Essential Time-Saving Tips for Busy Moms

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Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 06:14 pm

One of the top reasons I see for women not organizing is because they don’t have the time. I totally get it. Every day is packed for me, and for the next year, my goal is to focus on making better use of my time. In other words, it’s essential to find time-saving ways to do the things that need to be done.

I’ve found a few simple ways to plan ahead and take things off my plate. Today, I’d like to share some of the things I’m doing, along with things I still want to try.

I hope these 15 time-saving tips will help you find a little extra time in your busy life so you can do what matters.

 

Essential Time-Saving Tips for Busy Moms

01. Meal Planning

Meal planning sounds like it’s such an involved, complicated process, doesn’t it? My mom never meal planned, and I never heard of it until a few years ago. But once we had to change our diets, the only answer to success was to plan our meals ahead.

Ever since I made this change, I am a HUGE believer in making meal plans. Mealtimes are much more simple when you know what you’re cooking, you have all the ingredients, and nothing goes to waste.

You might be interested in How to Make Pinterest the Ultimate Meal Planning Tool.

02. Favorite meal list (Meal Master List)

It’s easier to meal plan when you know what to make, so creating a list of everything your family likes to eat makes sense. Instead of wondering, “What should I make?” take a look at your Meal Master List.

Making a list makes the meal planning process simpler and faster.

03. Use a grocery delivery service

On weeks where the schedule is so filled up that even going to the grocery store seems like a far off dream, outsource it.

I’ve been using Instacart on the days where I’m too stressed out about all the things I have to do. It gives me back an hour or more of my time so I can focus on other things life is throwing at me.

04. Subscribe to receive regularly used items

We’ve been using Amazon Prime’s Subscribe & Save service for nearly four years. It’s a relief that I don’t have to think about putting things we normally use like diapers, pantry essentials, and beauty products on a grocery list. The less things I have to shop for means I’m out of the store faster, or I’m running around at less stores.

05. Make ahead

One thing the women in my family are noted for is using the freezer. My grandmother is the queen. There are so many meals I can make a big batch of to eat the same day, then freeze the rest. It’s nice to just pull a ready made meal from the freezer when you need to.

I also make large portions for breakfast and lunch that will last all week. Not cooking or preparing meals in the morning saves me about an hour to 45 minutes each day.

*Note: I’ve looked into using meal delivery services, but none of the ones I’ve looked into seem to offer meals with our diet restrictions. If you know of any that work with diet restrictions, let me know! I’d love to check it out!

06. Use a planner

Scheduling out my days has helped me focus on my priorities. I talked about which planner I chose & how, and I’m excited about using it to make my days intentional. Knowing what I should be doing will help me eliminate doing things that aren’t really that important.

07. Use an all-purpose cleaner

I make my cleaning routine simple by only using one cleaner if I can. Having fewer cleaners to lug around the house and switch for every surface makes it easy. I recently switched to using Thieves from Young Living Essential Oils because I got tired of the chemical smells that stress me out!

08. Batch your chore days

This may not work for you, but it definitely works for me. By lumping everything into one day, I have fewer tasks to do throughout the week. I can get it done it just over an hour if I’m really focused and efficient. To me, it’s better than having to think about cleaning every single day.

09. Create an actionable paper system

I have a specific place for all my actionable papers which it saves time since I don’t have to look for them when I need them. Each week, I set aside a few minutes to deal with them, then I’m done.

10. Streamline your closet

Planning ahead is very effective for so many things in life, your wardrobe included. You can plan your outfits ahead of time and have a list of the items to shop for, or you can have someone else do it for you.

I’ve been using wardrobe planners from Putting Me Together and Get Your Pretty On. I want to feel good about how I look, and using pre-planned outfits from professional style bloggers makes it effortless.

You might like Two Amazing Resources for Getting Dressed.

11. Create routines

Each morning I make the beds and do the breakfast dishes. Each evening I make sure everything is put away and cleaned up so we can start fresh.

These routines are part of my day-to-day. They are standard daily routines. It keeps things running smoothly so I don’t get stressed out.

You might like The Life-Changing Magic of the One-Minute Rule and My Secrets to a Tidy Home.

12. Write goals

I hated writing goals. I had an aversion to S.M.A.R.T. goals ever since I started working for corporate. 

I’m trying new ways to approach them using the PowerSheets from Cultivate What Matters. Just seeing them on paper has helped me figure out how I should prioritize my days so I’m not wasting time on things that don’t matter.

13. Make a family calendar

Here are other things I’m working on. Life is only going to get busier as our family and businesses grow. I still have to come up with a good system for keeping track of everybody, but it’s a goal for this next year.

14. Unsubscribe and unfollow

How did I end up on so many email lists? I’ve been unsubscribing from email lists to clear the clutter in my inbox. If it doesn’t inspire me, or tempts me into buying things I don’t need, I unsubscribe. I’ll spend less time in my inbox, and clearing out my inbox.

Same thing with social media accounts. I only want to see things that bring joy, motivation, and inspiration so I take advantage of unfollowing. Why should I waste time on things I don’t like to see?

15. Hire professional services

As a service provider myself, I’ve come to understand the value service providers bring their clients. We recently hired a landscape architect to design our front and backyard. Figuring out what to do has been driving my husband and I crazy. It saved so much time and effort to have someone come up with a plan for us.

This is the same thing for other services as well such as lawn care, dry cleaners, house cleaners, and professional organizers (like me). Each service exists to save you time.

Find more time-saving tips

That’s 15 ways I save time each week. I’m sure there are more time-saving tips on Pinterest, but these are the ones I’ve used, or aspire to use, in my own life. In the end, it’s all about simplifying and automating things so you don’t have to think about it.

What time-saving tips do you have? Let me know in the comments below 🙂