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16
Ways to Make Life Easier
by Pamela Kramer
Woman's Day, March 8, 2005
Did you accomplish everything you needed to get done
yesterday? No? Let me guess: The dry cleaning is
still in the trunk of your car, the dirty laundry is
piling up like Mount Everest and the mail is sitting
on the kitchen counter along with the breakfast
dishes. Need a little help? Me, too. So I asked the
experts how to plow through all those tedious tasks
faster. After incorporating these terrific time- and
sanity-savers, your only problem will be what to do
with all of your free time. I know you'll think of
something. I sure did!
Running Around Town
Set up an errand planner. Use a bright-color spiral
notebook with an inside pocket. When you think of an
errand you need to do, jot it down in your planner
and tuck in the folder any items you will need to
take along, such as directions and receipts. Put
larger items, including library books or DVDs to be
returned, in a tote or basket near the door. On
errand day, plot the most efficient route and note
what you're going to do first, second and so on,
suggests Lee Mahla, a professional organizer who
runs Get OrderLee in Sacramento, California.
Zip through the stores. Create a master grocery
list of items you buy on a regular basis, and
organize it according to the layout of your favorite
store, or print one from
www.womansday.com
or
www.mygrocerychecklist.com. Keep a running list
of items you need at discount stores and warehouse
clubs. Before shopping, group them according to
department, such as paper goods and cleaning
supplies.
Avoid return trips. Whatever your errands, always
make sure you're organized before you get on the
road. Take paint or fabric samples and measurements
of your shelf or space so you can purchase the right
size and color the first time. Try on garments
before you buy, even if the brand and size usually
fit. Jamie Lafer, of Santa Monica, California,
recently bought three tops of the same size and
brand. "I tried one on and assumed the others would
fit, too, but when I got home I discovered that all
three were different sizes," she says. Before going
to the library, I check its web site to see if the
title I want is available. If the book is at another
branch, I click a button to have it sent to my
location. The library e-mails me when it arrives.
Make them come to you. Why run all over town when
you can order prescriptions, office supplies and pet
products online? Many Internet retailers offer
discounts and free shipping on purchases. Also,
sign up for home milk delivery if it's available in
your area. Most dairies have online ordering and
stock staples, such as juice, bread, even cookie
dough. "The prices are often comparable to grocery
stores and may even save you money by reducing the
number of trips you have to make to the store," says
Mahla. Use dry cleaners, pet groomers and repair
companies that pick up and deliver.
Kitchen Duty
Create a family menu. Identify 10 to 15 of your
family's favorite dinners. Slip the recipes inside
plastic sheet protectors, and place in a three-ring
binder. Each weekend, select dinners for the coming
week. Let your kids help. Add the ingredients you
need to your shopping list, and post the meal plan
so everyone can see what's for dinner. Janet Luhrs,
author of The Simple Living Guide and host of
SimpleLiving.com, suggests assigning a different
cuisine to each night, such as Italian on Mondays
and Greek on Tuesdays. "That way you're not
wandering around the supermarket trying to figure
out what to fix," she says.
Plan last-minute meals. Keep your pantry and
freezer stocked with ingredients for simple
dinners. Elizabeth Edwardsen, of South Portland,
Maine, tosses canned chopped tomatoes, black beans
and artichoke hearts with a pound of cooked pasta
and calls it "pantry supper." "When I use up any of
my staples, I write them on a chalkboard so I can
restock," she says. Or find a simple meal idea by
typing the words "easy recipes" plus the ingredients
you have on hand, such as "chicken breasts" and
"tomato sauce" into an Internet search engine like
Google.
Cut out some steps. Store ingredients and equipment
where they're easy to reach, and line up what you
need before starting a recipe. When cooking, keep
what celebrity chef and cookbook author Rachael Ray
calls a "garbage bowl." Discard small items, such as
onion skins and plastic wrappers, directly into the
bowl rather than walking back and forth to the trash
can. Cut down on dirty dishes by marinating meat in
disposable zip top bags. Instead of transferring
food onto serving plates, serve directly to dinner
plates.
Put your freezer to work. When making family
favorites such as stew and chili, double the recipe
and freeze half for another meal. Store small
portions of cooked chicken breasts or pork cutlets
in plastic bags and place in the freezer, says Ray.
To defrost quickly, run warm water over the closed
bags for 10 minutes. Chop large quantities of
onions, peppers and herbs and store in freezer bags
or containers. On Sunday evenings, Michelle Pinto,
of Bayside, New York, makes and freezes five
sandwiches for her son's lunches. "By lunchtime
they're defrosted but still chilled," she says.
Home Manager
Don't forget! Divide a large whiteboard, cork or
fabric-covered bulletin board into sections for each
family member, suggests Pamela Allardice, a mother
of two in Sydney, Australia, and author of Make
Time: The Survival Guide for Women with Too Much to
Do. Use dry-erase markers to jot notes or
magnets and pins to post messages and reminders
under each person's name. Hang in a prominent spot,
such as in the kitchen. "That way, everyone can
check it out at the start and end of each day," she
says. Regularly prune outdated items so the board
doesn't get cluttered.
Stop the paper chase. Set up a file system with
five folders labeled "To Do," "To Pay," "To Read,"
"To File," and "Pending." As you open the mail, file
papers in the folders. Corral school papers in
pocket folders. Use a different color for each
child. Sign up to receive bills via e-mail and pay
them online through your bank or creditor's web
site. Janine Adams, of St. Louis, schedules her
transactions to take place five days before their
due date. "The money stays in my account longer that
way," she says.
Be ready for anything. Post a list of emergency
numbers near the phone, including car mechanics,
babysitters, neighbors, etc. Program your cell phone
with frequently used numbers such as your
hairstylist and your child's school, like Tina
Sharkey, senior vice president of life management
and community for America Online, does. "That way I
can use waiting time to make calls and cross to-do's
off my list," she says. Make checklists for
recurring activities, such as holiday gatherings and
family vacations.
Find it faster. Use a portable electronic labeler
to indicate where items go on shelves in the pantry,
medicine chest and linen closet. That way everyone
knows where to find what they're looking for and
where things belong. Store household items and
clothing in clear storage boxes so you can easily
see what's inside, or clearly itemize the contents
on the outside of cardboard storage boxes.
Maid Service
Ready, set, go! Schedule a regular high-energy
cleaning session once a week, suggests Tara Aronson,
author of Mrs. Clean Jeans' Housekeeping with
Kids. Put it on the calendar so family members
don't make other plans and so you don't forget and
agree to run a car pool. Make a list of chores that
need to be accomplished. Pass it around and have
everyone sign up until the tasks are divided. Then
play your favorite music, set a timer for 60
minutes, and work until the buzzer goes off. "This
gets kids used to the idea that cleaning is
something you do together, that it's not just you,"
she says.
Lighten the load. Have family members sort their own
clothes into a central laundry sorter. Lee set up a
two-compartment sorter in the hall outside her two
kids' bedrooms. "My 4- year-old may not know left
from right, but he knows how to put darks in one
side and lights in the other," she says. After
doing the laundry, Lee distributes each child's
clean, folded clothing into its own basket and has
them put it away themselves. "It's a lot easier if
everyone does a little bit."
Banish wrinkles. Avoid overloading the washer and
dryer so items can move about freely. Button and zip
shirts and slacks before laundering. Shake out
garments before transferring from the washer to the
dryer to prevent them from getting tangled and
wrinkled. For clothes that aren't delicate, use the
permanent-press settings on the washer and
dryer. Hang or fold wrinkle-prone items while still
slightly damp. Use a handheld fabric steamer to get
that just-pressed look without having to set up the
ironing board.
Get a grip on socks. Give each child a
different-colored set of laundry clips to fasten
socks together before tossing them into the
hamper. "If they forget to clip, put their socks in
a box and let them find and sort them themselves,"
says Aronson. Or identify kids' items with a laundry
marker. Use one dot for your oldest, and add a dot
for each child, suggests Stacy DeBroff, author of
The Mom Book and founder of
MomCentral.com. "This
also makes it easy for hand-me-downs." Or have kids
put socks in their own mesh laundry bags. "That way,
clean socks can be easily returned to the right
person," says DeBroff.
JUST IN CASE...
*For last-minute gifts, keep a stash of gift cards
to popular restaurants or stores, bottles of wine,
fragrant candles or hand cream. Have on hand a
variety of greeting cards, too.
*For unexpected school projects, keep a supply of
poster board, construction paper and crafts supplies
such as felt, feathers, buttons, etc. Empty
shoeboxes come in handy, also.
*In the event of a breakdown or delay, carry a cell
phone and stow a blanket, several bottles of water,
nonperishable nutritious snacks, paper towels or wet
wipes and a first-aid kit in your car.
*For last-minute travel, keep a small bag packed
with a change of clothes, toiletries and important
phone numbers. Toss in a spare pair of eyeglasses
and prescription medicines before you go.
*In case your purse or wallet is lost or stolen,
keep a copy of your driver's license and credit
cards, a spare set of keys to your home and car, and
some cash in a safe place.
*For office mishaps, have on hand a bottle of
over-the-counter painkillers, lip balm, pantyhose, a
nail file, breath mints, safety pins, bandages and a
pack of antibacterial wipes.
SAVE TIME ONLINE
*Organize web sites you visit often into folders in
your Internet browser. Jot down your user names and
passwords in a small notebook so you can find them
in a snap.
* Set up groups of e-mail addresses so with just one
click you can send the same message to a number of
people, such as committee members or teammates.
*If you use Internet Explorer, you can download
Google's search button, pop-up blocker and other
functions onto your tool bar. Go to
www.toolbar.google.com.
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