Life Hacks For Lazy Girls - How To Organise Your Life While Being a Hot Mess

Laziness gets a bad rap. People don’t realise that it takes effort to create a such a care-free existence. We are hot messes. We need to make time for our passions and our hobbies and ourselves. We don’t have to waste our time trying to fit into this horrible box of ‘clean girl aesthetic’ or ‘that girl’ that we are being subtly shoved into.  

I’m going to show you how having small things together makes it easier to be a hot mess. 

Makeup 

Makeup can sometimes feel like the single most exciting thing life has to offer. 

It can also feel like the single biggest curse to your morning. 

It’s time consuming. It’s messy. It’s frustrating. It’s expensive. 

Everyone does their makeup differently.  I am not going to tell you how to do your makeup.  

But if you’re a makeup on the bus/train/ I’ll-just-do-it-when-I-get-there-girlie, you need to be prepared for battle. 

The first step is to lighten your load. 

 I know you have your comfort foundation. The panic-when-you-can’t-feel-it-in-your-bag-foundation. But you also have your full coverage going out foundation which doesn’t quite match your skin tone but it’s fine because it’s dark in there anyways. And then there’s your foundation that you never use but you paid too much for it so therefore you can’t leave it behind.  

Don’t get me wrong, on a night out I will happily wear all three. But for day-to-day wear, be kind to your already too-heavy bag that you’ve been meaning to clean out. 

Cut it down to the essentials. 

For me the essentials are: 

• Waterproof mascara-- it has to be waterproof. You don’t know what weather-related/emotion-related/surprise-water-fight-related day you’re going to have. Always be prepared. 

• Moisturiser-- with SPF of course: we are lazy, we don’t have time to apply sunscreen and moisturiser. 

• Waterproof eyeliner-- that is in marker or skinny Crayola twistable form. We don’t have time or patience for teeny paintbrushes and pencil sharpeners.  

• Baby wipes-- baby wipes are cheaper than makeup wipes and gentler on your skin. They are also sold in a larger quantity, so they last longer. They are not only perfect for makeup, but also for attacking emergency stains. 

• A clear makeup bag-- No, not a plastic bag (I’m not that bad), just a clear makeup-bag. It makes things so much easier to find and snatch when you’re in a rush. 

• Lip tint-- a lip tint does the same job that lipstick does without the worry of smudging or showing on your teeth. 

Outfit 

The best kept lazy girl secret is: you only need one pair of shoes. You read that right. Just one.  

For years I blatantly refused to wear anything except for black runners. I insisted I couldn’t walk in anything else. Any other shoes just were not practical, given how often I had to run to catch my train. That was all before I found: 

The perfect pair of shoes. 

A heavenly pair of boots that I bought on holidays.  

I have compiled for you a shoe checklist so that you too can find your perfect pair of shoes. The perfect pair of shoes: 

can be worn with any outfit, casual or dressed up 

is practical for this Irish weather 

is comfortable to walk in. 

Having a pair of shoes that can go with everything takes a lot of the stress out of getting dressed in the morning (which, for a lot of people, I’m sure is not that stressful.) But for people who cannot function without a high volume of caffeine in their bloodstream and press the snooze button past the point of return-- it can be. 

When you find the shoes that you love, I can promise you will look like a well put together girlie every day. 

That is, as long as you wear other clothes with them of course ;) 

Exercise 

Exercise is hard. Life is busy. It’s cold out. There’s not a lot of time between college and work and how long it takes to get to those places.  Believe me, I know.  

The best way to get the exercise you need in is to join an exercise class, or one of the sports clubs at Maynooth. The great thing about Maynooth is there is something for everyone. Maynooth Strength and Conditioning Club run four classes per week (which are free of charge). The Yoga and Pilates Society also run several classes per week. Both clubs are very beginner friendly and offer day classes which are commuter friendly. 

 I find it a lot easier to go to these classes than to go to the gym, because I’m less likely to leave five minutes after I arrive. An exercise class takes the self-motivation out of the equation, as long as you just show up. The following clubs/societies I have tried and found to be very beginner friendly (and a lot of fun): Boxing, Muy Thai Boxing, Trampoline, Karate and Dance. These clubs as well as many other clubs offer ‘all levels’ training sessions which means you won’t feel intimidated if you’re a beginner. All sports clubs in Maynooth have a timetable and post updates regularly on Instagram. Information about training times and locations for all clubs and societies are also available on mulife.ie once you join as a member. 

I hope these life hacks hack the heck out of your life. 

Love from your hot mess veteran, 

Arianna x