Being a single woman with no kids does not somehow let me off the hook when it comes to responsibilities. In some ways, I think people assume the opposite—that without children or a spouse, I must have all kinds of extra time and flexibility.
That has definitely not been my experience.
I came into my post-married life without much savings and with very little community around me. And, because my marriage ended right at the beginning of the COVID lockdown, there really wasn’t anyone to turn to. I learned pretty quickly that if something needed to happen, I was probably the person who was going to have to figure it out.
Now I have a full-time job, three dogs who deserve more than just being fed and let outside, a horse who lives half an hour away and needs to be ridden and cared for regularly, and two side businesses that I’m trying to build into something real. I love most of those things. But together, they leave very little room for error—or wasted time.
So over the past few years, I’ve tried just about everything I can think of to make my life easier without making it significantly more expensive.
One of the first things that genuinely helped was continuing to use grocery delivery. I know there are fees and tips involved, but I am completely convinced I save money overall. I can add things to my cart as I think of them, including at those odd hours when my brain refuses to shut off, and I can see exactly what I’m spending before I hit the order button. There are no random aisle purchases, no stopping at the store hungry after work, and far fewer forgotten ingredients that require another trip later.
Cleaning has been another place where I’ve learned that sometimes the right tool is worth paying for. I’m not usually someone who runs out and buys every trendy product I see online, but I finally broke down and bought the O-Cedar flat mop everyone seemed to have.
I get it now.
Cleaning is so much faster. I can put on a clean pad, run it over the floors, and even use it on the walls. After vacuuming, I can make the entire house feel and smell clean in about twenty minutes. That matters when twenty minutes may genuinely be all I have.
Food has probably been the biggest experiment. I’ve tried spending Sundays batch-cooking an entire month of meals. I’ve made meal plans. I’ve prepped ingredients. I’ve tried juicing. I’ve had weeks where I was incredibly organized and weeks where dinner somehow became whatever I could find while standing in the kitchen at 9:30 at night.
What is making the most sense for me right now is Huel.
I have the meal-replacement shakes delivered on subscription, so there is always something in the house that requires almost no thought or preparation. More importantly, I actually feel full afterward. I’ve also been using their Daily Greens powder, and I’ve been surprised by how much I like it. For me, there seems to be a noticeable difference in how clear and awake I feel after drinking it.
None of these things are revolutionary. That may actually be the point.
I’m learning that making my life work isn’t necessarily about becoming more disciplined or squeezing another productive hour out of my day. Sometimes it means paying a little extra for grocery delivery. Sometimes it means buying the mop that makes cleaning faster. Sometimes it means admitting that I am not going to lovingly meal-prep seven dinners every Sunday afternoon.
I’m building a pretty full life. I don’t want all of my energy to go toward maintaining it.
So when I find something that gives me a little bit of my time back, I’m keeping it.
If you’ve been curious about Huel and want to try it, I also have a referral offer for 25% off: **REF-MITZIB3277**.
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