Life Hacks that Make Life Easier

This post was sponsored by Tai Pei and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Last week, I attended a pretty sweet blogger event hosted by the folks at Tai Pei Asian Foods in Chicago. It was so fun to be in the city (admittedly, it had been awhile!) and I had a really great time.

What did we do, you may ask?

Well, it was an event centered all around life hacks, which I can totally appreciate as a full-time Mama and part-time corporate gal.

It was hosted by Danielle Moss, who is co-founder of The Everygirl website. Throughout the evening, we mingled and networked with one another over wine, tasted a variety of the Tai Pei products (which are all SO delicious) and heard some great life hacks from Danielle herself.

Here are my favorite life hacks I related to that can make life that much easier:

Clean the house for 10-15 minutes every day (or weekday). Danielle mentioned the idea that when you clean for small increments each day, you don’t have hours of cleaning to tackle when the weekend comes. I’ve been trying this for the past month or so and it has made a HUGE difference for me.
Simplify your wardrobe (and all your stuff, really). Maintaining a minimalist or capsule wardrobe saves you ton of time in planning outfits, wasting time shopping when you can mix and match what you already have, and even saves you from doing more laundry. And it certainly makes packing a breeze. Minimizing your home can work wonders in many ways, too. Check out my blog posts on the topic, including my minimalism personal style, how to start a minimalist closet, and a roundup of minimalism resources to get you started.
Get smart about email. Find a system that works for you in terms of how you tackle your email. Not all emails need to be responded to right away. And let’s face it- if you do, people start to expect it, right? I find that it’s so much more efficient for me to get through my emails (personal, blog or work) when I check it at a couple set points in the day instead of hourly (or sooner). And we chatted about some helpful tools like unroll.me and Boomerang, among many others.
Honor the calendar. Work deadlines, appointments and meetings always get a priority on the calendar, but what about exercise and family time and date nights and time to just relax and do some self care? Those are equally important…schedule them in and protect them, even if it means saying no to another opportunity.
Ditch the phone. It’s amazing what happens when phones don’t rule our lives. We enjoy the people and things around us to a whole new level. Disable notifications, and set periods of time when there are no phones, like during meals, date nights or bedtime with your littles. Oh, and don’t let your phone be the last thing you see before you go to bed and when you wake up. Charge your phone in another room if you can so you don’t have the temptation.
Create a menu. Mapping out your week and setting up your menu for meals makes for a smoother life. I always meal plan for the week (a necessity for parents if you ask me!) and it’s so helpful instead of getting to meal time and wondering what’s in the pantry to pull together. I just can’t do that. For our weeks, I typically try to make a big batch of something so I have leftovers for the days when I am at work so I don’t have to worry about making something once I get home from a long commute, daycare pickup, etc. And on the days when we just need something fast or I don’t feel like cooking, we keep a stock of options like Tai Pei frozen single serve options. The flavor is unreal (their rice is flavor-infused!), and the ingredients really are quality. I haven’t really found a variety I disliked, but I do love that General Tso’s Spicy Chicken. They are super convenient, ready in minutes and make lunch or dinner interesting when you want to switch things up. Read more about why I love them here, and grab a coupon here to print if you want to give them a try.

So there you have it…some great life hacks from a group of busy blogger gals, parents and career-minded women alike! It was such a fun event and it was great to meet some local bloggers in real life.