This past Saturday night marked the end of “daylight savings,” which meant we had to turn our clocks back an hour, and in the process, gain an hour of sleep on Sunday (score!). Although, subsequently, it also means it will start getting dark by 4:30 in the afternoon (bummer).
Anyways, Lisa and I are huge fans of getting up early(ish) on Sunday so that we can get a head start on “life” and all the fun activities we have in store: namely – laundry and grocery shopping. But, just so we’re clear, “fun activities” can be interpreted in any number ways, because doing laundry is about as fun as knitting a sweater or passing a kidney stone in my book. Nevertheless, it’s stuff that needs to get done, and I’d rather do it early and get it over with than procrastinate and wait until later in the day.
You know, when football is on. And naps need to be taken.
So, I turn over on Sunday morning and look at the clock and it says 7 AM, which is really 6 AM because like an asshat, I forgot to set my clock before I fell asleep.
We’re awake, give each other a high five, and with that we both get out of bed, and decide to strip it and gather up all the laundry and trudge down the street to the coin-operated laundry mat.
We have it down to a science, and it’s really impressive when you think about it. While I still haven’t quite grasped on to the whole concept of separating the colors from the whites, Lisa and I are able to load the machines and are out the door within five minutes. Knowing that the timers are set for 25-30 minutes, we hop in the car and drive to Whole Foods, which is roughly a mile away.
There, we like to buy some of our high(er) commodity items, or stuff that we only have to purchase once a month, or maybe every other week. Things like: chia seeds, cacao nibs, ginger, various spices, soy and/or coconut milk, unsweetened coconut, Larabars (when on sale), or various fruits and vegges that are in season (yet on sale). And, too, Sundays tend to be sampler days, so if I’m lucky there are several platters of free cheese out in the open. #Winning!!!
Once we leave the Whole Foods parking lot, it’s back to the laundry mat to switch the clothes from the washing machines to the dryers. I slowly approach the building, Lisa sniper rolls out of the car, and I wait as she does her thing. We have thirty minutes until the clothes are dry.
……and then it’s off the Trader Joe’s to do the bulk of our weekly grocery shopping.
The doors open at 8 AM, and I think we were there by 8:45.
I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, we heart Trader Joe’s, and we’re lucky to live in a neighborhood which has one within such a short distance of our apartment.
We head back to the laundry mat, pick up the clothes, and we’re back inside our building by 9:30 AM – laundry AND grocery shopping done. What’s up!?!
I say all of this, because we’ve made it a routine. It’s part of what we do. Laundry aside – seriously, I’d rather drink battery acid – getting the grocery shopping done for the week is important to both of us, and it’s something I feel more people need to try to make a habit of doing.
I mean, if’ the (right) food is there to eat, you’re less likely to be tempted to eat for convenience, or worse, order out.
Of course, you then have to take the time to prepare those foods – which is exactly what we do for the next 2-3 hours once we’re home.
I made some homemade apple-cinnamon protein bars from the Gourmet Nutrition cookbook.
Lisa went for broke and made spaghetti squash, roasted butternut squash, apricot squash soup, delicata squash (I guess someone likes squash), roasted carrots, brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes, and roasted chicken to last us the week.
She then prepared meals for the week and placed all the containers in the fridge.
In fact, I’m pretty sure we have the most diesel fridge in Boston right now:
So, I ask, what does your fridge look like? Is it full with fresh produce (eggs, yogurt, milk), veggies, fruits, and meat? Yes, there’s some bad stuff in there, too – I just made sure to place it in the back (HA!). Or, is it filled with nothing but processed crap?
I say all of this not to showcase my laundry doer prowess (although, it served as a nice segue)….
…..but rather to demonstrate that food prep is kind of a big deal.
Taking the time to buy and prepare foods a head of time speaks volumes for setting yourself up for success throughout the week.
The inside of one’s fridge says a lot. What does yours say?
