Reclaiming Sundays
What are some life hacks that you practice?
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I don’t like the phrase ‘life hacks’ because it is a trivialisation of the need the majority of people have to make their existence more meaningful. A ‘life hack’ to me is a short and unimportant post on Instagram or Tik Tok showing how you can clean a kitchen sink or a microwave with a slice of lemon and a toothbrush! (Disclaimer: You may be able to do this but I wouldn’t be able to tell you how!) I am going to dismiss the phrase and replace it with ‘life improvement’ as that is what is most important to this post. I have shared a number of things that have improved my life in recent months but today I am going to tell you how I have managed to make my weekend far more relaxed.
In our local shopping precinct, about three quarters of a mile away, is a Tesco Metro which is pretty good for the majority of our needs. Many weekends saw me going up to town twice, once on Saturday for a big shop and once on Sunday for things I had forgotten. Sometimes, Sunday would be the big shop because we were out on Saturday, but it was a rare weekend when I didn’t walk up there on each day. I was moaning about this one day a few months back, saying that boring though Sundays were in my childhood, I would value a more restful day now. It suddenly occurred to me that I had fallen into the capitalist trap, a kind of retail version of Field of Dreams where ‘if you build it they will come’! I then said, ‘We’re not going shopping on a Sunday any more’! That was three months ago and, I’m glad to say, I’ve kept to it without a hitch. If I am busy on a Saturday I will go to the precinct on a Friday evening to get the shopping, but generally I can work round any days out with some forward planning. The result has been Sundays which have become days for us to relax or to go out as we choose. We can make spur of the moment decisions to go somewhere because there is nothing else to take up our time. We can watch TV, do a puzzle or simply enjoy each other’s company. The Sunday of my childhood seems so much better now I’m an adult, and I am absolutely determined not to revert to my old ways.
So, if you don’t already, make a list and go shopping on one day of the weekend only. You’ll be glad you did!
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As someone who works in retail i can say that most customers view Sunday as “just another day” and will go shopping just because the stores are open. Even older people who will remember a time when shops were not open at all on Sundays express surprise or even annoyance at the reduced opening hours! Some people view it as a trip out, clearly people with a lack of imagination. I think it really is a case of “Tesco is open so we should go”, coupled with fear of missing out – the idea that there will be more reduced items or bargains because it’s the end of the week (there isn’t). It’s a sad state of affairs that the majority of the populace no longer have a day of rest and recreation.
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Exactly, and I walked into that trap and stayed there for years. It’s been really good to escape!
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As have said before, am with you a million percent on this. In fact, why not go one better and not go to the shops Saturday or Sunday at all? For those living in towns or cities, it is usually very easy to get the the stuff delivered instead. It probably is a little bit more expensive, but not all that much if you get it from the big supermarket (am not talking about Uber/Deliveroo here). Don’t do the order for a Sunday though as that just forces other people to work, which maintains the whole sorry state of affairs. Indeed, if you can, do the order for an evening weekday so no one has to work Saturday (or if they do then the bosses will be forced to raise the wages a bit). People fought valiantly for a two-day weekend, or we would not have it (which many now don’t, of course).
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It’s not impossible to do that especially as I don’t full time work apart from the summer. The only real issue is the short dates on fruit and veg. That’s why I shop on Saturday but I could probably go on Friday night instead. I might try that if I have a busy weekend.
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Yeah, there is that. We seem to be okay though. Friday is probs best bet.
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