Recently I realized that I didn’t have enough dish towels.
Nowhere near enough. I was wasting way too many paper towels since all my dishcloths were in the laundry.
I don’t know why I’d been scraping by with so few. It hit me how ridiculous it was to be wasting so much paper towel just because I didn’t have any clean towels in the kitchen.
Why on earth have I gone for years not having enough of such a basic item, when it isn’t even very expensive??? I really don’t know.
So I finally broke down and bought some more kitchen towels and dishcloths at Target.
And they’re pretty and aqua, and they match the kitchen curtain my mom made for me earlier this year. I feel so happy looking at them, and even happier actually having them to reach for when I need one. Hooray!
A year or so ago I had a similar aha moment, in which I realized I have two daughters, a stepson, and a husband, and I could really use a few more laundry baskets.
On Amazon I discovered some lightweight, collapsible mesh ones that weren’t expensive, and they have been such a huge help in the neverending laundry cycle.
I remember thinking, “Whoa! These laundry baskets are so cheap and nice and lightweight, and most of all, helpful! Why in the world haven’t I bought these sooner?”
There is nothing like having what you need, when you need it, to help you get things done on time and with less stress.
In reflecting on this, on going for years with fewer dish towels and laundry baskets than I needed, even though I could have afforded more, I started thinking about whether this happens in other areas of my life.
Are there other areas where I’m just getting by, with less than I really need, when a small effort or investment would bring added peace and productivity?
Being a mother is rewarding, yet demanding work, and I really need to make sure I’m filling my own bucket so I will have all I need and want to give to my family.
I know I need to make sure I’m investing my own self-care, since it’s all to easy to neglect when life gets busy, which is most of the time!
I need to make the effort to carve out a little more time for myself and make sure I’m doing all the basics of self-care for optimal living.
Small life changes can pay big happiness dividends, even more than my lovely, useful dish towels and laundry baskets.
Some small efforts at my own life investment come to mind… Making sure I get in my daily meditation, journalling again on a regular basis, and making my walks non-negotiable.
Maybe I could even let my husband play with the kids for fifteen minutes in the evening while I have a little solo walk around the block. That sounds divine.
I’m sure there are other areas of my life where this is true, where small investments or simple steps to fill in the gaps could make a big difference, for more happiness and less stress.
What about you? Is there an area of your life where you’ve been just getting by with less than you really need? Let me know in the comments!
Invest in yourself and your sanity. Go get those dish towels!
Take a little break. Get what you need.
You are worth it!
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I have SO MANY dish cloths for exactly this reason. And for the same reason we stopped buying paper towels. Love the aqua matching your curtains, but we typically buy WHITE for all towels so that they can be all washed together + bleach if needed (usually not) + get SUPER clean with hot water. We actually don’t have a laundry basket at all now tho. Ridiculous, right? We just have a spot on the floor in the closet. I’m OK with that tho, because where we live is actually a vacation rental while we’re out of the country. This works for now! <3
OK, and now I checked out your folding ones. :-) Those might actually be worth us buying one the next time we have an Amazon.com purchase. We could even bring it to Brazil. (Trying to think – ha! – Just realized we don’t have a laundry basket there either – we just use a duffel bag. ::shakes head::) :-)
Hi! Yes, the folding one is the best. It works great and is really sturdy, and it’s easy to fold. :) That’s funny you don’t have one… but hey, it’s not really necessary. Although if you need to carry your laundry any distance, it would come in handy. My washer and dryer are in the basement.
It’s great to not use paper towels… I’m using less now that I have more dish towels. I need to bleach some of mine, too. I like white, but the aqua is so pretty. And hey, even if they’re stained it’s not that noticeable since they’re aqua. :) A vacation rental out of the country sounds nice!