The paper plate week.

I could see it coming.

A heavy week ahead — demands stacking up, capacity already stretched before it had even started. So I made a decision.

Paper plates.

I'd come across the idea in a book called How to Keep House While Drowning. The premise is simple: when you're running on empty, trying to maintain everything isn't what's needed. What's needed is restoration. And sometimes that means consciously letting something go.

For me, paper plates meant fewer dishes, fewer chores, one less thing grinding away at my reserves. A small change — but it freed up enough that I could show up more as the parent I wanted to be that week.

I'm sharing this because staying regulated, staying calm, being present for our kids — we almost never connect that to the washing up. Or the school run admin. Or the pile of things we said yes to when we probably should have said no. But those things are connected. The chores, the commitments, the invisible mental load — they all chip away at the same resource. Staying regulated isn't just about breathing techniques. It's also about what you agreed to carry this week.

So, especially with the coming heatwave in the UK this week, this is me endorsing the paper plate week.

Maybe it's just one meal. Maybe it's a week. Maybe right now, it's a month. The ways we relieve strain aren't always obvious.

And sometimes they come in a pack of twelve from the supermarket.

Where is one load — practical, not emotional — quietly draining your capacity right now?

Give yourself permission to lower the standard on one thing this week. Not forever. Just for now.