text: 5 Steps to Daily Self Care this Summer - Creative Home Keeper
  We have three boys in our family who are 14, 12, and 6 years old. When school gets out for the summer, there is always a big sigh of relief from the whole family.
  The lunch packing, children waking, breakfast making, morning rush will be over for two and a half months. One of the things that can also go out the door, though, is prioritizing self care as moms.
  If you homeschool, or have little ones who aren't school age, you may have already figured out how to maintain some kind of self care routine while everyone is home together. I always have to remember how to balance out my needs with theirs every summer. My natural default is to put their needs and schedules above my own at all times.
  You might be a mom who is already convinced of the benefits of regular and daily self care. It may not happen every day and it may never happen perfectly, but you know the importance of taking care of your body, mind, and spirit. This post will encourage you to keep up the great work!
  You may, however, be a mom who is just barely getting through the day and have never thought about what your needs are on a daily or a weekly basis. This post is for you!
  First, self care is not a luxury.
  It's about meeting the basic needs of your body, mind, and spirit so that you can fully show up for yourself, your family, and your larger community.
  Sometimes when people hear self care, they think of getting massages or taking private retreats. These could very well be part of a larger self care plan, but today we're going to talk about a basic self care plan for the summer.
  I want you to take a minute to think about what you're like when you're your best self. Write down a few words that come to mind.
  Meals and water intake
  The basic self care plan for the summer focuses on these key areas.
  In order to be at our best, we all need to make sure we're getting enough sleep, movement, and eating healthy food. This is something we all know in our heads. What are we actually doing in our daily lives, though?
  Before I started tracking my habits on a daily basis, I thought I was meeting my personal goal of getting six hours of sleep every night. I was surprised to find that what I thought and what I was actually getting every night didn't match up.
  So how do we make self care a priority this summer?
  5 STEPS TOWARD SELF CARE THIS SUMMER
  Out of the top three basic self care areas of sleep, movement, and what you put in your body, which is your top priority?
  Track your sleep, movement, and eating daily. Or you can track your top priority area only. You can get a free monthly habit tracker here.
  Write down specific and small actions you will take daily to make your self care a priority. Know your baseline, and plan from there.
  When you have your basic self care needs met for your body, move to planning a simple morning routine to meet your spiritual needs. That might include prayer, meditation, and/or reading daily. This doesn't have to be long. It can start at 5 minutes a day.
  Last, but not least, write a list of things you find pleasure and enjoyment in. You can get a list of 50 ideas to get you started that may help you brainstorm your own personal list on my blog. Try to do one pleasurable activity a day during the summer. Take a few minutes while the children are still sleeping, or watching a video, or having quiet time in their rooms.
  When I am my best self, I am patient with others (and myself), peaceful, happy, and only focusing on one thing and one person at a time. We want to be our best selves in order to serve and love our families well. In order to do that, we need to make sure we're filling our cups first through self care.
  What ideas will you implement this summer? Do you already have a self care routine?
  Angela blogs at Setting My Intention where she focuses on intentional change and developing healthy habits in the midst of the daily demands of life. She calls herself an aspiring minimalist, hoping to create a peaceful home and a slow schedule for her and her family…one step at a time. You can keep up with her progress (and join in the fun) here:
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  I love the idea of doing one pleasurable thing each day. Big plans can be overwhelming, but finding small pockets of time for yourself is totally doable!
  June 18 at 3:18 pm
  Yes! So true Abby. Small pockets of time and things you can do in your home.
  June 21 at 9:09 pm
  Hi Angela, Great post! Having a daily quiet time is so important! Sleep is really one thing that we think we can scrimp on but it just causes problems later on! I like the idea of one pleasurable thing each day, too. Thanks for sharing these ideas. Blessings, Janet
  Great ideas, I really liked the printable too, I stopped over from your blog! Hope to see you back at #HomeMattersParty
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