10 time saving hacks for working parents.

By CYNTHIA PEARCE

Being a working mum can be great. As long as you love your job, love your kids and accept the fact that you’ll never have enough time in your day, and that sleep is optional, you’re all set.

Or, you can save crucial minutes with Mummy Hacks like this. They are absolute GOLD.

You can work, raise your kids, get some sleep AND have time for breakfast.

Mummy Hack #1 – The easy-as school bag holder.

A school bag nook is something every working parent needs. All you have to do is go to the hardware store, buy two pieces of wood, paint them a groovy colour, secure around 8 hooks on to them (4 per piece) and then secure it in the kitchen of your home or entryway.

This is where all bags live, especially school bags.

The great thing about the school bag nook is that you never lose the school bags and hats, because you will teach your kids to hang them there as soon as they get home, they are nice and high which makes packing them and unpacking them easier, and you won’t ever trip over them.

Use the other hooks for the kids’ sports bags, excursion bags and your handbag. And things like school ties.

 Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Dairylea. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in her own words.

Mummy Hack#2 – The colour-coded shoe lace trick.

When teaching your kids to tie their shoelaces (especially efficiently) you need this failsafe trick.

Get two different coloured shoelaces and weave them through your child’s shoes. Make it so that half the shoelace is one colour, and the other half is a different colour.

That way, when your child is learning to loop, swoop and pull they’ll know which shoelace they should be looping and which one they should be pulling through

Mummy Hack#3 – The get-dressed production line.

Forget getting kids dressed and ready one-by-one. What a waste of time. Here’s what you do.

Before getting your kids out of bed, get all their clothes for the day ready and put them in the living area, lined up one after the other. As your children get out of bed, brush their teeth and stumble into the living area, point them towards their pile. Older kids can dress themselves and as you dress younger kids, you can hurry them along.

Then they can eat breakfast while you get ready.

Mummy Hack #4 – The freezer lunches.

You have to become really efficient with your time, and that means being prepared. Why pack lunches every morning when you can do a week, or even two weeks in advance.

Over the weekend, make all your children’s sandwiches for the week, including you own, and put them in the freezer. Then, pack them in bags each morning and by lunchtime they will have thawed perfectly.

Do the same for morning tea. Pack enough for a week or two in labelled brown paper bags and in the morning you just have to add fruit.

Mummy Hack #5 – The money jar ATM.

We have a giant red tin on our kitchen bench that says, ‘Biscuits’. It is full of small change. Every time we have spare coins or too much change we throw it all in there and that’s the money I use for lunch orders and for all the other things kids need to bring money to school for.

There are donut days, gift stalls, donation days, tuckshop money…all sorts of things.

I often don’t read school notes until the morning before school and then there’s no time to go to an ATM for money for school events.

Mummy Hack #6 – The great car swap.

Take the time to make friends with the parents of your children’s friends so you can eventually help each other. I have a good little group of parents I can call on for a rescue if I have an early meeting or if I am running late for something.

I help them too. We help each other.

During school holidays we often split the week and look after each other’s children while the other works. It’s such a life-saver and such a comfort to be friends with other working parents.

Mummy Hack #7 – The essentials home delivery.

In most areas you can get a bread and milk delivery, just like the old-fashioned milkman from childhood. The company I use delivers bread and milk twice a week and I can add things like fruit, veg and bacon when needed, even ham and sliced cheese.

The delivery is so necessary because no matter how organised I am, I always seem to run out of milk. And going to the shopping centre for just two or three items (with kids in tow) is such a time waster.

Mummy Hack #8 – The Tic Tac box makeover.

You know those Tic Tac packs? I never throw them away. Being a busy mum is all about getting organised and you just know your kids are going to pop a button or need a bobby pin at the last minute, or want glitter for a fairy picture, or small sticks to make a battle ground.

So keep all your little lolly containers. You can use them for buttons, safety pins, paper clips, hair ties, bobby pins, glitter, sticks; pretty much anything small enough to fit in there.

Mummy Hack #9 – The homework session.

My children have homework to complete each evening, but it’s not due until the end of the week. Who says it has to be done every single day. It’s too hard. By the time I fall through the door each evening the last thing I want to do is lots of homework with my children.

So we do it twice a week instead.

Two days each week we sit down while I make dinner and knock it out. We do a lot and still get it all done by the time it is due. They will whinge a bit, but will soon get used to it. Just remind them that the following night they don’t have to do a thing.

Mummy Hack #10 – The fridge magnet art.

Repeat after me, ‘Fridge magnets are not for art’. They are for school notes and reminders. I am too busy to take notice of all the reminders I have set in my smart phone so I have no choice but to scribble out reminders and put them on the fridge.

Same goes for the kid’s school notes. If I put them straight on the fridge each day they are the first thing I see and since I’ve been doing it, I’ve only forgotten one school event which, thankfully, my child wasn’t performing in anyway.

Find another spot for art if you can, like a pin board next to your school bag nook.

If you have any great Mummy Hacks share them in the form below for your chance to WIN!

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What are the ‘life-hacking’ secrets to your Mummy success? Share your creative MUMMY HACKS and you could WIN the ULTIMATE MUMMY HACK Holiday – 7 nights in a tropical Queensland resort -thanks to DAIRYLEA. There’s a Kids Club, so you can relax while they’re entertained all day long!  

See mummyhacks.com.au/competition for full details and T&Cs.

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DAIRYLEA, the DAIRYLEA device and MUMMY HACK are trade marks of Mondelez International Group used under licence.