Since I have been a working mom for so many years, I have figured out a lot of ways to save time. If I hadn't, I would have went crazy! So how about I give y'all a list...
1. Share socks if you can.
I have 4 sons still living at home. Despite the varying ages, we all can share socks. So we bought a ton of socks online and got a great price. Now no one runs out of socks and I don't have to send the socks to different bedrooms. Instead, I use a plastic set of drawers and keep all the socks in the laundry room which happens to double at a mud room in our house. The plastic drawer set has three drawers in it. I keep matched every day socks in the top drawer, matched dress socks and winter socks in the second drawer, and unmatched socks in the bottom drawer.
2. Don't buy white socks.
Yes, another sock tip. If you have kids, chances are you already know that white socks don't stay white. So I don't buy white socks. Instead, we have black, navy blue, and grey. We only use ankle socks and these colors work good for us. The truth is, I figured out, the only whites I had were socks. So I would have to wait until every sock in the house was dirty to wash a full load and then I would sit for what seemed like forever in sock matching hell. Now, I through socks in with darks and towels. This saves a ton of time and we always have socks clean. It also keeps me from getting overwhelmed with matching since I match a few in every load I do.
3. Learn how to delegate.
This one isn't what you think. I have kids on the Autism Spectrum and with ADHD. Giving them a big task is a huge no-no. It is way more trouble then it is worth, but I have learned that I can give any of the kids a small task and they usually won't complain and it lightens my load. I also don't bark orders, this helps prevent getting a bad attitude from them. If I am busy cooking and one of them comes in the room and I know the trash is full I just say, "Hon, will you bag up that trash for me?" I learned this technique from my Grandma. It works great. There are a million little things a kid will do and not mind when they are asked instead of told and the fact that they are small tasks helps to keep them from feeling overwhelmed or get off track.
4. Make a dinner tonight that will change into dinner tomorrow.
I am not talking about traditional left overs. I am talking about planning ahead so your meat tonight can also be your meat for tomorrow night. As southerners, our family loves pulled pork. So when I can find pork picnic marked down, I buy it. I store them in the freezer and on the weekend, I get one out of the freezer, unwrap it and sprinkle Lowry's Seasoned Salt on it, put in a roasting pan, cover with foil and cook at 300 degrees for 8 hours or so (yes, I cook this from frozen- no thawing out). It makes the house smell great and dinner is done in the evening without any real effort. When I pull it out, all I have to do is pull the meat apart with a fork, slap it on a bun and serve with BBQ sauce, hot sauce, or mayo depending on everyone's tastes. This is a great meal for Saturdays, in the summer, when the family is outside working in the yard or playing. Serve it with chips, Suddenly Salad, potato salad, or cole slaw on the side. The next day, take the left over pork, sprinkle with taco seasoning, pour a little broth over it, cover with foil and bake at a low heat for an hour or more. This gives you the meat for pork tacos with little to no work. With just a little planning ahead, a lot of recipes can work this way. Any time you have baked chicken, for instance, make extra and add taco seasoning the next day for super quick chicken tacos.
5. Use parchment paper.
For some reason, people tend to use parchment paper only when making cookies. I don't understand that. It is cheaper than foil and non stick. If you buy it at Sam's ($5.98 for 205 sq. ft. roll) or a restaurant supply store, you can get it in huge rolls so it lasts. I use it when I make biscuits, garlic bread, frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets...anything that has to be baked and doesn't produce much grease. This way, I don't have to scrub a pan (not any pan, but over sized pans that are even more difficult and time consuming).
6. Bake everything you can.
I bake all my breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, even link sausage). Not only does this keep me from having to babysit the meat on the stove top, it allows me to make large amounts while I cook eggs or make pancakes. It also means that when the meal is done, I won't have a zillion little splatters all over the stove top ( and what ever else is near by). Another thing you can bake is pancakes. No, they won't be pretty, round, and fluffy but they will be tasty and filling. The time will vary depending on the pan you use but the process is easy. Simply make your pancake batter as always and poor it (not too thick, you aren't making a cake) into the bottom of a large flat pan with edges. A jelly roll pan works great. Bake and serve in squares. Another idea is to cut up link sausage and toss a few in each cup of a muffin pan then pour pancake batter over them and bake until cooked through. These keep in the fridge well too.
7. Microwave your rice.
Every time it comes up in conversation that I microwave my rice, there is at least one person that seems astonished. I don't have time or desire to make rice on the stove top. Besides, what usually ends up happening is, I forget about it and it sticks on the bottom. Then I have to scrub the stupid pan for ten minutes just to get the dried up rice off of it. Instead, I put a cup of rice and two cups of water in a big microwave safe bowl with a microwave safe lid (or dinner plate) on top of it. Then I microwave that on high for 5 minutes and on 70% for 20 minutes. When it comes out it is perfectly fluffy and wonderful! It cooks while I am doing something else and it doesn't stick to the bowl in a gummy mess! The instructions are slightly different for different types of rice. I use plain old cheap white rice when I do this but be sure to check the back of your bag of rice for microwave instructions if you buy something different.
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