Streamlining Your Weeknights

It’s girl’s night in!

Of course, I love my hubby more than anything (even pugs!), but I just love a night home alone to do whatever I want, eat whatever I want, and hog the TV.

I’m devoting much of my night to “beatify-ing” myself.

I have a full beauty agenda for the evening:

Manicure
Pedicure
Facial
Teeth Whitening
Eyebrow-tweezing

I picked “Beach Party” for my pedicure color. I’m trying my hardest to stay positive about summer!

Ways to Streamline Your Weeknights

Over the past few months, I’ve received a number of comments and emails asking how I am able to accomplish and fit so much into my day. Let’s just say, it’s not easy! And, to be completely honest, I don’t sleep much! (Maybe I should make it a Monday Mini Goal for next week to sleep 7+ hours most nights?) I also never stop moving when I am at home. I’m always going from one task to the next– from dinner to blogging to cleaning to reading to bed. However, I’m not a machine. You have probably noticed that there are nights that I don’t blog at all. On those nights, I unwind and recharge.

With that said, here are some tips for getting more out of your weeknights:

Clean every night: Sounds impossible, right? What I mean is clean superficially. Every night, I take 10 minutes to pick up random stuff around the house, sort through mail, load/run the dishwasher, and wipe-down the counters in the kitchen and bathroom. I save the most time-consuming tasks for the weekend, like vacuuming, dusting, laundry, etc.
Exercise in the morning: Ok, so you might not be a morning person, but getting in my workout out before the day begins, gives me a couple of extra hours in the evening to get things done. Check out my tips for becoming a morning exerciser.
Make large dinners: I actually like eating leftovers, so I often make meals that will last more than one day, like homemade pizza, casseroles, and pasta dishes. I often pair these “heavier” meals with a light, veggie-packed salad. I love coming home to a dinner that only needs to be reheated.
Pack multiple lunches: I love eating homemade salads for lunch, so when I pack them at home, I make sure to pack more than one. It makes the week so much easier when I don’t have to think about making a lunch every day. My husband is really hardcore and packs 5 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Sunday nights for the entire work week.
Plan TV nights/record your favorite shows: I love my DVR! I record all of my favorite shows and plan a night each week to watch all of them– minus the commercials. I rarely watch TV otherwise.
Schedule “Beauty” Nights: I do all of my time-consuming beauty routines at the same time on one night, instead of individually, which saves time in the long run. See above for ideas!
Only do laundry on weeknights: I hate wasting my weekends doing laundry, so I’d much rather fit it in during the week. Living in an apartment building also makes doing laundry very time-consuming because I often have to wait for a washer or dryer. Doing my laundry during the week when there is less “traffic” in the laundry room speeds up the process.
Sunday Prep: Preparing for the week on Sunday nights also helps streamline my weeknights.

Dinner

I made sure to load-up on the veggies tonight at dinner. You’ll see why at lunch!

Dinner was a big homemade salad with grape tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and grilled squash, topped with balsamic vinegar and the pieces from the bottom of the Guiltless Gourmet bag, which were a surprisingly tasty addition.

I also threw in a grilled veggie burger for dinner.

Lunch

So, you guys see the good, the bad, and the ugly on Carrots ‘N’ Cake. Today’s lunch was a tad on the “bad” and “ugly” side.

I was running late this morning, so I just grabbed a bunch of foods and hoped for the best. I was also chained to my desk for most of the day, so “convenience” foods were the way to go.

I started with a bowl of fresh cherries.

Then moved onto a Green SuperFood Chocolate Whole Food Energy Bar, which was decent, but not the best bar I’ve ever eaten.

I liked the chocolate coating!

And then I ate another bar. This time, I snacked on an Odwalla Super Protein bar. I liked the flavor of this one a lot and it kept me full until dinnertime.

Mid-morning, I slipped out of the office for a much-needed second iced coffee. Unfortunately, Au Bon Pain has terrible iced coffee, so I only drank about half before throwing out the rest. Oh well.

I’m off to watch Mama Mia from Netflix and enjoy a Blondie Cupcake for dessert.

Good night, guys!