My Favorite Time, Money, and Sanity Savers

  • By Karen Wilson
  • September 21, 2012
  • 327
                        
Organization Make master lists. Start with a list of meals your family enjoys. You may also want to list meals that efficiently use garden bounty. You’ll save time deciding what to cook and what ingredients to purchase. Create master lists for different types of vacations or travel. I have used lists for business trips, camping vacations, ocean visits, and road trips. I love not having to recreate them each time or worrying that I might forget something important. A meal list for vacations is great too. List all your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly chores. Make a list of periodic expenses and their due dates. Meals Eat at home as much as possible. You’ll save money, time, and calories. When you’ll be out for the day or have errands to run, pack a small cooler of food and drinks. Whether your kids are toddlers or tweens, you’ll enjoy the convenience and cost savings of having healthy food at the ready. If you are traveling, stop at grocery stores. You’ll get more food for less. Many have salad bars and hot food available. We have purchased buckets of wings, salads, and soups for much less than fast food or restaurant prices. Laundry Get kids to carry their share of the load. Make sure they put laundry in a bin, not the middle of the floor. Teach them to wash, dry, fold, and hang all types of laundry. Here’s a trick my kids taught me. Separating laundry is not an absolute necessity. If you have lots of delicate or non-colorfast items, this may not work for you. But, if you have mostly jeans, T-shirts, towels and underwear, you might want to consider it. For several years now, the boys and I have simply thrown everything in the same load and washed in cold water. If possible, buy two washer and dry sets. We did this recently. The boys have one near their bathroom for all their clothes. My husband and I have one in our master suite for all our things. Keeping washers and dryers close to where you remove or put away clothes saves a great many steps. Personal care Take care of yourself. I know it’s basic, but it is also critical. We need enough sleep, good nutrition, and regular exercise to be at our best to meet the challenges of life. I know some circumstances make the basics feel nearly impossible. I thought I might not ever get another full night of sleep when our boys were infants. Such times require some creativity, ingenuity and perhaps help. Because our boys fell asleep easily in the car but immediately awoke if moved, I would take them for a ride in the afternoon then park in my driveway. With the doors locked, I would grab a nap too. To fit in exercise, I either pushed the boys in a double jogging stroller or hit the treadmill before they woke up. Hair and make-up Keep your routine simple. You’ll free yourself to have more time for living. Start with a good haircut. Work with a stylist to choose something that compliments your face and gives you the functionality you need. A well done cut will look good without a lot of fuss. I lean toward styles that give me the versatility to wear my hair up or down. Knowing how to pull my hair into a quick ponytail, chignon, or braid gives me added flexibility. Another bonus of simple hair is the ease of exercising in the middle of the day. Kid Cuts Learn to cut your children’s hair. Borrow a couple of videos from your library, purchase a few inexpensive supplies and you’re ready to go. I started when our boys were toddlers. I figured that by the time they started paying attention to how their hair looked, I would be able to give them a decent cut. Unpleasant tasks Conquer your dreaded tasks by timing them. You’ll find they take considerably less time than you think. I hate blow drying my hair. My brain says it must take at least 30 minutes, but my watch insists that it is just three. Learning and entertainment Use your library. You’ll find a bounty of books, videos, audiobooks, games and more. Check out their special programs, too. Learn things from gardening, to jewelry making to using computer programs. Story times and children’s activities make learning fun for little ones. Our family has benefitted from thousands of dollars of materials over the years. I have also used the library to prescreen books I am considering purchasing. I usually only purchase books that I know I will use repeatedly like cookbooks and other references.


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