I don’t know about you guys, but I absolutely hate grocery shopping. I make a list, I go to the store, and somehow I come home an hour later and find out that I managed to forget some of my most important purchases.
Grrrrr.
And how many of you have tried to grocery shop with your toddler or preschooler, only to have them get restless/fuss about wanting things/make the trip take twice as long? Shopping with little children can be super stressful, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Don’t let the sweet face fool you- she has a black belt in temper-tantrum throwing.
There’s this fantastic app called Instacart and it makes shopping with kids super easy. In fact it makes shopping easy in general.
All you have to do is this:
just log onto the Instacart site or download the app.
choose your local participating store,
shop for your groceries,
and submit your order.
That’s seriously it! I promise!
You may choose to have your groceries delivered, or you may pick them up. The store will even bring them out and load them up for you!
You don’t even have to leave the vehicle…or unbuckle your little one from their carseat. It’s amazing.
Now, everyone please pop on over to the Instacart site and check it out! It’s a game changer!
As a busy mother of two with a full time job and a part-time business on the side, I know a thing or two about how difficult it is to cook. I also know that when you’re not prepared, it’s a lot easier to justify running to the drive through, where you end up spending money and making choices that aren’t the healthiest.
Once during the school year, we went over our monthly bank statement to discover we’d spent $400 that month on eating out. We were shocked…and vowed to do better. We are now doing an experiment in our house- we write on the calendar each time we eat out, and write down each time we cook at home. This is helping us keep track of how much we are spending, but also on how often we are eating at home.
I’d also like to share some other things you can do to ensure that meal times run more smoothly in your home.
1. Keep staple ingredients in your pantry at all times.
Who else here has started following a recipe, only to find that you were missing one or two ingredients you needed? Isn’t it frustrating? Think about your family’s favorite things to eat at home, and isolate the ingredients that are common in those recipes. Then, make sure you keep a stockpile of those ingredients in your pantry and fridge.
2. Plan ahead as often as possible
Planning ahead means that you already have a good idea of what you are going to cook for that week. I have tried to plan two weeks of meals at a time, but sometimes life happens and we don’t stick to it entirely. I’ve now started planning for one week at a time, and planning based on what I have in the pantry, fridge and freezer that week. This way, I am taking our weekly activities into account as well. Gymnastics on Tuesdays? Use the crock pot so it isn’t as time consuming and there is little clean up. Church on Wednesday night?How about salads for dinner? You get the idea.
3. Clean as you go
Do you ever find that there is a giant mess in your kitchen after you cook, and you often do not get to it until hours later? I have had to wake up early before to clean the kitchen from the night before. One way that I handle this are to fill the sink with soapy water and wash/rinse utensils as I’m cooking. I can also soak bowls and pans before popping them into the dishwasher. The second thing I do is to reuse a bowl from meal prepping to put food scraps or trash in. Having a trash bowl saves me trips to the compost bin or trash can. I use a dish that I’ve already used so I’m cutting down on dirty dishes. It doesn’t sound like a huge deal, but it really helps.
I’ve reached a point in my life where I’ve realized I need to spend a little more money at the grocery store to get pre-chopped vegetables once in awhile. I initially felt silly about this, but then I realized it truly does save me a lot of time and prep work in the kitchen.
What have you done to simplify your cooking at home? Please comment below and share your tips with me 🙂
Most of us are guilty of working too much, and sacrificing all of our time for everyone else. There is nothing wrong with working hard or giving time to others; in fact, those things are great. But sometimes you do need to take a little time for yourself.
Finding time for you can be difficult amidst all your other demands, but there are a few ways you can sneak in a little “you-time.”
1. Wake up a little earlier
Waking up about 15 or 20 minutes earlier can allow you a little time for yourself. Read a book, go for a walk, or enjoy a cup of coffee on your porch.
2. Evaluate how you spend your time
Is there anything you do each day that wastes your time? I waste a lot of time on my Smartphone each day. By eliminating some of that, I have been able to spend more time on things that make me happy.
3. Delegate those chores
You can’t do everything. I’m the worst for trying to do it all. Delegate some of those chores to your kids. Kids can help with laundry or loading the dishes. Kids can help pick up toys and straighten up the house. Trying to do everything will only stress you out and steal all your time.
5. Learn to say no
Overextending yourself by taking on too much results in stress and no free time. Free up some time by saying no.
When you carve out a bit of time for yourself, think about the things that bring you joy. Whatever makes you feel renewed and happy, do it. Don’t feel guilty about taking time for you. Take time for yourself and be more relaxed.
Our entry way has improved significantly over the years, but it is still pretty boring. Before he passed away, my dad graciously helped us build this built in coat rack into the wall behind the door. It added a space for us to hang our coats and bookbags, and we have used it so much. I subscribe to the belief that organization should be both functional and attractive. While our entry way is now functional for our family, it certainly isn’t pretty.
I’d like to change the following things about our entry. I’d like to paint the back of the door black to give it some personality.
As with everything, our entry way is a process. We are working to make it look nicer and neater all the time. I can’t wait to show you the progress as we finish it.
Have a wonderful week. We will return on Thursday to talk about command centers.
I don’t know about you, but cleaning is a struggle at my house. My house isn’t all that big but it is time consuming to give it the attention it needs. With two children and a full time job, it is even more difficult sometimes to get the house clean.
Before I share the things I have learned, I want to make it clear that I have not completely figured it out yet. These are just a few tips that are helping me work toward finding a balance, even though I have far from found that balance.
1. Develop a routine and stick to it
Developing a routine and sticking to it as much as possible is a great way to have a cleaner house. We have tried to assign small duties to each night, allowing for flex time on the weekends to catch up on any tasks we have missed. We try to perform the same specific duties each day, but perform a different task each night. Here is our weekly checklist:
You will notice that starting the washing machine each morning is on the list. We have a washer with a delayed start and I use it daily. I throw laundry in the washer before going to bed and set it to finish as I’m getting up. This way, I wash and dry a load of laundry before leaving the house, and have one more load to complete when I get home. I still have to fold them and put them away, but the waiting game is over.
2. Delegate!
You don’t have to do everything, and you can’t. Assign chores to the other members of your household. My oldest daughter is eager to earn a small allowance for her own money, and she doesn’t mind helping me around the house. Pay your children to help you, convince your significant other to help you, but stop trying to be solely responsible for all the cleaning.
3. Set aside time for extra attention
I try to have a deep cleaning day one Saturday a month where I tackle cleaning tasks that don’t necessarily need to be done weekly, but still need a little extra love. These are areas like baseboards or dusting the door and window moldings. You could even break these deep cleaning tasks up and do one each Saturday. It’s all about your schedule and making things work for you.
4. Be reasonable
Sometimes, you won’t have time to clean because you’ve had a busy day. Or maybe you did clean, but something happened and your room is no longer clean. These are the moments when you must have grace with yourself. Your house can’t be perfectly clean all the time but neither can anyone else’s house.
I hope you have enjoyed these tips for simplifying cleaning. As I said before, I am still working to simplify cleaning at my own home, so if you have any tips for me, I’d welcome them 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
