Small things that make a big-“time” difference

I love finding new ways to be more productive, especially with my hectic life of raising four kids and working full-time. Some of the things I do come from my need to organize everything, but they help save time (and sometimes money), too. Here are a few ideas you might try:

– Paper everywhere: Have a pad of paper near your bed, in your purse, and in the car, for all those times you think of something and need to write it down.

– Internet bookmarks: Bookmark coupon websites to make your online coupon printing easier.

– Buy in bulk: Buy various grocery and food items in bulk to save you trips to the store and to limit those times when you need something and are out of it!

– Directions: In your car, keep a spiral or printouts of directions to places that you go to infrequently. I always forget how to get to my hairdresser since I only go there every few months! When I used to substitute teach, I kept a spiral of directions to all the elementary schools I taught at in the car. This way I didn’t have to remember how to get to all of them!

– DVR: If you watch TV not in real time, get a DVR. (Now I know that this will not be a timesaver if you end up watching too much TV. However, I love  not having to spend so much time programming and switching tapes as we did before we had our DVR.

– Organization: Make sure all toys and books have a set place where they belong. This will make clean-up easier and help teach your kids to take care of and put back their things.

– Lay out clothes the night before. When your children are 3 or 4 they can even help lay out their own clothes. This definitely cuts down on the morning stress (and lets me know if I need to throw in a quick load of laundry because we are out of something).

For other time-saving tips, see my previous blog posts on:

– Menu planning
– Email filters
– Keeping an internet address book
– Organizing your kids’ clothing and shopping for kids’ clothes as see them on sale
– Favorites recipe binder
– Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program
– Shopping for gifts ahead of time
– Keeping a home maintenance journal
– Holiday prep checklists
– Keeping a clothing inventory and/or an outfit list