Saving time: confessions of a slattern

Are you super house proud? Is every cupboard perfectly stacked and organised? Do you have a delicious, home cooked meal on the table for breakfast, lunch and tea? Do your kids leave the house pressed and pristine each morning? No? That’s probably because you are normal and saving time is more important than perfection.

For me, cutting corners saves my sanity when I am super busy, and I don’t mind admitting it.

Saving time with food prep

I know that cooking from scratch saves money and is more nutritious. Nonetheless, I am pretty busy and there are times when I really don’t have the energy. Saving time is often as important as saving money to me.

Although I am not a fan of lots of ‘ping’ meals (too small for the price, too much plastic, a bit too processed), there is nothing wrong with buying the odd jar of sauce to make a curry or bolognese. They can be bought pretty cheaply in Aldi or Lidl.

Every now and again I bulk buy a load of jars and packets from Approved Food (this is my referral link). They are hugely discounted because they are past or near their best before dates, but still perfectly good to eat. They are handy when I am struggling with my energy levels.

Batch cooking is also a great time saver. Even if you just double up when you are making a meal, you can stick the second meal in the freezer for convenience. Or if you are chopping onions, chop more than you need and freeze those to save time.

I love to bake, but I am not above buying the odd cake mix either. Betty Crocker is my favourite. The devil’s food cake is to die for and I was delighted to find a gluten free version in Aldi the recently. They are easy to make vegan too, by substituting the egg for a cup of cola.

I have some quick and easy recipe ideas here.

Not so house proud

I cut corners in other areas of my life too. Housework is a bug bear for me. I hate the time it takes to clean the house from top to bottom, but I dislike a dirty house more. Spending hours and hours cleaning at the weekend is not ideal, though.

I will never be the type of person that cleans the skirting boards with a toothbrush or scrubs the bathroom every day.  Life is too short!  I whizz round with a the bathroom spray and the hoover once a week and get the whole lot done in 3 hours or so. Things look pretty clean and organised nonetheless. I keep the house tidy as I go, as that is less time consuming.

If you have a house full of people, make sure you rota them into help with household chores. Sharing is caring!

Life’s too short to iron a tea towel

Ironing is boring and time consuming. I prefer to give things a good shake and hang them to dry as neatly as I can. Mostly I don’t buy clothing that will crumple so badly it needs ironing. I wouldn’t dream of ironing towels, tea towels or bedlinen. This way I keep this task to a minimum.

I’m not the type of person who wears a top for two hours then chucks it in the laundry basket. I wear things at least twice if I haven’t broken into a sweat. Clothes last longer if you wash them less.

Saving time in the garden

We used to have two big vegetable patches. I love growing some of our own food but this was way too time consuming. Last year we cultivated just the one and chucked a load of wildflower seeds on the other. The bees and butterflies loved it.

The garden is big. The space is fantastic but we could spend every spare moment maintaining it and saving time is really important. We both work a lot and don’t have the hours that Monty Don has. We are saving time in the garden by gradually planting low maintenance plants such as shrubs and bulbs. This is a work in progress.

Relax

It is really easy to set yourself impossibly high standards. We can easily be drawn into the Instagram pictures of beautiful homes and gardens, perfect shiny families and chef standard cooking. If that floats your boat and gives you pleasure, then it is time well spent. However, if time saving is important for you, try relaxing your standards, saving time and enjoying a bit more leisure. Nobody is perfect!

You will find more time saving ideas here.

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