Tips and tricks to save time on a daily basis

If you are a little (sometimes a lot!) overwhelmed and looking for little tips to save time on a daily basis, unfortunately there is no miracle formula, but there are several little daily organization tips that will certainly help you to be a little more efficient!

Equip yourself with a planner

If you don't have a planner, day planner or family calendar and can manage it all, we want to get your stuff! As it is impossible to manage to remember everything mentally, the idea is to have a visual cue in sight of all and preferably placed in a strategic place (for example on the refrigerator). This is the place where everything will be recorded: classes, activities, appointments, household chores and even meals for the week. You can also write that you have to thaw ground meat for supper the next day and that you have to buy eggs and bread at the next grocery store: everything, everything, everything! Having a visual of all this reduces anxiety and mental load, because you no longer have to constantly think about everything you must not forget! The Les Belles Combines weekly family planner is the perfect tool for this. And, so as not to forget anything, in addition to appointments and everyday activities, do not forget to include this important information related to the children's school:

• school activities and outings;
• the days when there is a physical education class;
• the dates on which a signed authorization or sheet must be returned to the school;
• the days when your mini eats in the cafeteria;
• oral presentations or important exams (because it will make you think to encourage your child first and understand if he is more anxious and restless)

Also have (if not on the planner, it can be on a sheet nearby) the teacher's name and your children's group number. It's always handy when turning over sheets or calling school to report an absence. If your minis are at daycare, have the number of the daycare center and the name of its educator on this same sheet. It's an easy little trick to save time! Also discover all our little tricks related to school life that will allow you to be even more organized on a daily basis!

Meal planning and grocery shopping

Meal planning is a great “activity” that can be done as a family. Thus, everyone can choose a meal or give ideas of meals they would like to eat during the week. We can even decide that the evening when we prepare the meal proposed by a child, the latter helps with the preparation. When planning meals:

• We save a lot of time on weeknights because we avoid spending long minutes choosing what to eat;
• We are (more rarely) in trouble because we forgot to thaw certain foods we needed for meal preparation (because it should be written on our planner!);
• We have (in theory) all the required ingredients ;
• We have an overview of the meals of the week, which allows us to vary the menus ;
• We save money by making our grocery list accordingly.

To help you write your grocery list, consider using our notepad specially designed for this purpose!

Preparation of lunches

An infallible trick: prepare them the day before! It sounds silly, but in the morning, we have so many things to manage that lunches are often made in fourth gear (because everything has to go quickly in the morning!), whereas it is a task that could very well be done quietly before.

Also get into the habit, when you come back from the grocery store, of chopping vegetables. Personally, when I have a craving, I want something fast. If I have to peel my carrots and cut them, chances are I'll vote for a cookie instead! When preparing lunches, if the vegetables are already ready, you also save a lot of time! In addition, even young children can help by preparing the small bags of vegetables (already cut) to put in the lunch boxes.

You can also make a habit of making batches of cookies, granola bars, energy balls and/or muffins on Sundays so that you have them available for part of the week (why not prepare the snacks and desserts suggested in our batch cooking mensue l?). Weekends are usually less of a rush than weeknights, so it's easier to get the kids involved in the kitchen.

By involving children in the preparation of lunches, we can also take the time to make them aware of the importance of using reusable containers. Whether it's containers or pouches for yogurt or compotes, a beverage bottle or a reusable bag for pieces of cheese or grapes, all zero-waste alternatives are good! By getting them used to them young, they will integrate this habit and later, it will be normal for them to use reusable containers.

Finally, don't forget to add a little note in the lunch box from time to time ; it's so nice to find a little note at dinner time!

Force yourself to delegate!

As a parent, I find it important to let my minis do it for themselves. For household chores, it's not easy, but it can really be beneficial! It goes without saying that :

• It's going to take longer;
• There is more risk of damage;
• You will surely be tempted to go behind them to do it your way;
• The task will not be done as well as if you had done it yourself!

And it's perfect like that! It's not easy to let go, but it's worth the try! For the development of their autonomy and for their self-esteem, it is important to let children do things for themselves. They should also be praised and encouraged when they find a task more difficult. Depending on the age of your children, it may therefore be interesting to give them one or a few tasks to accomplish on a weekly basis. You can also choose tasks for one month and choose others for the following month. Discover here allour tools to involve the whole family in household chores !

Dressing

It's good to leave room for the child, but when it comes to dressing, we often find ourselves faced with two distinct problems:

• The child who empties all his drawers, who tries on a lot of clothes, who wastes a lot of time (which ends up wearing out the parent's patience!) and who ends up putting on the first outfit he tried on.
• The child on whom a choice is imposed, who objects because it is not the sweater He wanted to put on, who can end up disorganized (which also ends up wearing down the parent's patience!).

I therefore propose two small solutions. The day before, choose together what the child will wear for the next day. Otherwise, we can also choose the clothes and try to leave some leeway to the child by allowing him to choose what he will wear by presenting him with two or three sets. You could thus involve the child in the selection of these two or three sets for the next day. In the morning, he then has the choice of what he wants to wear.

Back to school

Homework time can be a great time to waste time! Establish a routine with your children to be as effective as possible. If your children are older and do their homework alone, make a to-do list with them (use the small routine chart as a visual cue). For example, he can have his snack, then he does his French homework and his math exercises and can then go outside to play or watch television. The idea is to make them independent so that they take charge of their homework period. Also make sure that your child has all the necessary equipment at his disposal. You can waste so much time looking for a pencil or an eraser! To help you, download this little combination that will help you set up a practical autonomy station for homework!

And There you go! There are still many tips to help save time, what are yours?