This Self Care Sunday post was created in partnership with WeDrifters and Gorgeous Loungewear with Insect Repellent Technology. More information about WeDrifters and a 20% discount code can be found at the end of this post.
Self-care is such a buzzword right now. It seems like we’ve been taking care of our physical health for years, but we’ve suddenly realized that our mental health is just as important.
I actually avoided blogging about self-care for a long time because I don’t like how “self-care” is portrayed online. Examples of self-care you’ll see on Instagram include lighting a candle, doing a gentle yoga class, taking a bath, reading a book, or having a pampering session.
Don’t get me wrong, I love all of these things! But I don’t consider these things self-care. We believe that it is an absolutely essential part of daily life that should be as important as brushing your teeth.
By treating the act of taking a bubble bath as “self-care,” it feels like a luxurious and special reward. It feels like something to save for special nights, and it would be great to do this regularly. It almost seems selfish to have time for yourself every day to relax and focus only on yourself. But why isn’t this an everyday occurrence?
Why can’t we go to bed early every night with a cup of tea, a bar of chocolate, a fancy candle and a good book? There’s no need to make a reservation for a day when you’re exhausted and need a “self-care Sunday.” Why not do this every night?
It wasn’t until I was interviewed on Elizabeth Dochia’s podcast, The Good Life, that I realized that many aspects of self-care are instinctive to me. I have never felt selfish or lazy for putting myself first. Especially for an hour or two after the kids go to bed!
So this Self Care Sunday post is not about giving yourself a bath and putting your feet up!
Self-Care Sunday is a completely different concept for me, and it’s about doing work that ensures I have enough time to properly take care of myself during the week. I don’t want to spend my weekdays chasing my tail or sitting around until 10pm relaxing!
I want to go to a yoga class on Monday, take a bubble bath on Tuesday, have a romantic meal with Sam every night, and read a book every night!
The definition of self-care is “any action or behavior that helps avoid health problems” and for me this means taking care of your day to prepare yourself so that you have time for self-care actions each day means to spend. And for me that day is usually Sunday.
Sundays are often thought of as a day to relax, stretch your legs, watch TV, or take an afternoon nap. Sunday is still a really relaxing day for me. I often spend most of the day in my pajamas, drinking endless cups of tea or coffee and walking around the house until all work is done.
But once I finish all my self-care tasks on Sunday, I feel so much better and I know I’m going to have a great week. A good Sunday gives you a week’s worth of content…
So here are my self care Sunday jobs that make sure I have plenty of time to relax midweek.
Meal plan for the week and update online food shop
I like my online grocery store to arrive on Monday morning (yes, I have to reserve weeks in advance for now!), so I can update my shopping and find out what I actually need. Sunday is the last chance to order groceries. Here’s a bunch of random things I picked to secure a delivery slot!
Meal planning has made a huge difference for me. I really like cooking, but I don’t like the never-ending pressure of having to decide what my family will have for dinner. Trying to come up with new ideas that everyone will enjoy can be strangely stressful. But now Sam and I will be doing it together. And I have a growing collection of gorgeous cookbooks that I love to skim through for meal ideas!
How this helps with self-care: Meal planning makes your nights so much easier. I don’t have to go to the store for extra ingredients, and I often prep dinner earlier in the day. Your evenings will be less stressful, you’ll eat faster, and you’ll have more time to relax and unwind before bed.
Batch cook some lunches
Since I’m often at home during my lunch break (as I’m sure many of you are these days!), I often think I have plenty of time to prepare a delicious lunch for myself, but for some reason… Absolutely not. If I didn’t make my lunches in batches, I’d be eating cheese sandwiches and chips every day!
I usually batch cook things like soups, vegetable pasta bakes, or 3-4 dish dishes for Buddha Bowls.
How this helps with self-care: It means eating a healthy lunch every day and having more time to take walks and relax during the day.
Get all the laundry done and plan my outfits for the week
Sam does the laundry in our house, and it’s always his job to put it in the washer and dryer, but it’s my job to fold it and put it away (which many people say is a pain). Sho!)
I do this on Sunday because I like to pile everything up and then take an hour to do everything at once.
I also like to plan out my outfit for the week and hang 6-7 outfits on a rail. I used to hang clothes for Monday, Tuesday, etc every day, but I often changed my mind depending on my mood or the weather, so now I only hang clothes that I have selected. Actually this is not enough, but feeling good in your clothes always makes your week so much more enjoyable. When I wake up in the morning I usually reach for something warm and cozy and start the day in a baggy jumper and cozy jeans, but it’s nice to be properly dressed!
How this helps with self-care: I don’t feel the need to spend my evening doing laundry because I know it will all be done on Sunday. Having a set outfit will make mornings easier, and wearing clothes that make you feel good will make you feel better every day.
Tidy the house
Sunday self-care tasks aren’t always fun, but they feel great after they’re done. I also think this is a great habit to instill in children. To be honest, he’s 90% of the kids’ fault for the mess, so they’ll probably help clean up!
How this helps with self-care: I feel so calm when my home is tidy. Also, when your house is tidy, you’re less likely to lose or misplace things, which means you’re less likely to feel depressed when you can’t find your shoes, hat, or bookbag in the morning!
Plan out my week – for work and personal and the kids
I like to have a very simple plan of what I’m going to do each day. I used to make this so complicated that minute by minute he was trying to plan his day. However, now that I am more relaxed in using it, I find it more useful. This makes it easier to see which days are busy and which days are quiet, and what you need to plan ahead of time.
How this helps with self-care: Planning your week usually makes you feel calm, but sometimes you over-commit or make too many social plans on one day and keep it up all week. You won’t have to make any other plans. This also means that you have some activity or work to do every day. I think that will be very helpful in these long lockdown days as it is easy to go days without doing anything.
Make some fun plans for my free days
Another reason I like to plan my week is because it makes it easier to plan. If I find out I don’t have anything on Thursday, I’ll call my friends and ask them who is free and wants to do something fun with me.
If you don’t plan ahead, you’ll often end up with nothing!
How this helps with self-care: Social planning is very important for our mental health. Many of us are currently entering and exiting local lockdowns, so meeting people isn’t easy. That makes it even more important for me to plan within government guidelines (which basically means lots of walks in the countryside!)
Clear my inbox + reply to messages
This is definitely for the self-employed! I like to do this on Sundays, partly because it’s nice to start the week at Inbox 0, but mostly because no one responds on Sunday nights. There’s nothing worse than digging through your inbox and receiving as many replies as you send and feeling like you’re not making any progress!
How this helps with self-care: Honestly, emptying your inbox makes you feel so much more calm than ever taking a bubble bath!
Have a big family walk, a Sunday roast and a movie
Finally, it’s not all about life management and housework. In our family, Sundays are always a big walk and a Sunday roast.
It’s great time spent together as a family, but it can also lead to a few afternoon naps on the couch. Then you can accomplish all these things in peace and quiet. We also do a very simple Sunday roast using “bagged chicken” and lots of frozen vegetables. Sunday dinner doesn’t have to be complicated!
How this helps with self-care: Exercise, being outdoors, spending time with family, and having a good dinner. Come on, how can you not like that! I also think it’s really important to make big walks a regular part of your child’s life and continue with them as they get older.
WeDrifters
As you can see, I’m wearing gorgeous loungewear from WeDrifters in these photos and I absolutely love it. I wear them when I sleep, but I also wear them around the house during the day!
It was originally designed for travel after founder Naudia Salmon came up with the idea for insect-repellent sleepwear while traveling in Southeast Asia.
Oh Naudya, I feel you! I was eaten alive by a mozzie while traveling in Asia, but these pajamas would have been a dream back then!
That’s why Naudia has created the finest sleepwear made from soft bamboo and equipped with insect-repellent technology. All are unisex and come with socks, foot stirrups and thumb holes for full coverage!
They’re the perfect pajamas for travel, as they’ll keep you comfortable on long-haul flights as well as on mosquito-infested adventures. But for now, I’m pretty happy wearing this around the house while checking everything off on my Sunday self-care list!
If you want WeDrifters pajamas or want to gift them to a loved one for Christmas, we have a code for 20% off. Just use SCMONICA20 at checkout to get 20% off.