Do’s & Don’ts of Living x Yourself: Part 2

Here goes part deux of me imparting all the wisdom of 5 months’  solitary sojourn.  Hope it helps!

Do:

1. Shower at night. That’s a no-brainer. Why would you wake up earlier than you need to?  But also if you like to moisturize, there’s no better opportunity.
2. Take pictures. Exploring new territory like that new snowfall is great but pics or it didn’t happen.
3. Have at least one social engagement per weekend. I don’t care if it’s church, jazzercise or book club but make sure you see and interact with people in a casual social setting at least once a week. It gives you a reason to continue looking decent, to maintain your sanity and maybe, just maybe, foster a few friendships.
4. Chop your veggies when you get them. I owe this one to my mom who knows me far too well. The first step to healthy living is buying healthy food. The second is eating it. But if you’re, like me, often lazy and your veggies aren’t in quick removable chunks you’ll think twice before washing/cutting/dressing them before you gobble down your dinner. So instead, take the slight overhead of washing and chopping your veggies then storing them in convenient Tupperware for easy access and guilt-free gluttony.
5. Get a wire hanger. Wearing a tight dress and no one to zip you up?  A thin wire hanger, the handle looped through the zipper so that you easily tug on it will do the job.

Don’t:

1. Make entire cup of rice. It’s just too much. Even I got bored eating it for a week.
2. Cut garlic with your hands. One clove on your bare hands and a day’s worth of washing and bathing won’t be enough to get rid of the stench. Save your cuticles the embarrassment and wear gloves.
3. Let things get too messy.  The bane of my existence is housework and the longer I keep it off the more miserable doing it becomes. One sink-full of dishes, two unfiled papers, and three days’ worth of clean unfolded clothes is the absolute maximum of unkempt-ness to keep around on a daily basis unless you really want to waste a weekend de-hoarding your household
4. Leave your phone at home. Also a no-brainer, but definitely don’t do it when the worst snowstorm in three decades has decided to hit and the next time a person will realize you’re missing could reasonably be in a week.
5. Let work overshadow you hobbies. I’m all for working hard but the fastest way to workaholics anonymous is not giving yourself enough time to do the things you enjoy outside the 9-5. Maybe it’ll cost you a couple of hours of sleep or a few bucks of gas but your quality of life will jump a couple of notches. As with everything else, if you don’t lose it you lose it.

Practice and preach,

KRP