I’m sharing my new favorite mom-hack when it comes to making meals, and how to simplify your everyday life. Thank you to our friends at Gorton’s for sponsoring this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

The holidays are over and the New Year is upon us. It’s time to start making those New Year resolutions. Mine are a little different this year. Instead of creating a list of goals and setting myself up to feel guilty in a few months, I have one main goal: simplify. That’s my word for 2019. Less stress, less mess. I want to keep it simple when it comes to all the things.

This is definitely the season of life when it feels like time is my enemy. I look at my five year old and wonder how he’s grown so fast. It seems like only yesterday I was carrying him on my hip. Our new baby is only a few weeks old and I already see so many changes in him. Oh, how I wish I could make time stand still.

So my main goal for this year is to slow down and enjoy these little moments, all the wonders of our day to day life. I’m not interested in adding anything else, I just want to savor the sweetness of this stage and be present to the simple blessings that surround us.

How do you simplify your life when you’ve got small children at home? First, you have to truly assess where your time goes. What takes up your time every day? I jotted down notes to track my daily activities for a couple of days so I could see where most of my time was spent. Then I sat down and divided all of my activities up into two lists –important items and unimportant.

Important items are things I need to get done each day. I need to take my son to preschool, I need to get him dressed, get me dressed, feed the baby, etc.. Unimportant items are things I can live without, time wasters that aren’t necessary and don’t add value to our everyday life. For example, the time I spend on social media or shopping deal sites each day. It’s an unnecessary mental escape that causes me to lose track of time, spend money and add more clutter to our home.

Another time consuming task I’ve realized could easily be fixed – making meals! Shopping for ingredients, prepping and preparing meals and cleaning up after is so time consuming. Finding easier ways to eat saves me so much time and allows me to focus more on the things that matter.

But I love food, so it’s got to be quick and delicious. That’s why I’m such a big fan of the new Gorton’s Shrimp Bowls I mentioned before. You can find them in the frozen section of the grocery store. They come in two tasty flavors: Black Garlic & Wine Risotto and Stir Fry Soba Noodles.

They heat up in less than six minutes and are ready to enjoy right in the bowl. No dishes to watch and no worrying about what to pull together for lunch every day. I can grab a Shrimp Bowl from the freezer, pop it in the microwave and have a delicious meal fast. And then I can get back to spending time with my boys, what I love most in life.

Here are a few ways to simplify your life this year:

• Declutter. Start the year off right by getting rid of all the things you don’t need. Donate unwanted and unused items and throw away anything that’s broken or outdated. Go room to room with a laundry basket and a garbage bag. Clearing out your space will allow you to focus and find things more easily.
• Stock up on easy meals. Fill your freezer with quick go-to meals that you can make in minutes. Gorton’s Shrimp Bowls are delicious and easy to prepare.
• Hire help. Identify the things you hate to do, tasks that take up too much of your time that you could outsource. If you despise cleaning and spend too much time trying to keep your house tidy think about hiring a cleaning service. Don’t like doing yard work, find a landscaper or local teenager to help keep your grass cut.
• Schedule time each day. It’s easy to fall into the habit of being busy. If you make a point of setting aside time to focus on what’s important to you each day, it won’t slip away as easily. Want to start a side business? Devote an hour of each day towards your goal. Focused on spending more time with your family? Spend 30 minutes before or after dinner doing something fun together. Whether it’s taking a walk, playing games or singing and dancing in the kitchen, if you make it a daily habit it won’t get lost in the hustle of the day.
• Show gratitude. Being grateful for the blessings in your life will make you feel more present and aware of all the good that surrounds you. It will also allow you time to reflect on your true purpose and appreciate the simplicity of your day.