Tips to Save Time Every Day

With all we do as women, whether it be working inside or outside of the home, volunteering, raising children, helping grandchildren, decorating or cleaning the house, gardening, carpooling, preparing meals, exercising (the list goes on and on!), we can always use some time saving strategies.

Here are 31 time saving tips, enough for one a day this month!

1) Errands can be grouped together and driven in an organized direction, looping around until you return home (for example, dry cleaners, post office, drug store, ATM, grocery store). Save the grocery store for last so that food won't spoil!

2) Save trips to the bank. Deposit checks by mail (call to find out the correct address) and include a deposit slip from your checkbook in the envelope. Also, have your paycheck deposited automatically. If you need cash, go to the ATM at your grocery store.

3) Order stamps, office supplies, pet food, or even gifts online.

4) When you are a passenger in a car, you could read those items that you have been meaning to get to (for instance, instruction manuals, articles, letters) or do some clothes mending such as attach a button or fix a hem.

5) If you lock your keys in the car, try seeing if someone with a matching key remote can sound the clicker over the phone line. Hold the phone near the car door and it often will open the car. I tried this and it worked!

6) Group phone calls together and prepare by making a calling list first.

7) Keep frequent numbers called on one piece of paper or index card and put it by the phone, inside a cupboard door, or in a notebook.

8) If you have a family with many schedules and activities, keep a notebook with calendars, phone numbers, school information, sports schedules, and organization phone lists (Boy Scouts, PTA, etc.).

9) Tie a pen with yarn or ribbon to a spiral memo pad by the phone so that it won't wander off!

10) Avoid peak hours (for example, dinner time) at grocery stores.

11) Make a grocery list by store aisles and go the same direction each time, usually arriving at the frozen foods last.

12) Make a week's worth of dinner menus, breakfasts, lunches, drinks, and snacks, and using an index card, write the meals on one side and the groceries on the other. Grab and take with you to the grocery store when you have little time to plan.

13) Make double batches of freezable foods. Eat one dinner that night and freeze the other to use two weeks to one month later.

14) Cook large batches of meat, drain fat, and cut up or chop up and freeze for later use.

15) Trim fat off of serving portions of meat and then put in a storage bag with marinade and freeze. Later, thaw in the refrigerator a day or two ahead and cook for dinner.

16) Mark birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, baby showers, etc., on the calendar for the month and shop one time for gifts and cards that month.

17) Put wallets, purses, and keys in the same place every day so they can easily be found.

18) Keep your basic makeup in a small bag or container so that you can quickly get ready in the morning. For example, include foundation, lipstick, mascara, blush, and eye shadow. Extras can be kept in another area.

19) Make a mending kit to keep handy for emergency clothing mishaps. A simple zip-type storage bag can be filled with mini spools of thread, a piece of felt with a sewing needle in it, and mini scissors. This sounds simple, but I have used such a kit many times!

20) Keep spices and pots and pans near the stove and dishes near the sink or dishwasher to eliminate many steps back and forth.

21) Make a list of printer models or ink, vacuum bag styles, anything that needs a certain refill, and keep it in your wallet so that you will be able to get the right type when you are in the store.

22) Have a list of loved ones' sizes for clothing, socks, shoes, and rings for gift buying and keep with you in your wallet or purse.

23) Make a list of items to pack for traveling and save for future use in a file or on the computer. You can then get ready quickly for a trip! I used to have a special list for camping and a special list when I had an infant.

24) Also, make a list of family and friends' addresses and save on the computer for mailing labels to use for Christmas cards or invitations to parties.

25) Keep a clothes hamper for each person in the household in their own rooms so that clothing won't end up on the floor!

26) For a quick pickup of the house, take a laundry basket or other container and go around the house in a logical way, picking up items out of place and dropping them off in the correct room as you get there. You might need to go around twice.

27) Spray vinegar on the walls of your shower 15 minutes early (use a fan or open window) and then rinse off when you get inside. This helps eliminate soap buildup.

28) For fast window cleaning, use a bucket, large sponge, a squeegee, and an old towel. Put the towel at the base of the window to collect drips. Fill half the bucket with water and stir in a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid, apply to the window with the sponge, and gently scrub the window. Squeegee the liquid off by moving from top to bottom.

29) Soak spots on the stove or on the floor for a few minutes with a wet rag and then clean.

30) Try having each family member have only a certain style of socks so that it is easy to find a match. Also, consider giving each family member an assigned color for towels so that they can keep track of their own.

31) Toss any trash from your car into the large bins in front of stores before you shop.

Thank you for visiting!