The Five Minute Friday prompt this week was thirteen. I wrote a post last fall with “13 Lessons Learned on Friday the 13th at the Airport”, but reposting that seems like cheating especially since the prompt wasn’t given on Friday the 13th. So, I thought I’d give you 13 Life Lessons instead.

Thirteen Life Lessons:

1. Always put God first. Trust me on this.

2. Live within your means. Debt takes forever to pay off. If you can’t pay cash for it, wait to buy it until you can. Spend less or make more.

3. Save for the future. Pay yourself first by saving at least 10% into savings. You should have an emergency fund that will cover three to six months of your living expenses. After you have your emergency fund, then save for retirement or the kids’ college fund.

4. Pick up after yourself. Nobody likes cleaning, so just don’t make messes. There is never any reason clothing should be on the floor. Put it in the designated laundry hamper when you take it off or hang/fold it neatly to be worn again. Trash goes in the trashcan. Leftovers need to be put away properly, not left to draw flies. If you spill something, clean it up right away. This will make a huge difference in the overall cleanliness of your home.

5. Always do your best in everything. If you don’t have time to do it right, you sure don’t have time to do it again!

6. Leave a room cleaner than you found it. Even a public restroom can benefit from a quick swipe with your used paper towel to tidy the sink before you throw it away. If you are leaving a room, look around to see if there is something you can take with you to the next room and put away.

7. Recycle whatever you can. Newspapers, cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass can all be recycled free of charge where I live by dropping them off at the local park in the proper receptacles. Why fill the dumps with stuff that could easily be recycled? Reuse things instead of buying new. Use up the old before replacing it. Make do.

8. Make yourself useful every day. I try to crochet a hat for the homeless while riding in a car on a trip or sitting and listening to an audiobook. There is something you can do to make life better for someone, so do it. Maybe a neighbor could use a hand with yard work, a new mom could use your help with a home-cooked meal, the neighborhood kids could use your help with homework or learn a new skill. If you are able to sit up in bed, there is something you can do to be helpful to someone.

9. Less is more. Capsule wardrobes are all the rage. This applies to food, perfume, and makeup too. A little goes a long way. Declutter the things you don’t use and share them with others who will use them. Tidy up your living space, yard, or neighborhood.

10. Learn something new every day. A word, a skill, a random fact, it doesn’t matter but “use it or lose it” applies to your brain too.

11. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Foods, travel, crafts, gadgets, try them all (except drugs and illegal things).

12. Don’t let your weight creep up. Trust me it is very hard to get it off and even harder to keep it off. Just don’t gain it in the first place. Weight Struggles Are Real

13. Find joy in the simple things. Instead of getting upset that you seem to always have laundry to do or housecleaning chores, be grateful that you have clothing and a house to need cleaning. Not everyone does. Laundry is a privilege. You have clothes to wash, fresh clean water that comes through pipes to the washing machine. You have a choice of temperatures and even the option of hanging it out to dry or using the other laundry appliance called the clothes dryer. Your ancestors had a lot more to complain about when it comes to laundry and so many other things too.

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Thirteen
The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.