Self-Care

Brittany posted a while ago about self-care and how it differs from person to person and it got me thinking about my self-care actions...

What do I do to take care of myself?  

These things:

Combining small loads of laundry into a bigger load so I don't have to spend half my life doing a millionty small loads of laundry.  Instead, I have to fold and put away 2 loads instead of 4/5.  Same amount of clothes, half the time.  I don't even care that my darks and lights are together.  I do sort the laundry as I normally would, then combine small loads together.  But more and more recently, I've dumped an entire hamper full of clothes in the washer and said fuck it.  #YOLO

Adding more sugar to my coffee.  In an effort to be "healthy" I try to limit the amount of sugar and creamer I put in my coffee.  Well, half a teaspoon more of sugar isn't going to kill me and my coffee always tastes better with that extra little bit.  I'll start doing more intense calisthenics between exercises at the gym to counter this maybe... but probably not because who the fuck cares?

Giving in to my cravings.  I am very much a delayed-gratification type of person.  I will put something off and off and off until finally I can't stand it and I give in.  I don't know why I do this.  I could just satisfy the craving, and usually, it goes away.  Obviously, if it's a craving that happens frequently enough to become a habit, I probably need to check myself, but having dessert with a meal is something I've accepted.  That said, I rarely left myself eat anything after 8pm on principle.

I take a bath when I'm cold.  Sometimes I'll add a bath bomb.  I know, real fancy.

I skip the post-shower squeegee sometimes.  Whoever showers last has to squeegee the shower.  Teh German only does the glass, but I do the entire shower, glass and walls.  We do this because we live in the Humidity Capital of the World (I made that fact up), so we are plagued with all sorts of mold (this is an actual fact, lest you need a reminder, see: Shitty House).  It starts as orange mold, but quickly the black mold steps in, greeting you with it's permanence and rapid offspring.  But sometimes, I just don't fucking feel like it.  So.. I don't.

I actually use the temperature dials in my car.  For an embarrassingly long amount of time, I would set the temperature and then refuse to change it.  I guess part of it was the delayed gratification part of my mind, but I've come to realize it's stupid.  When I feel cold, I can turn the heat up.  When I feel hot, I can turn the temp down.  I can also turn my seat heater on and off as I please.  I knew I could do these things before, but I neglected myself and would tell myself, "It's only ___ minutes until I arrive, I'll be fine."  That is stupid.  No mas!

I stopped trying to remember everything.  Now, if I'm upstairs and Teh German is downstairs and I think of something for the grocery list, I'll text him or yell at him (depending on whether or not it's "Teh German Time") and ask him to add something to the list.  I used to text myself, but I'd forget and things would never get written down.  I need it things to be written down/done in real time.  I've also considered putting a dry erase marker in the bathroom so I can write on the mirror so I don't forget things.  The other thing I do is to not throw away the package until I've written it on the list.  I also do this with empty toilet paper rolls.  If spare toilet paper needs to be put in the downstairs bathroom, I'll set the empty toilet paper roll on the stairs until I'm actually going upstairs, so when I see it, I'll remember to get the TP to bring downstairs.  Sometimes I bring it downstairs right then, sometimes, I put it on the bathroom counter to be delivered later... but if it's there and I can see it, it won't be forgotten.

I no longer try to do absolutely everything right now.  I've come to realize that I start to forget things when I try to do too much at once.  Additionally, I have a routine and if I break from that routine, things fall through the cracks.  I used to be able to multitask like a boss and rarely miss a beat.  These days, completing small tasks one at a time is more efficient since something that is forgotten is more critical than it used to be.

I don't try to carry everything at once.  Two trips won't kill me.  It might injure my pride, but I won't break anything when I, inevitably, drop something.

Instead of waiting until I go to leave to put my gym bag in the car, I will put it in the car after I go downstairs after unpacking and repacking it.  It's one less thing I have to remember AND carry the next morning.  I have also started to do this with my backpack, if I don't need to use my computer the next morning.

Dog breakfast/dinner is prepared ahead of time.  This way, it's a matter of adding water and putting the bowls down.

Instead of nesting folders/files to be "organized", I put often accessed folders/files at the root level so I don't have to keep clicking through a millionty folders to find them.  When I no longer need the files frequently, I "put them away".  This is particularly important for my school stuffs and for my Dropbox.  I spent YEARS clicking through a millionty folders to find something in the name of organization.  Lies.  My shit is still organized, it's just not OCD organized.  This is ok.  I needed to let it go.  There has to be a trade off between OCD and efficiency and it took me 33 years to figure it out.

I let other people do it their way.  This is one of the hardest things that I do in the name of self-care.  I'm a control freak.  My way IS the best way.  Except that if it's frustrating me and making me tired to be in control, it's not the best way.  This has become particularly important for me with Teh German picking up cooking duties and with the cleaners.

Always having a backup.  I hate, hate, hate having to go to the store because we are out of a necessity.  I like to go to the store on my terms, for at least 2+ items (because if I only need 1 thing, I'm ordering that bitch from Amazon).  We always have extra toilet paper and hygiene items, for example.

No longer using Viva paper towels.  I love how soft Viva paper towels are.. but guess what.. They are a pain in the ass to rip off the roll and it gets on my nerves so badly I will not be purchasing them again.  TAKE THAT, VIVA.

Grocery pick-up.  Not getting to pick out my own fruit/veggies doesn't compare to the convenience of ordering my shit and then someone bringing it to my car.  I risk it.  I've only been disappointed once, but not so much I bothered with exchanging it.  I do still pick out my own meats, but often because I stock up at one time instead of ordering meat with my regular grocery order.

Do you do any of these things, too?
What are things that you do to take care of yourself?