When you have a tiny human being in your home who depends on you for absolutely everything, it’s easy to feel like there simply aren’t enough hours in the day in which to get everything done. For many new moms, ordinary things like showers and home-cooked meals turn into seemingly unattainable luxuries during the first few years of a child’s life. Caring for their new bundle of joy takes precedence over just about everything else, as it should. As a result, many “non-essential” tasks tend to fall to the wayside as there simply is not enough time to get everything done.
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If you are a brand-new mom who is struggling to find more hours in the day, we feel you. Being a mom is super time-consuming, and it’s far from easy. The good news? Moms who have been around the block a time or two have found all sorts of ways to save time and get things done. Believe it or not, you can be a great mom and still have time to do things like cook delicious dinners, take showers and, yes, even sleep. Here are a few of our favorite time-savers for new moms.
Kitchen Time-Savers
Getting tired of take-out? Fortunately, there are several ways to save time and enable yourself to prepare healthy dishes you enjoy. For starters, plan your meals. When your little one is napping, come up with a plan for a week or two worth of meals. Write down the main courses and sides, along with the ingredients you need.
When you go shopping, buy ingredients in the form in which you need them. Buying pre-chopped onions or boneless, skinless chicken breasts costs a bit more, but doing so saves you a lot of time. Do any remaining prep work for your planned meals before you’re ready to cook them. You can easily mix up your dry ingredients or throw together freezer meals that will just need to be tossed in the oven when you’re ready to cook them. In the time it takes to prepare a single meal from scratch from start to finish, you can prep a week’s worth (or more).
Make extra when you prepare your favorite dishes, too. It usually doesn’t take much extra time to make more of a particular recipe. Consider making a double batch and throwing the excess in the fridge or the freezer for a quick and easy meal later on.
Quick Cleaning
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Picking up as you go is one of the best things you can do if you don’t want to waste a lot of time cleaning. Instead of waiting for messes to accumulate and then cleaning up all at once, pick up after yourself throughout the day. By taking a few seconds here and there to put clothes in the hamper, wash a plate or throw garbage in the trash can, you can save yourself from having to do hours of work later on.
Also, make organization a priority. When there is a specific place for everything you own, it’s much easier to put things away. Keep your cleaning supplies in a bucket or a plastic bucket with a handle. That way, you won’t have to waste time looking for supplies when you have an opportunity to clean. Consider keeping a separate bucket in the kitchen and in each bathroom to avoid having to drag supplies from room to room.
When you’re shopping for cleaning products, quality matters. Rather than buying the cheapest ones you can find, invest in quality brands. Cheap cleaners tend to take longer to work, which, of course, wastes your time. Plus, they’re more likely to be loaded with all sorts of dangerous chemicals that are not safe to use around your little one. Avoid the risk and save yourself some time by using quality cleaning products.
Dress for Success
Ask any mom what she struggles with most as a parent, and keeping up with laundry will likely be high on her list. When you have little ones, it can feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to laundry. As soon as you change your newborn into a clean outfit, she spits up on it. Or she spits up on you right after you’ve finally put on a clean shirt. The messes are never-ending and this can make it seem like you never have any clean clothes for yourself or your little one.
You can break the cycle of constantly needing to do laundry by merely investing in more clothes. For your little one, wholesale onesies are a lifesaver. They’re super inexpensive, so it’s easy to stock up on lots of them. And when you have dozens of onesies at your disposal, you don’t need to do laundry nearly as often.
You can also stock up on wholesale t-shirts for yourself. They come in all sorts of stylish cuts and colors, and they’re really affordable when purchased in bulk. They’re so affordable, in fact, that you won’t even feel bad throwing one away if it becomes stained beyond repair.
Conclusion
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Life as a new mom is rough. Even when you have plenty of help from family members and friends, there is still a lot that needs to be done and only so many hours in the day. While we can’t make the day longer, we have put together this article to help you uncover some easy and effective ways to save time.
By saving time, you can, of course, get more done. More importantly, though, being able to get things done in less time means you will have more time that you can dedicate to taking care of yourself. While often overlooked, self-care is incredibly important. Instead of using the time you save to do more work, use it to enjoy a long bubble bath, get your nails done or even indulge in a nap. Trust us–you’ve earned it!
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