As you dirty a dish, rinse and load. I also leave it open during breakfast and lunch. These are oftentimes no cook meals so it's easy to just eat a sandwich and set the plate in the dishwasher instead of the sink. It's a great habit to start with the kids.
2. Load the Laundry the Night Before
I don't do a load overnight in order to avoid that mildewy smell on the clothes and as a means of airing out the washer (I don't know if there's science behind this, it just seems like it needs to be totally dry at some point!). After baths, I take the hamper right to the laundry room and prep a load in the washer. In the morning all I have to do through bleary, half-open eyes is start the water and add the detergent and softener.
3. Delegate and Ask for Help
The boys have morning jobs like feeding the dogs, putting a load of laundry away, and emptying the silverware from the dishwasher. These three things easily lighten my morning load while teaching great life skills.
The asking for help part sounds ridiculous and I hate to admit it's taken me nearly nine years of marriage to get this one down, but it goes like this..."Hunny, can you please..." Ya, I know. Not earth shattering advice. My husband and I have fallen comfortably into pretty defined roles around the house (the morning trash and the lawn care are "boys jobs" and dishes and laundry are "girl jobs") so there are things we just expect the other to do. There's lots of "grey" jobs around the house though and on rough days, I really need some help. For years, I would expect him to notice these jobs, get mad when he didn't, and then trudge through them resentfully. Then a stupid-simple solution came to me - ASK FOR HELP! Most husbands do not mind helping and are glad to when asked, they just are not good at reading minds (who is?!).
4. Stick to a Routine & have a Catch up Day
Oh, Fly Lady, where would I be without you? I have customized some of her stuff to fit better for our family, but the outline is all done for you. Just go to her website. She's here to help :). Remember, today started last night - it's all about being prepared.
As for a general routine, the boys know we go to the library on Mondays, speech on Tuesdays, stay home and catch up on Wednesdays (this applies to housework, schoolwork, projects, anything we want finished up before the weekend), speech and grocery shopping on Thursdays, and fun day/pay day Fridays (I am not that cool - sometimes this is a play date and sometimes it's just a trip to Target! As for the pay day, they earn a commission for the work they've done all week). This is especially a timesaver with getting ready; they know they can hang out in pjs a little longer on Wednesdays but not the other days of the week.
5. Coffee on a Candle Warmer
I don't know a single mom who's had an entire hot cup of coffee in one sitting since giving birth. If you have, I want to know! I have gotten into the habit of making my morning chai and setting it on a candle warmer. This way I'm not reheating it every 15 minutes...it actually stays warm!
There many options floating around on Pinterest but they are all useless until you find one that works for you and your family. I tried many and failed (the once a month planning...not for us) not because they are faulty but because they don't fit our family. I have finally come up with one perfect for us and WOW has it made a difference. The point - doing a meal plan is a timesaver but you must find the right one. If you are interested in seeing mine, email me at rinnace at gmail dot com and I will be glad to send you a copy.
Make sure yours includes breakfast, lunch and snacks. Take breakfast, for example; it is much easier to pick from a list the night before than wander around aimlessly with hungry kids hounding you early the next morning.
7. Work in the Nooks & Crannies
Multi-tasking may actually slow you down, but there are ways to optimize your time. This has a lot to do with having a realistic understanding about how long it takes to do things. I always looked at emptying the dishwasher as a long, daunting task, but one day I realized how little time it actually took. (hint: hating a job makes it take longer ;)). So now, while my chai heats in the morning (for 1 minute and 40 seconds), I can get almost the entire dishwasher unloaded. Even if that means coming back to it to finish, it's put me that much further ahead at getting it done.
Hope these help you find a few minutes in your day today!
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