Do you stack functions …and systematize?

One thing permaculturists always talk about is systematizing and stacking functions.

Now I am not a certified permaculturist but I have done some studying and talking to those who are. And one thing that I have come to understand is that the more ‘no brainers’ one has in their day the more brain space one has to use on other things. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Well, I have been working on my systems – upon rising in the morning doing the same things in the same way every day, for example. I have found that by doing this I become more proficient and find shortcuts to the task I did not use previously.

They also stress stacking functions. So take my zoodle maker. I love the idea of it but began to wish I had not invested because I was not using it enough to warrant the space it took in the cabinet. THEN I realized it was fantastic for prepping veggies for the dehydrated and for my fermenting jars. Voila – no longer just zucchini noodles but a bunch of other uses too. I felt so much better and find I use the thing all of the time now!

Recently I built an herb spiral in the backyard in an effort to increase growing space and reorganize it a bit. In the process I repurposed some (very large) rocks I had out there and it turned out really well to boot! Not bad for a half day’s work.

Doing these two things can help reduce stress they say…well not moving 50 pound rocks…well I guess that could too…and I have come to realize that myself. Proficiency is the name of the game.

Remember, where the pain is the problem isn’t!

Monica

PS – Stay tuned for my annual Black Friday special. I will be sending that email out on…well, Black Friday.