Tips and tricks to save time on a daily basis

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

Equip yourself with a planner

If you don't have a planner, agenda or family calendar and you manage to manage everything, we want to get your tips! Since it's impossible to remember everything mentally, the idea is to have a visual reference for everyone to see and preferably placed in a strategic location (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 down that you need to defrost ground meat for tomorrow's dinner and that you need to buy eggs and bread at the next grocery store: everything, everything, everything! Having a visual of all this helps reduce 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 ideal tool for this purpose. And, to really not forget anything, in addition to everyday appointments and activities, don't forget to also include this important information relating to the children's school:

• school activities and outings;
• days when there is a physical education class;
• the dates by which a signed authorization or form must be returned to the school;
• the days when your little one eats in the cafeteria;
• important oral presentations or exams (because it will remind you to encourage your child beforehand and understand if he is more anxious and agitated)

Also have (if it's not on the planner, it can be on a sheet nearby) the name of the teacher and the group number of your children. It's always handy when you turn over sheets or call the school to report an absence. If your little ones are in daycare, have the daycare number and the name of their teacher on the same sheet. It's an easy little trick to save time! Also discover all our little tips 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. This way, everyone can choose a meal or give ideas for meals that they would like to eat during the week. You can even decide that on the night that you prepare the meal suggested by a child, the child helps with the preparation. By planning meals:

• We save a lot of time on weekday evenings because we avoid spending long minutes choosing what we are going to eat;
• We (more rarely) get caught out because we forgot to defrost certain foods that we needed for meal preparation (because that should be written in our planner!);
• We have (in theory) all the required ingredients ;
• We have an overview of the meals for 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!

Preparing lunches

A foolproof tip: prepare them the night 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!), while it is a task that could very well be done calmly before.

Also, get into the habit of cutting up vegetables when you come back from the grocery store. Personally, when I have a craving, I want something quick. If I have to peel and cut my carrots, there is a good chance that I will vote for a cookie instead! When preparing lunches, if the vegetables are already prepared, it also saves a lot of time! In addition, even young children can help by preparing small bags of vegetables (already cut) to put in the lunch boxes.

You can also get into the habit of making batches of cookies, granola bars, energy balls and/or muffins on Sundays so that you have some on hand for part of the week (why not prepare the snacks and desserts suggested in our monthly batch cooking ?). On weekends, we are usually less rushed than on weeknights and can therefore more easily involve the children in the kitchen.

By involving children in preparing 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 yogurts or compotes, a water bottle for drinks or a reusable bag for cheese pieces or grapes, all zero-waste alternatives are good! By getting them used to it 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 believe it is important to let my little ones do things for themselves. When it comes to household chores, it is not easy, but it can really be beneficial! Needless to say:

• It will take more time;
• There is a greater risk of damage;
• You will probably be tempted to follow their lead and do it your way;
• The task will not be done as well as if you had done it yourselves!

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

The dressing

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

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

So I suggest 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 give the child a little latitude 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 from school

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

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

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