How I Get 4+ Hours of My Life Back Every Month (+ Keep My Sanity)

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Last Updated on May 21st, 2019

Because my husband + kids insist on eating three meals a day with a cajillion snacks in between, I have to grocery shop.

I’m not sure if I despise anything more than dragging one to three kids through a grocery store (or any store for that matter) while they point at anything and everything asking if they can have it.

I’d almost rather have a prostate exam–and I don’t have a prostate.

Plus, who has time for that? Here are some time management tips for moms like you + me so we can get some of our time (+ a glimpse of our life) back.

Amazon Subscription

Since my first daughter was a baby, I have subscribed to diapers, wipes, and eventually pull-ups through Amazon. Then, along came baby snacks and baby food, and eventually teething wafers, etc.

Nothing saves more time than my shipment showing up once a month like clockwork. I don’t have to even think about it because there it is right when I need it.

Time management tips for moms at its best right here.

Honest Co.

I now subscribe to the Honest Co. diaper and wipe bundle instead of getting diapers and wipes from Amazon. I found the bundles through Honest Co. to be comparable in pricing to Amazon and the diaper patterns are so cute.

Seriously, though, the Honest Co. diapers and wipes don’t have any chemicals that smell funny or irritate the baby’s skin.

I can choose different designs (if I want to) for each delivery, season, or holiday or stick with the same designs. I can also set the delivery schedule for whatever timeframe I want.

The timeframes are more flexible than Amazon subscription and if you need it right away the price doesn’t change like it does on Amazon.

Chewy

Around the time my husband was traveling for work a lot, I decided schlepping to the pet store to wrestle a 40-50lb. bag of dog food into my cart, then into my truck, and then into my house wasn’t my idea of a good time.

Call me crazy.

This is when I found and started using Chewy.com. This too is on autopilot so I don’t have to think whether or not Lola or Poppy needs food. The dog and cat food just shows up on the schedule that I have set.

Life changing.

Instacart

My latest time-saving obsession is Instacart. I have been using it on a weekly basis for the last month for groceries from Aldi.

I L-O-V-E that I can use my phone to add items to my shopping cart as I have a few minutes or realize that I am out of an item. Then, I can choose the date and the time slot that the groceries show up.

I especially have a fondness for the fact that I can “watch” the app as my shopper goes through my list to approve or decline substitutions as they shop. I have also discovered that I can go through my cart ahead of time to choose specific replacement items, request a refund, or allow the shopper to choose a replacement.

Mind blowing!

Jet + Boxed

Another one of my greatest discoveries is Jet.com and Boxed.com. They are respectively the BJs and Costco of the online world. While you can’t buy too much in the way of fresh items, you can buy non-perishables in bulk (or singly from Jet).

Again, add everything to your cart and it shows up at your door. The only thing I wish both of these sites offered is a subscription service so I could set certain items to show up regularly rather than having to manually shop for them when I need them.

Not a deal breaker but it would be nice.

Meal Plan

Half the battle of making dinner each night for my family is knowing what I am going to make in the first place. Meal plans are essential to saving time + saving money. I discovered $5 meal plans, where I receive weekly plans in my inbox for JUST $5 per month.

As an added bonus, these meals are inexpensive to make so I can usually feed my family for about $2 per person (about $10 per meal)!

So, there you have it, ladies. I save at least four hours (if not more) each month by not having to leave the house to shop for diapers, wipes, pull-ups, dog food, cat food, or groceries. I can shop in my not-so-flattering-to others (but super comfy) yoga pants, play with my kids, work, or what-ev while my groceries and goods are heading my way.