Lots of you have asked me how I find time to do the things I enjoy, like baking from scratch and gardening, while working all day and parenting in the evening. 
Here are 20 clever ways to save time every day.
As I clear the dinner dishes, I package up any leftovers for my lunch at work the next day.
J-man gets a joke in his lunch each day at school. Instead of looking one up each morning, I write down a bunch of them ahead of time and just pop one in his lunchbox.
At work, I only check email every couple of hours (not every time the icon pops up).
Everybody picks out their work/school clothes the night before, so nobody’s searching for socks in the morning.
I make big batches of breakfast foods and freeze them so the kids can make their own breakfasts (or snacks).
I use a list at Costco or Target and don’t wander around the store. I get in, get what I need, and get out.
I eat the frog. (Do the most challenging task of the day first and get it over with.)
If I get tired of an email newsletter or sale newsletter, I unsubscribe (instead of just deleting each time). This keeps your inbox tidy too.
Touch it once–don’t put paper in a pile to file later, or make a stack to put in the recycle bin next time you go in the garage. Take care of it right away.
At Sunday family dinner, we do a “Peek At The Week.” This is everybody’s chance to mention any appointments, sports practice, commitments, etc so our schedules are in sync.
Say no sometimes. Although I would love to help with the school garden, I can’t juggle that, family meals, J-man’s baseball practice, and volunteer work.
I make a menu plan and only go grocery shopping every 2 weeks.
I floss while Little Peanut (age 2) takes her bath. I have to be in the bathroom to watch her anyway!
I make dinner in the crockpot or Instant Pot so it cooks while I’m at work.
The whole family does “5 Minute Pickup” in the front room. When everybody helps, we can clean in 5 minutes what would take me 20 by myself.
We have a Neato robotic vacuum that sweeps while we’re away.
J-man and Hubby each have one kind of sock (plain white Hanes). No matching, no sorting–little socks are J-man’s and big socks are Hubby’s. Done!
I challenge myself to see how clean I can get the bathroom in 10 minutes. If I don’t set a timer, I will scrub and scrub (or put it off because it’s too big of a job).
If I read a magazine article I want to keep, I tear it out right away and file it. Then I don’t have to read the whole magazine again later, wondering why I kept it.
Little Peanut’s clothes get washed in their own load, as do J-man’s. They can fold their laundry (with help) and put it away so I don’t have to.
I’ll let you decide if this is saving time or cheating, but I have no problem going to bed with a sink full of dirty dishes. They can go through the dishwasher in the morning.
Like this? Check out 20 Clever Ways to Save Money.
This article was shared on Simple Lives Thursday, Frugally Sustainable, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Unprocessed Fridays, Fat Tuesday, and Wildcrafting Wednesday.
CTY says
I think that you are really onto something when you say NO. One of my rules when they got into high school was that I would show up (when i had a time slot) & do what ever was needed, but I would not chair/co-chair any events.
Bill says
I can’t go to bed with so much as a dirty spoon in the kitchen sink! I’m weird that way…
knittedhome says
Great list! Thanks for some great ideas 🙂
lilaeve says
Thanks for the insights – I pretty much do nothing to save time…and never have any of it. Must start being more efficient!
Alison at NOVA Frugal Family says
Love the picture of the sink!! I love that because I have such a hard time not cleaning up before bed but it makes for a long and tiring night. I do love making waffles and pancakes for the freezer when I am already cooking them. They are a great asset to have for any meal because my son loves them! Going to have to remember to floss while my son is in the bath 🙂 Great tips!!!
Becca says
Awesome tips. Some things are easier coupled or done quickly…I waste so much time putzing around to make it perfect or wait for the perfect time to do it. In reality I could have done time 6 time over. To the point – love it!
starlighthill says
Great list; I found several here to put into practice. I particularly like the timer idea. Ten minutes is not such a long time but an amazing amount can be accomplished even in that small chunk.
'Becca says
As another mom with a full-time job, I think this is great advice! I do most of these things myself–although when my son was little, what I did during his bath time was clean the sink and toilet.
As for dishes: Before we had a dishwasher, I found that hand-washing two days’ worth of dishes took me about an hour including set-up and clean-up time, whereas if I washed every day it took about 45 minutes each day. So I could save time by doing more dishes at once! Alternating dish day and laundry day worked well for me–one main chore per evening.
turnoversbaby says
This is so great! I’m a super time-efficent crazy person and I strive to cram in as much as possible, so this was nice to read. I will be flossing tomorrow while my kids take a bath. 🙂
stephanie says
A great list! We have five kids, all grown now. We each (including my husband) had our own laundry day from the time the kids were about 8. They learned to sort the laundry into two loads, light and dark. They washed, dried, folded and put away their own clothes. By not mixing up all the clothes together, we avoided trying to sort out four boy’s belongings. And they learned to do it themselves. When I had extra time and did their laundry for them, they were really appreciative. And when they went off to college, it was one more thing they felt confident about handling on their own.
Hilary says
I do a lot of these things. I do think you have to look for ways to save tie if you want ANYtime to yourself/hobbies/blogging
Joseph Fry says
Awesome list! About the dishes though…it’s usually less expensive to wash at night as that is off peak hours, lower demand, so less of an hourly rate. Check with your local provider…