Home > Planning > Setting Up Time-Saving Routines - At Home

Setting Up Time-Saving Routines - At Home

By: Anna Martin - Updated: 15 Oct 2012 | comments*Discuss
 
Time Saving Time Saving Effective

If you live on your own or share living space with loved ones, flatmates or lodgers, introducing a structured routine to deal with household chores, bill paying or responsibilities, will minimise the organisation required and increase the amount of time saved on completing these tasks. Building up a system can simplify domestic life and create a clutter-free environment. It will also encourage others to take responsibility and to contribute to the smooth running of your home.

Share and Share Alike

In order to manage your time most effectively a household timetable, or roster, can be used to help you identify the domestic chores that regularly require attention. Food shopping, washing, cooking and cleaning can then be divided, along with all the other household chores, into manageable tasks. This will help you organise the chores, housework, household paperwork or other responsibilities between everyone sharing your home.

Top Priority

Once you have a list of chores you will be able to prioritise the tasks accordingly. This is best done by tackling the most important job first, and allocating sufficient time for this task to be completed. Your list will also help you identify chores that are more flexible, for instance food shopping, and other tasks that may not be as important. These flexible chores can be adapted so that they are completed once other jobs are done, or delegated to another person.

Time Savers

To save time regular routines can be adapted or altered. Instead of shopping for food at the busy supermarket, why not shop online? Paying bills by direct debt will not only save you time but also money. Setting aside an afternoon to cook, and then freeze, a week’s worth of meals for the family will free up some valuable time. These routines can be changed whenever required and will help your household run more effectively.

Organising Help

Your list of top priority jobs will enable you to organise and plan effectively. Delegate chores to others, and encourage them to take responsibility for the individual tasks. If rotating the chores helps to keep less than interested family members motivated in helping out, plan to alternate the tasks regularly. Enlist the help of children and teenagers and reward them by scheduling free time on the timetable.

If your household is extremely busy, or your workload simply does not allow sufficient time to manage all of the important weekly chores, you may want to consider organising help. You may require particular tasks to be done, or have simple one-offs jobs that you cannot complete yourself or delegate to others. Hiring someone to do these chores for you is always an option. It is relatively easy to find casual help, with cleaning, ironing or shopping. If you require help on a regular basis however, you may decide to contact an agency specialising in provide the service you require. This may not save you money but it will certainly save you time.

Do’s and Don’ts

  • Do – prioritise all the tasks, jobs and chores that require regular attention.
  • Don’t – tackle chores randomly. Being organised will save you time and effort.
  • Do – delegate chores or hire help to maintain your household’s routine.
  • Don’t – expect other people to volunteer help.

You might also like...
Share Your Story, Join the Discussion or Seek Advice..
Why not be the first to leave a comment for discussion, ask for advice or share your story...

If you'd like to ask a question one of our experts (workload permitting) or a helpful reader hopefully can help you... We also love comments and interesting stories

Title:
(never shown)
Firstname:
(never shown)
Surname:
(never shown)
Email:
(never shown)
Nickname:
(shown)
Comment:
Validate:
Enter word:
Topics