My Monday Rituals

Mondays are my Sundays and there’s always lots to do on my day off from the salon. My usual Monday routine often includes purging and reorganizing the fridge, grocery shopping, garden planning, watering my houseplants and baking something delicious like my grandma’s toffee cookies.

As a hairstylist, I follow a different type of week than many other people do. I typically work at the salon Tuesday through Saturday, which makes Sundays and Mondays my weekend. I do sometimes teach for the professional salon brand I represent on Mondays, but Mondays . . . are usually my Sundays.

And what do I like to do on my “Sundays”? Well, I definitely don’t rest on my laurels. I am very much a go-getter and love to be productive even on my days off. Here are some of the things I like to do on my Mondays.

Purge the Fridge

Every Monday I go through the fridge and throw out anything expired, questionable, fuzzy, or scary. This includes leftovers we never got to during the prior week, rotting produce, and other items that have met their expiration dates. Doing this weekly helps me keep the fridge organized the way I like it and makes room for the grocery shopping I’ll be doing.

A Little Homesteading

As I go through the fridge and kitchen, I see if I need to save or salvage anything. If there are fresh herbs I know won’t make it through the week, I set up my trusty little food dehydrator and dry them. If the fruit bowl is holding any citrus or apples that aren’t going to last much longer, I will slice those and add them to the dehydrator as well.

I store the dried herbs and fruits separately. Later, I can add the fruit slices to drinks or cocktails or use them for crafts. I also use them for making DIY cocktail and herbal infusion kits as gifts for friends and family throughout the year. This is so easy to do and only takes a few minutes to get everything set up in the dehydrator. Then I can just turn it on and go about the rest of my day and come back to it later when everything is dry. If I have certain veggies or herbs nearing the end of their lifespan but I don’t want to dehydrate them, I will prep and freeze them to add them into stocks, broths, soups and stews. (Just make sure you write down what the items are or what they’re for! You don’t want to have to play a guessing game later on.)

Appointments and Errands

I generally choose set days of the weeks for appointments and errands. I learned long ago assigning certain days for these to-do items means I use less gas and spend less time driving around all willy-nilly. Mondays and Thursdays are my dedicated days for appointments (medical, dental, personal care) and errands (shopping, post office, etc.).

That’s not to say I don’t sometimes have to run an emergency errand on another day. But I do find it easier and cheaper and less time consuming to plan out my appointments and errands for specific days. Even if I know my path to my destination, I will still put my places into Apple Maps if I’m headed to more than one location. That way I can plot out my course and proceed in a logical fashion to minimize my mileage and gas and save time.

Grocery Shop and Meal Prep

On the weeks I’m really hip and with it, I like to conduct my meal planning and prepping over my “weekend.” On Sundays, I’ll meal plan or look up meal plans and recipes and write out my grocery list. I really love Eating Well’s The Prep because there are a variety of meal plans and included grocery lists. Then, on Monday, I will head to the grocery store. When I get home, I get the groceries put away and prep any lunches or dinners I can. To check out The Prep from Eating Well, click here.

Bake

I do try to make our own bread and baked goods whenever possible. We love fresh bakes in our house and it feels healthier to not have foods loaded with chemicals and preservatives. I will usually make a nice loaf of bread (like Challah or Italian). I love King Arthur Flour’s recipes and firmly believe every household should have a copy of their Baking Cookbook. You can purchase it here. If I’m feeling super ambitious, I may also make a healthy or heirloom dessert. One of my favorite sources for classic dessert recipes updated with healthier ingredients, is A New Way to Bake from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart which you can purchase here. This week I made My Grandma’s Toffee Cookies.

Gardening

If weather permits, I get outside and work in my garden. I have a LOT going on and am currently in the midst of a major landscaping project at our new homestead. This is year three of the five year plan. (connect to gardening posts) If weather doesn’t permit, I check-in on my garden plans.

Depending on the time of year, this might be reviewing upcoming planting dates, starting seeds indoors, or reorganizing my potting bench and gardening station in the garage. I usually spend 30 minutes to an hour on this activity and it’s good exercise if I’m working outside. [If I can’t be outdoors, I dedicate 20-30 minutes to walking on our treadmill or doing some other exercise in the house (yoga, Body Boss, etc.)]

Water Indoor Plants

Every Monday I water our houseplants. In the past, was not a big houseplant person. I maybe possessed a short-lived orchid from time to time. But my friend, Lori, introduced me to low-maintenance, easy going indoor plant options and gave me the confidence to start incorporating more greenery into our home.

I now have air plants, ZZ plants, a fern, and something in my office that I can’t even remember what it is but it’s beautiful and continues to grow healthily. You’d think a master gardener who rocks out the outdoor landscape would have no problems with houseplants but they were truly a huge struggle for me in the past. Now, I have to stop myself from picking up a new little friend when at the home improvement store or favorite local greenhouses.

Get a Little Work Done

This goes without saying if I’m teaching. Salons are typically closed on Mondays so this is my most often requested teaching day. But I don’t teach every Monday. And on those weeks I don’t, I still like to do some kind of income-producing activity. Nothing major – this is my “weekend” after all. If I’m feeling inspired, I might write a blog post, or work on my cookbook, or one of my trashy romance novels. If I’ve got writer’s block, I will just do a few quick Pinterest pins for one of my websites or work on promoting my Poshmark items to recent likers.

Recently, I started setting aside early Monday evenings to meet with my bestie for our podcast, Romance on the Rocks. Some Mondays we record a podcast episode and others we just meet to discuss housekeeping items or touch base on life in general. Our podcast is a labor of love and it’s our excuse to connect with each other since I moved to North Carolina.

You might be wondering why I would choose to do work on my day off. I honestly like to get a little work done on a day like this because there’s no pressure. If I’m not feeling it, it’s okay, cause it’s my Sunday. But, often, I find the lack of pressure of having to work like you would on a weekday more inspiring and motivating.

Finish Out the Day

I like to finish out the day by making dinner for my hubby and I, then relaxing with him on the couch watching a movie or some shows. It’s relaxing and great downtime for us. I make a point of keeping the breakfast table available for us to eat at which helps us feel connected as a couple. (Just don’t look at my dining room table, it’s usually loaded up with my current projects.) I find I can easily unwind when I feel like I got some things accomplished and got us set up for the rest of the week.

How do you spend your Sundays or Mondays? Let me know in the comments below.