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Archive of ‘Life Without A Manual’ category

The Avalanche

This morning, I woke up to an avalanche in my bathroom.

I opened up the medicine cabinet to grab my toothbrush when suddenly, I was showered with prescriptions, face creams, and eye drops. Everything fell loudly into the sink, likely waking everyone in the house.

Why are medicine cabinets so small? They are poorly designed, with space for not much more than trial-size tubes of toothpaste, hand sanitizer, and shaving cream. It blows my mind that my cabinet is intended to hold these things and more for both me and my husband.

And now, I’m having an ah-ha moment. Maybe they call it a medicine cabinet because it is not intended for anything beyond our meds. If it was called a toiletry cabinet, wouldn’t it be so much more user-friendly? The shelves would be at least twice as deep to accommodate everything we put in there. Now I know why toiletry bags are so popular.

Anyway, my other thought as I was cleaning up the mess was — why do I have so many different kinds of eye drops? Were they on sale? Did my optometrist come over and fill up my cabinet with free samples while I was sleeping? I counted six varieties: red eyes, itchy eyes, and dry eyes, along with contact lens rewetting drops, steroid drops, and an expired antibiotic. If that wasn’t enough, I also have a cleaning solution for my contacts and a separate lens cleaner for my glasses. Thanks, Doc!

In hindsight, I should have invested my money in Bausch & Lomb. Just like Barnes & Noble, I’m certainly doing my part to keep them in business.

What do you have too much of in your medicine cabinet? Inquiring minds want to know. 

XO,
Elisa

Celebrating Self-Care Awareness Day

Life is crazy busy, and we often put ourselves last on the priority list. It’s not our fault. A third of our days could be spent on work or taking care of our families, while another third we are sleeping. And I couldn’t even tell you what I did during the third slice of that 24-hour pie. Cooking? Cleaning? Showering? Reading? Sky-Diving?

Okay, maybe not sky-diving. I’d remember that.

So, after running errands yesterday, I had a decision to make — go home and do laundry or stop at Rita’s Water Ice for a treat. As if deciding for me, the car sped past the turnoff to my house and headed straight toward the nearest Rita’s. I had the mango gelati with vanilla custard. Delicious. Sometimes, it is the little things that make a big difference.

Yesterday was International Self-Care Day. It is purposely set on the 24th day of July (the seventh month of the year) to remind us to practice self-care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to this website, self-care is meant to “protect one’s happiness and well-being, especially during times of stress.” This year’s theme is “Resilience, Adaptability, and Thriving in Adversity.” That is quite a tall order, but not impossible. When I posted a question about practicing self-care on my Facebook page today, here are some of the ways my friends do it.

  • Stop checking their email
  • Turning off their phone
  • Meeting up with a friend for a meal (or a gelati)
  • Enjoying a nature walk
  • Spending some time in therapy
  • Immersing oneself in an activity they love, such as gardening, tennis, journaling, or krav maga.
  • Saying no and setting boundaries

Practicing self-care is nothing to feel guilty about. We should embrace it and make sure it is an integral part of our lives. It helps us relieve stress, avoid burnout, and feel better. Some days, it’s about treating ourselves to a mango gelati. Other times, it can be a mani/pedi, some retail therapy, or a mental health day. The important thing is to give yourself permission to put yourself first — before doing the laundry.

What would you add to this list? Put your answer in the comments, and then do it. 🙂 

XO,

Elisa

 

What’s in Your Pantry?

I plan to do a lot of cooking today, so I don’t have to worry about what’s for dinner this week. Before I started cooking, though, I decided to reorganize the kitchen pantry. My pantry can only be described as a dumping ground for anything that doesn’t go in the refrigerator. I wish I had taken a “before” picture. There were bags and boxes strewn everywhere without rhyme or reason, and I honestly didn’t know what was there anymore.

I also know I’m buying items I already have at the grocery store – like taco shells. So many taco shells. I’m all set for at least a month of Taco Tuesdays.

When I took everything out, I found many expired products from the pandemic lockdown, like an enormous box of pancake mix from late 2021 and some oven-ready lasagne noodles from 2022. And then, there was a pile of random boxes that I purchased in duplicates and, in some cases, triplicates. Like, what am I doing with three different containers of granola, four boxes of Swiss Miss instant hot chocolate packets, five bags of croutons, and six cans of tomato soup?! Not to mention all of the kosher for Passover items I swore I’d make good use of and never did.

I intended to spend about half an hour going through everything and putting it back neatly. Two hours, three trash bags, and one full bin of recycling later, I now have a beautifully organized pantry.

Now, it’s time to start cooking for the week.

How are you spending your Sunday? Let me know in the comments.

XO,

Elisa

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