Time Saving Tips Pt. 1

Everyone wants to save time doing the required stuff so they can spend time doing the fun stuff, whether you’re a mom, dad, living the single life, or whatever.  When you’re “adulting” there are some things that are required which aren’t always glamorous but if we can make those things take less time then we have more time for the fun stuff.

1. Outfit planning – I read in a blog a few years ago about planning out outfits for the whole week and that revolutionized my mornings.  It’s amazing to not have to think about clothes for the week.  I have taken this a step further and added accessories to the outfit in little baggies which allowed me to go through my jewelry and make sure I’m actually wearing it instead of it sitting in my jewelry box.  I also set up the Munchkin’s outfits when clean laundry in an over the door shoe organizer so when I am trying to get her ready, just pick an outfit out of the pocket and you’re ready to go.
   
   

   
2. Batch cooking – I’m fairly new to trying to do this, started as an experiment a few weeks ago to make an attempt at weeknight dinners early.  There is still some tweaking that needs to be done but I cook a bunch of meat, rice/quinoa and veggies one day and then after that it’s been about a 15 minute meal prep on any given night.  I just use a little olive oil, salt and pepper so when I go to cook the actual dinner I can add any other flavor I want.
   
3. Showering with the Munchkin – I am able to kill two birds with one stone.  I found these awesome Crayola ® Fingerpaint Soap in the Dollar Spot at Target and it has made my life so much easier.  She sits at one end of the shower and plays with the “paint” while I take my shower and then transition over to her bath.  I should make the disclaimer that I take short showers (generally under 10 minutes) and I approach showers with a very utilitarian mindset so if you take long showers or want to savor your shower this is definitely not for you.  It saves me the getting soaked when my bathtub soaked Munchkin tries to give me a hug or splash me and having to shower once she’s asleep because currently her crib backs up to the same wall the shower is on so I’m pretty sure she’d sleep through it but not interested in taking any chances right now and once she’s asleep I can spend the next couple hours getting stuff done but also relaxing.  Once I’ve reached a point where I should be going to bed it allows me to get to bed in a timely fashion.
   

Now that my summer is winding down and I’ll be heading back to full time work I know that I’ll appreciate saving time because I’ll want to spend more quality time with my family and more quality time on myself which will hopefully also include some regular exercise.