In honor of Mother's Day this upcoming Sunday, I am sharing 5 time-saving mom hacks. These tips could be beneficial for any woman, not just mothers. Many of these tips revolve around getting ready and taking care of yourself. I chose these tips because, as moms, we often put ourselves last on the priority list. Soon as we know it, we've gone months without doing our hair, dressing up or even taking a moment to ourselves. If you practice taking care of yourself, it will eventually come naturally to you and it will take hardly any time at all!
This video is a collaboration with two of my favorite YouTubers: Jennifer from The Family Fudge, and Kimmy from She's in Her Apron. Check out their 5 time-saving mom hacks and tell them I say "hello!".
My 5 time-saving mom hacks are as follows:
1. Braid your hair the night before. If you like the effect of the curling iron, like I do, but have limited time in the morning (or want to lay off the heat, for the health of your hair) try braiding your hair in pigtails the night before. You can spray them with hairspray, if you like. When you wake up and take out the braids, you will have beachy waves. This texture is also great for creating updos, as your hair will have more volume.
2. Make Breakfast the Night Before. You know that I love to make breakfast the night before. I've already shared my overnight oats recipe, as well as my slow cooker apple breakfast cobbler recipe. Today, I share my favorite crock pot oatmeal. I've been making this particular recipe on a regular basis and it is so tasty. My baby especially loves this meal. Place one cup of oatmeal (steel cut, or old-fashioned) in the slow cooker. Add 4 cups of liquid (I do 2 cups of almond milk and 2 cups of water) and 5 prunes. Turn it on low for 8 hours. When you wake up, shred the prunes and serve with a drop of milk. So delicious and requires no sugar!
3. Bathe or shower only once a day. Rather than bathing morning and evening, streamline it to once a day and you will not only save time, but resources as well. In today's video I share a funny story about the time Madame Chic required me to choose my bath time in Paris. I hope you enjoy my story!
4. Don't cleanse your skin in the morning. You do not need a complicated skincare routine in the morning. The only thing I do is splash warm water on my face and apply moisturizer/ spf. Forget all of the cleansers, exfoliants and other treatments. They not only take time, but they strip your skin of its oils.
5. Clear the clutter from your wardrobe. Thousands of women can testify that the ten-item wardrobe not only saves you money, but time as well. How many hours have we wasted figuring out what to wear? Doing laundry for our endless wardrobes? Picking up after our clothes strewn all over the bedroom? The less garments you own, the less you have to deal with them.
I hope you enjoy my video today! Happy mother's day to all of you lovely, inspiring moms. Remember, when you feel discouraged with the large task ahead of you each day, remember the raising of children is the most important job in the world! You are raising the next generation. Try to enjoy this season of life and take care of yourself accordingly.
News
Organized Elegantly writes about the Madame Chic books in her post, Create a Morning Routine.
Izumi shares her copy of Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic on Instagram. Thank you, Izumi!
Comment of the week
Danson for Joy, that is so true. Not babbling and making excuses sure does enhance one's air of mystery. An added benefit of saying no with poise!
Today I would love to know... what are your favorite time-saving mom hacks? Let me know in the comment section below and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog! Have a wonderful mother's day and see you on Monday!
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12 comments:
Loved your helpful five, with a bonus of six (Le No Makeup Look), time-saving hacks and thanks for including those of us who aren't Moms, and Moms of cats, a nephew, etc. I've been using tips #2, 3, 4 and 6 for quite some time and am inching closer to 5. Making breakfast the night before makes for delightful anticipation in the a.m. I do shower in the morning (I'm not a bathtub person) and I finally got on the bandwagon and only rinse my face in the morning; what a difference it makes as one's face doesn't get dirty overnight. But, I have to ask, on those days I must leave early for a workout and I don't shower until I'm home, I STILL wash my armpits and neck to feel fresh and clean after sleeping and before applying my deodorant. I think that's why I love a morning shower, because it's like getting the "sleep" off. Thanks for the oats recipe, too!
Another idea...to go with le no make up look...you might choose not wear make up. Where I live, this is a totally acceptable and normal option. I was looking around the women I work with the other day and yep...many of us don't wear make up. Of course, I can't wear make up at the moment, and I'm trialling a natural make up brand. But that's a whole other saga!
The thing that saved me time as my children have grown up, is implementing structures to help them be independent. The biggest helpful one was a list (with pictures, because even then I was a teacher at hear!) that had their morning routine. I didn't have to remind (or nag), they knew what to do and they got it done lickety split! And then we built from there and each of them has learnt to cook meals by 13yo. Now there's a time saver - get your bigger kids in the kitchen. Nothing better than going back to work after caring for little people, and being able to come home from work to dinner nearly done!
I love my "ten item" wardrobe. It's probably closer to thirty, but it is refined to almost all solid colors that can all be switched around to make different outfits. It is now such a pleasure to get dressed as I continue to learn my style and what works for me. It has been truly freeing and a huge time saver. Thank you for your inspiration!
Not sure this could be considered a time-saving hack, but it might be more of a mind-saving hack. We work so hard each day to save time to get our daily work done, but I have found that I also need a little break each day which helps me carry on into the afternoon and evening. At around 3:00 pm, I take time for a coffee or iced tea break and just relax from the day's work for 15 to 30 minutes. I might read a book or magazine or I might just sit on the front porch and appreciate what I've accomplished. I established this routine years ago when we had children at home and they know, even now, that I can be reached most days around 3, while taking my coffee break.
I love your hacks! I'm working toward the 10 item wardrobe this summer. Thank you for encouraging us in that and so many other things.
~Jody
I adopted the shower & deal with the hair the night before routine years ago - considering my hair it literally saves me HOURS every week. The splash your face with warm water in the morning is something my mother taught me when I was young, so I've done this practically my whole life.
I've yet to get on board with the ten item wardrobe - but I do have my core pieces that I go to most days...I'll get there eventually because I do recognize how much time and money it would save me.
I've adopted the ten item wardrobe, and it DOES save time... and money! I no longer have to stand in front of the closet deciding what to wear. Every separate top goes with every separate bottom, as I stick to a black, white, and red palette. I LOVE every piece in there, so I don't mind repeating. And I'm pickier about buying anything new. If I don't LOVE it, or if it doesn't go with the rest of my clothes, I don't buy it.
My biggest time-saver is something I picked up from Tamar Adler's book, An Everlasting Meal: Once a week, after visiting the farmer's market, I sauté "a mess of greens" with olive oil and garlic, and I roast some vegetables (always including beets) with olive oil and salt in the oven. I store them in separate containers in the fridge. I use the greens and beets to make roasted beet salads, which we love and are a healthy choice (greens, cubed beets, some crumbled goat cheese, chopped walnuts, a home made vinaigrette). Other veggies can be eaten cold as salad ingredients or heated up as a side. Not only is it more convenient this way, but I find that they lose a great deal of freshness if I just put them in the vegetable drawer in the fridge and cook them as needed. I also make double recipes when I make a complicated meal, for freezer meals. I make up batches of meat balls, poached chicken, breaded chicken tenders, hamburger patties, chili to freeze for quick meals. Fish filets and bagged shrimp also are quick to make, and are kept in the freezer. Using my pressure cooker, I cook batches of beans, lay them out on a cookie sheet to freeze, then bag them and store them in the freezer. Also using my pressure cooker, I use a few pounds of chicken wings to make a rich stock, store it in pint containers in the freezer, and it's ready to use either in cooking or to make soup. It helps that I make out a weekly menu plan, so that I can make the easy stuff on days that I am busy, and more complicated meals when I have the time. Also, I can take things out of the freezer and move them to the fridge to thaw in plenty of time.
Hello Jennifer,
I like your tips, and I made the oatmeal, although I made it on the stove top. It took 20 minutes. My daughter and I also watched the other ladies' videos per your suggestion. This made for an intriguing contrast since, as you said, your tips could work for any woman; whereas, their tips are really focused on getting children dressed and fed. With a title like "The family fudge", I supposed the family focus is predictable, but it's not for me. I am a mother; however, I'm the daughter of a European woman, and I've lived in Europe. I've noticed a general difference between European and American mothers, and it is that European mothers tend to view themselves as women first and as mothers second. Their kids are not neglected, but the mothers don't make a big fuss about being moms. They don't obsess over their kids' lunch boxes, for example. In America, the trend seems to be the opposite. Mothers here are mothers first and women second. Looking presentable is saved for "date night" etc. To make a long story short, I really appreciate the elegant, international flair you bring to your blog, based on your time in Europe and possibly your international ancestry. You're different in a good way, and it shows.
Warm best,
Alexandra
I enjoyed watching all three videos. I liked how several were duplicates, because it strengthened the benefit of doing it. I have started doubling meals when I make them. I've noticed it's cheaper, wastes less food and wastes less money. They only problem I have is not having enough room to freeze. So, I'm going to save some money to buy a mini freezer to stick in the garage to help with this. Thank you for showing me the two other ladies. I'm getting to the point where I am close to a 10-item wardrobe and I'm so thankful for it. I also have started laying out clothes the night before for our kids and it makes such a huge difference in stress and free time. I'm very thankful for you all. The only tip I would add is utilizing the order online and pick up services that most grocery stores and Walmart offer. It saves a bunch of money, forces you to meal plan and be organized and you don't impulse buy food. Then, you drive up get the groceries in the car and drive off, to spend more time with family! I love it!
Happy Mothers Day Jennifer!
Dear Jennifer,
Regarding the ten item wardrobe, there is a great feature in the April 2017 issue of RedBook magazine which offers an answer to the pesky question of, "What exactly should my ten items be?" It starts on page 68. The phrase "Ten item wardrobe" is not used; however, if you subtract the 2 jackets, 4 shoes, 2 accessories, and 1 T-shirt, you will see that ten core items are pictured. The phrase "24 outfits" is mentioned on the magazine cover, and there are photo spreads of a model wearing 24 possible outfits based on the 10 core items and the extras. That's over 3 weeks of outfits with no repeats. Redbook is very good about offering this type of feature article from time to time, which other magazines do not. Six of the core items are items you may already own. Only 4 core items are suggested as purchases. I hope this feature may be helpful to someone looking for additional inspiration in creating a ten item wardrobe.
Warm best,
Alexandra
My time saving hack has to do with housecleaning. I really hate dealing with mildew stain in the shower caulking because they do not scrub out. We live in Atlanta where there are humid, humid summers. Here is my effortless way to remove them: apply clear, gel, bleach-based toilet cleaner in the morning. Rinse out at night. The gel formula makes it stay on the stain rather than running off. The bleach clears the mildew. Do not use blue or colored cleaner, as it will stain your grout! I keep a bottle of toilet cleaner which I use just for this purpose. (It's Chlorox brand.)
I consider this my magnum opus of housekeeping hacks!
Hi Jennifer, I love your channel so much! You are full of inspiration and I look forward to your videos every Monday. I have just blogged my own Spring capsule wardrobe, in which I refer to your 10-item wardrobe system as one of the most helpful I have found. I would be honoured if you would visit my blog! https://sarahchaprobin.com/2017/05/14/2017-spring-capsule-wardrobe-updated/
I just want to add that you inspired me to put some extra effort in for going to a classical music concert performed by our local community orchestra yesterday. Although I didn't dress up as much as I would have if I were going to the theatre to see a professional production, I still wore some really nice clothes with heels and a very little makeup, and I felt like I was doing my bit as an audience member in making the event seem an occasion. When I got the to the concert the orchestra were all dressed up in dinner jackets and long dresses and looked terrific; the audience were mostly wearing jeans and hoodies and variations on that kind of theme. I was really glad that I had made the effort to treat the event like an occasion because the orchestra did such a good job, not just of presenting themselves, but also of the music! It seemed so appropriate to give back to them by treating them with some sartorial respect.
Thanks for all you do! Sarah x
Hello ladies, Thank you for your comment and Happy Mother's Day! Sarah, thank you for writing about the ten-item wardrobe. I will share your post in tomorrow's blog. And Margery, your tip makes comment of the week! Thank you again, to all of you, for writing and chiming in on this fun topic! Best wishes, Jennifer
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