Time Hacks: Adulting Tips for When There Aren’t Enough Hours in the Week

How is it fall already? I blinked and now Thanksgiving is on the horizon.

As a working mom, I am constantly battling the clock. There are never enough hours in the day. Let’s face it. There are so many mundane daily tasks that we must do while adulting that are serious time sucks. As I was scrambling around to find spare time to write this blog post, I thought I would share several of my easy to implement tips that help me gain back precious minutes to spend with my family.

The kitchen is the place where I try to gain back most of my time.  All of the tasks that go into feeding a family take up so much time. Thinking about dinner, shopping for dinner, preparing the dinner, cleaning up the dinner. It’s draining. I have found a couple of hacks that save me hours each week that I would love to share.

Running Grocery List: We have a list posted on the inside of the cupboard near the fridge. Every time someone uses the last of an item, they write it on the list.  

time hacks

Hubby used the last of his deodorant? He writes it on the list. Kid packed the last of the goldfish crackers? They write it on the list.  You throw in the last of the shredded cheese in a casserole? Write it on the list! This is such a simple hack. If you train your family to use it, you will never find yourself staring into the depths of a desperate pantry trying to remember what you’ve ran out of that week.

Meal Planning: As a busy family, I have to plan meals that I have time to make. One of my mom goals is to eat home-cooked meals unless we intentionally plan a night out. On Sunday night, I check our schedule and pencil in our dinners. This helps me make my grocery list with ease, and also saves time and money. We keep the meal plan posted on the fridge. This way everyone knows what’s for dinner, and my husband can confidently prepare dinner without guessing if we have the ingredients for something on hand.

Meal Lists: This is something that we’ve started this year. I was sick of everyone answering the question “what do you want for dinner/lunch/breakfast?” with “I don’t care!”  So frustrating. I tried to come up with a solution to his annoying habit that my children have adopted. At restaurants, they are very able to order exactly what they want. Why can’t they tell me when I ask the same question? I decided that they must not know all their options. So, I created meal lists for them to choose from. Basically, when it comes meal planning time, I pull out the lists and they can choose items from them. Each family member throws out a few ideas and voila! The weekly meals are planned. This also helps us get out of the boring rut of eating the same things all the time. This might be my favorite hack to date.

time hacks

Online Grocery Shopping: My best time hack is to use an online grocery service. Here is a helpful breakdown from my fellow contributor Amanda M who even shares how to use the services while on vacation. Pure genius!

Laundry Basket for Groceries: And when you go to pick up your groceries, load them into a laundry basket. Anything that doesn’t get squished, gets loaded into the basket. Instead of making 482 trips in from the car, I carry one load. This hack is my favorite during the winter.

time hacks

Cleaning. This also drains the minutes away. I always try to stay up on the housework, so that I only have to deep clean occasionally. The time hacks I have for cleaning are not very original. These are just practices we have implemented in our home that help us minimize the time we spend on these chores.

Bathrooms: When my kids were younger, I would always clean the bathroom while they were in the bath. I was able to sing songs, have conversations, play games, and clean the sinks and toilets. It helped me kill two birds with one stone. Now that they are older and like their privacy, I use this time to put away laundry or dust their bedrooms.

Dishwasher/Washing Machine:  Run these before bed or before you leave for work. This just puts you one step ahead in the morning or when you get home. Having the machines wash while I am asleep or away helps me to stay on top of the washing.  

I hope these hacks save you some time and sanity. What time hacks have you found that work? Especially for cleaning?

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Courtney lives in Grand Blanc. She's married to Matt, and they have two very smart, energetic, and involved kids, Walker and Tenley. Courtney is a working mom who spends her days teaching High School Biology and English. She thrives on being busy, but also struggles with finding a good balance. She loves working with people, but definitely is inspired when she is interacting with young people. In her free time....just kidding she doesn't have free time, but she does love to go to concerts and catch up with friends and family. Favorite things include Michigan football, college basketball, scented candles, any beach, campfires, traveling and spontaneous dance parties.