7 Ways To Save Time & Thrive | Real Life Hacks For Busy Moms
Happy Monday loves! Welcome back if you're a returning lovie or welcome to our tribe if this is your first time!! I am an artist, a wife, a mother of two and the CEO of my home and my business. Time is a precious resource that I've grown to respect! I'm learning a lot about how to make the best of my time and create efficient ways to live a "non-busy" lifestyle in the midst of our busy world!
I want to be intentional about my time, not just busy and because of that, I've put a lot of thought to my life and how I can create an environment that is organized, well lived and chaos free (well most times)!! This is something I'm working towards, ma' friends, not something I've got down pat. However, I thought with back-to-school, here and a new season starting the best way to motivate myself to create a well-planned home was to write to you about it. So let's embark on this journey together, shall we!? Here are my very best tips that I've personally tried that have saved me time and energy in seasons where busy tries to dictate our lives!
1.- Outsource whatever you possibly can.
C/O Daily Harvest & Vitamix | HAIR BY: Victoria @ Cuvee Salon
I've outsourced some of our meals. I love Daily Harvest for their adorable, easy, and nutritiously delicious frozen food and smoothies! They have been collaborating with me for a half a year now and they send me complimentary boxes of their amazing product (thank you Daily Harvest! We love you guys!) I have had such a shift of perspective because of them. I used to beat myself up about needing to have a hot-home-cooked meal, made from scratch daily before I started blogging full force. Now, my time is so precious I am learning to outsource what I can. I still love and have committed to cooking for my family most weekdays. But Daily Harvest helps me with lunches and times when I just want to have a smoothie. It's something fast and nutritious with almost zero clean up, so I highly recommend! And pairing it with my new Vitamix the job is done in a snap! I love to think of what places my life needs to have a simplified aspect and in the food department, Daily Harvest has helped me achieve treating my body well with great food and not compromising my time and energy. It's super quick clean up after making a smoothie or a quick lunch! If I could outsource something else I would hire someone to deep clean my house and do my yards. But we are taking it slowly and surely over here. Not trying to live like a bajillionare when we are trying to make some wise financial choices! I'm learning to live within my means. I want to save money where we can! It's a balance of knowing what your budget is and what you can realistically afford to do in your season of life with your personal budget and family situation! Sometimes all it takes is to get organized and have a plan for your money to know where you can splurge or save!
2.- Do one load of laundry a day.
On the weeks that I'm on it with this one, I feel like a true Wonder Woman! I can't say this is something that happens in my home daily, but when I do master doing laundry each morning, it has revolutionized my life and filled me with so much joy! I usually have my kids put in their own hamper and let them do the buttons and liquids (with my supervision of course). When I hit the "wash" button as we are walking out to school drop-off, my sense of delight gets fired up as I have already accomplished so much and it's not even 9 am! haha! Alright, slow your roll, Libier! But seriously. I have stood in front of the mountains of laundry in despair thinking, "Why??!! Maybeee, I can just burn them and no one will notice?" Alas, I revert to not burning our clothing and going in for the laundry kill when I've let the laundry unravel. My husband is so kind to help me out on times like this and I tenderly call him the laundry fairy! So with this new school year starting, doing one load a day is going to be our goal! It takes discipline, however, It's always so satisfying when I get the load in the wash and somehow I muster the courage to actually fold and put away in one day. Can I get an, Amen!
3.- Learn and master the One-Touch-Rule and teach it to your husband and tinny humans!
This rule has been a huge game changer for me personally in the amount of clutter I create. I used to leave things everywhere and now my clutter is significantly cut down by implementing the one-touch rule! I've shared it with my family and we obviously are still a work in progress with the girls. However, we are learning and it does make a huge difference if everyone is working as a team and a part of making the home a nice place to live! I've also shared with my family "why" we want to do this. One of the reasons we give our girls to mind the cleanliness of our home and cars is that we love and respect what we have. And because of that, we treat it as best as possible. Don't for a split second thing our home looks perfect ever.... we are a normal family just trying to make it. But I've seen a huge difference between me taking the time to explain to my family why keeping it clean and organized (most of the time) is important to me. And how we are all a part of the team and can make a big impact in the way we live! I love to live in our home and I am accepting that to live in it we must make it a mess sometimes. But it's equally as important to me to honor the place we live and keep it as tidy as we possibly can. It truly does make a difference when our space is clean and organized. So I challenge you to test out the one-touch-rule. Have you ever heard of it? If you try it will you tell me how it's going!? I'd love to know!
4.- When you DO cook, make double the portion and save the other half in the freezer.
Photo by Joanie Simon on Unsplash
This one I'm suggesting but I can't say I've adopted the habit for myself fully yet! I want to thought, let's try it out together friend! I heard it recently as I was doing research for this blog post and it just makes so much sense!
5.- Keep a cleaning bucket fully stocked to save time on cleaning your home.
Girl! This one is going to blow your mind if you're not on the bucket plan yet! It is such a simple yet genius time saver. All the cleaning necessities of the home go in a great looking bucket! I had fun stocking it with cleaning products I absolutely LOVE, like this Mrs. Meyers Peaony scent surface cleaner! My other favorite is the Mum scent it is amazing! It's why I love to clean my house!! haha! It just smells so good and can make the dullest of days feel luxurious even when I'm cleaning my countertop for the 18th time that day! Just investing in products and a cute little bucket to carry them all has changed my cleaning game. Everything is available and ready for me to use at a bucket's notice! And as I go from room to room cleaning I take it with me and have everything I need in one adorable little spot!
6.- Curate an activities bag to keep in your car stocked with everything you'll need for you and your fam.
This I am a pro at and it has been a game changer, friends!! Again, not perfect so I forget it sometimes and mostly on the times I need it! However, when I have a bag in the car fully curated with the things I might need, I feel so assured I can withstand a poopscident (my kids not mine!), Or suddenly get invited to a park date and being able to change my kids because they decided to be actual kids and went in the sprinklers and got soaking wet. I can handle it when my kid throws up. Or on a day I decide to wear a crisp white shirt I spill my entire cup of fresh coffee on it, I have my bag and it has baby wipes that magically clean up the whole coffee spill! You get it. I would love to know if you want a "What's In My Activity Bag" instagram video. I'll share all that I have in there with you!
7.- Utilize the "dead" time in kid's activities to better your mental or physical health.
This is something that I am so excited to share as I start soccer season with my girls! I'm already implementing this tip! I am no joke, a tremendous fan of reading and podcasts. I love learning! I think it's super important to inject "dead" time (like hour blocks where you have to be at a child's activity) with taking the time to work on you! An idea is to bring a book with you and actually read it. You can do your nails while you wait. You can workout (even make it a group effort with the other moms). You can listen to podcasts that are uplifting. You can draw or journal. You can even bring watercolors and create art that you can throw away if you want. Just do something for you to grow your mind, spirit, and creativity! It's life changing! I've started going on walks around the park where my daughter practices soccer and if I'm walking alone it's a great opportunity to listen to my favorite podcasts (Jody Moore's Better Than Happy / Brooke Castillo The Life Coaching School / The Influencer Podcast by Julie Solomon / Mastery Sessions With Robin Sharma / Enjoying Everyday Life with Joyce Meyers ) This is something that truly has saved me time but has also let me thrive because I'm utilizing the time for my growth! Even if you don't like to read or learn, you can always take this time to do something that would uplift you!
Well, that was a long one! I would love to know if you have any tips for me, beloved!
