As we are all constantly running around from one task to the next, it seems like there is never enough time in the day. Although we cannot change the amount of hours available, we can develop basic time saving habits that will free up our schedules for more fun with our families. After being a parent for over two years now, here are my top time saving tips for busy parents:
Use a slow cooker! Let the slow cooker do the cooking for you so you can be having fun with your family. If you get in the habit of making slow cooker meals, you will be amazed at how much time this frees up. Also, if you make something in a large quantity, then you will have plenty of leftovers to eat during the week. We typically like to use our slow cooker on Sundays, so we then have our Monday night dinner ready to go (and sometimes Tuesdays too 🙂 ). This also frees up a lot of our time on Sunday to spend with each other as a family.
Regardless of how you prepare your meals, cook in LARGE BATCHES! Even if you don’t own or like a slow cooker, then you should still try to prepare large quantities of food at one time. This means that you are only cooking and cleaning once, versus over and over throughout the week. Also, it is SO NICE to come home from a long day at work to have dinner already made. 🙂
Run your laundry when you first get home. If you do this, then you will have plenty of time to dry your clothes before you go to bed. I am a huge proponent of doing the laundry during the week so you aren’t spending all of your weekend doing chores. I want to spend my few days off having fun and not doing things that I can mostly take care of during the week. Also, try to fold your clothes immediately, so you don’t have piles of laundry sitting around your house.
Run your dishwasher in the evening. This way, you can easily unload it in the morning, before you go to work. Don’t give yourself the opportunity to make a huge pile of dishes in the sink, because it is very easy for this to get out of hand!
Divide and conquer chores between EVERYONE (kids too)! You will be amazed at how much you can get done in 15 minutes if you have all hands on deck. This is super important, so you still have plenty of time in the evenings to have fun as a family. Even though Madeline is very young, we still have her help too. Her current favorite things include feeding Lucy, our dog, and placing her toys in her basket. 🙂
It is also very important for the parents to work together, so there is still time in the evening to hang out with one another. We try to do this a lot, and it really helps! For example, one parent can start giving their child a bath while the other straightens the bedroom and lays out clothes for the next day. This teamwork makes chores super fast, and nobody is stressed since everyone is helping.
Try to sweep and vacuum your floors regularly. This is probably the biggest area that we struggle with because of our dog, Lucy. She sheds VERY badly, so we are constantly having to sweep. It isn’t too bad if you stay on top of it, but if you wait, it can take a VERY long time to do. Nobody wants to spend an hour of their free time sweeping the floors, so commit a few minutes each day so you don’t have to.
Have assigned locations for pretty much everything (or a general area). Make sure that everyone knows where this location is so everything is put up in the right spot (regardless of who is putting it up). This also makes finding things very easy in the morning, which is a bonus. 🙂
What time saving tips do you have? Please let us know, because we love hearing from our readers!
P.S. Please visit us on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram for more fun ideas from One Cheerful Mom!
With the dog, have you thought of getting a roomba (or equivalent)? Friends with pets have them and swear by it for the daily maintenance. Good tip on the laundry timing:-)
That is a GREAT idea!!! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂