Share your best parenting time-saving hacks - £200 voucher to be won

[CeriMumsnet]

Let’s face it, parenting can be hectic so we welcome anything that helps us save time (and energy)! As the end of term approaches, Moonpig’s Group Card feature is here to take the stress out of teacher thank you cards, and to celebrate this we’d like to know your favourite time-saving tips and hacks.

• Whether it’s setting your watch 10 mins fast or packing the after school snacks the night before, post your tips and advice in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice.

Here’s what Moonpig has to say:

“At Moonpig, we’re on a mission to spread joy to everyone from everyone! Our Group Cards are as easy as 1,2,3. Up to 50 people can add their own message to any Moonpig card. Anyone can sign anywhere in the world via a simple link and when all messages are collected their card will be sent. It’s perfect for sending your kid’s favourite teacher a ‘thank you’ from the whole class.”

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ
Insight T&Cs apply

Use Seasalt/beach waves spray when you don't need really tidy hair. Just towel dry after a shower, spray on and scrunch hair now and again until it has dried. Saves me 30 minutes every morning from drying and straightening and gives me lovely beach waves. Hair is much healthier now too without all the heat

Post it notes are my best friend- reminding me of what I need to do and buy - stuck on the hallway mirror so I won't forget - changes to OOSGH clubs, trip money, reading books and birthday party invites. Works better than a calendar for me

You need My Name Tags! Stickers - washable and tumble dryer-able - GAME CHANGER!

I’ve found the best time saver in life is to massively lower my standards. Works a treat.

Having a tick chart for homework, when given, when due, when done.

Family planner with term dates, dentist appointments, and birthday parties
Iron on name tapes - on everything
A frozen frube in the packed lunch to keep the sandwiches cooler for longer - defrosts in time for lunch

Scissors! Buy those packs of scissors from IKEA and make sure there is at least one pair in every room, including the bathroom. Saves hours looking for the ones that someone has moved to another mysterious location when all you want to do is open a plastic packet of cheese, cut the corner off a packet of frozen peas, snip off a price tag, chop some herbs, cut off a dangling thread, cut the thing they pair new socks up with, take the unnecessary wrapping off a toy, remove an itchy label from a t shirt…………

@viques i bought three of those packs of scissors from IKEA for 90p a few years ago. Guess how many are left from 9 pairs of scissors? TWO!

Now those packs have gone up to £2 a pack!

when buying uniform the the next school year - pay a little extra for the non-iron stay creased shirts, skirts and trousers - It saves sooo much time when doing the laundry - and if they do need a little iron it takes a fraction of the time

Two boys
Buy white sport socks for one and black for the other. Easy to sort.

Put the house to sleep before bedtime.
I.e tidy, put things away, wash up.

Use a push cleaner on carpets before going to bed. Noone wakes up, quick and the floors are 'hoovered' when we do wake up.

Large cupboard in hall and add wine bottle type seperators inside. Fit loads of shoes in paírs.

I Cook larger meals and share with friends or neighbours and they do same another day. Saves one day cooking.
Could be curry amd rice, fajita wraps.

Buy plain white socks, and black socks in large packs, and when sorting out the laundry - no more hunting around for pairs - you have all the same !

I put everything on the calendar in the kitchen as well as on my phone.
Prepare for school the night before, including packed lunch, clothes.
Write endless lists that I tick off.
No TV in the morning, I could never get dd out of the house at all otherwise.

Lay out your children's clothes, pack lunches, and organize backpacks the night before to save time in the morning rush.

Buy crease free school uniform.
Get everything ready the night before and complete homework as soon as received.

Even better, you can write directly on the freezer door with a Sharpie. Wipe off with isopropyl alcohol or similar.

Freezer veg. No more chopping or peeling, or lengthy cooking. Just open a bag, pour into a tub and microwave for a few mins. Also brilliant for weaning as you can give a variety of small portions eg a few green beans, could of carrots, bit of broccoli etc so there's no waste. And if you need more it's only seconds to get it!

I use the stuff for side vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower etc) and also only ever use frozen onion, garlic etc for cooking. I also love the frozen med veg for cooking although Waitrose doesn't seem to have theirs available any more.

Each bedroom has their own laundry hamper so clothes can be washed separately. It saves loads of time sorting through clothes before they can be put away.

I have another!

Buy a clothes stamp for uniform. It makes it super quick to label everything and saves time writing, ironing or sewing the kids' names onto the various pieces of uniform. They can be picked up for around £3.50 online so not expensive either!

Butter frozen bread and make sandwiches. Nicely defrosted by lunch time (even if made at 7.30AM) and very easy to spread cold butter onto the frozen bread.

White board on fridge with all the jobs needed, and I text myself with lists or codes to remember etc. You can also Facebook message yourself

Take pictures of invites or posters. So much easier as we never have to worry about losing the invite

Accepting defeat when it comes to my son and packing for him!

@CeriMumsnet when will we find out the winner please?

I store out pushchsir in the boot of my car. It saves time having to pack it up when we need to go out in a hurry. If I do need to use it for a walk around the neighbourhood, it's right outside. Plus, this saves space inside the house and doesn't track dirt in that you'll constantly need to mop up. 👍🏻

I don't go supermarket shopping on the weekends or evenings (wherever possible). Going at less busy times saves a tonne of time because the checkouts are usually clear so go right through without having to wait in long queues. It also means the shelves are well stocked so you can easy find what you need.

I also save time by route planning and doing jobs while I'm already out in the car. For example, I drive past a post office on the way to my son's nursery so will generally wait for those days rather than making a separate journey if I have anything to post.

White board by front door. Checked by everyone before they leave the house. Life saver