Sundays are a great day for rest, relaxation, and a reset. It’s also the BEST time to get organized for your week. Here are 7 things to do on Sunday for a more organized week:

Go Through Papers

Our family’s weeks get busy! And a lot of times that means a big pile of papers either from mail, school, or various other sources. Sunday is a time when I am not feeling as overwhelmed and I can go through these papers. That way if there is anything that is coming up for the next week then I am ready to input it in our calendar or add to my to do list for the week. I try to start with this task, even though, admittedly, it’s not my favorite. You can read about my 5 step paper process here or watch it in action here. You can download a 5-step paper declutter checklist included with my Sunday planning packet! After going through the papers, I’m ready to go on to planning out my calendar. 

Plan Out the Calendar

This one seems like a no-brainer, but if I skip a week, I am LOST! My husband and I will open up our iCal and start synching our work calendars, the kids’ activities calendars, our family calendars, etc. While there are A TON of digital calendar programs out there, we use iCal because it syncs nicely with all of our Apple devices automatically.  I have used Google Calendar in the past and would also recommend it. (I am not affiliated with either!) If digital calendars are not your things, you can use my weekly calendar included in the Sunday Planning Packet.

Review the Budget

Next, I move on to reviewing our budget. My husband and I use MINT, a budget and financial tracker. (Again, not affiliated, but I would recommend it and it is FREE!).  Sunday is the perfect day to go through our expenses and see where we are. This helps us see where we need to slow our spending and plan for what’s coming up. I will also take this time and fill in any of our savings trackers. This helps give me a visual for our financial goals and keeps me motivated. If you are looking for some budget trackers, I have some available here.  I have also included a simple budget tracking tool in the Sunday Planning Packet.

Create a Meal Plan

Meal planning has made a huge difference in our weeks! By referring to our calendar, we are able to anticipate what nights need to be Leftovers nights or my personal favorite “Fend For Yourselves” nights. I’ve used various methods for tracking, but because my husband also cooks occasionally we have settled on keeping track of our meals on our calendar. It’s awesome because I can scroll up and see what we did in prior months and get ideas for the current week. 

However, if you like to write it all out I have a template in the Sunday Planning Packet that you can use. (Pro tip: put this in a plastic sheet and use a dry erase marker. That way you can use the same template over and over!) While we are making this meal plan, we are consecutively making our grocery list and checking our pantry to see what we already have. That way I’m all ready to go grocery shopping and I feel confident that I have everything on the list. If you would like a little more help and assistance with meal planning I recommend checking out Allison Hollinger’s program: Plan to Nourish. She’s a fellow military spouse and a meal planning expert. She breaks meal planning down to make it simple and has got meal planning down to a science! 

Do the Grocery Shopping

I try to knock out the grocery shopping on Sundays to have it all done for the week. If there are other errands to run I try to do it all so that I have the week to work. I head to Costco about once a month, but otherwise I use the commissary for most of my grocery shopping. I try to limit trips to once a week because otherwise I feel like I spend WAY more. For my grocery list, I use my Alexa list on my phone (not affiliated!). But if you are looking for a grocery list template, I have included one in my Sunday Planning Packet.

Do a BIG Cook

We try to plan a BIG meal on Sunday that will yield a ton of leftovers. We eat these for lunches or dinners during the week and try to do another BIG cook one more time during the week. I will also prep all of our fruits and veggies during this time and clean out the fridge to make room for the grocery haul. It is a lot of work, but it helps me feel ready to go for the week, and it makes it easier for the kids to find things in the fridge. Check out my meal prep checklist included in the Sunday Planning Packet.

Do a Brain Dump

During all of these preparation activities on Sunday, I normally think of other things that I need to attend to during the week. Certain phone calls or errands that can only be done Monday-Friday or during business hours. I add these to my to-do list for the week, and I start by doing a Brain Dump. This helps me to get it all out on paper and begin to organize my thoughts. For more about my brain dump process and a brain dump template, check out my article here.

So are you ready to do all of these things for a more organized week? Download the free Sunday Planning Packet now to get started on your more organized week!