Time Savers

[Karen1]

We mentioned this in a few other threads. No time.

Let list some great time savers.

One thing I always do is use the night deposit at the bank. Means I can stop by the bank any time of day or night. If I drive by and they are open, I might use the bank then.....mostly I do it so early in the morning or so late at night or sundays, that the night deposit means I am never a slave to bank hours.

What is one of your best time savers? If we can get up enough of them, maybe we can make ourselves some real relaxation time out of all the hints.

What takes up your time, but you have cut that time down by finding a new way of doing it?

[Karen1]

Oh--another for me is put all bills on automatic payment. I love this and have 2 stupid bills left to get online. Tony's cell phone (which he has to do cause they say I can't..LOL) and Tony's medical bill I am paying off.

But I rarely write checks so that just saves me time.



(warming disclaimer)--LOL---all suggestions won't work for everyone. LOL
some love checks and their bookkeeping system....whereas I don't care if all is on automatic withdrawl.

[Siebrie]

Between when I come home from work and when dh has dinner on the table, there are usually 10 minutes. I get changed into my at-home clothes quickly, and then either load the washing machine, put up the laundry or take down the laundry. In-between I cuddle and chat with my dd 13m.

[Grainlady]

1. Eliminate and avoid clutter which can cut down on chores. Our theory is, if we don't dirty it, we won't need to clean it (or clean it as often).

As an example of saving time, we no longer get magazines because they were cluttering up the place with good intentions to go through them one more time... First they sat on the kitchen counter to be read a.s.a.p., then the magazine rack when we didn't get a round to reading it - stacked up and moved to the basement, and eventually hauled out of the basement to be put out with the recycling.

We only get the Sunday newspaper (mainly for the coupons).

A messy environment is a terrible place to get anything done and one of our biggest time wasters. If you keep belongings in specific places, then you don't have to waste time looking for them. I keep scissors in EVERY place we need them (the FoodSaver basket to cut the FoodSaver bags, kitchen drawer for food-use, the desk drawer, by the washer/dryer....). I don't have to waste time tracking down the one pair that never seems to be where you need it.

2. Do-it-now attitude.

-When we get up in the morning, the first thing we do is make the bed - it takes 15-30 SECONDS. We are both there when we get up, so now we don't have to worry about making the bed at another time when we are both there again.

-We do the dishes, clean up the kitchen and take out the trash as soon as the meal is over (10-15 minutes). Then we can enjoy doing other things the rest of the night besides trying to get up the energy to do the dishes.

-Take care of mail as soon as you bring it in the house. Put bills in the bill paying folder, junk in the recycling, and anything else that has a "home", in that home.

3. Routine...

Regular routines are like the grease in the wheel of a busy person. It makes things run smoothly with fewer surprises.

4. Keep a running list...

Things to do, groceries you need to buy, scheduled maintance you need to attend to, appointment for check-ups...

5. Ready-set-goooooooooo

Have the freezer stocked with meals and foods ready-to-thaw and eat. When I make almost anything, I make enough to have some in the freezer (cook once, eat many times). It takes as long to make 1 loaf of bread as it does 3.

Set the table for breakfast the night before, and do as much food preparation as possible the night before. If I'm making muffins for breakfast, I'll mix up the dry ingredients in a bowl, and possibly have the liquid ingredients ready to go in the refrigerator.

6. Share the load....

Dust cloths are ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL! Vacuum cleaners don't come with height restrictions. Even a small child can tear lettuce for a salad. Everyone over the age of 4 should be able to make their own bed. All play and no work make children who are unable to cope in the real world.

[Elizabeth CM]

I have 5 household tips that I try to keep to - not always successfully, but when I do they save me loads of time!!

1) Use part of a weekend day to "cook ahead" - salads, bread, brown meat, whatever so you can have food on hand for meals during the week.

2) 2 of those pop-up mesh squares in each bedroom for laundry - one for whites, one for colors.

3) Don't sort socks. Make a "sock basket" for each and let them find their pairs.

4) Dishes before dinner. Have the family help set the table, load the dishwasher, wipe down the counters as you're finishing cooking dinner. Then the only thing to do after it's over is about 5 minutes and you're done for the night. This feels like it saves me hours

5) Hang 'em out of the dryer - have a stack of hangers by the dryer and a pole. Hang everything that can possibly be hung (shirts, pants, even nightgowns!) right out of the dryer.

And my all-time favorite is not Domestic - it's technology. If you're a TV-watcher, build a DVR. You can load TiVO on a PC and hook it up to your TV. No monthly charges and all our favorite shows ready on demand. My husband did it for us and I have to say, I watch less TV and watch my favorite shows when it is absolutely convenient for me - folding clothes, writing thank-you notes, whatever.

[dschipman]

Great tips everyone. I do alot of these, and will pick up some of the others. One of the things I do that helps to free up my weekends alot is each day is set aside for one chore. I always do laundry on Wednesdays, I only vaccuum on Tues and Fri, I load the dishes as I dirty them and unload the washer every morning if need be. The bathroom gets cleaned Monday and Friday. I usually dust about 3 times a week (have animals), but all in all, my weekends are pretty much free for DH and me. I might to a small load of laundry, but otherwise time together is more important.

[Nana2two]

Have kids get all stuff ready the night before school. Clothes,backpack ready ect.

[mauimagic]

Mahalo for the great ideas. What works for me is planning - food, laundry, clothes to wear - for me - I need a written plan. greatly simpllifies my life.