Good morning. Happy to be back with another “Readers Weigh In” post. You all are brilliant and I am learning so much from you. With over 40 ways to save time, I know you’ll stumble upon something you can incorporate in your own life. I’ve already adopted two of these ideas into my daily routine.
“Hide your phone for a few hours.” – andso8806
“Any list app connected to Alexa. Easy to add items when I am cooking.” – Betsyhasson
“I make all my kids PBJ sandwiches for the week on Sunday. Freeze, grab and go.” – angbobby19
“Be careful how much time you spend on social media! ” -cjlagasse
“Meal planning and batch cooking! A load of laundry a day, prep the night before anything you can.” – natalierose_schmalz
“One small load of laundry every day.” -alissaferry
“If it takes less than 1 minute to do, do it right away.” -angplusthree
“Curbside grocery pickup.” -jules1102
“Stay off your phone!” -kitskorner
“I organize my entire week on Sunday in one hour in my bulletjournal.” -christin_seguad
“Batch your errands.” – my_california_living
“Everyone for 15 minutes cleans and preps for the next day before bed.” -alexmom17
“Buying frozen cauliflower rice instead of making your own.” -mjarvis29
“Get all machines going while you are working.” (washer, dishwahser, etc.). -katsalinas12
“Batch like tasks together. Do all your errands on one day.” -krisluvshores
“For big holidays, set the table the day before.” -whehlers
“When cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, I immediately put leftovers in lunch containers for the next day.” – figuerasfamily
“I call my kids/friends on my way home from work to catch up.” -difit23
“Each Sunday evening, my son picks out his clothes for the entire week. Easy mornings!” -figuerasfamily
“Stay off social media.” – simplylkjblog
This has been a huge one for me. I have a notepad next to my laptop. As soon as I sit down I make the to-list of things I need to accomplish while online and I work my way through the list. It has saved me so much time and keeps me on track.
“Ordering groceries for pick up.” – alpowledge
“Prepping things the night before. Lunches, outfits, etc.” – haleykate21
“Doing chores around the house on my lunch break.” -jaimeepriode
“Always having a travel toiletry bag packed. Just add a cinched makeup back on top.” – cjeremy15
“Get up earlier to get more done.” – cas101112
“Make ahead Christmas morning casserole.” – carleymill2146
“Food prep one day a week to save on cooking time on week nights when you’re crazy busy.” -kevans328
“Instacart or other gorcery/delivery pick up service. Also a great way to save money.” – klaaslane
“My daily planner.” – nana94wright
“Set a timer for 20 minutes every morning before you leave the house. Use the time to do chores.” – saoruns
“Frozen crockpot meals.” -kellijoy1203
“Watch IG stories while getting ready . . . or sometimes I watch my Netflix shows.” – bchutch
“Use timers on washer and dishwasher so the next to-do is waiting for you instead of you waiting for it.” – melanie_lape
“Plan ahead. It seems obvious, but always surprised how many people don’t do this.” -aealbrecht_
“Pack lunches when wrapping up leftovers.” – tracywartman
“Clean as you go – for everything. Then you don’t have a huge mess/pile to deal with later. “- fitz_and_frannie
“Audio books! Can drive and listen. Clean and listen. It’s the best! “- bchutch
“Hello air fryer! Saves cook and clean up time. “- kicksncotton
“Be organized. Don’t put something off that can be accomplished in less than five minutes.” – luckyjthompson77
“I order as much as I can online. Then have it delivered or I pick it up if it’s local.” – aninspiringhome
Thank you to everyone who took a moment from their day to help us all save some time. I am already working on my master grocery list (love this idea) to print and I am going to try start listening to more podcasts or audio books as I do chores around the house. Excellent ideas.
Looking forward to continuing this series with all of you. I feel like it’s our chance to sit and have coffee and share ideas. Did you miss the first one? No problem. Get caught up below.
I have thought about a master grocery list and figured it would take forever. But as soon as I read this I started making a list and realized how easy it really is! So excited to get this done…tired of coming home from a big grocery trip only to realize I’m out of coffee filters or dish soap or you name it! 😳
Couldn’t agree more. I read that idea and immediately knew I needed to do it. I feel like I recreate the wheel almost every week.
Have a great day.
My husband made a spreadsheet of the aisles in our grocery store so we write what we need in the aisle where it is located in the store. Keeps me from getting to the last aisle and realizing I missed something and have to go all the way back to Aisle 1!
I love this series. So creative and fun to learn what works for other women/families. Keep it going….
Thank you, Sandra. I feel the exact same way. I just love hearing what works for everyone. So many amazing ideas.
I also love this series, we can learn so much from others! Thank you for allowing us to share. 🙂
Forgot to reply to your poll. One thing that has saved me so much time is the Wunderlist app. You can make a list for ANYTHING, and even better, you can share with others. So, I’ve got my normal Target, Costco, Trader Joe’s lists that my husband and older son can add to when they need something all the way to Wish Lists for certain people, to-read lists, movies to watch, etc. It saves me time, as when I’m out and about, I can quickly access the lists from my phone & check off the item. Plus, the app saves your completed to-do, so you can refer back to what you normally buy at any given store to jog your memory. I used to be a paper grocery list person, but no more. My husband and I also have a “to talk about” list, which eliminates the crazy texting back & forth during the day. A couple times a week we look at the list & get it done! Life changing for our family!
Yes this! I was going to write nearly the same thing. I keep seperate lists for grocery stores/Costco/hardware store, lists for each Christmas with every person or group named so that as I pick things up as gifts I note the item and storage spot under each person (ie. the task is a person’s name, and notes inside the task might have their current sizes or interests, item purchased, hiding spot, price paid so I can stick to a budget), packing lists for various types of trips (overnight, beach, out of town extended time, to the off-grid cabin), garden notes so I know what I planted in which garden bed with photos of plant tags and such, a cheat sheet of neighbors names on our street with their kids and pets and so on (has come in handy when a dog needs returning home, or one neighbor works away so we hardly see him but I needed to label a gift tag for a little thing for him), items I need to pick up for work as I teach, a list of meals we make regularly so if we are stuck when meal planning we can look through it, and a home list with dimensions/paint colors/battery sizes/furnace filter dimensions/other stuff I only need to look at once in a while – among others.
Starbucks mobile orders, I never wait for coffee anymore. Huge loads of laundry, bought a new washer and dryer at largest capacity so I do only two loads of laundry a week. We hang up all shirts , even T-shirts on hangers it is quicker than folding and keeping drawers tidy. Never fold underwear just keep in shoe box in drawer. No shoes in the house keeps cleaning at min. Always make phone calls during my commute, of course hands free.