker-offer. Even if you aren’t you will likely find joy in knowing you are being proactive and getting to things before they start to build up and stress you out.
Check In With Goals & Priorities
The Monthly Reset is not just for chores. This is also a good time to do things like check in with your monthly goals and priorities. How are you doing with that meal planning you wanted to implement? What about the trip you are planning for next year - are you moving forward as you’d like or have you hit a roadblock and maybe need to readjust? Having a time each month when you address all of these items gives you permission to not think about them until you need to. You don’t need to stress about the state of your kitchen every day because you know that those monthly tasks like cleaning your stove or replacing the sponge will be addressed when it’s time. If you don’t get to the splatters in the microwave today, you will when you do your reset. You live in your home and it will never be a home in a magazine. It’s unrealistic to do it all, and it’s not fun to be chasing perfection.
Your Monthly Reset
As I always say - you do what works for you. If you decide to try a monthly reset - it will look different than mine! Here are a few things to consider:
When do you want to do your monthly reset? If the beginning of the month is always a crazy time for you - maybe the middle, around the 15th is more ideal. Or the end so you can start each month with a “clean slate”.
Where do you keep your reset? Mine is in my planner (yes - I’m a paper girl), but for you, a file on your desktop might be best. Or printed and stuck on the side of your fridge. Think path of least resistance. If it’s on your computer and you are rarely on it, a printed version is probably best.
Things change - your list may get bigger or smaller as you find the “sweet spot”. The key is to not overwhelm yourself with it.
Give yourself grace and don’t try to get it all done in one day. I aim to get my reset done within the first week of the month, but sometimes it’s longer. Sometimes I don’t get to everything and that’s okay too. I’ve set mine up so that I can see a year’s worth of the reset. I can see what I’ve been consistent with and what I have skipped. It makes me feel better about not getting to something if I know I did it last month and it can wait until next month. If I see that I’ve skipped something several months in a row - like sweeping the garage - perhaps I take that off the list or aim to do it quarterly. Let it be a guide, and not a rulebook.
It’s a tool. You are creating this to help you. If you find that it’s adding to the overwhelm, perhaps you cut it down to something more manageable. If you feel better doing things as they need to be done, a monthly reset might not be for you.
My favorites. To get your ideas flowing, here are a few items from my monthly reset that have now become monthly habits: drop off donations, feed sourdough starter, wipe down microwave and ovens, wash shower curtains & bath mats and clean the coffee maker.
My Gift To You
Now here is the fun part! I have created a Monthly Reset template for you!! I have been working on my Canva skills and while just as useful, I think it’s much cuter than the Holiday Planner. It’s an editable PDF, so you can add your own tasks and even check things off as you go! I’ve spent a lot of time working on it & I hope you enjoy it. To get it, simply sign up for my newsletter here. I haven’t started sending them out, but once I do, you will receive a monthly email from me with tips & tricks, stories, and first access to any special deals or offers. If you have already signed up for my newsletter and want the checklist - email me and I will send it to you! This is my holiday gift to you. After the New Year, it will be available for purchase on my website.
Have fun & please let me know how you are using it. I’d love to know what is or isn’t working for you!