A few things on my “decide once” list
“Decide once” is one of the 13 Lazy Genius principles – it’s actually the first one. Though Kendra didn’t originate the idea, she’s certainly popularized it, and rightfully so. The idea is simple: you make a one-time decision about an aspect of your life, and you stick by it until it no longer serves you. Whenever you come to that decision point, you don’t have to expend any brain cells on making a fresh choice; you can simply move forward with the decision you’ve already made and deemed good.
You get the appeal, yes? I certainly do, and have used it to simplify many different areas of my life. I thought it could be fun to round up a few today, and of course would love to hear a few things you’ve decided once about in the comments!
— I sign up for every Meal Train that crosses my path, and I bring a prepared meal from a local shop. In this season of young kids, trying to prepare and deliver two meals in one day (for my family and the other family) was causing enough stress that it had begun to dissaude me from signing up in the first place. I love that I can choose a meal that matches the family’s needs with ease (gluten- or dairy-free, vegetarian, etc.) and support a local small business, too.
— If June is invited to a friend’s birthday party, the friend is getting a gift card to the local paint-your-own pottery place.
— All coats we outgrow get donated to coat drives. Though we consign lots of clothes, coats get donated.
— I (almost) only buy my jeans from Madewell. I know what style I like, I know what size I take; it’s just easy.
— I only buy two pairs of shoes for each child.
— I meal plan on Thursdays and grocery shop on Fridays at Publix.
— Every Friday we’re home is family movie night with takeout. And the parents always choose the movie.
— I decide who I’m going to listen to on Instagram by following them, and thus I try to avoid the Explore tab at all costs.
— Suitcases get unpacked immediately when we arrive home. There’s no hemming and hawing over whether we’ll do it later that night or the next day; we just get it done immediately.
— If underwear gets pooped in (like, actual poop), it gets thrown out. I decided a long time ago that we can afford to pay $10 every so often to buy a few more new packs of underwear than we might otherwise have used :)
Isn’t that wonderful? And the best part is that you still get to change your mind whenever you want – if a decision is no longer serving you, you get to make a new one.
I’d love to hear: what are some of your favorite “decide once” decisions?
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I really love this post! I am also on the “unpack suitcases immediately” train. This has me thinking of other things we do to make decisions efficient. Love it!
We didn’t used to be, but it really is a better way to live! :)
Really enjoyed this post! Some things I decide once on:
-jeans, same as what you said! I have a specific sku that I buy from Old Navy whenever a pair starts to tear.
-birthday cards-I buy every birthday card for every person on my list at the beginning of the year. That way when their birthday comes, I don’t have to think about getting a card.
-getting extra things (disinfectant wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, etc) at the grocery store. I assume this will change once I have a child and use these things more often, but for now, the extra $1 for grocery store prices vs. a Target is worth for the convenience of things I only purchase every two to three months. Plus it keeps me from going to places that have so many other things to look at, browse through, and buy.
Love these, Sara! I made birthday cards simple for years by stocking up on the CWM designs, though sadly they’re sold out now!
Yes to all of these and LOL about the trash-worthy undies!
Mine to add is a decision that stemmed from my #1 favorite article we have ever discussed at Articles Clurb: the Pope on Panhandling.
If I happen to be carrying cash and see someone in need, I give without worry. This works well for me because I don’t sit at the stoplight feeling guilty if I have no cash on me, but those random times I happen to have cash on me a few times a year, I’ve already decided to give without overthinking it.
Love this and YES, that was a very memorable trio of articles!
I love the idea of giving the same birthday gift – especially since it’s a fun experience!
I would love to get a regular meal planning and shopping day. This has been a thorn in my side for a long time. My husband enjoys grocery shopping and also will often cook and plan some meals – it’s been a challenge since more than one person may be taking the lead on this week to week.
Similar to your undies – if a sock gets a hole in it anywhere, I throw it out!
Yes! It’s a little more than we might have spent otherwise, but knowing that we’ve received physical gifts from classmates and friends that just end up cluttering the house, I like knowing it will be a fun experience instead!
Love this! I’m adding the Lazy Genius immediately to my TBR pile this fall. Here are some we’ve landed on:
Thanks for sharing these, friend! I think number 5 is especially great!
Whenever I am at Trader Joe’s (about once a month) I buy myself flowers. It’s a nice, small thing to do for myself and I don’t want to talk myself out of it, so I just made the big one time decision.
LOVE!
I have three major things that I do in this realm (though I am now inspired to do more!):
-I don’t try new makeup. I have very sensitive skin, eye allergies, I am generally very picky, and I prefer cruelty free products. So I’ve been buying the exact same items for many years with very, very little deviation.
-I have one credit card and it’s at the same bank as my checking account so I can see everything on one screen. I have been tempted to play the travel points game but worry about losing the simplicity of being able to see checking and credit card totals together on one screen.
-I plan my kids wardrobes around a consistent color scheme. They are little so this still works :) My daughter’s tops always have to go with pink pants. My son’s always have to go with navy blue pants. They each always have a TON of those colored pants/shorts, with only a few exceptions. That way they can dress themselves (or my husband can do it haha) and it usually all goes together.
Brilliant, Sarah! I, too, don’t often try new makeup, mostly because it’s expensive and research can take a lot of time!
Yup, these kinds of systems are all over our house/life. My top two are: (1) a rainy day on vacation means going to an independent bookstore and buying a new book, no matter where we are, and (2) Rao’s sauce is delicious and worth it and I won’t feel guilty about buying it. And we also unpack our suitcases!
I almost mentioned Rao’s in this post, ha!! Rao’s + Barilla pasta for the win!
Love this! and love what Kelly said about the pope on panhandling — I’m going to adopt that.
Ours are
1. Pizza on Fridays, always.
2. All adult get donated, and kids clothes get either kept or donated. My only exception is if we never removed the tags I might poshmark it.
3. We tidy up the living room and clean the kitchen / run the dishwasher every night.
So good, friend!
Oh this is a fun exercise!
So good, Kelly! My favorite is number 2!
Love this concept so much! These comments are gold.
The “Decide Once” things that come to mind for me are:
So good, friend! My favorites are the sister gift cards + the Halloween costumes!
I love this post SO much! You’ve set me free from Meal Train agony with your simple suggestion. I feel so much pressure for the meal to be good, fit into their preferences and taken hot/on-time/etc., but gosh all of that really does take the joy out of the giving because then I’m a stressed out mess haha! Some of my favorite decide-once decisions: I listen to the radio only on my morning commute and podcasts during the afternoon commute, I have a go-to coffee order that never changes (no matter the season or place), have my go-to teacher gift (a homemade cookie from our local bakery with a Starbucks gift card attached!)
Love these, Kensi!! Even the commute one sounds so tiny, but I bet it makes a big difference!
Oooh, so much good stuff here—this might have been my favorite Lazy Genius principle! A few of mine:
For meal trains, I make Blaire Rogers’ chicken pot pie recipe, since it makes two (one for us, one for them!) + bagged salad + brownies from the box gussied up with frosting and sprinkles.
For kids’ birthday parties, we gift a coloring book + some fun coloring tool, like neon or sparkly crayons.
We buy books as birthday gifts for all our nieces and nephews (and usually gift them in one fell swoop when we’re in NY during the summer).
We use Minted for Christmas cards—the thought of having to move my addresses somewhere else manually makes me want to cry, ha!
I meal plan on Thursdays and grocery shop on Fridays.
Friday = family pizza night + a movie for Dave and me after the kids go to bed.
If I find out that a friend has a miscarriage, I send flowers. They were so touching to me when I went through that experience.
Unless I am going somewhere muddy or wet, I only wear Maylis shoes ;)
AMEN to the last one!! So many good ones here! I am also moving toward the book gifts for nieces and nephews – SO much simpler!
I read the book but never made the list! I loved reading yours so much! Time to actually do it! :)
Only one that comes to mind right now, I meal plan a month at a time. I really, really dislike deciding what to actually cook, so I only do it once a month. I then normally place a grocery pick up order on Saturday to pick up on Sunday morning before church (with typically a donut stop on the way home).
I enjoyed reading everyone’s “decide once” decisions and will be implementing quite a few!
I love Kendra too – the Lazy Genius!!!
Great shared tips 💕💕💕