Give me your best tips!!!

[Thebeehiveflys]

Hi all.
First time posting.
I have just become a single parent to my 2 kids, I work 4 days a week but still seem to be flying about living life at a million miles an hour spending days off cleaning / washing stuff / permanently tidying etc.
Would anyone mind please sharing your best time saving tips for smooth efficient living around the home?
I've only just discovered getting the groceries delivered instead of trudging around the supermarket for example, and it’s fantastic. Now I’m thinking, what other great time saving tips can you all throw at me please to save a bit of energy?

@Thebeehiveflys Don't iron anything. Tidy is more important than clean. Not necessary to wash everything after wearing once (except underwear!) Declutter, streamline everything to essentials, including clothes. Don't buy plastic toys or other cheap crap for the children, ever.

When you cook, make double or triple and freeze the excess - Create your own microwave meals so you don't have cook every night to eat proper food

Teach your kids to be independent.

Don't put things down, put them away.
Go paperless with bills.

Freeze a sliced loaf so you can always make toast or a sandwich. I freeze sliced chicken and ham too. Prepare porridge at night, or overnight oats. Saves time in th mornings.
Pledge fluffy dusters make dusting quick. Microfibre cloths are great, you can throw in the machine and they dry quickly. You don't even need products. Fairy liquid cleans practically anything. Get kids involved in cooking and cleaning. Life skills.

Declutter. Don’t ask the kids to help as they will want to keep everything.
A basket at the bottom of the stairs for stuff that needs to go up.
Being tidy makes it look clean, and it’s easier to actually clean when it’s tidy.
Disposable floor and multi purpose wipes. Keep wipes and bleach in the toilet/bathroom for quick wipe overs.
Stick the washing machine on most days to keep the pile down.
Dont iron.
Battery Dyson for quick hoovers of all floor types.
And get Amazon prime for quick free delivery rather than having to go shopping every time.
Next account for quick delivery too.

Use the waiting time to get small jobs done, while the kettle is boiling I can sweep the kitchen floor or wipe the counters down or put the rubbish out.

when you’re putting away clothes from the washing do it in outfit packs for the kids. So a pile with pants, socks, trousers, T-shirt and jumper. Then in the morning just grab a stack/hanger with everything on it and you’re ready go. If they have uniforms, buy enough to see you through a week so you don’t have to do a kid week desperation wash.

Thank you everyone, some good advice here to try!

Great idea for a thread!

Give your kids a "job" - gets them in the habit of helping. Eg my 2 year old helps.washing up, we do it together and only takes me the same amount of time as on my own, but will pay dividends in years to come!

in the same vein, my godson 12 took over the dishwasher unloading. It all helps!

Do one laundry a day rather than a big laundry catch up day once a week (you won’t have time for it plus it’s more difficult to dry so many things).
even if it means only washing a few things , still run the small load. I put it on before we leave for the school run with a timer on to suit whenever you come back home.
it takes less than 3 minutes in the morning and we are never out of clean clothes, pe kits etc.

Also, keep a laundry basket in everyone’s room, every child should have their own basket. You save time on collecting dirty laundry from the floor as the kids always have a basket nearby.
when I do my morning load i just shout to everyone „ darks being washed today bring what you have” and they bring it.

Tidy by category not by room. Then store by category. All coats in one place, all paper work in one place etc. Then you never waste time looking for stuff.

Keep a couple of microfibre cloths in each bathroom.

Each time you use the sink, a quick 30 second wipe down of the sink will mean it doesn’t need a big clean at the end of the week.

You can do quick wipes of other areas while in there - I find this cuts down on the ‘big bathroom cleans’ that are needed.

One thing I do it put the washing away straightaway. It stops you being faved wirh a pile of laundry.

Second the advice about getting kids helping. At first it’s a pain as they take ages and it’s quicker to do it yourself, but persevere and see the long game that you are skilling them up and developing a healthy expectation that they pitch in. I’ve found it best to ask ‘what chores do you like?’ And they come up with daft stuff I wouldn’t like ‘I’ll be responsible for keeping the shoes organised’. Every little helps and it boosts their self esteem. Actually there are longitudinal studies that show one common factor in successful adults is doing chores as kids.

If you don’t do it already, prepping school uniforms at weekend so they are all hung up and good to go so you don’t need to be involved much in the morning. I find on weeks if I’ve not gone this done, mornings are much more stressful with them needing me to find stuff for them etc.

Thank you everyone! Some brilliant ideas!