Since having kids, things seem to mysteriously appear throughout my house.  No matter how many times I clean and tidy up the house, there seem to be things out of place.  To make up for some of the extra time I spend mothering and tidying up the house, I’ve had to figure out some quick cleaning tips.  Here’s a few to try:

1)  Clean your bathroom while your kids are taking a bath.  Be sure to use safe cleaning products such as vinegar.  You can also take this time to clean out a bathroom drawer.

2)  Keep a few extra trash bags in the bottom of your trash cans.  When you take out the trash, there will be a clean bag waiting.

3)  Do a quick 10-15 minute family clean-up.  Set the timer for 10 minutes and have everyone participate in cleaning up the house.  At first you may have some resistance but if you make this a daily routine, the kids will know what’s expected and participate.

4)  Grab a basket for a quick pick up of out of place things.  Put items into the basket and it will be easy to put them away as you walk through each room.

5)  Before leaving a room, make sure you take something with you.  This goes for your car too.  Each time I get out of my car, I usually pick up a few pieces of trash or grab a few things that need to go into the house.

6)  Do a load of laundry each day.  This will avoid laundry piling up and will make it easier to put away each load as it’s completed.

7)  Unload your dishwasher as soon as the load is complete.  It’s easier to keep dirty dishes out of the sink if the dishwasher is ready to be loaded.

8)  Keep cleaning supplies in each bathroom and in the kitchen.  Using an all purpose cleaner such as vinegar will cut down on the supplies you need.

9)  Assign daily chores to each person in the house.  Each person needs to contribute and if each person has a regular job, they will know what’s expected of them.  The chores need to be age-appropriate.

10)  Do a quick vacuuming in common areas once during the week.  Save the time consuming vacuuming and furniture moving for cleaning days.  Having clean floors makes a home more attractive.

What time saving cleaning tips can you share?

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1)  Unsubscribe from unsolicited newsletters.  Somehow I am receiving several newsletters that I am certain I did not request.  Most of them have an unsubscribe button at the bottom of the newsletter.  If unsubscribing doesn’t work, then block the sender.

2)  Have a massive deleting party.  I admit that I am subscribed to some google alerts and newsletters from companies such as Better Homes & Gardens.  I really enjoy looking at their ideas, but I don’t have time for it each day.  Every now and then I will sort my emails by sender.  That way all of the emails from BHG, Hungry-Girl, and Google are all sorted together. Then I can do some quick massive deleting.

3)  Delete anything with “Fw” in the subject line.  Like my hubby says, “If the person can’t take the time to delete the word ‘forward’, then it’s not worth my time reading it.”

4)  Have a separate account for work and personal email.  I think this is one of things that would really help me.  I should have done this a long time ago.

What tips do you have on saving time and sanity with emails?

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My suggestion to you today is that when you get your paper back from the teacher or professor, don’t toss it. Don’t delete it from your computer and don’t toss out the disk.  Let your work carry on into other classes.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have used my work from one class in another class.  Here are some examples and ideas:

• For your English term paper pick a general topic such as eczema.  Later use that paper for science or health class.
• Use your psychology paper on schizophrenia for your health or sociology class.
• Save the video on weather that you made in technology.  Use it for your science teaching methods project and make your lesson’s theme weather.

I have even saved papers that I wrote in high school.  If I’m not mistaken, I was able to use a biography paper from high school in my college English class.  Most of the work had already been done, I just needed to add a few more things.

Keep your old papers and make corrections where necessary.  Even if you have to spend another hour adding more parts to the paper, it will still save you time.  If your school has a policy against recycling your own papers, then you can save time by keeping with the same topic. At least you’ll be knowledgeable about the subject and have your research notes to use.

Have you ever used your work or research from one class for another class?

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7)  Take something to do with you.  This one isn’t going to get you seen any quicker, but it can help save you time especially if you have a recurring weekly appointment.  I have cleaned out my purse, balanced my checkbook, clipped coupons, made phone calls, taken a short nap, and written articles while waiting.  No sense in doing nothing.

8)  Have your paperwork ready.  If you’re a new patient, then try to have the necesary paperwork completed before the appointment.  Stop by and pick up forms or call and ask to have them faxed or emailed to you.  You can even try to drop them off before your appointment.  This can save you 15-30 minutes on your first appointment.

9)  Have your current insurance card.  Researching insurance information and benefits can cause the office clerk to make phone calls which will keep you waiting.

10)  Try not to schedule appointments during busy times.  I’ve heard that Mondays and Fridays are the busiest days for appointments.  On those busy days the doctor may get behind schedule. Instead of scheduling on a Monday or Friday you could leave work an hour early on a Tuesday.

Please also check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our time saving tips.

What ways do you save time at the doctor’s office?

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4)  Find out the best way to communicate with the doctor.  Some doctors are now conversing with patients by email.  Some prefer to have you leave a message with the nurse who usually returns your calls within a few hours.

5)  Be willing to see a nurse practitioner or other physician on staff.  If my kids are sick and need to be seen right away then I know that I can probably get a same day appointment for being flexible and seeing any staff member.

6)  Ask about refill procedures.  Some controlled substances such as medicines for ADHD can only be given a month at a time.  Ask your doctor if you can call or email to get a new prescription.  Some doctors will let you come in every other month for these medicines rather than every month.

What ways do you save time at the doctor’s office?

Stay tuned this week for part 3 of time saving tips at the doctor’s office.  Please check out part 1,  10 Time Saving Tips for the Doctor’s Office.

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Here are some tips to save you time:

1)  Be on time.  This one may sound simple, but so many people are late for their doctor appointments.  Being late can cost you time.  Many offices have a policy that if you’re more than 15 minutes late you’ll lose your appointment and have to reschedule.  And I’ve even heard of some office staff that penalize late clients by making them wait at least an hour or two to be seen even if they’re not busy.  This is not just rumor.  I have heard this from employees.  So the first simple step is to be on time.

2)  Call before your appointment.  Sometimes I will call on the day of my appointment just to confirm that everything is scheduled properly.  Unfortunately I have had circumstances where my appointment time was not written down by office staff.  Also, calling ahead gives you the opportunity to ask if the doctor is on schedule for the day or running behind.  The nurse may tell you to come 15 or 20 minutes later than scheduled.  This is time that can keep you from sitting around and waiting.

3)  Be specific when making your appointment.  Tell the person what the appointment is for.  If you tell them that you’re making the appointment for your hurting back and then you ask to have something else tested then they may not have the staff on duty at the time.

How do you save time at the doctor’s office?

Stay tuned later this week for part 2 of 10 Time Saving Tips for the Doctor’s Office.

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Today my husband and I tried something a bit different.  I wanted to get a few more groceries from Harris Teeter before the Super Double sale ended and he needed to get some things from Lowe’s Home Improvement and some other places.  We decided to do our errands together.  Actually, he dropped me off at Harris Teeter so that I could shop while he did his errands.  This saved us gas and time and also avoided me having three kids in the grocery store.

This is what works for me.  For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken (approx. 3-5 pounds)
Salt and pepper (or any seasoning of your choice)
Wash chicken inside and out (remove anything inside).  Sprinkle with seasoning.  Place three balls of aluminum foil in the bottom of your slow cooker (this will be a rack for your chicken).  Place the chicken in, breast side down, and cook on low for six to eight hours. (This recipe is from Amy at www.momadvice.com)

Italian Beef
1 chuck or round roast (5-6 pounds)
1 package of Good Season’s Zesty Italian Mix
1 package of onion soup mix
Fresh garlic (we like a lot but you can use as much or as little as you like)
1 large can of beef broth
2 bay leaves
Pinch of salt
1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 green pepper sliced

Mix all ingredients together in crock pot.  Cover and cook on low setting for 18 hours or on high for 7-9 hours. 

Macaroni and Cheese
8 oz. dry elbow macaroni (cooked)
3-4 cups shredded sharp cheddar, divided
12 oz. can of evaporated milk
1 ½ cups milk
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
Chopped onion to taste

Combine all ingredients except 1 cup cheese in greased slow cooker.  Sprinkle reserve cup of cheese over top
Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours.  Do not remove lid or stir until the mixture has finished cooking.

These recipes are just a few to get you started.  There are endless resources for slow cooker recipes on the internet.  An interesting blog you might want to visit is Crockpot 365.  Stephanie has committed to cooking in her crock pot everyday for year.  You should go check it out because she has made some awesome meals in her slow cooker.

Tami is a former teacher. She is now a stay-at-home mom and has four children. She enjoys writing about their everyday life and the adventures that motherhood brings. You can find her at Muddlin’ Thru Motherhood.

Each hour today, we are blogging for charity.  Please consider making a donation to The Children’s Hunger Fund. 

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

As you can imagine, grocery store visits were taking a lot of time. I had my grocery list from the grocery game and my coupons, and I was trying to find the best deals while dealing with a 2-year-old. I decided I’d better find a quicker way to get out of the store.

Here’s what I did to save time:

First, I looked over The Grocery Game list for the week. I printed off only the items that I was interested in purchasing.

Next, I matched and clipped the coupons to the items I was going to buy at rock bottom prices and some other coupons I was interested in using.

I separated the coupons that I definitely wanted to use from the coupons that I might use. The coupons I might use depended on price per item and if I have reached my 20 double coupon limit at the store.

I wrote a list of the things I wanted to buy and put the list in order, according to how the store was arranged. I also put my coupons in order by my list.

Now when I walk through the grocery store my list is in order and I’m not fumbling through coupons.  These few extra minutes at home of putting things in order have saved me at least 30 minutes in the store.  This makes Cuddlebug and me much happier.

What do you think of this system? Do you have some tips for saving time at the grocery store?

Images by me. See more Works for Me Wednesday ideas.

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So get that timer out and go tidy up a room today!  It’s only 5 minutes.  I put Little Man in the play yard (my other name for it isn’t very nice) and let him fuss for a few minutes while I do my 5 minute room rescue.  How about you?

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