Weekly Reset- Preparing for the week ahead (family edition)

This is by no means a comprehensive list of everything I do each weekend to reset, but it does hit all the major points.

On Saturdays, I do the weekend prep for the week ahead. This includes the following:

Laundry. I try to do a few loads of laundry during the week so that it doesn’t pile up, but Saturday is my day to fold clean clothes, hang things up, and make sure everything gets put away. And mate socks. I usually listen to a podcast or watch something on my phone while I do this. I keep my eyes open for deals on laundry detergent. One of my favorite deals is the Buy one, get two free Arm and Hammer detergent deals that happen every 6-8 weeks or so at Walgreens. The deal starts again tomorrow, May 4, 2025.

Put outfits together. I started doing this about a year ago, and it saves me time every morning. I can just go into my closet, pull off an outfit off the hanger, and I will have a top and a bottom already to put on. My youngest picks out their clothing before bed every night, and my big kid does not care what he wears to school. So most of his clothes are mix and match athletic shorts or exercise pants, and a funny graphic shirt or a sweatshirt if it’s cold.

Clean out the fridge. I was up this morning before 7:30, and I reorganized the fridge and pulled out the food that was starting to look a little beyond its days. I prep the fruits and vegetables that may expire or go bad first. For me, that means roasting vegetables, making a fruit salad, or making applesauce if we have some apples that are starting to bruise or go soft. Applesauce is super easy to make and does not take that long at all. If you have a lot of apples, you can make it in the crockpot. My crockpot applesauce recipe can be found here.

Restock the lunch/snack bins. I keep two plastic bins in my pantry full of lunch components for the kids lunches.  I tend to buy snacks in bulk when they are on sale, and then stash the extras downstairs in the garage in a plastic tote so they don’t all get consumed quickly.  For us that includes: Granola bars, goldfish crackers, bags of popcorn, gogosqueez pouches, lunch-size bags of preferred chips, freeze-dried fruit, dried mangoes, crackers, beef jerky, and individual bags of cookies. 

Restock the drinks and the protein shakes. I have a premier protein premade protein shake every morning for breakfast with 20 ounces of cold brew. Every weekend, I go down to the garage, grab enough for the week, and stash them in the fridge.  I will also put drinks in the fridge if we have premade drinks (that does not happen very often), and more juice boxes/Arizona iced teas in the fridge for the kids’ lunches for the following week. I will usually also make a pitcher of lemonade.

I make a batch of cold brew. Previously, I used my French press, but that was taking a while, and it takes up a lot of room. So I started making bundles with oversized coffee filters and cotton twine, but that just made too much waste. So this weekend, I’m gonna make some cold brew filter bags that are reusable. I’ll be using muslin and cotton twine, and I am hoping to make several of them. You can also buy cold brew bags online.

Clean out the kids’ backpacks. Usually, they will do it themselves, but every once in a while, I peek in there and find piles of crumpled papers and broken pencils and other stuff. This also includes pulling out their lunchboxes and making sure that their school iPads are charging. Once a quarter or as needed, I will throw their backpacks and lunch bags into the washer. Nothing is worse than a stinky backpack/lunchbox.

I clean the bathrooms each weekend. This includes taking out the garbage, sweeping, cleaning the toilets, and spraying down the showers. 

Vacuuming and sweeping. My cousin gave me a Roomba recently, and Roomba is currently doing its thing in the living room. And it does a really good job, much better than the Shark iRobot we previously had. Also, this Roomba has the cat on high alert. She sits and supervises to make sure that none of her toys get sucked up. 

Changing the sheets. I changed the sheets every weekend. I usually do one bed on Friday, one bed on Saturday, and one bed on Sunday. And put the bedding in the washing machine as soon as I strip it off the bed, that way I don’t have that much more laundry to do. These are my favorite sheets from JCP. They are on sale frequently, and cotton sheets are great for warm or cool weather!

I’m sure you are asking: What do the kids do? The big kid takes the trash and recycling down. The smaller kid helps gather dirty cups/dishes and gets them ready to load into the dishwasher. They both help with laundry. They pick up their belongings, and they keep their rooms tidy.

Frugal Cleaning: “Magic Blue” Cleaner- Great for the Bathroom!

It’s not really magic, but it gets your bathroom (and kitchen) clean without much elbow grease or fuss.

I recently discovered this concoction, and It’s definitely worth sharing. And the best part, you probably have all of the ingredients in your home. If not, a quick trip to Dollar Tree will get you going!

I went to help my mom this week, and I thought I’d clean her bathroom. Our area has the worst hard water (lots of minerals in the water), so cleanings bathtubs and showers are a lot of work.

Enter our magic blue cleaner!

  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1/4 cup blue dawn hand dishwashing detergent liquid (I know a lot of people call it soap, but technically it is a detergent).
  • 1 cup water (I used tap water)

Pour the vinegar and water into a spray bottle, add Dawn, screw on the lid and shake until the Dawn has dissolved.

Spray on the dirty areas, let sit for about 10 minutes, wipe off (I used a scrubby sponge), and rinse.

The recipe makes a lot, I tend to pour it into smaller spray bottles, so I can have one in each room (bathrooms and kitchen).

It also works great on cleaning toilets, countertops, and sinks too!

Dollar Tree Helps you Get Organized!

I usually start my new year off with some cleaning, organizing, and purging. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this post detailing my January decluttering challenge.  In addition to clearing out clutter, I’ve needed to pick up some new storage bins to help corral the bottles of cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink.

Dollar Tree to the Rescue!

Depending on your needs and esthetic, Dollar Tree has something for everyone.

I got these blue and white totes for under the kitchen sink. One for trash bags, one for cleaning supplies, and one for sponges, brushes, etc.

I also have cleaned out the front bathroom under the sink area and re-organized it. I have plastic totes like these under the bathroom sink (sans lids- but the lids are in the cupboard) that hold:

  • First Aid Kit (We have a fairly large and extensive first aid kit)
  • Period Supplies
  • Shampoo/Conditioner
  • Bodywash/Scrub/Shaving Supplies

If you have some organizing to do, I recommend that you stop into your local Dollar Tree and check out their storage possibilities.