Laundry and housework

Time savings tips seem to be just as important as money saving tips these days. Especially if you have a family. I was privileged to stay home for the most part. I say for the most part because truthfully I did work off and on to help out. It was never for very long though just long enough to get us out of a crunch. So I can empathize with working women. The house work, the kids, the laundry, the back to school nights, the bills, the food, the grocery shopping, it never ends, the dishes, etc. etc. So time is extremely important. I will continue to share with you all some tips that I used that helped tremendously.

Laundry- Every age can help. Teach the growing ones how to use the washer and dryer. I would say nine or ten year olds can begin learning. After that have the children do their own laundry. But make a rule. No one can start laundry without being able to finish it. That means if you can't get it out of the washer and put it in the dryer then fold and put away do not begin at all. Sour clothes left in the wash machine are not only a waste of time, but energy, detergent, and water. Teach them how to sort the laundry, if they are too young to use the machine, they can certainly help sort. Jeans in one pile, whites, in another, wash and wear in another, and towels in another, you know the routine. Teach them to zip zippers, snap snaps and hook bras, and most importantly to always check the pockets! A crayon or ink pen in the dryer can ruin the entire load. Supervision is necessary when they begin to learn or you might get a broken timer like I did. My daughter, sweet thing, forced the knob the wrong direction and I had to replace it. Which I did myself. More about that later.

Cooking- Older ones, teens, can learn to cook. I home-schooled my children for awhile and one of their lessons was learning about money and food. I had them find a recipe they wanted to try and they had to make a grocery list for it. When we went shopping I taught them how to look at the shelf for the price per pound or ounces and buy the least expensive product available. Then they had to prepare the meal themselves and also clean it up afterward. At first this is time consuming but if you teach them it will save you time later and teach them a life lesson. Please don't make them do all the cooking though. They are not the parent but can be your precious helper.

Cleaning- Again every age can help even little ones can learn to pick up their toys after playing with them. Try to get them to play with one toy at a time. As they grow you can assign them more chores to do. Mine had to do dishes for a week at a time. If everyone clears their plate and puts their own dishes in the dishwasher the person who is assigned will have an easier task. What is left but to put any food away, wipe the table, wash the pans, if not put into the dishwasher, and turn it on. Vacuuming, bathrooms, sweeping, mopping, dusting, it can all be assigned as well. Husbands, please do your share. Mom is not in charge of everything!

Timers- I played a game called Beat The Clock with my kids. I used this quite effectively with my children. We could not leave the house unless it was picked up. I set a timer that had a big buzz sound or bell when it went off. Each room was designated five minutes. So the timer was set and we all rushed into one room and did a room blitz. Everything that did not belong there got scooped up and put away within the five minutes. This was a fun game and if we got it accomplished then we beat the clock and gave each other a high five. Sometimes the clock won. In a bedroom, the bed can be made, toys picked up, shoes stowed away, and laundry put into the laundry room. If I remember correctly, I got the idea from the book "Side tracked home executives." The kitchen requires a little more time maybe fifteen minutes as opposed to the five. But if you make it fun then your children can learn to pick up the house and feel a sense of accomplishment. You literally can get the entire house picked up in an hour. When the children are then napping or playing outside, or doing something quiet you can then do the floors. Floors are not part of beat the clock because they take too long.

Daytimers- Moms do you ever feel like you worked all day and have nothing to show for it? Get a day-timer or a calendar. Being a mom has been called a thankless job by many. You may feel frustrated that you can't remember what you did all day but were busy the entire day. Write it down! Appointments with teachers, back to school night, a trip to the gym with a friend, O.B.G.Y.N appts, etc. etc. can all be written in and that way you won't forget. Then if your husband asks you what did all day you can whip out your day-timer and read off all of the things you did. He may not see the refrigerator is clean or the laundry room is devoid of dirty laundry because it is all hidden away where it belongs, namely in the drawers. So the unseen things are accounted for.

Supernanny- Supernanny is a great source of information for parents and has some excellent tips. I wish I had supernanny when my children were growing up.