For years, Sunday was my setup day.

When I was teaching full-time, Sunday was the day I tried to cram everything in before Monday morning: groceries, meal planning, laundry, sports bags, calendars, food prep—all while also trying to enjoy the last few hours of the weekend. (This last week I joined my family for a long bike ride.)

It worked because it had to.

But now that I’m no longer in a classroom full-time, I realized something:

I don’t have to sacrifice my Sunday to get ready for Monday anymore.

So I moved my weekly reset to Monday.

And I love it.

Sunday can actually feel like part of the weekend again, while Monday has become the day I get our house, food, schedules, and sports chaos ready for the week ahead.

Here’s what my Monday Setup actually looks like.

Step 1: Check the Family Calendar

Before I make a grocery list, I check our calendar.

This is probably the biggest change I’ve made in how I plan meals.

I don’t start by asking:

“What sounds good for dinner this week?”

I start by asking:

“What does this week actually look like?”

With three kids, sports, practices, games, work schedules, appointments, and everything else that gets thrown into a week, dinner has to fit the calendar—not the other way around.

I look for:

• Late practice nights
• Games or tournaments
• Nights everyone will eat at different times
• Nights we’re actually home
• Work commitments
• Appointments
• Anything unusual happening that week

Then I know which nights can handle a regular dinner and which ones need something fast, portable, reheatable, or waiting in the crockpot.

Step 2: Shop the House First

Before I go grocery shopping, I check what we already have.

I look through the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry and ask:

What can I build meals around this week?

This keeps me from buying another package of something that’s already hiding in the freezer and helps keep our grocery bill under control.

I especially look for:

• Meat I can use for dinners
• Produce that needs to be eaten
• Lunch food
• Breakfast staples
• Snacks
• Ingredients for easy backup meals

The goal isn’t to create a perfect inventory.

It’s just a quick check before I spend money.

Step 3: Make the Meal Plan

Once I know what our schedule looks like and what we already have, I make the meal plan.

I keep this realistic.

I’m not planning seven elaborate dinners.

Some nights might be a full dinner. Some might be crockpot night. Some might be leftovers or something everyone can grab when they get home.

For especially busy weeks, I like having two meats prepared that can turn into different meals.

Ground beef, for example, can become tacos one night and spaghetti sauce another.

Chicken can become sandwiches, wraps, pasta, or an easy dinner bowl.

One prep step can save me from starting completely over every night.

And I always try to have at least one emergency dinner in the freezer.

Because no matter how well I plan, there will eventually be a night when the plan falls apart.

Step 4: Monday Grocery Shopping

This is one of my favorite changes.

I grocery shop on Monday now.

I used to feel like groceries had to happen over the weekend because I was working in a classroom all week.

They don’t anymore.

Monday shopping is part of my workweek routine instead of something I have to squeeze into family time on Sunday.

I take my calendar-first meal plan, check what we already have, make my list, and shop for what we actually need.

It also means I’m shopping with a plan instead of wandering through the store trying to remember what we might need for the week.

Step 5: Prep Food When I Get Home

I’m not spending four hours making perfectly portioned meal-prep containers.

That’s not happening.

My goal is simply to make the rest of the week easier.

Depending on the week, I might:

• Prep meat for a couple of meals
• Wash or portion fruit
• Make grab-and-go snacks easier to find
• Prep breakfasts
• Get ingredients ready for a crockpot meal
• Portion things for lunches
• Make sure we have portable food for sports nights

I focus on whatever will save me the most time later.

Sometimes that’s cooking.

Sometimes it’s simply putting everything for Tuesday night’s dinner together so I’m not searching for ingredients at 5:00.

Step 6: Catch Up on Sports Laundry

By Monday, most of the kids’ sports gear is already where it needs to be—with them at school.

So I’m not spending Monday unpacking and repacking sports bags.

What I am doing is catching up on all the laundry that comes with having kids in sports.

Uniforms, practice clothes, sweatshirts, socks, towels—somehow there is always something that needs to be washed.

Monday is my chance to get caught up before the week gets really busy.

I check the calendar to see what practices, games, or tournaments are coming up and make sure anything they’ll need later in the week is clean and ready to go.

If we have a tournament or a busy sports weekend coming up, I’ll also check our Three-Bag System and make a note of anything we need to restock before we leave.

The goal isn’t to have every piece of laundry in the house finished.

It’s simply:

What do we need this week, and is it clean?

Because discovering a dirty uniform 20 minutes before someone needs it is exactly the kind of chaos I’m trying to avoid.

Step 7: Do One Quick House Reset

Again, this isn’t a whole-house deep clean.

I’m trying to make the week easier—not turn Monday into another version of my old Sunday marathon.

I’ll usually focus on whatever will make the biggest difference:

Clear the kitchen counters.

Reset the entryway.

Clean out the refrigerator.

Deal with the pile everyone has been walking past for three days.

One small reset makes the house feel dramatically more manageable.

What I Still Do on Sunday

Moving my setup to Monday doesn’t mean I ignore everything on Sunday.

I just don’t make Sunday my work day anymore.

If there’s something important happening first thing Monday morning, I’ll obviously make sure we’re ready.

But I’m no longer trying to grocery shop, meal prep, organize the entire house, wash every uniform, and plan the week before going to bed Sunday night.

Sunday gets to be Sunday.

And after years of teaching full-time, that feels really good.

My Monday Setup Checklist

Here’s the entire system:

☐ Check the family calendar
☐ Shop the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry
☐ Plan dinners around the week’s schedule
☐ Make the grocery list
☐ Grocery shop
☐ Prep the foods that will save the most time
☐ Check lunches, breakfasts, and snacks
☐ Prioritize uniforms and important laundry
☐ Do one quick house reset
☐ Make sure we have an emergency dinner

That’s it.

It’s not an all-day productivity routine.

It’s a system that helps me walk into the rest of the week knowing that the most important things are handled.

Your Setup Day Doesn’t Have to Be Sunday

Maybe the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that our systems are allowed to change when our lives change.

My Sunday Setup worked when I was teaching full-time.

Now it doesn’t make sense.

Monday does.

So if you’re trying to force yourself into a Sunday reset because that’s what everyone on Pinterest seems to do, don’t.

Pick the day that actually works for your family.

The goal isn’t to have a picture-perfect Sunday routine.

The goal is to make the chaotic parts of your week a little easier.

And right now, Monday is what does that for us.

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Related Posts:

My Favorite Items for a Smooth Sunday Setup.

5 Minute Meals: Dinner Ideas for When the Clock is Your Enemy.

How We Meal Prep Without Losing Our Minds

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