Alice.com Blog – Unique Finds & Practical Advice for your Life & Home

Photo Credit: powi

Defining a morning routine is one of the more efficient things you can do since it affects and sets the tone for the rest of the day. My own morning routing consists of hitting the snooze several times, lounging in bed for a few minutes, getting up, going to the gym some days, showering, getting ready and eating breakfast. Some days I really relish every minute of a morning (good days) and others I’m rushing to just get ready (no shaving and no makeup would sure make things go a lot faster!).

Unclutterer recently posted a great piece on streamlining your morning routines. We’re including some of our favorite tips from them as well as our own below.

Make Your Morning Portable
“How many of the things you use during your morning routine, though, aren’t convenient to access? Are your breakfast items strewn in multiple cabinets across the kitchen, bathroom supplies in five different drawers and cabinets, and clothing kept in three different places across a bedroom?”

“Think about all of the things you access each and every morning, and reorganize these things to better meet your needs and make your routines more efficient. For example, if your family eats breakfast cereal, put all of your cereal boxes into a basket so that putting the boxes on the table each morning is one simple movement. If you have a shaving routine, store all of your supplies in one container that you can pull out of the drawer, set on the counter, and then return to the drawer all at once,” says Unclutterer.

Give yourself some waking-up time
My boyfriend is able to pop out of bed as soon as he makes the decision to do so, but I need more time to wake up. I like to build in some snooze time, as well as some quiet time in bed just after I wake up. It’s then that I peek out the window to see if it’s sunny or not, check the weather on my iPhone and stretch out my toes.

Be realistic about how much time it REALLY takes.
“It’s also a good idea to time yourself to see how long it actually takes you to get ready in the morning. Many of us are under the delusion that we’re faster at getting ready for the day than we actually are — especially families with children. If you have difficulty getting out the door in the morning, I recommend that parents get completely ready before children (especially young children) wake up and always padding your get-ready time by 15 minutes,” says Unclutterer.

Being realistic about how much time it takes me to go to the gym also really helped me be less stressed in the mornings. Even though I might go on the elliptical or outside for a run for 30 minutes, it usually takes an hour once you add in the time to get dressed beforehand, stretch after, etc.

What are your morning routines? Is yours hectic or calm?

2009 is history, and you’re stoked for the New Year! But chances are you’ve lost some of your good habits in the holiday shuffle. Add these items to your to-do list and get back into the swing of things:

1. Pack away holiday decorations and presents: 30 min – You’re not the person who still has Christmas decorations up in June, are you? Pack away those ornaments, garlands and snowflakes. Consider re-using packaging for birthdays throughout the year, or wrap presents that you’d like to re-gift right away.

This is also a good time to shop post-holiday deals on themed decorations if you have more than thirty minutes, and since you now know what your friends and family enjoyed receiving, write down future gift ideas.

2. Set up your calendar: 10 min – Whether you’re a paper or digital gal, make sure you take a few minutes to include any recurring appointments onto your calendar. Try also scheduling time for your New Year’s Resolutions. Planning to exercise three times a week or spend more time with kids? Increase your chances of success by marking that time in your week… and for extra insurance, set a reminder!

3. Create a tax document folder: 3 min – Important documents for your taxes have probably already started to arrive in your mailbox and will continue to do so all month. Make sure you’re ready for the April deadline by collecting all the papers in one assigned spot. I like to use a folder that sits right alongside my keys, sunglasses and other items in my “mail center.”

4. Update your budget: 10 min – Review your goals for 2010 and update your financial bearings accordingly. Be honest about budgetary buckets that aren’t allocated correctly. For instance, if you’ve allocated $100 for clothes each month and are spending $150, it’s time to look at taking away money from another bucket.

Be realistic, and if you need help tracking what you’re spending on household essentials, remember Alice has some great tools under our “Budgeting” tab. There, you can see what you’ve spent each month overall, in each category, and what you spend on average.

5. Take inventory and stock-up on basics: 5 minutes –Whether you received guests at your home, or were away for most of the holidays, it’s time to take stock. Take a moment to discover if your guests left you with the need to buy more toilet paper than usual, or if you forgot that you let your dish soap run low. Items like paper towels, razor cartridges, glass cleaner, batteries and deodorant are all common items you may be running low on.

Make sure you take into account any personal care items you received as gifts, like body washes, perfumes, and lotions. Using your presents up first means you can save a bit of money this month, or if they’re stocking-stuffer sized, put together a travel kit for the next time you need to pack a suitcase. Pre-package your small bottles in plastic bags so they’ll be primed and ready for the security checkpoint.

6. Take a breather and relax: 2 min – The holidays were a busy time for most, and while you’re rearing to go on your New Year’s to-do list, make sure you take a moment to breathe and relax. Plug in a great air freshener along with your favorite music, and put your feet up. After all, you just made it through another decade!

What did we leave out? How do you get back into the swing of things after the holidays?

Laundry detergent is more important than you think.

The right piece of furniture, or art, or that flat screen TV is marginal to your sense of well being. Really. What actually matters are the other seemingly frivolous household objects that convey a sense of integrity and purpose to our lives.

Like that chipped coffee cup you drink from each morning. Or those Beatles coasters that totally make you feel like a cooler person.

This was all proven way back in 1981 when researcher Mihaly Czikzentmihalyi asked what objects were special to individuals and why.

One woman showed the researcher a tacky plastic statue with blurred features. Czikzentmihalyi reports, “With some hesitancy, the interviewer asked the woman why the statue was so special to her?”

“The woman answered with great enthusiasm that the statue had been given to her by a Tupperware regional sales manager as a prize. Whenever she looked at the statue, she didn’t see the cheapness, but an image of herself as a capable, successful businessperson.”

I have a special affinity for my license plates, enjoy that Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner represents my values, and take great pride that I got my dining room chairs at a huge discount.

Household objects that have meaning to us are those that we have a relationship with, and those meanings change with the interactions and experiences we have. They show us where we’ve been, where we’re going and who we are now.

And they’re often the only concrete symbols of who we are, our goals, and the significant and salient events in our lives.

So it’s not how your living room looks, or how it expensive your car is, or the status your Kitchen Aid mixer brings you. Instead, it’s the memories and associations the object has with your family members and friends.

You hold on to a lipstick long after it’s safe because a good friend recommended it. Using toothpaste may be more exciting because you got a free sample after a movie. You might cry for hours over a broken bowl because it belonged to your father.

These objects, they acquire meanings as we use them, becoming integrated in our whole life experience and before you know it, you can’t tell where you begin and the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser ends.

Are you defined by your values, your stuff, or both? What household objects bring meaning to your life? Or doesn’t it matter?