Apparently, there really is enough time in the day, but we're just not good at managing it. We're not trying to be supermom; we'd just like to spend more time with our daughter and less time saying, "Mommy has to clean up first..." So, we'll take every tip we can get- a few minutes here and a few minutes there adds up:
The larger principles that have helped us manage time in our home are about not letting things piles up and breaking large tasks into smaller steps.
This list over at TipNut is a great place to get started, and our first tip came straight from there. The rest have worked for us. Please share your own time-saving tips or principles.
• Sort your silverware as you fill the dishwasher. This way, when you put everything away, you just grab a few handfuls and you're done (Alternatively, the sorting part also makes a good job for a toddler).
• Sort your mail as soon as it comes in the door. We keep our recycling bin right under the entryway table and stand there to sort the mail each day. The payoff- no huge pile of paper that's too intimidating to go through later.
• Group like things on your to-do list together. For example, run all of your errands on one day, and make all of your phone calls at a certain time each day.
• Presort your laundry, and place it back in individual bins for each family member to put away.
• Add more structure and routine to your weeks and days. If you do your laundry the same day each week, menu plan another day, or grocery shop another day, you won't waste time each week figuring out how to organize your time!
(Image: Flickr member PV KS under Creative Commons license.)
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I used to sort my silverware but then my husband told me that he read it cleans better all jumbled up...is he just saying that so he doesn't have to sort? Maybe...
silverware DOES get cleaned better when it is "jumbled up"!!!
If you put some facing up and some facing down, I find it cleans just fine when it's sorted. ;-)
oazacaborn's idea is good but we usually have more than just two spoons per conpartment. we jumble. i dont see the difference in sorting before they are cleaned or after they are cleaned??? it still takes time and only about a min.
Ha! My husband and I have this argument all the time! I feel like its so much faster to empty the dishwasher when everything (not just silverware) is sorted. In general you put things in the dishwasher at separate times so its not like you're spending a bunch of time sorting it before hand, just putting like stuff together. Actual time saved is probably negligible, it just seems faster ;)
We have three hampers in our bedroom - colours, whites and lights. Works great, particularly since our laundry room is also our mudroom so there's no room to sort.
Sorting dirty silverware means touching dirty silverware more. I'd rather sort the clean stuff :)
We only have three slots for clean silverware so there's no sorting of little spoon, big spoon, etc. All knives go in one slot, all spoons and all forks the other. I think I've saved hours.
We have our Milk and Groceries delivered weekly. This saves me a huge amount of time. Even considering the delivery fees and tips, it makes up for the hassle of shopping with children and the items purchased that may not have been if I were alone, as well as forgotten items from being distracted. Same goes for other shopping, like gifts, household, etc.
Your husbands unload the dishwasher? Lucky women. ;-)
I order some things on Amazon subscribe and save, and use a shared lists app on our phones (Ourgroceries.com). Buy random toys, etc. on clearance and keep generic gift bags around for kids' parties.
Fry up several pounds of hamburger with onion at once, and freeze in meal-sized portion for chili and casseroles. Ditto for dry beans, meatballs, etc.
I wish we had grocery delivery around here. That would be awesome.
This is a good post. I would never have considered these things to be so time consuming that I could be doing something more meaningful. But I can see how every little bit helps!
I'd suggest including the kids in the cleaning activities, so that it becomes time spent together rather than putting them on hold. My 4 year old loves to sit in the kitchen while I wash dishes, and dry (non-sharp, non glass!) items on her lap for me. Even my 2 year old has a little vacuum that he knows he can push around when we sing the "Clean Up" song. Straightening the home doesn't have to mean isolating the kiddies. Now, the dog, maybe...
The other thing is to do as much prep as possible, for any task. Bed time includes pulling out clothes for the next day, and putting the book bag by the door. Little things like that really help make the time we share in the morning more pleasant.
They suggest doing 2 loads of laundry a day. I have four for the whole week and including all the rags and towels I use instead of paper products AND all the sheets. My son goes through three sets a week at least due to potty training. I can't imagine needing to do 2 loads a day! O.O
@LovieDovie--It greatly depends upon the size of your washer, as well as the size of your family. We have tiny washers that don't wash well if they're too full (coin op washers at our apartment complex). When I wash at my parents' house, I'm always amazed at what fits in their washer. Also, I have three young kids (one is potty training, and one is in cloth diapers). Five people, plus tiny washers, plus cloth diapers, means I do 2-3 loads a day!
Ha. We have one kid in cloth diapers/cloth training pants pl,us a dirty little boy plus two adults. That is equal to about seven loads a week and our apartment washing machines are huge. Luckily, we can do three huge loads at a time so it doesn't take too long.
My husband got me into being a crazy dishwasher organizer and man, it saves tons of time! My silverware is always clean!
HAHA I do all of this and I still have NO time!
pictureyellow - LOL! Too funny! My first question - can you really wash pots 'n pans in the dishwasher like in that picture? I always hand wash pots 'n pans, but I put my plastic cutting boards in the dishwasher per America's Test Kitchen. We do 1-3 loads of laundry a night and select the water amount appropriately. I find shopping lists very helpful - we keep one going on the countertop all the time. I sort mail while my kid settles down at home and takes her jacket and shoes off.
I am a working mom so I try to spend my lunch hour running errands so I have less to do on the weekend and have more time to spend with my daughter. I just remind myself she is only going to be this age once so the laundry gets done tomorrow oh well:)
Great tips!
We store all of our cutlery "jumbled up" in a decorative vase on the counter. At mealtimes the "cutlery bucket" is placed in the middle of the table - everyone grabs what they need. Time saved: sorting as things come out of the dishwasher; putting away or needlessly washing unused items cutlery; setting the table (we just set plates and napkins, which my 2 year old does independently)
My barely 2-year old sorts our silverware while I unload the rest of the dishwasher. He LOVES it. Just make sure to take out the steak knives first.
Once, I actually timed a typical dishwasher unloading/loading process. (Yeah, I'm that nerdy.) Total time, including rinsing the dirty dishes, was about five minutes to unload and five more to load. It's not as big of a job as it feels like.
Now, folding a load of laundry...that takes a depressingly long amount of time....
The reason silverware is supposed to be jumbled is to keep (especially) the spoons from "spooning." If they happen to fall into nestedness, stuff crusted on them might not get washed off. But if it hasn't happened to you so far, it probably won't.
love the debate on jumbling! awesome!
i'm a jumbler but hey to each their own... i always washes my pots/pans (except for cast iron) in the dishwasher... no problem.
dishwasher+husband who loads/unloads it= happy wife
now if only i could get him to remember to turn it on!
I've stopped folding most laundry a long time ago. My drawers are divided into plastic bins for underwear, socks, etc... and things just get dumped in the right container. It might not be as space efficient, but it certainly saves my sanity. Of course, anything that can wrinkle gets hung in the closet.
We have a wheeled laundry sorter that we sort into lights, darks and denim. I have another tall bin for linens and towels and a bag that hangs on a hook above the washer for dry cleaning. When the dry cleaning bag is full it goes to the dry cleaners. All of our clothes are hung up except for underwear and socks. That eliminates the need to fold anything other than linens and towels, keeps my son's closet neater, and reduces the need to iron. My son has his own laundry basket that he is able to use to carry his own dirty laundry to the laundry room and to carry his clean socks and underwear to his room. When I am getting my son's laundry out of the dryer I stick on a pants hanger a uniform set for one school day including pants/shorts, shirt, socks and underwear. It saves dressing time in the morning and allows me to ensure on Sunday that there are enough clean uniforms for the coming week.
Sort your silverware so it takes less time to put it away? Nah.... my KIDS put it away! Saves me the whole cleaning out the dishwasher thing... and gives them some *easy* responsibility for cleaning the house.