https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 02 May 2026 22:33:17 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2523229 Wed, 13 Apr 2016 09:13:28 +0000 looch 2523229@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Veggiemama: Our roomba is quite old, it's at least 8 years old at this point, but with regular maintenance, it's doing just fine. There are probably newer and better features than what we currently have, but I use it to keep the floors in decent shape between cleanings. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522908 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 19:06:20 +0000 hb3233 2522908@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@DillonLion: @Ms. RV: You all are making me miss Aldi - sadly don't have one where we live now... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522875 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 18:35:56 +0000 Mrs.Pinecone316 2522875@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Love following this thread. We are move out of state soon and buying a home so I really want to get things started on the right foot and be more organized. I need to research meal planning and this capsule wardrobe more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522748 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:47:15 +0000 DillonLion 2522748@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ms. RV: Aldi for life! The fact that the store is small makes such a difference when you realize you forgot to grab something at the other side of the store. It only takes like 30 seconds to go get it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522741 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:37:40 +0000 DillonLion 2522741@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Meal prep for the week on Sundays so all we have to do is heat up during the week, and we eat a lot of the same favorites over and over again. </p> <p>Keep a very limited wardrobe and only buy (secondhand) things that match stuff I already own. </p> <p>I quit dying my hair or having a set of nails on, so now I don't have to worry about constantly making appts to touch up my hair or nails. I also started tweezing my own eyebrows instead of going every 2 weeks. </p> <p>I only re-redecorate for fall (just get my pumpkins out) and Christmas (put the tree up, put up my little xmas village, the end). The rest of the year the house is decorated plainly. </p> <p>None of us do any required weekend activities (no sports or hobbies where we have to attend weekly or anything like that)</p> <p>We rarely travel so we don't have to worry about prepping for trips</p> <p>We stick to a super bare bones budget most of the time, so that eliminates a ton of things that can easily complicate up a life</p> <p>I regularly pick a tiny area of the house (like a drawer or a closet) and organize it/purge stuff. I just do one area every few weeks and keep the house from getting too cluttered that way. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522735 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:29:45 +0000 gingerbebe 2522735@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@GoGoSnoGirl: We have a home office, so this might not work for everyone, but we have a print/scan/fax/copier type all in one printer and a paper shredder. DH just scans everything that doesn't have to be kept in hard copy, shreds it, and then has everything uploaded to our Dropbox. He's on his computer all day anyway, so its not a huge deal to him. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522711 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:03:28 +0000 GoGoSnoGirl 2522711@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hb3233: thanks! We'll look into the Roomba or similar brand. :grin: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522481 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:36:52 +0000 MaryM 2522481@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Veggiemama: Groupon usually has at least two versions of the Bob brand of robotic vacuum. I got the pet version (even though we have no pets) and loved it! Up until we hired a cleaning service which is even better.</p> <p>I can't justify buying new clothes to make a capsule wardrobe, but I have two hooks in my bathroom so on Sunday after I finish the laundry, I pull five outfits for the week. And I keep my clothes in order of when they were last worn so I dig deep in the closet at the beginning of each week. If I'm not excited to wear something, I donate it (or send it to thredup if it's not very old and in good shape) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522470 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:29:08 +0000 LulaBee 2522470@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I make 3 of DD's lunches on Sunday, so I can grab and go through Wednesday, I make bottles/wash pump parts the night before, make sure diaper bag is packed.</p> <p>Our Roomba runs every day at 10, and has really cut down on my floor cleaning time!</p> <p>I pick out my work clothes the night before. </p> <p>We just did a big clean out/up because we are listing our house this week, and I don't plan on accumulating as much stuff from now on. Be more mindful with my purchases. As soon as I'm back to my pre-preg weight, I will be investing in quality staple pieces. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522469 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:29:02 +0000 hb3233 2522469@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: This is awesome - thanks for sharing the thread! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522468 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:28:17 +0000 hb3233 2522468@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@GoGoSnoGirl: see my reply to @Veggiemama: We have hard wood floors as well, and it's insane how much hair the roomba picks up from day-to-day. It's literally just a matter of making sure the floors are clear of clutter and hitting start. </p> <p>For papers that I think I might need to refer to later, I take a scan with my phone and upload it to evernote, then shred the original paper. Evernote will ocr it automatically, so it also makes it easy to search for later. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522461 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:24:15 +0000 hb3233 2522461@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Veggiemama: There are a bunch of different roomba models at difference price points, I think Amazon has most of them, to get a sense for what's out there. They vary in the type of filter (it costs more to get a special filter that's supposed to make allergies better) and by the strength of the sucking mechanism. We have hard wood floors and tile and it works wonderfully. I imagine it would be tricky for cleaning stairs though (we just have one level). It will know not to fall down the stairs, as it has sensors. We've had ours for about a year, my parents have had theirs for two years, and no problems so far, knock on wood. I think the more recent ones are significantly more durable than the first generation ones from a decade ago. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522458 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:23:09 +0000 GoGoSnoGirl 2522458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Veggiemama: ha! I was about to ask @looch: @hb3233: how the Roomba is holding up, too! We have lots of hardwood flooring that gets so dirty (dirt/cat hair) &amp; our stick vac is dying. :-( It takes forever to sweep all that floor, so I'd love to just turn a Roomba loose on it. </p> <p>AFM with simplifying, I have a long way to go, but have been:<br /> -Cooking double/bulk meals &amp; freezing<br /> -Using leftovers in subsequent meals<br /> -Clearing out clutter </p> <p>I need to get better at meal planning &amp; shopping to support this. I also need a better system for filing papers &amp; stuff after reading the mail or coming home with stuff. We keep too much, probably, so letting go of the "What if I need to refer back to this?" mentality will help. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522309 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:45:37 +0000 Veggiemama 2522309@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: @hb3233: Tell me more about the Roomba! Our vacuum is dying and we saw the Roomba at Costco this past weekend. It was $350.00, it seems expensive but is that a good deal for one? We have primarily hardwood floors (with area rugs), tile, one room of carpet and carpet on our stairs. It seems awesome but I am not sure what we would do about the carpeted stairs and do you think the Roomba will hold up over time? Our current vacuum is only 3 years old and I am disappointed that it is breaking already. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522307 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:40:45 +0000 Mrs D 2522307@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avivoca: I would kill if one of my grocery stores started this! Our big store Meijer is testing it but the nearest store testing it is 30+ mins away!</p> <p>@hb3233: I read up on a bunch of blogs then built my "dream" wardrobe. I dont count things like workout clothes and lounge items (I do limit the # of these allowed) - it ended up being about 28 work related items and 12 weekend items. No set model...just what works for me...but I used principals from other capsule efforts I saw (i.e. limiting colors to those which all work together, limited "base" colors, and lots of layering items).</p> <p>Here is the thread where I am documenting more in detail how I am doing it: <a href="http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/capsule-wardrobe#post-2475099" rel="nofollow">http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/capsule-wardrobe#post-2475099</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522290 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:26:03 +0000 hb3233 2522290@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ms maths: :silly: good call! I feel like for most of my adult life, I had no money to buy stuff because I was trying to put myself through school while minimizing loans. Growing up, we also didn't have a lot of money for extras. Then once I finally had a decent paying job, I was like - ooh, now I can afford to buy stuff. A few years later, I've realized the stuff can be more trouble than it's worth, even when it is within budget...I'd rather take that money and spend it on ways to make our life easier (or savings!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522280 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:20:35 +0000 avivoca 2522280@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When life is busy, I order my groceries and pick them up on the way home. Sure, I pay an extra $5 and the store is a local chain so prices are a little higher, but it's worth it to not have to spend 30+ minutes at the grocery store with a toddler.</p> <p>This summer we are hiring a lawn service. I'm pregnant and while I normally love mowing, I have no interest in mowing while I'm gestating.</p> <p>I also have a small wardrobe, especially now that I'm in maternity wear. This is likely my last pregnancy, so I'm not investing in a lot. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522275 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:19:33 +0000 hb3233 2522275@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@pachamama: I love the buy one, donate two rule - that's awesome! I also really need to organize outfits at the beginning of the week.</p> <p>@Mrs D: Are you using any particular 40 items in the capsule, or just whatever 40 items work for you? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522274 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:16:18 +0000 Ms maths 2522274@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My strategies:<br /> -Being too tired to care about many home upkeep items.<br /> -Spending all of our disposable income on daycare, so now I don't buy stuff.</p> <p>(I meant these to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but they are also true. We're having a bad stretch of baby sleep right now, and it's definitely helped me let a lot of stuff go around the house and streamline the rest. And earlier in the year, we decided to lay out a budget for the next 5 years until kids are out of daycare. We were $20,000 short! This took into account retirement and college savings we want to make, so it's not a true $20,000 over our income which would make it a lot more stressful. But we're working on cutting out extra spending to stay in budget. It's taught me I just don't need many of the things I used to think I did, and not spending that money has really freed up some mental space for me.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522265 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:12:10 +0000 pachamama 2522265@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I love this thread!<br /> The way I keep my over spilling closet organized is when I buy one thing new, I donate 2 items.<br /> I meal plan and only buy what's on my list.<br /> I plan on my work outfits on Sunday.<br /> I do small areas of cleaning so it doesn't build up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522210 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 09:27:50 +0000 Mrs D 2522210@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is something I am focusing on this maternity leave - I am just home with the newborn (toddler is in DC fulltime) so I am trying to improve some things before going back to work when it will get crazy!</p> <p>I started by identifying the areas that cause me stress/take time during my normal day and figured out ways to simplify.</p> <p>1) Food Prep - I am going to focus on monthly meal planning and simplifying my recipes. I have WAY too many things torn from magazines - so I am trimming it WAY down. We will have 1 binder of "ideas" for weeknights and 1 binder for "special" items (ie weekends, date nights, birthdays, etc). Monthly meal planning allows me to shop for meats and non perishables once a month...which allows me the freedom to go to the fancier store weekly for produce. It is not cost effective to buy dry items and meat at the fancy store...so I normally skip it in the interest of only hitting one store per week! I'm also planning to try to prep meals on Sunday.</p> <p>2) Cleaning/Household Items: We want to hire a cleaning person but it just has not come to be yet! So I am designating one weeknight to laundry, one weeknight to mild household cleaning. I can easily steal 30 mins after the girls are in bed and it will help me stay on top of things without my weekends getting cluttered.</p> <p>3) Activities with the kids: I need to find a way to have crafts/projects at the house for K. I was doing Kiwi Crate for a bit...but would like to start working on building my own kits. Still researching this.</p> <p>4) Household Organization: I am currently getting the last two areas in my house that stress me out under control...trying to make it so I dont see a space in my home that makes me completely cringe. Garage and Basement storage are the last two.</p> <p>5) Clothing: Moving to a 40 item capsule collection.</p> <p>6) Working Out: I need this for my mental sanity and physical happiness. I am trying to find a class I can do twice a week between work and getting the girls from DayCare. Then I plan to figure out when I can squeeze in a couple runs per week (1 week day and 1 weekend day at minimum)...I'm aiming for 4 workouts a week. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522066 Tue, 12 Apr 2016 05:10:17 +0000 Peasinapod 2522066@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@farawayyama: I really like the wardrobe idea! I've done something similar but it's with shirts. I miss wearing dresses though, looking forward to spring ! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522020 Mon, 11 Apr 2016 22:51:11 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2522020@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for all the tips peeps! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2522016 Mon, 11 Apr 2016 22:34:48 +0000 hb3233 2522016@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Awesome ideas! </p> <p>Minimal wardrobe seems to be a super common theme. My wardrobe now is barely hanging on by a thread and I'm trying not to buy anything new since we're about to start TTC - when I finally get new stuff I am definitely doing this! </p> <p>@farawayyama: I love the varied dresses with black sweater/shoes suggestion! </p> <p>@looch: Roomba is the best. My house is so much cleaner since we got one. Best invention ever.</p> <p>@LuLu Mom: Baths are awesome, I think I should make it a more regular part of my routine. </p> <p>@Ms. RV: I miss Aldy - wish we had them around here! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2521117 Mon, 11 Apr 2016 08:53:31 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2521117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I meal plan at least 2 weeks ahead. I wrote it down as I think of things.</p> <p>Purge, purge, purge. I have a set area in the house where I put all things we don't need/use, and we donate when we have a good amount of stuff.</p> <p>I shop for clothes online and only when there's a sale. I only keep things that I love and return the rest.</p> <p>I have a small wardrobe. I basically know everything I have/ wear.</p> <p>I do laundry once a week. Wash and dry in the evening, fold in the morning. </p> <p>I do small pickups/tidying as I go along each week that take about 15 mins so I don't have a ton to do all at once on the weekends. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2521079 Mon, 11 Apr 2016 08:22:10 +0000 snowjewelz 2521079@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not having a lot of clothes, haha. The less I have, the less I have to think about what I'm going to wear. </p> <p>I also spend an hour each night cleaning up and prepping for the next day so I can sleep more in the morning! </p> <p>I used to leave more "deep" cleaning on the weekends, and laundry, but now I break everything up so I never have a mountain of cleaning chores to do. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2521063 Mon, 11 Apr 2016 08:08:07 +0000 LuLu Mom 2521063@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1. I meal plan and prep on Sundays, this allows me to be less stressed during the week and reduce the amount of eating out we do because meals are already planned ahead. </p> <p>2. I allow myself to take a 20-30 minute bath every night, this is my unwind time. </p> <p>3. I work out 4-5x a week. I HATE working out but I feel so much better about myself when I do it and I can tell a difference in my mental well being ;) </p> <p>4. I've started investing in more classic clothing pieces and have stopped trying to "keep up with Joneses" mentality when I clothing shop. I get what works on me and try to keep it classic. (I used to always have to have the latest trends) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2521014 Mon, 11 Apr 2016 06:38:07 +0000 looch 2521014@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I shop almost exclusively online with the exception of food and large household products. I used to love spending the weekend shopping, going in and out of stores, but it's such a time waster.</p> <p>My son is clothed exclusively in brands I can find online. I do supplement with socks and underwear from local stores, but I know which brands and sizes work best and that's what he wears. Shoes are the one thing that I will take him in for measuring, I'll buy at least 2 pairs of the exact same sneaker. I buy ahead at the end of season sales for coats and snow pants.</p> <p>As for myself, I have realized I am never going to do a capsule wardrobe, I like clothes too much, so instead I do outfit formulas. I look for dresses with a subtle print on a dark background that can be worn year round with either a blazer on top or with nothing in the summer (short sleeves). I get my tights at Walmart when I am buying my son's socks. Shoes from Zappos. I will spend a little time on Sunday making sure I have outfits for the week, I hang them in a side closet with everything I need, down to the tights and jewlery. All our clothes go into a triple bin laundry sorter, this way, my husband or I can just empty the entire bin into the washer.</p> <p>I invest in a really good hair cut that doesn't require a ton of products or styling. I cut my son's hair at home though, it saves me a ton of money and I've gotten quite good with the electric shaver.</p> <p>I am a big fan of the "set it and forget it" mindset. If there's a tool that can do something on its own, I am all for it, examples include Roomba and our robotic pool vacuum cleaner. Our washing machine can be set on a timer so I can put in a load of laundry in the morning and have it ready when I arrive home and put it right in the dryer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2520985 Sun, 10 Apr 2016 23:31:53 +0000 tofuwad 2520985@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My latest thing is to cook a double or triple batch of whatever I'm cooking and then freeze half. It takes almost the same amount of time and then I can have a meal waiting in the freezer. </p> <p>I also do this thing where I use the main course from one night as a side the next night. So if I make soup we'll have a big bowl of soup one night and then the next night we'll have a small cup of leftover soup plus a salad or a sandwich for dinner. That way I'm really only cooking one thing for dinner. I also try to make a one pot meal for dinner at least one day (basically a soup or a casserole that has protein and veg so it's a whole meal in one).</p> <p>Mine are all food related, lol! :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-your-strategies-for-simplifying-your-life#post-2520978 Sun, 10 Apr 2016 22:35:45 +0000 Mrs. Bee 2520978@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i try to have more of a capsule wardrobe. Less really is more when it comes to clothes and accessories if you really love each piece. </p>