1 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:21,440 Speaker 1: tip is about how to make far fewer small choices 4 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: control what comes in. If you are intentional about what 5 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: comes into your home, then you can relax knowing anything 6 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: that's there will be fine. As Before Breakfast listeners who 7 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: also listen to my Best of Both Worlds podcasts may remember, 8 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: I had my kids pack their own lunches for camp 9 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,959 Speaker 1: this summer. What do they eat? I don't really know. 10 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: For any particular day, they had a rule that they 11 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: had to pack one fruit or vegetable, but that was it. 12 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: My daughter mentioned a cream cheese sandwich and watermelon lunch 13 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,680 Speaker 1: as one particular culinary adventure. There may have been cold 14 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: liftover pasta some other day. Not my thing, but it 15 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: doesn't need to be my thing. I don't know what 16 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: they put in their lunch boxes, but I do know 17 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: what is in our pantry and our fridge. If we 18 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: don't have big batches of candy bars available, then they 19 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: can't create lunches of all candy bars with a single 20 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: grape to meet the fruit rule. We control what comes in, 21 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,919 Speaker 1: and yes, There is plenty of snack food in my house, 22 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: but it's all within an acceptable range. So as long 23 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: as the adults are controlling what comes into the kitchen 24 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,479 Speaker 1: and pantry, the kids can choose what makes it into 25 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: their lunch boxes without hovering supervision. I think this is 26 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: important for kids. You can give them freedom while limiting 27 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: the downside. But we can think about controlling what comes 28 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: in with with adults as well, including ourselves. If you 29 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: want to cut down on drinking soda, then don't buy 30 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: soda at the grocery store. If you have to go 31 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: out into the world to purchase a soda whenever you 32 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: want one, nine times out of ten you will rethink that. 33 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: If you do purchase it while out and about, well, great, 34 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,919 Speaker 1: it's a special treat. You can savor it knowing there 35 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:33,919 Speaker 1: aren't six more cans at home waiting for you. Some 36 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: people who decide they only want to drink alcohol on 37 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: social occasions make this easier by just not keeping alcohol 38 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: in the house. If you are at a bar or 39 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: a restaurant with friends, great, that probably doesn't happen every night, 40 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: and so it is naturally going to be more limited 41 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: then losing track of wine poores while watching TV solo. 42 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: I have been learning to control what comes in the 43 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: hard way with toys. One of my children, in particular, 44 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: has an absolute explosion of small parts everywhere. Sometimes this 45 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:19,799 Speaker 1: is inevitable. We all love legos, me included, and making 46 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: complex sets with my older kids is really fun. But 47 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 1: if a child is neutral between different kinds of presents 48 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: for Christmas, sets with fewer small pieces have some distinct 49 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: advantages over sets with hundreds of small pieces. A single 50 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,839 Speaker 1: doll or truck can only create so much clutter. One 51 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: hundred scented erasers shaped like food, Oh my goodness. Control 52 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: what comes in, and you can limit the cleanup after 53 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: the fact. You can even apply this mindset to social media. 54 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: A friend of mine recently lamented that she was massively 55 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: behind on direct messages on social media. Someone else suggested 56 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: simply turning them off and directing people to a particular 57 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: email address from all the different sites. Control what comes in, 58 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: and there's just less random stuff to deal with and 59 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: a greater chance that the people who do reach out 60 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: to you have something worthwhile to listen to. Making spot 61 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: decisions on many things can be draining. When you control 62 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: what comes into your house or even into your inbox 63 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: or into your life in general. You can limit the 64 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: number of decisions you need to make. You know that 65 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: everything has met a certain standard or fourteen clothes, let's say, 66 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: isn't terribly offensive. So within that people can make their 67 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: own choices. Everything is decent and not covered in holes. 68 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: So fashion is up to the individual. Camo pants and 69 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: camo shirt awesome. There are no such things as clashing colors. 70 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:18,720 Speaker 1: It's all good. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks 71 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 72 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 73 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 74 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. 75 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:46,919 Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You 76 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast 77 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out 78 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward 79 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. 80 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 81 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.