sort the buckets

Sorting the Buckets and Cleaning the Kitchen 
A bowl of fruit on a counter.

We’re not ones for putting on airs, but we came across an idea lately that has us thinking about fine dining.

In French, it’s mise en place. (To get kind of close, you can say it like “mee zon ploss.”) For those who aren’t in the know, mise en place is French for “sort the buckets.”

Just kidding.

It’s a culinary term for “gathering” or “putting in place.” It’s the practice of preparing the kitchen workspace before service begins. You organize the ingredients. You put together what you’ll need at arm’s reach, and you tidy away what you won’t need for a while.

It can refer to the time you put into the process, and it can refer to the state of mind you get into.

Sound familiar? When we work on your financial plans and planning, we have called this process “sorting the buckets.” (Now, say it again with a French accent!) We take stock of our resources and arrange by time horizon. What do I need now? What will I need later?

What am I low on? What could use some tidying up? Sometimes even a quick review and a few small moves can make a world of difference. More things become possible with a little organization—and a little space to work.

There’s a certain calm afforded us when we know how we’re going to pay the bills, where we would go in an emergency, and what we can turn toward for the future.

That’s “sorting the buckets.” That’s mise en place.

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Sorting the Buckets and Cleaning the Kitchen – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.

Living on Purpose
photo shows a highway stretching out into a blue sky

Some say the young believe themselves immortal. When our whole lives seem to be ahead of us, it feels like there is plenty of time to do whatever we intend to do.

But we know the mortality rate is 100% in the long run. More than 3 million people died last year in the United States, about 1 person in 100.

And in our experience, many people coming to grips with their own mortality come to believe that life is short—no matter their age.

If it’s true, then how do you fill in the blank? “Life is short, I better ___________.”

In the prior chapter of my life, we filled in the blank with “we better have a little fun every day.” That’s still appropriate in this chapter, but I ponder what else fits in the blank these days.

Interestingly, some things are so basic to our natures they go without saying. A person who is consistently kind and empathetic to others might not think to fill in the blank with “be kind” because it is assumed. So thinking about how you might fill in the blank is another way to be intentional about how you live, to do things on purpose.

Maybe that’s what all this is about. By the end of the road, I’d like to know that I meant the things I did and did the things I meant to.

How about you?

Clients, life is short. How can we serve you—and help you connect your money with your one precious life? Call or email, anytime.

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Play the audio version of this post below:

Living on Purpose – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.