Saving (Precious) Time

   Sometimes I truly believe at this age that time is more valuable than money. So I’ve been blogging about finding 10-30 minutes a day to exercise, about finding time to start daydreaming again, about listing your gratitudes daily on paper or in your mind. So I figured I needed to offer up some daily time savers so you can squeak out those extra minutes each day.

These first few revolve around time-saving, low cost meals:

~ Have breakfast for dinner one night & enjoy how simple this can be. Even if the family is on different schedules, that pancake batter can be ready to go at any time. If you have an electric griddle, then let your kids get into the action of making their own pancakes, French toast, eggs. When my Teenage Tester was twelve I told her that she was on her own for breakfast & lunch on the weekends. Yes, we now have an electric griddle, quesadilla maker, Belgian waffle maker and electric sandwich maker. She loved it & now is quite the baker & cook & is now old enough to use real appliances. A win, win!

~ Going with that theme, one night can be everyone for themselves night. I know sometimes I just want cereal or a few leftovers. Soups, leftover chili, peanut butter & jelly & yummy salads are great healthy options. Always have some protein rich hard-boiled eggs to grab & go.

~ Buy a rotisserie chicken and go to town with the ease it lends your recipes. They are not expensive & melt in your mouth…

~ Let everyone pack their own lunches. Relinquish control…

   The next suggestions involve the time sucker of all time suckers ~ cleaning the house! [If you are on your own, then realize that everything does not need to be perfect. Do the minimum over time. One day if you have Tigger energy then go to town!]

~ Everyone over the age of say 13 should be able to do a load of laundry or at least fold the laundry. So what if it’s not perfectly folded, it will get better with practice for everyone.

~ Everyone in the house needs to pick up one small extra chore that you usually do. This can be loading or emptying the dishwasher, that midweek run for milk & bread, dusting, vacuuming.

   I’m sure you can think of dozens of other ways that work for your life. Go for it. You deserve the time!