I came across this today:
Moms everywhere seem to share the same problem: There’s not enough time to get everything done, let alone do it well and 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.
Some “Time Saving” tips:
- 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.
- Stop wasting time looking for things you use often, like scissors, reading glasses, or baby wipes. Stock up and keep duplicates in the rooms where you spend the most time.
- Designate 30 minutes after dinner for cleaning —
- 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.
- 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 the table the night before and put items like bowls, utensils, cereal, fruit, toaster, and bread out to avoid a morning rush.
- Limit personal e-mail and computer time to twice a day.
- Hire a babysitter for a couple of hours on the weekend so you can tackle household duties and errands without kids in tow.
- Chop all your vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the week’s meals at one time so everything will be ready for cooking.
- dd important appointments and activities to a master calendar in your e-mail in-box and set up reminders for up to one week ahead.
- 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.
- 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 cardboard boxes labeled “donate,” “trash,” or “consign” in the garage or storage closet to routinely rid your house of unused items and clutter.
- Designate a cabinet in your kitchen for medicine so you’ll have easy access to everything from pain reliever to bandages when and where you need them. Make sure it’s secured with a child-safe lock.
- Sort medicine into small, labeled storage bins — one bin for children’s medications, one for adult cough and cold remedies, one for first-aid supplies, and so on, and keep them in the locked cabinet.
- Keep a pack of thank-you cards in the glove box of your car or in your daily planner so you can write notes while sitting in the car or waiting for a doctor to see you.
- Keep an assortment of greeting cards on hand, filed by occasion. You’ll save time on trips to the store, and you can quickly take care of an unexpected birthday or send off a heartfelt condolence.
- Forget sorting laundry. Wash everything in cold water.
- Soak before you wash. Fill your sink or a bucket with soapy water and place dirty dishes, bottles, and other cooking and eating items in there. When you get around to them, they’ll be much easier to clean
