Stop wasting time and money on tasks that could be so much easier with these time savers for moms who have too much on their plate. Learn about seven sites and services that will increase your productivity and even improve your wardrobe!
On the evening of July 6, 2010, my husband and I sat at a pristine white booth in a trendy Boston restaurant. As I surveyed the crowd of well-heeled millennials enjoying cleverly-named cocktails, just one thought ran through my mind.
God, I hope my water doesn’t break on this fancy white seat in front of all these fancy people.
You see, I was pregnant with my first child. Overdue. By eight flippin’ days.
I’d had a failed induction earlier that morning, so we ate gourmet Italian food while waiting for the hospital to have an open bed so the doctors could start a more aggressive induction procedure.
As different from the other patrons as I felt in that moment, I was blissfully unaware of how much life would change in about 48 hours.
- Time to eat out at trendy city restaurants? Forget it. Now I have to google which restaurants are hot before making a once-every-six-months date night reservation.
- Alone time perusing the racks at J. Crew? Not with a screaming kiddo in tow.
- Time to leisurely organize and decorate my home? Hah! Even when I find the time, in 20 minutes the throw pillows are back on the floor.
Figure out where to save time.
Caring for another human takes time away from doing what we loved to do (and had to do) before becoming a parent, while simultaneously adding a zillion more tasks to our list.
Eventually, we all reach the point where something’s gotta give.
Do you ever feel dried out and depleted some days?
Moms will never have enough hours in the day, so we have to figure out how to save time by increasing our productivity.
Over seven years of parenthood, especially within the past year since adding a canine child to our family, I’ve discovered time-saving tools and sites to make life a little easier.
I’m sharing these tips today to help moms like you:
- Save a trip to the store
- Have something nice to wear
- Get (and stay) organized
- Save a few bucks
- Make sure your furry friends are cared for
Let’s get started!
Time Savers For Moms: 7 Ways to Get More Done, Faster
This post contains affiliate links and personal referral codes. If you purchase or sign up through these links, I will receive a commission or referral bonus. This is at no additional cost to you, and in some cases, you’ll actually receive a discount! For more information, please see my disclosures.
1. Say goodbye to awkward dressing rooms with StitchFix
Fluorescent lights, the wrong shoes, and screaming child are all valid reasons to avoid dressing rooms, so I’ve bought clothes online for as long as online shopping’s been a thing. Which is why I can’t believe it took five different friends telling me to try Stitch Fix before I finally scheduled my first “fix”.
What is Stitch Fix?
Stitch Fix calls itself an “online personal styling service for busy women” (although they now have a men’s line, too) and it’s a fantastic way to get a whole outfit delivered to your door. You can set up regular deliveries (mine come every other month) or just order whenever you feel like it. After filling out a very detailed style profile in which you select your budget, sizes, and styles you like, you’re assigned a personal stylist.
This was my first fix. I kept three of the five items (sadly, not the killer heels).
What I love about Stitch Fix
Since I’m just 5’1″ tall, I love that Stitch Fix carries petite clothing! They also have plus sizes and men’s clothing, so they try to serve everyone. I’m able to leave notes for my stylist like “No dry-clean only items” or “I need new skinny jeans” and she tries to take that into consideration. The package arrives with a note from the stylist about why she chose these particular items, as well as a card showing different outfit ideas for each item.
You can exchange items for different sizes and return what you don’t want for free! All of my exchanges happened very quickly, too.
So far, Stitch Fix has been a great way to add unique colors and patterns to my wardrobe that I may have passed up if I’d seen them in the store. Plus, the service is a big time-saver since they put the outfits together for you. No more time wasted staring at my closet wondering what to wear!
2. Go green and get clean (in the mail)
If you prefer cleaning yourself and your house with healthier alternatives to traditional cleaners, then you’ll love Grove Collaborative. It’s an online general store of organic and natural beauty products, household cleaners, and more that offers scheduled monthly shipments. That means less time at the store and never running out of what you need!
One of my recent shipments included free full-size Method hand soap thanks to my VIP membership.
What is Grove Collaborative?
Grove Collaborative describes itself as an “auto-replenishment service”. This means that when you purchase something, Grove creates a schedule for when you’re expected to need more of that item. Some items may set up to ship monthly, others less frequently.
But (and this is key) you can skip a shipment or totally delete it from your schedule if you don’t want to receive it anymore. I constantly refine my Grove “pantry” based on what we need each month and which new products I want to try, and Grove reminds me a week before my items ship to give me a chance to make changes.
I only receive what I want, when I need it.
What I love about Grove Collaborative
Slowly but surely we’re switching to more natural cleaning and personal care products, and Grove has a lot to choose from. Prices are comparable to Target, but I don’t have to deal with the parking lot. They carry brands like Seventh Generation, Tom’s of Maine, Burt’s Bees, Method, Mrs. Meyer’s, and lots more.
Although Grove is free to join, there are perks to being a VIP Member (which I am), including free full-size products five times a year and free shipping. These perks are worth way more than the $20 I paid to join the VIP program!
Need more time? These sites & services will save you time and money!3. Organize your papers and ideas with Evernote
Ever have that moment when you suddenly need a copy of your kid’s annual physical report for a school and can’t remember where you put it? Evernote solves those paper problems and lots more.
What is Evernote?
Evernote is a powerful digital notebook that allows you to quickly save and organize web pages, PDFs, photos, and scanned papers. You can also use it to write notes, create lists, and make audio notes. There’s a mobile app, desktop app, and Chrome extension that all sync with one another, which ensures that you can access your notes at all times.
What I love about Evernote:
Evernote acts as a giant filing cabinet and notebook all rolled into one. Here are some of the many ways I use it:
- Organize printed and digital recipes in a virtual cookbook (see my detailed post on this here)
- Virtually file and organize important papers, which I scan using the Scannable app on my phone
- Save and sort photos of my kids’ artwork (this is something new I’m trying)
- Keep track of Christmas wish lists and purchased gifts
- Create notes to brainstorm blog topics
- Plan shopping lists and menus for parties and holiday gatherings
Evernote’s powerful tagging and search capabilities combined with its ability to sync with multiple devices make it fast and easy to find important documents when and where I need them.
4. Find coupon codes fast with Honey
Don’t you just hate it when you spend time googling for coupon codes, only to find out they’ve expired? Honey does all the work for you!
What is Honey?
This Chrome plugin automatically alerts you about coupons during checkout, then quickly tests them all for you to find the best one. Just the other day I got a free movie ticket on Fandango.com thanks to Honey!
Although I had a coupon for my recent 1-800-PetMeds.com order, Honey found a better one for me.
What I love about Honey:
On Amazon, Honey will let you know if the item’s price recently dropped and whether it’s cheaper from a different seller. You can also add the item to your “drop list”, where Honey will track the price and alert you when it drops.
5. Buy pretty much anything fast with Amazon Prime
If you don’t have Amazon Prime, what are you waiting for? Jeff Bezos is taking over the world, and Amazon is a busy mom’s best friend with great prices, free shipping, and free returns.
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is an annual subscription that offers loads of VIP benefits for Amazon shoppers. Some of the perks of a Prime membership include:
- Free two-day shipping, and free same-day shipping on many items in certain locations
- Free returns
- Loads of free TV shows and movies you can stream from your computer or Internet-enabled TV (I use this feature all the time for the kids!)
- Free e-books
- and more!
With Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods, Prime Members will receive soon receive discounts there as well.
I can quickly and easily purchase almost anything and have it on my doorstep in two days or less. Plus, my kids can watch a wide variety of family-friendly shows and movies for free on our internet-enabled TV and computers.
And of course, Amazon Prime is perfect for last-minute shoppers and those of us who work in an office all day and can’t escape to the store during our lunch break.
Time-savers for pet parents
My “third child” is our dog, Sadie, who we rescued last year. We quickly discovered how expensive dog ownership can be, so here are two services that make our pet-parenting so much easier.
It’s hard to stay mad at this face!
6. Rover
Our adorable but slightly psychotic pup hates other dogs, cats, bunnies, wild turkeys and basically all other animals. So when we travel, we need a house sitter who can handle a cuddly but crazy dog with fear-based aggression.
That’s where Rover comes in. Rover is an online search and booking tool for
- Dog walking
- House sitting
- Dog boarding
- Doggy daycare
- and drop-in visits
You can search for local pet care providers and Rover takes care of background checks, payment, and all communication. They assign both you and the caregivers a unique phone number so you can text back and forth without giving away your personal details until you’re ready.
We’ve used Rover for house sitters and a temporary dog-walker with great success. Dog walkers provide a detailed map of where they walked the dog, what time they picked it up and dropped it off, how many pees/poops (if you care about that sort of thing), and a photo of your tired pooch.
If you register for an account through my referral link, you’ll get $20 to spend on your first booking!
7. Chewy
Chewy is basically the Amazon of pet supplies, but I prefer it because the selection is more curated and I often find better prices there. Plus, their shipping times are typically just as lightning-fast (or even faster!) than Amazon Prime.
The big benefit of Chewy is the auto-ship schedule you can set up for loads of different products – including some toys! It’s easy to adjust your shipment schedule at any time.
Then there’s good customer service. When my friend’s dog passed and she canceled her auto-shipment, the Chewy team sent a sympathy card. Totally unexpected and very nice!
Time-Saving Tips for Moms to Help You Stay Sane
I use all of these time-saving sites, apps, and services to gain a bit of time back in my day and keep a little money in my wallet. As a busy mom, I will take all the help I can get – and I hope you’ll find at least a few of them helpful, too.
To recap, here are the time savers worth checking out:
- Stitch Fix to get whole outfits in the mail, styled just for you, on a regular basis.
- Grove Collaborative to keep your cleaning closet and vanity drawers stocked natural household cleaners, beauty products, and more.
- Evernote to organize your lists, photos, digital paperwork, and more.
- Honey to find online coupons automatically.
- Amazon Prime to get pretty much anything fast.
- Rover to hire quality pet sitters and dog walkers.
- Chewy for automatic shipments of pet food and supplies to make sure your pet’s bowl is always filled at a great price.
What are your favorite time-saving tips? Which sites or apps do you love to use to save time and money?
Check out these other ideas!
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