We are bombarded with ‘life hacks’ everywhere we turn. And everyone has their angle, whether it be to save time, save money, save the environment, make life easier or reduce waste. Today’s post is specifically about saving time. I’ve researched and considered the things I do and why, and have come up with my top 10 list to share with you. Read it through and see how many you are already doing and what changes you could make to save your precious time.
A place for everything and everything in its place. This is as old as it is wise. If everything you own has a home it saves loads of time trying to find a place to put it. This is often paired with the ‘one in – one out’ rule. So, if you buy something new you have to get rid of something old to make space for the new item. This works well with children too. When they beg for that new toy simply ask them “Where is it going to live?”. They need to have the space available or get rid of an older toy.
Simple meal prep. Meal planning and prep can seem a daunting task at first but it really saves alot of time on busy days. You don’t need to make full meals ahead of time. Even having the vegetables peeled and chopped can save quite a bit of time and could be what prevents you from ordering fast-food… again. For me, it makes a big difference just having the meat thawing in the fridge and knowing what I’m planning to do with it.
A capsule wardrobe. Knowing that whatever you choose to wear it will all work together makes getting dressed in the morning fast and stress-free. Creating a wardrobe with a colour scheme and a few basic neutrals can free up time in the morning that you could use to make a healthy breakfast or throw supper in the crockpot.
Make Do or Do Without. This one may be more about reducing waste but really if you choose to make do with something you already have you’ve saved time too. The time it would have taken to go shopping for a new thing-a-ma-jig. For example, you want to start some seeds to plant in your garden in a few weeks but you don’t have any pots. Egg cartons will do (the paper kind)and now you’ve saved a trip to the garden centre where you would undoubtedly have spent more money and bought more things than you need.
Set aside a couple hours a week to run errands. Rather than making a trip every time you have an errand to run why not save up your errands, write a list, and do them all in one trip? You may need an hour or two to complete all the errands but imagine how long it would take to do each one individually. You are saving yourself time and reducing the pollution from driving your car.
Eat what you have, not what you want. Every now and then don’t you just want something for dinner that you don’t have in the kitchen? Well, it’s time to get creative and make a meal out of what you already have in the fridge, freezer, and or cupboards. Those tacos you are craving can go on the meal plan for next week.
Automating bill payments. Probably alot of us already get our bills and pay them online which is already a great time-saver compared to the days of needing to go to the bank to pay bills. to make it even more simple why not set up automatic payments online for all your regular bills? Now you don’t even need to remember to check your email for the bill or log onto your banking app to pay it.
Online grocery shopping. This has become more popular since Covid struck but I was using online shopping and curbside pickup long before lockdown. It was a game-changer for me since I developed mobility issues and have trouble walking around these huge grocery stores. Any time I try doing regular shopping I inevitably get to the cash in agony and the cashier will ask ‘Are you alright’. I’ve had to swallow my pride a time or two and let them bag my groceries for me. One sweet cashier even asked me once if I had someone at home to help bring them in. I’m not sure what she would have done if I had said no.
Anyway, even if you don’t have difficulty shopping it is a huge time saver. Especially if you use a store/app that has the ability to tag your favourite things and those you buy regularly. I can pretty much go into my ‘quick shop’ and select everything, set up a time to pick it up and all I have to do is drive to the store. I don’t even have to leave the car as the staff even load it into the trunk!
15-minute family tidy-time. Many hands make light work is what they used to say. I say everyone helped make this mess so everybody better help clean it! I don’t have a big family living with me anymore but the concept is still sound. If you set a time and have everyone work for even 15 minutes a lot will get done. And you won’t be the one doing it all.
Morning routine starts the night before. We’ve written a few posts about morning routines and how helpful they are to get your day off to a great start. However, to make the morning routine run even more smoothly and quickly your bedtime routine can help. Lay out clothes for the next day, have lunches made, and breakfast prepped and make sure all the things you’ll need in the morning are in their places so there’s no hunting for lost items at the last minute.
I remember doing this as a child. I also remember calm peaceful mornings getting ready for school without yelling and rushing for the bus. My mother was, and still is, a very organized lady who taught me alot, mostly by example.
There you go, my ten favourite time-saving tips. Each one is simple and doesn’t take long but small changes can add up to big results in time. What are some of your favourite ways to save time? Let me know in the comments.
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