Being over-prepared isn’t a thing.
If there's something I've learned over the years it's that you cannot be too prepared. Even if you think it's too early to prepare for something it's probably not. As much as we try to plan life, life plans for us things that we cannot anticipate. So it's better to anticipate that your plan is going to be interrupted and be prepared for that. Just like we plan our meals, and prepare our food for the week it's good to prepare for life in other ways too.
Here are some ideas to help you be prepared for a busy or unexpected period in life:
Have a backup food storage. This can be as big or as little as you want. At least make sure you have a back-up or two of things you use every day. Coffee, milk, sugar, flour, bread, ketchup, maple syrup, chicken stock, etc. This will help you in a pinch when you just ran out of something!
Don't let your laundry pile up. This is a tough one for me to remember but every time I do laundry I think of it. If I let the laundry pile up it's a lot to do at one time - then who knows if I'll get to it if something comes up. Then I have to put it away too. It's a whole process! So I suggest doing laundry every other day or every 2 days. This way it's not too much to handle at once but you don't feel like you're doing it every single day either!
Always have at least one meal in your freezer. This has come in handy for me so many times. I'm currently compiling a list of freezer meals to make before the baby gets here too. I want to have at least 10 in there for busy nights, tired nights, or just when I don't feel like cooking before she comes. Over the past year or so I've always had at least 1 in my freezer - if I make meatballs - I make 6 lbs so I have 2 meals in there, if I make meatloaf I make 4 lbs. so I can make one for the freezer, if I made stuffed cabbage I make enough that I can freeze some. You get the picture! Save yourself some time and energy and get a meal in your freezer tonight!
Keep things organized. Make a plan to go through your entire house. One area, bag, box, or problem each week. Before you know it your house is organized and you feel less chaotic, cluttered, and can actually find things without freaking out! It's a process. This is a marathon not something that will happen in a day or week (unless you're already super organized). This took me 4 months and I still have a few problem areas to work on. But now that the ones I use the most are complete I feel so much more level-headed going into those cabinets, closets, and drawers!
Set-up auto-delivery. I'm always a little cautious about doing this because I never now if I'll definitely need something when it's scheduled to come. However, if you can start watching your habits at home you can predict how often you'll need a shipment. For example: If you know that every 2 months you're buying toilet bowl cleaner then you can add that to your Grove auto-shipment. If you know that every 5 weeks you're going through a bag of Shakeology you can have it auto-ship to arrive on that 5th week! Pretty much every company has this now from makeup to hair dye to cleaning products and home delivery kits!
Don't wait until the last minute to accomplish a task that is due on a certain date. I've been preparing for the baby to come in April. I know that most of January I was sick and for a week in December I was sick. That took away almost 4 weeks of my productivity. I know that if that happens again or if something else comes up that I will not have time to prepare everything I want to prepare before she gets here. So over the past few weeks I've been crossing off things that 'feel' early but really are just making space for me to have downtime, relax with the kids, or cross something else off the list that isn't as pressing. Try this method! It brings you so much joy and relieves so much stress!
I hope this list helps you figure out a system of being more prepared so you're not feeling totally stressed when life comes at you!