Do you have an awesome tip that makes your life easier? Please share it with us so that we can implement them in our lives!
My tip is invest in a lights timer. You can find these at your local home improvement store for about $5. You plug them into the electrical outlet and then plug the device into the side. The device will not turn on until the designated time on the timer. Here are a couple great uses for it:
Put it on a lamp in the front room of your house. Set it to turn on at dusk and you will never come home to a dark house again!
Plug the crock pot into it and set the timer to run for the exact cooking time. No more burnt or dry food because you didn’t make it home in time to turn the crock pot off!
Got anymore tips to share?
Tabatha @ Mom's Best Kept Secrets says
Come up with a morning and evening routine! I have mine posted on my blog but for the most part if I didn’t have these routines my days would be so jumbled and disorganized that I would never get anything done!!
Yooper Mommy says
Awesome post! Thank you for starting it!
Christina says
Color code things. Not only will it help you visually remember things, but it’s also pretty to look at. ;-)
Meredith says
We keep a basket full of sunscreen near the front door. This way we have a visual reminder to use it before we go out.
We also have a small basket for each of the members of our family on a shelf near the front door. In the summer it holds each person’s sunglasses, chapstick, baseball hats, etc. In the winter it holds mittens & winter hats. No more searching for these things at the last minute.
Meredith says
We have under bed storage boxes under each of the beds in the house. The sheets for that bed are stored there (I don’t even fold them – I hate to fold fitted sheets). When we change the sheets, they are right where we need them. This makes it easier for my 6 & 7 year-olds to help out, too!
Christina says
GREAT IDEA! Thank you!
momsthriftydeals says
Delay Start on the washing machine. I can program my washer to start 1 hour before I get home that way I can just throw it in the dryer when I get home. It is a super easy way to do a load a day.
I also gave up on folding some clothes – for instance my son’s PJ drawer. I don’t any of the clothes in it. He is two and just takes them out when he plays. Give up on things that don’t really matter.
Christina says
I think thats the best tip right there…..”Give up and the things that don’t really matter.”
Thank you for that. :)
Lyn says
I make pasta in bulk. I make the box and measure it out in servings so I always have a healthy quick option available in the fridge.
DIANE says
2 ideas:
1. There are 7 people in our family, and 7 days a week. Each person is assigned a laundry day. That is the only person whose laundry gets done that day. So on monday, child #1 strips his/her bed, washes their laundry, dries, folds, puts away and makes their bed. This works REALLY well during summer vacation from school. It’s “ok” during the school year, but that is more me than them. lol
2. a White Board (i know. I’m sooo A.D.D, but I try really hard to control it). We have a dry erase board\bulletin board combo at the front door. Every day I write the day\date. The weather. The school lunch. Our dinner. any activities for that day. The bulletin board has the pocket folder with the pre-printed \fill in the blank absentee notes, the school lunch menu, and the breakfast menu…not to mention birthday and santa lists!
missy says
When I do the laundry I hang an entire outfit on a hanger. The slack, blouse,bra and undies all on the hanger that way I just grab a hanger and already have the outfit matched. Same for DH with his pants, dress shirt and tie.
I tried the “tip” once of telling my teenage daughters to have the house clean by the time I got back from my walk….didn’t pan out AT ALL!!!! LOL LOL
Angela says
I’m a big fan of a color-coded calendar. work items in blue, school in green, fun things in purple, and appointments in red! Keeps us more organized!
Jenn says
I’ve turned the door to our garage (the main door we use) into my organizational center. Our family calendar is there (at eye level so I see it every time I leave). Since the door is magnetic, I have magnetic pockets where I can put coupons and mail that needs to go to the post office. I have a bunch of magnetic clips to hang items that need to go to school, the dry cleaner receipts, my shopping list and my to-do list. Because I use that door so much I’m constantly being reminded of what I have to do.
Hope says
I’ve always wanted to try this but haven’t gotten around to it. I think this thread my kick me into high gear.
Set a timer (on oven, microwave, etc.) for a small amount of time (10-15 minutes). This time will be dedicated to cleaning. I’ve heard that you will be amazed at what you can get done in 15 minutes.
I’ll take that result and multiply it by 4 if I can get my husband and kids involved. Plus, it will help teach my kids the concept of time.
marie says
I use a sweater organizer that normally hangs from your closet rod.. as a toy organizer in my living room…the canvas kind. We turned the organizer on it’s ‘back’ and have compartments for all the toys that end up in the living room as we have many kids and a small house…it looks nicer than a toy box …the sides are low enough so the kids can get and put up their own toys…fairly inexpensive as well. We also use one of the canvas over the door hangers that are made for shoes as storage for hats. mittens and scarves in the winter…everyone has their own ‘row’ and when the weather warms we store the winter items and replace them with soccer shin guards and knee/elbow pads and all the summer items that can;t find a home and everyone knows what belongs to who (whom??)
DIANE says
marie, what an awesome idea! We use those sweater hangers for inside the kids’ closets. In THEORY, they are to put one outfit (from sox to shirt) in each cubby. It has 6 spots.
They are really good at doing this at teh start of the school year, but now they’re in the groove. They don’t need it so much, and I don’t fight it. but it is a really good time saver (and headache saver!)
Christina says
I use one of these too….but I used it when I didn’t have much shelf space in my old apartment. So I would put canned goods, or laudry soap, or hats and gloves in it. It worked great. Now I used it in my daughter’s closet and it’s great for her blankets and other random baby things!
Plus, there is a site out there that shows you how to make a garden out of a show holder thing! I might try that!
Joelle says
The one tip that makes my life easier is emptying the dishwasher every morning. It takes about 5 minutes, & I feel like I accomplished something for the day. It also allows for my kitchen to not get cluttered with dishes. Everything can go right into the dishwasher.
Amanda C says
Start them young is my tip. My 4 year old has learned how important it is to conserve water and energy. She turns the lights of when she leaves a room and reminds her daddy to do so as well. She loves to put stuff in the recycle bin so everytime we finish something off she’s eager to place a bottle, can or box in the bin. I think Curious George and Disney have helped make being Green fun for kids.
Jennifer says
I got a bunch of great tips of “Fly Lady” which work wonders for full-time working mamas (even SAHM too!). Before you go downstairs in the morning, get ready. Put shoes on – make up – clothes….that way you are more likely to actually do something. :) Put a load and transfer a load of laundry over every morning so it doesn’t pile up. When you are done getting ready in the morning, wipe down your bathrooms with a wipe. :)
Diane says
Our front lights and lights outside the garage are on the same switch. We replaced the switch with a timer, available at HD and Lowes, this way we don’t have to worry about leaving the lights on. It’s wonderful, we had it at our last home and purchased one for this house as I really missed it when we moved in.
There is a setting for weekdays, weekends and mornings as well.
Denise-Scrapmouse says
The timer works great for children who are old enough to shower by themselves but don’t realize how long they take in the shower. So set the timer for 10 minutes and it helps them speed up. No more 30 minute showers wasting water and time. And you no longer have to sit there looking at the clock to make sure they hurry. We moms are busy enough.
Other tips I use:
Plan your weekly menu on Sunday and decide what if any groceries need to be purchased after checking your pantry and fridge.
Make kids school lunches the night before and have kids lay out their clothes the night before. Both of these save morning rush hour headaches.
Also each day after school I sit down with each child and we go through their backpack to see what the homework is for the night, check for any handouts, and any permission slips. This prevents the “I forgot” syndrome that kids are famous for.
And my last tip is I use a planner. I have a Franklin planner. I’m still old school because I use their paper version, but I know some people use electronic organizers. Just because I’m a stay-at-home mom doesn’t mean I can’t use a planner. It helps me to not forget anything. Because afterall as a mom, we aren’t allowed to forget. LOL. I write down everything in my planner such as kids’ school project due dates, afterschool activities, concert dates, school half days, no school days, DH vacation days. I even write down what I need and want to accomplish that day like cleaning the living room, grocery shopping, bargain shopping, laundry, cut & sort coupons, and I even set aside time to scrapbook. My planner let’s me see what’s happening each day, each week, and each month in our household. It has saved me headaches from the “I forgot” syndrome, prevents scheduling conflicts, and it makes me more productive. I highly recommend a planner.
Well, I think that’s enough from me. Sorry to be so long but hopefully some of this will help others.
Randi says
This may sound strange to some, but I finally convinced my husband to do a “family closet”. Since we didn’t have a spare room, ours is in the garage (we don’t park our vehicles in there), with the exception of his clothes.
We put all the girls dressers, and my dresser out there. Now when I fold clothes instead of sitting in baskets, they go straight into the dressers and it doesn’t take as much time. The kids are much more eager to help.
Also I teach them to sort their dirty clothes when they go into the laundry baskets. Even my youngest knows that dark colors go in on, and towel in another…….lights are another thing, lol. When you do as much laundry as we do, any time savers will help!
Gwen says
My fiance’s 7 year old daughter likes to pick out her own clothes, but we always seem to have arguments about which clothes are appropriate for the weather. I created a chart with tops, bottoms, shoes, and coat categories, and assigned temperature ranges to different seasons of clothes.
Now we look at the temperature forecast for the day, and the chart tells her if she needs to wear pants or shorts, and long sleeves, short sleeves or tank top, and sneakers or sandals, and if she needs to wear a heavy coat or a light jacket.
She can get dressed on her own, and I don’t need to argue to get her to wear the right clothes. Now matching… that’s a whole nother story…
Randi says
This would work so well with my 7 yr old! She is always trying to wear something that just doesn’t work for the weather-seriously jeans when it’s a 100 degrees and dresses when it’s raining!
Gwen says
Yeah, our issue is the dresses. She loves her little tank top dresses and would wear them all year round if she could. Now that it’s getting a little nicer out, it’s hard to convince her that while it IS really sunny out, its still not warm en0ugh for tank top dresses.
Emily says
LOVE the chart idea. My 5 year old daughter also loves her tank dresses and would wear them year-round without tights if she could. I may just have to try this. Thanks for sharing.
Jeanette says
I don’t have a tip. I just wanted to say that I love your blog!!!
Jennifer says
Kind of a sanity saving tip with the timer – I set the kitchen timer when the kids are fighting over a certain toy, marker, etc. When the timer goes off, it is time to trade. :)
Maura says
One time saving trick that I have heard before but only tried for the first time last week is: if you have a pan/dish with a lot of baked on gunk, place a dryer sheet in and let it soak a while and the food comes right off when you’re ready to wash. It’s quite a time saver!
Shellie says
I can’t live without my timer. When my kids were real little and sharing was a lot harder I’d use it for take turns. Now I use it for TV or computer time. No nagging, when the timer go’s off your time is up. I also use it for chores I don’t want to do (I’m a huge procrastinator). I tell myself, today I’m cleaning the storage area in the basement for 20 minutes. When the timer go’s off, I’m done. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in just 20 minutes.
Jac says
I really like the idea of setting a timer for things you’d normally procrastinate on. I am going to have to try this!
MM says
I like to fill up the sink (we don’t have a dishwasher) and wash the dirty dishes I use to prepare dinner/lunch/etc. as I am cooking to help eliminate a ton of time cleaning up after dinner is ready. Also, that way the dishes are drying while we eat dinner and I don’t run out of room in the dish drainer because they are dry by the time we finish eating.
Tara says
Love the crockpot tip!
Meal planning has made my evenings so much easier. I usually sit down with the ads on Wednesday (I always shop on Thursday) and plan the menu for the next Monday-Sunday. This saves me lots of time during the week and my family eats more nutritious meals!
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
I really need to get better about this too!
MM says
I also need to get better at this. It really eliminates the “what do we have for dinner” syndrome!
Jennifer says
Yes it does! and it really does help! You already know what you are having so you know you have the ingredients! No guess what! and you can eat better!!
Jessie :) says
I have a 2 small boys ages 1 and 3. We were having big fights over sippy cups. I put great use to the can koozies that we had laying in our junk drawer. Now each boys have their own color and know which cup is theirs. There is no more fighting and it was way cheaper than buying new sippy cups.
Michelle C. says
A great use for that timer would be for limiting your child’s TV time. Schedule their TV to only come on at a certain time of the day. Does it work in turning things off too?
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Yes it sure does!
RK says
Great topic! When I pack my lunch for work, I try to do several lunches at once. I already have all the food out, so it cuts down on time, and I end up creating fewer dirty dishes that way, too (because, for example, I might need a spoon to spoon something into a container to take to work. If I go ahead and use that same spoon for everything else, I save on dishes). I do it twice a week – Sunday (for Monday through Wednesday) and Wednesday (for Thursday – Friday).
Jennifer says
I do the same thing for my husband’s sandwiches! Even same days! Works great!! and saves time!!
brenda says
cleaning ladies…no seriously….along the same theme of lights…i was so tired of turning out the lights in my boys room b/c they couldn’t reach it. So i ordered this neat little gadget from one step ahead http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=206&cmSource=Search
it’s a light switch you attach to their light switch to lengthen it so they can turn it on and off themselves. It is the best gadget I have ever bought!
Jen says
love the crockpot in that little timer idea. I had an egg casserole I wanted to do in the crockpot for easter, but all comments on the recipe said not to cook it for the full 8hours because it burns. I couldn’t do it overnight because I didn’t want to set my alarm to wake up in the wee hours to shut the crockpot off. This would have worked like a charm!
Maybe not so ingenious, but each of my kids have a basket. As I find things lying around the house I put them in their basket. 10 minutes before bed I hand them each their basket and have them put their things away. Now I’m done nagging them throughout the day. I’m done cleaning up after them as they leave everything out. Works great for sloppy hubbies too!
Elizabeth S. says
I use to always go to bed with makeup on because I’m tired at night and never feel like washing my face. I now keep a package of baby wipes in my living room and use one to take my makeup off every night while I’m watching TV. My skin is grateful!
Jessie :) says
I use baby wipes also. They are way cheaper than what the cosmetics companies sell and also are very gentle on my sensitive skin.
Hope says
Thank you for this one! I hate taking makeup off. If I can sit a pack of wipes on my nightstand and do it just before I fall asleep, that would work wonders for my complexion.
Jen B says
I’ve started this a few months ago and it really helped with my sanity and energy. I schedule clothes washing days on Sunday and Wednesday and folding day on Monday and Thursday. I find that if I do laundry everyday, I’m tired and the kids complain everyday( they fold their own clothes and all the towels). I don’t wanna hear complaining everyday. So if I break it up, it’s not so over whelming. And I’m not so tired of doing it. And we get it down quickly. Less stress is wonderful.
Wendy says
This is a cool gadget!!!