By Michelle Young |
Moms everywhere seem to share the same problem: There isn't enough time to get everything done, let
alone do it well and do it quickly. Meanwhile, we're tripping over piles of toys and can't find anything in our closet
because we never have time to organize it.
Our families are counting on us too, which means more pressure to whip through all our duties, from grocery
shopping to scrubbing bathtubs. "Moms are always on call," says Susan Newman, mother of five and author of
"The Book of No: 250 Ways to Say It — and Mean It — and Stop People-Pleasing Forever."
"You're on call with your cell phone. You're on call with e-mail. You're on call 24 hours a day. You're on call when
the baby wakes up in the middle of the night." When we add our regular on-call status to our already long to-do
list, we're left exhausted, wishing we had more time just to be with our families instead of running errands.
Sarah Merten says meal planning used to be her biggest "time suck." "We were spending a lot of time at the
grocery store and a lot of money because we weren't planning ahead," says the 32-year-old mom of two boys.
Last year she swapped her late-afternoon ritual of last-minute dinners and almost daily trips to the store for an
organized system of meal planning on an electronic spreadsheet. Now she saves more than $100 a month on
groceries by shopping once or twice a week, avoiding impulse buys and choosing only in-season fruits and
vegetables.
Mapping your menu on the computer may not appeal to everyone. But when it comes to shrinking the time it takes
to do regular chores (and still do a bang-up job), anyone can appreciate having a few great tricks up her sleeve.
alone do it well and do it quickly. Meanwhile, we're tripping over piles of toys and can't find anything in our closet
because we never have time to organize it.
Our families are counting on us too, which means more pressure to whip through all our duties, from grocery
shopping to scrubbing bathtubs. "Moms are always on call," says Susan Newman, mother of five and author of
"The Book of No: 250 Ways to Say It — and Mean It — and Stop People-Pleasing Forever."
"You're on call with your cell phone. You're on call with e-mail. You're on call 24 hours a day. You're on call when
the baby wakes up in the middle of the night." When we add our regular on-call status to our already long to-do
list, we're left exhausted, wishing we had more time just to be with our families instead of running errands.
Sarah Merten says meal planning used to be her biggest "time suck." "We were spending a lot of time at the
grocery store and a lot of money because we weren't planning ahead," says the 32-year-old mom of two boys.
Last year she swapped her late-afternoon ritual of last-minute dinners and almost daily trips to the store for an
organized system of meal planning on an electronic spreadsheet. Now she saves more than $100 a month on
groceries by shopping once or twice a week, avoiding impulse buys and choosing only in-season fruits and
vegetables.
Mapping your menu on the computer may not appeal to everyone. But when it comes to shrinking the time it takes
to do regular chores (and still do a bang-up job), anyone can appreciate having a few great tricks up her sleeve.
© George Bailey/Dreamstime.com
| 30 |
| Time-Saving Tips for Moms |
Here are 30 ways to save time so you can spend more time doing the things you really enjoy with your family.
Now you're armed with a fistful of tips. Still don't know where to start? First you need to decide which duties
require your immediate attention and which you can do later.
Make a list of weekly commitments and write down how much time each one takes, recommends Stacey Crew of
Charleston, S.C., author of "The Get Organized Guide for New Moms." Don't forget to include everything from
scrubbing toilets to volunteering in your child's classroom.
Once a list has been compiled, you'll be able to see what has to be done and what you can skip. This will be a
good indication of whether you can handle additional obligations like pitching in with your child's preschool
newsletter or helping a friend who asks for a favor. If you're on the fence, say no, Newman advises. You'll feel
worse if you can't follow through, leading to stress and emotional exhaustion — something that could translate
into how you interact with your kids.
At the end of the day, Newman says, it's more important to spend time with your family or on your own than to
fixate on finishing chores. Put away your cell phone, log off of the Internet and focus on your kids. Once their
bedtime rolls around, take 15 minutes to rejuvenate yourself by sipping a cup of tea or going for a walk.
Sources:
Michelle Young, M.S. Ed., is on staff at The Center for Youth and Families in Little Rock, AR.
- Assemble your children's outfits when you put clothes away in their drawers.
- Buy several toys at once when you find them on sale for future birthday parties.
- Stock your produce drawer or a lower shelf in your refrigerator with healthy snacks that your kids can grab
without your help. Set up a similar area in your pantry. - Skip ironing and get wrinkles out of a shirt or pair of trousers by putting them in the dryer for 15 minutes
with a damp hand towel. - Designate 30 minutes after dinner for cleaning — and get everyone involved in folding laundry, doing
dishes and clearing away clutter. - Start a monthly meal exchange program with five friends and neighbors. Once a month, cook enough for
five dinners. Stash one in the freezer and take the others to meet up with the group and swap healthy,
freezer-ready main dishes. Then go home with four other meals, and put them in the freezer alongside the
extra one you made for your family. Suddenly you're stocked up with a variety of easy, homemade dinners. - Organize your favorite articles, parenting information and recipes so you can find them more quickly. Place
pages from online sites, magazines and newspapers in page protectors and stash them in a three-ring
binder. - Store your child's outgrown clothes in large plastic bins and affix labels such as "0 to 3 months," "6 to 9
months," "9 to 12 months" and so on. Once your child has outgrown a size, you can easily store the
clothes, loan them to a friend or take them to a consignment shop. - Set the table the night before and put items like bowls, utensils, cereal, fruit, toaster and bread out to avoid
a morning rush. - Shop for holiday and birthday gifts year-round. Whenever you see a great gift for someone you love, buy it
and set it aside for giving later. - Set up a box for bills that need to be paid and stock it with stamps and envelopes.
- Limit personal e-mail and computer time to twice a day.
- Do all of your errands one day a week, working off a list and taking the most efficient route.
- Chop all your vegetables, fruits and herbs for the week's meals at one time so everything will be ready for
cooking. - Add important appointments and activities to a master calendar in your e-mail in-box and set up reminders
for up to one week ahead. This calendar can be shared with family members via e-mail. (Google Calendar,
a free Web-based system, even sends reminders to cell phones.) - "Sort belongings into clear, labeled bins that can be stacked and stowed so your child can easily find things
like DVDs and toys without your help. Use brightly colored labels and picture labels for toddlers and
preschoolers who can't read. - Stop by the Post Office before 3 p.m. on weekdays, when the long lines usually begin to form, so you can
get in and out more efficiently. - Keep disinfecting and glass wipes in the bathroom for quick cleanups around toilets, sinks and mirrors. You
could even do a speedy wipe-down while you bathe the kids. - Keep a phone book in your car to look up addresses and avoid costly calls to 1411.
- Skip folding laundry and instead hang up all clothing except for socks, underwear, linens and towels.
- Open mail with a bin nearby so junk mail and catalogs can be recycled immediately. Even better, sign up
with a free service for reducing junk mail, such as the National Do Not Mail list. - Keep cardboard boxes labeled "donate," "trash" or "consign" in the garage or storage closet to routinely rid
your house of unused items and clutter. - Stock a binder or folder with a list of emergency contacts and household instructions for things like watering
plants, pet care and mail collection so you won't have to write everything out each time for a house sitter or
babysitter. - Sort medicine into small, labeled storage bins — one bin for children's medications, one for adults', one for
first-aid supplies and so on — and keep them in a locked cabinet. Tape the dosage instructions for
common medications like children's acetaminophen to the inside of your medicine cabinet. - Splurge on a fast-drying hair dryer and cut hair-drying time in half.
- "Turn your hangers backward at the beginning of every season. Anything left hanging on a hanger that's
still turned backward at the end of the season hasn't been worn — give it away! - Schedule your child's doctor's appointments for first thing in the morning when you're less likely to have a
long wait. - Get rid of one bag of clothes, toys and books for every bag that comes into the house. It means less stuff to
clean up. - Write down or print out all important phone numbers and place the list in an inexpensive picture frame to
keep by the phone. This way, you won't need to write out contact information for a sitter or grandparent —
just point out the list, and they'll know who to call in case of an emergency. - Forget sorting laundry. Wash everything in cold water.
Now you're armed with a fistful of tips. Still don't know where to start? First you need to decide which duties
require your immediate attention and which you can do later.
Make a list of weekly commitments and write down how much time each one takes, recommends Stacey Crew of
Charleston, S.C., author of "The Get Organized Guide for New Moms." Don't forget to include everything from
scrubbing toilets to volunteering in your child's classroom.
Once a list has been compiled, you'll be able to see what has to be done and what you can skip. This will be a
good indication of whether you can handle additional obligations like pitching in with your child's preschool
newsletter or helping a friend who asks for a favor. If you're on the fence, say no, Newman advises. You'll feel
worse if you can't follow through, leading to stress and emotional exhaustion — something that could translate
into how you interact with your kids.
At the end of the day, Newman says, it's more important to spend time with your family or on your own than to
fixate on finishing chores. Put away your cell phone, log off of the Internet and focus on your kids. Once their
bedtime rolls around, take 15 minutes to rejuvenate yourself by sipping a cup of tea or going for a walk.
Sources:
- Amy Knapp, author of "Amy Knapp's Family Organizing Handbook: 314 Mom-Tested Super Tips, Tricks
- and Secrets to Take Care of Everything with Time Left for What Really Matters."
- Amy Lipton, CEO, Stuck on You
- Kim Danger, author of "1000 Best Baby Bargains"
- Christi Youd, president of Organize Enterprise LLC
- Stacey Crew, author of "The Get Organized Guide for New Moms"
- Moms everywhere, including Urban Mamas of Portland, Ore., and BabyCenter moms who shared their
favorite time-saving tips on BabyCenter's Bargain Hunter's Board
Michelle Young, M.S. Ed., is on staff at The Center for Youth and Families in Little Rock, AR.
This article appeared in the March 2008 edition of Little Rock Family. Used with permission.
| www.marymaywrites.com |