Systems In Place Give Me Peace Of Mind

 

Over the years I’ve come up with a variety of schedules, routines and processes for running my household and my life.  It has been a lot of trial and error.  Now that I’m retired from the full time workforce and have subsequently become an empty nester I’ve spent the last two years readjusting, deleting and tweaking my systems.  Why?  Because I want my Golden Years to be, well… Golden.

 

My first priority when it came to planning my retirement was to be as financially secure as possible.  My current financial portfolio may not be all that impressive to some, but it impresses the heck out of me.  Part of that system I’ve put into place is to remain debt free, keep and maintain my savings account and an emergency fund, grow my retirement accounts and live very well within my means.

 

I work every day to keep and maintain my home and safeguard my assets.  I try not to keep anything that I don’t find useful or enjoyable which meant I did a major decluttering of my entire home, inside and out.  I’ve steadily worked on landscaping and maintenance.  I make repairs as needed and have planned out future upgrades and replacements.

 

Do you have enough?? 😄

One thing the pandemic taught me was that a stockpile is essential.  Since then I’ve been working on and maintaining my long term food storage as well as a solid supply of household items and pet supplies.  I have a winter stock up schedule I’ve been using for years that helps me make sure I’ve got my bases covered before the extreme weather and higher power bills hit during December, January and February.

 

Having a backup plan is also essential.  Having alternate transportation sources was one of those things I wanted to make sure I had available to me during retirement.  I am blessed that I am able to walk and ride a bicycle.  I added an E bike to my garage and I’ve started using the public bus to get me where I need to go most of the time so I am now able to rely less on my vehicles and am less affected by rising and unpredictable gas prices.

 

Even the way I clean my house and cook my meals on a regular basis is now a system I’ve put in place.  By being more efficient my home is clean and tidy, but more importantly it is manageable.  Even if I’m ill or tired I can still adequately take care of my home and do my laundry without becoming overwhelmed.  I still meal plan and shop ahead.  I prepare my food so that I’m cooking my meals and also meal prepping future meals at the same time.  Housekeeping and cooking no longer seem like chores to me anymore and are quite enjoyable with the added luxury that if I want to take a break from it I can.

 

Simplifying and streamlining my home and my processes has so many added benefits.  My home and the contents inside of it do not own me.  I am able to quickly and easily take care of things without devoting a lot of time and energy to any one thing.  I work less and play more.  I made the decision to keep my wants and needs so simple that I’m not financially stressed.  At no time do I feel like I can’t afford to do or buy anything, within reason, of course.  Because of this I’m able to enjoy myself and pursue what interests me most.  That is how retired life is supposed to be.