the sunday reset

Sunday afternoon is the easiest hour of the week to spend on the week, because nothing has gone wrong yet. Once Monday starts, every job feels like a rescue. So I do these three before dinner, usually with a podcast on and the kids somewhere behind me.

This is the version for a house with small lunchboxes. The idea carries over to a flat with one desk and one person, but the numbers don't, so that one gets its own guide.

before you start

Empty the dishwasher first. Every one of the three jobs ends with something going into a clean box or onto a clean surface, and a full dishwasher stalls all of them.

• Put the kettle on. The hour goes better with something warm going cold next to you.
• Pick the three lunch mains before you open the fridge, not after.
• Leave your phone in another room. The list is on the fridge, not in an app.

three lunches, not seven

Three is the number. Seven packed lunches look impressive on Sunday and sad by Wednesday. Three mains, three sides, the same boxes every time, and the rest of the week gets made the night before like a normal person.

1. line the boxes up on the counter

   Same boxes, same lids, same spot. Half the job is not hunting for a lid.

2. mains first, then sides

   Pasta, rice, a wrap. Fruit, crackers, the thing they'll actually eat.

3. lids on, fridge, done

   Sunday > after lunch > the counter

clear the desk

This one is the reason the question came in. A desk that starts Monday clear gets used on Monday. A desk that starts Monday under Sunday's mail gets looked at from the couch.

fold one load

One. Not the whole basket. In the wash by two, on the bed by four, so it has to be folded before anyone can sleep in it. I do towels and school clothes on Sunday and leave the rest for a weeknight.

lunches: three mains, three sides, the same boxes every time
desk: everything off, one wipe, one thing back
load: in the wash by two, folded on the bed by four

the list on the fridge

Three lines, printed or handwritten, taped where the kettle is. Not an app. The whole point of this hour is that nobody has to open anything to know what Sunday is for.

say it out loud at dinner

One sentence, said once, with everyone at the table. It does more than the list does. The sentence below took me a few Sundays to get short enough.

Sunday is done. If something is missing from your lunch on Tuesday, that's a Tuesday problem, not a Sunday one.

tonight's checklist

Five boxes, max. The first two are pre-checked because you probably did them while reading.