Summer may not seem to be the time to start any new projects or habits, but it’s the perfect time to make life easier for yourself. Here are eight summer time-savers.
Organize your grocery list. You probably shop at the same store or stores every time and can remember the layout if you needed. Organize your grocery list by the way you go through the store. Divide your paper into three vertical columns. First column is the outside edge. Middle column are the center aisles and the far column is the opposite outside edge. You can add two columns at the bottom for deli and any other common grocery store section. This allows you to create more efficient lists and cut down on the forgotten items and trips back to the store.
Cut things quicker. Scissors for pizza, egg slicers for strawberries and mushrooms. Think creatively with your kitchen tools.
Prepare snacks. Especially in a household with demanding children, having a designated snack bin either in the fridge or kitchen is a way to cut down on interruptions and create more self-reliant children. After grocery shopping, prepare the snack items (such as small bags of carrots, grapes, nuts, crackers or other snacks your children like) and place them in a designated area that they can reach.
Cleaning Supplies Where You Need Them. Stage a small collection of cleaning supplies in each bathroom, in order to always have them on hand for a quick spray and wipe whenever you are in there and find it needs done. You’ll never need to apologize for your bathrooms again.
Car Stash. Keep a bin of non-crumbly snacks, water, extra socks for that one kid, books, games (and motion sickness medicine) in your car and never have to scramble for those items again.
Fill A Trash Bag. Taking a garbage bag around your home and filling it with trash or items to donate can be a freeing and productive exercise. It’s amazing how many things you keep that you don’t actually want.
Put a trash bin where you sort the mail. Put that junk mail where it belongs.
Keep beach items in a central location. Nothing is worse than the rush to find all the appropriate beach items. Keep a container in a closet and fill it with your beach towels, extra sunscreen and toys, so you always know where to find them and where to return them.
Happy Summer!
Photo by Cody Hughes @clhughes21
