GAPS Guide

No doubt about it, GAPS is somewhat demanding. The first few months, as we move through the inherent lifestyle changes, a tremendous learning curve and several rounds of die-off, are the most intense. As one person on our support list noted, something’s gotta give! Managing in the longterm, too, is made easier when the rest of our lives are in order.

Here are the ways I have simplified my life so that good food could take over without my falling apart!

Efficiency

• Be where you’re at. Refuse to read or research about anything that doesn’t pertain to your life today. If you’re on Stage 3 of GAPS, attend only to posts, articles and tips about managing Stage 3.
• Take time. Because in terms of any type of work I am only truly effective in absolute solitude, I pay someone to take care of my son five hours a day, six days a week. This is primarily what makes GAPS possible for me. (Consider: No one expects a person to be able to pull off construction or office work with little ‘uns underfoot.) If you have a spouse, ask them to take the kids out for at least two hours a day. Can a friend, relative, neighbour or agency be with them for another hour or two? If none of these is an option but you cannot fully function with the kids at home, consider placing a child in daycare or in school. Although homeschooling is an ideal for many GAPS parents, one might reconsider the mainstream option for at least the first year or two on GAPS.  GAPS is relatively time and labour intensive; you need to free up some space. This said, if having your kids at home is not in itself problematic, simply drop the ‘school’ part. By participating in basic home life, kids learn plenty. There is no need to add specific curriculum. (My GAPS issues required me to drop out of high-school. When I opted for university, I came in top of my classes anyway!) For more on this, see the first point under ‘Getting Help’.

• Unplug the TV and put it in an inconvenient place, such that if you really want to watch a particular show, you can, but it will demand enough effort that you will think twice about wasting your precious time. And quit the news altogether –it’s just not necessary.

• Calculate. I speak from personal experience when I say that Do-It-Yourselfers tend to get very overwhelmed. Often, it is actually cheaper and faster to let someone else do stuff for you. Unless it is vital that you learn this specific skill at this specific time in your life, don’t. So, maybe you don’t have to learn how to make kraut this week. Maybe you don’t have to make your own diapers. If you save $20 doing it yourself, but it took you four hours to do, then it may well be more effective to take a contract paying even $5.50/hr and buying a given product (or paying someone else a little bit less to make it for you).

Getting Help

• Teach. Let older kids help with meal prep. Depending on their ages, they can run a juicer, run a blender, mix, put nuts to soak, chop veggies, saute or find recipes. Back to the topic of homeschooling, this all counts! Meal prep teaches nutrition, math, science and organization not to mention one of the most vital lifeskills.

• Delegate. A spouse or older children can manage the more straightforward activities like laundry, dishwashing, tidying, cleaning, etc.

Food

• Prep one menu. Make only GAPS meals for everyone in the household. GAPS is nourishing for all. If others choose to make additional stuff for themselves, fine, but I sure wouldn’t cook two menus! (If a person is old enough to persist in protesting, he’s old enough to cook for himself!)

• Use simple recipes. Some folks love doing a gourmet approach to SCD. As far as I’m concerned, no recipe should involve more than about three steps!
• Recycle recipes. Have a folder of your five simplest dinners.  When overwhelmed, use one of these.
• Prepare only one meal per day and make it a large batch. Everything else can be leftovers or grab ‘n go (nuts, seeds, fruit, smoothies, pre-prepped snacks). Today we had: grapefruit; a smoothie; leftover soup; yogurt; almonds and (newly prepped) curried eggplant.
• Running shopping list. I developed a list of all my staple foods and supplies. (One day I also went so far as to order the items by location in the store!) Once a week, I print off my list, walk through my house and cross off anything I have enough of for the week. Everything else, I go ahead and pick up. I’m not having to make shopping lists from scratch and I always have all desired ingredients on hand.

De-Clutter

• Reduce. One of the easiest ways to relieve a burden is to get rid of anything you don’t need. This can include a relationship with a person who is draining your energy, the excess mugs that just create a larger dish load, a car when walking or transit is inconvenient, yes, but an option. Into one corner, gather anything you own that you do not need. Is any of it sell-able? If so, ask a friend to sell these on your behalf, with her keeping a percentage of the profit. For everything else, call a thrift shop and ask them to do a free pick up. Do this at least once a week. (It’s a very freeing exercise!) I was very surprised to find, in this process, that my son is far happier with fewer toys than more! Same goes for me. For an easy way to get rid of things, click here.
• Everything in its place – almost. Daily, move all people’s personal items out of common areas and dump (yes, dump) them into their respective rooms. Let them decide what to do with it from there.  This frees up the kitchen for food work.
• Unload. I have recently found I love doing crafts –but I sure don’t want to fill my home with clutter! My solution? Organize a craft session at a local church, seniors center or playgroup. They provide the space, they pay for and store the supplies,  they do the major cleaning –you have an hour of blissful activity, while making the world a happier place for those who join you. At the end, simply walk away and return to your nice, clear home!
• Pre-empt. Call your postal service and ask them to stop all flyers and bulk mail to your home.

Downsize

• Move. Although this may sound drastic, this one worked wonders for me. In my last place, I was in over my head. The space was far more than I needed, demanded a lot of maintenance, cost too much, and was restricting my life in more ways than I even realized! When a small, low-cost rental came up, I jumped at the chance (even though I was scared). Wow! That was way too smart! My new home involves basically no work whatsoever. I just cook. Nice. I expect to make one more move shortly. It will bring me an even smaller place (which is just fine), an even better financial circumstance and, get this, a dishwasher!!