On Cracked Eggs, Cut Down Lists and Clean Clothes

This month really flew by, cuz I promise it was JUST February 1st. I can’t keep up. Probably because Black History month is winding down and Women’s History Month is winding up. Meaning Black women are the moment 💁🏾‍♀️ and in such high demand to speak, partner, or collaborate that we’re running around like headless chickens.

I humbly receive the blessings. But if you’re looking for me, I’m the person who can’t keep up with everything. And when I’m not peopling, you’ll find me somewhere facing the wall in silence cuz: introvert.

Anywho, let’s jump into what’s on my mind this week.

RANT

We can’t afford to be breaking eggs in 2023.

Instacart has been bae since before the COVID-19 pandemic. But grocery stores became an absolute NO GO for me during lockdown. Now we go together real bad, and they always deliver my groceries. 🥰

But this week we’re lowkey fighting cuz the dude delivered my groceries without ringing the doorbell or sending a message to let me know. I kept wondering “why is it taking so long?” Turns out, my order was just sitting outside my front door for whoknowshowlong.

When I saw that one bag only had eggs in it, I picked it up delicately with one hand and the last two bags with the other. As I’m walking in the house, I feel liquid on my feet and realize the eggs are leaking. I put them on the kitchen counter, open the box, and see FIVE. WHOLE. EGGS. BROKEN. 😭😢

EGGS COST TOO MUCH FOR THIS, SIR! Feels like they’re $35 a dozen right now. I think about how kids used to throw eggs as pranks for Halloween. ☝🏾 They better not even think about throwing their college tuition like that today. Easter Egg hunt? Better use fake ones because in the year of our Lord 2023, we can’t even spare em for things like that.

Whenever my shopper is a guy, I be like 😩😩😩 cuz I just KNOW we gon have some issues. And somehow the store is out of everything I want that week. They’ll say “they’re out of bagels.” 🤨 ALL THE BAGELS GONE?? Was there a nationwide recall? Did yeast go on strike? Did bread get banned?? Then come through with some ridiculous substitutes. Like the time this man replaced my Italian soda (San Pellegrino Limonata) with sparkling water.

These are the moments where I’m like, maybe I do believe in gender roles. Cuz you know who don’t miss? Older women. They’ll get you the freshestttt fruits and vegetables, or send pics to help you pick items meticulously. So Instacart, don’t give me a 20-something dude for deliveries no more. And ban them from shopping for anyone else’s eggs but their own.

Let’s pray my next delivery is by a woman named Ethel cuz she gon get me right. 🙏🏾

That brings me to…

REFLECTION

Time is money, so outsource if/what you can.

The one thing we cannot get more of is time. So until we can be in two places at once, our best bet is to get someone else to do some things for us. That’s why I’m constantly trying to figure out how to outsource my responsibilities. I need less stress in my life, and it’s certainly not gon come from doing MORE.

Even though He Who Breaks Eggs did me dirty, I wasn’t like “lemme go to the store next week” because I know good and damb well I ain’t got time. I’m barely caught up on the things I HAVE to do. Now would I have broken my own eggs? No. 😅 BUT what I have done is save 2 days of my time by letting someone else grocery shop for me.

According to the Instacart app, I’ve gotten 57 hours back in just the last year!

I’m over here right now like: what do *I* HAVE to do that no one else can? Because I’d rather use the money I earn to buy the freedom of giving everything else up to someone else. Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in my to-do lists. And I don’t even have kids!

Shoutout to the generations of women who went to work, came home, cooked dinner, and didn’t cuss anyone out. Our mothers, grandmothers, great grands are superheroes. Cuz after spending all day on the computer, I don’t wanna talk to human beings after 6pm and cereal is my best idea for dinner. 😫 So I don’t know how they did ALL of that during a time when men were only expected to be responsible for keeping the lights on and nothing else. Especially without the privilege of outsourcing things like we do.

We quietly agonize over hiring help and suffer through a lot of guilt around it. But the truth is, our already abundant list of personal and professional responsibilities gets longer everyday. And even when we’re not doing physical labor, we’re doing immense emotional labor to keep track of everything we need to handle.

We’re out here tryna work full-time jobs, maintain side hustles, keep our houses in order, spend time with loved ones, have me-time… AND be amazing partners, siblings, friends, employees, colleagues, or whatever else, while ALSO trying to keep our minds, bodies, and souls together.

It’s TEW MUCH. 🥵🥵🥵

That is why I’m here to remind us all that if we can hire the help we’ve been thinking about without breaking our banks or putting anyone’s livelihood at risk, then we should.

You might be thinking that you can’t afford to outsource certain tasks. But sometimes the question is: can you afford NOT to? Think about all the ways you get stressed out when things you have to do or deal with go undone, deplete your energy, or simply do not bring you joy.

So, before you talk yourself out of hiring a helping hand, see if it’s *actually* as expensive as you think. Don’t just assume you can’t afford to outsource anything. You may have had the budget for what you need all along.

The assistant. 👩🏾‍💼
The nanny. 🤱🏾
The housekeeper. 🧹
The chef. 👩🏾‍🍳
The meal kit or grocery delivery membership. 🥙
The laundry service. 🧺

Invest $100 in that personal assistant that charges $20/hour, so you can do something that energizes you for 5 hours instead. Spend the extra $10 on delivery to save yourself the time, gas, and headache of in-person shopping. Book the $150 housecleaning service, and get back 6 hours of your day in a spotless home.

Imagine how much lighter you’d feel by removing even one item from your plate.

Because I have just the recommendation for that.

RECOMMENDATION

Fire yourself from laundry duty and hire HappyNest Laundry Service.

One thing I’ve always hated doing is laundry. I can write a 1,000 word piece in 20 minutes, but it takes me 4 days to fold one load. 😩 There have been countless times when I’d wash and dry my clothes, then we’d just be staring at each other like…

Uh uh. Get somebody else to do it.

A friend recommended a laundry service a couple years ago and lemme tell you: it 👏🏾 changed 👏🏾 my 👏🏾 life.

When you sign up for a service like HappyNest, you can get your dirty laundry picked up today and dropped off clean and folded tomorrow. CLEAN AND FOLDED. Like magic. So all you gotta do is put them away. FOLDING CLOTHES WHERE?!? 💅🏾
I usually send out 1-2 bags of laundry a week, then schedule delivery for the weekend so I don’t have to deal with putting it away til then. I get a reminder the day before pickup and a notification when the driver is on the way. It’s such a major cheat code!

I just recommended it to one of my girls and after trying it, she feels the same way.

HappyNest is dope because you can get service weekly or only when you need it. No contracts or subscriptions. And while pricing varies by location, the average cost is ~$2 per pound.

Worth every dime because I cannot count how many hours this service has saved me! 🙌🏾

Once registered, you’ll receive a personalized HappyNest laundry bag that holds 40-60 lbs. Then all you have to do is fill it up, schedule pickup, and wait or relax while they rinse and repeat. 😮‍💨

And those of us that clutch our pearls at the thought of anyone else handling personal or important tasks can stay in control by choosing our washing, drying, and folding preferences. So whether it’s what detergent to use, how to fold your socks, or where to leave your bag during drop-off, they tailor your experience to how you want it done.For all my fellow businesses out there, they even provide customized commercial laundry services for Airbnb, salons, barber shops, fitness centers, restaurants, medical offices, and more!

TAKE A LOAD OFF WITH HAPPYNEST

Comment below and tell me what responsibility or activity do you need to outsource the most? 👀

Talk to y’all later!

Disclaimer: I receive commissions for purchases made through some of the links in this newsletter. All thoughts and vouching are mine. I keep it true. 💯