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17 Time-Saving Parenting Tips
(Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2019)
What is it “they say” about time? Time is money. Time is gold.Yep, it’s gold. It is something I always wish I had, but it’s really hard to find.
Sometimes I feel like nothing gets done. With so many interruptions it’s hard to finish any of the tasks I start.
One day while I was in the middle of doing laundry, my toddler was calling for me, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!”
I thought to myself before responding, If I hurry, I can finish folding this laundry really quick. After all, I am almost done.
The next thing I knew, he was coming up the stairs carrying the little training potty. He said, “Look mama, I went poop and pee!” He was so excited.
On the other hand, I was NOT excited and yelled out, “Please tell me you did NOT spill that!”
There is never a dull moment in my house, and this is why I get nothing done.
Over time, as a mom of three, I have learned some tips and tricks which save me time… and save my sanity.
Tips and Tricks for Babies:
1. Fels-Naptha Stain Bar
Not a day goes by where my baby has stain-free clothes. At the end of the day, I end up with at least one pair of stained clothing. Soaking took way too much time, so I needed to find something which worked fast. The Fels-Naptha Stain Bar is quick, easy to use, and inexpensive. I simply wet the clothing, rub it on the stain, let it sit for a minute, and throw it in the wash. That’s it! The stain is gone.
2. Wash bottles in a large bowl.
We use Dr. Brown’s Bottles and there are so many pieces to wash! Washing and rinsing each piece one by one takes so long. This technique is much faster:
Grab a large bowl.
Add some soap and water.
Throw all the parts in.
Scrub each piece with a bottle brush at once.
Rinse.
Done.
My five-year-old likes to help with this one which saves me even more time. There is nothing like making chores fun so the kids want to help.
3. BabyBum Diaper Cream Brush
Never want to touch diaper cream again? It can happen. This BabyBum Diaper Cream Brush is a life-saver. I simply put the ointment on the brush, rub it on baby’s bottom, and clean it with a wipe.
4. Use stickers to label breast milk with the date.
When pumping and breastfeeding, we bought these simple stickers. If milk was going into the fridge, I would simply write the date and time on a sticker and stick it on the container I pumped into. This made my life easier because when pumping in the early morning or middle of the night, I was usually in a daze. I always forgot which milk came from which pump session. If freezing the milk right away, we used these breastmilk storage bags and simply wrote the date and time on the bag.
5. Zip-up sleepers are key, because who has time for buttons?
With three children to take care of, I simply did not have time to button up baby sleepers. There are so many buttons! In my haste, I could never find which buttons were supposed to snap together. I always ended up with a hole somewhere due to a missed button. Zip-up sleepers are the best, especially in the dark during middle-of-the-night feeds and changes.
6. Use bibs with plastic backing.
My baby is a messy eater. Food gets everywhere. Why she loves to smash her food in her hands and then rub it on her face, I will never know. Bibs with plastic backing ensure the food doesn’t soak through and onto baby’s clothing. One less outfit to wash is always a win.
7. Put extra pacifiers in the crib.
If you have a pacifier-lover, put more than one pacifier in the crib so they can easily find them during naptime and nighttime. Less interrupted infant sleep equals more time, or rest, for us. There is no such thing as too much sleep these days. We use the WubbaNub pacifiers which are super easy to find in the crib.
8. Cradle Cap Brush
We used this cradle cap brush from the beginning and it removed and prevented cradle cap. Simply add shampoo and gently rub this brush all over baby’s head. Then, rinse. It is easy, quick, and effective.
9. Pull the onesie down after diaper blow outs.
When a blowout happens, poop can literally end up everywhere while trying to remove the onesie. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure this tip out. The top of most onesies have little folds. You can simply pull the onesie down and off the feet. Viola! Less mess and no poop in baby’s hair!
Tricks and Tips for Toddlers:
10. Wet Brush
This brush may be the best thing that has ever happened to me. Where have you been all my life? I am not even kidding. My oldest has long hair, and let me tell you, brushing it out after a bath is NOT fun. That is, until I started using this brush. It detangles and there are no more tears. Win!
11. Pulls for light-switches
The amount of times I am in the middle of something and my toddler has to go potty “RIGHT NOW” is unbelievable. I am pretty sure they wait until we are in the middle of something to ask. He is too tiny to reach the light-switch so I always had to stop everything I was doing and run to turn on the light. Now, with this light switch extender, he can turn on the light by himself.
12. Place a coffee filter in the bottom of the toddler potty.
Adding a simple coffee filter in the bottom of a training potty really helps when it comes to poop. Way less residue is left in the potty. Win! This tip is thanks to a blog post by onecrazyhouse.com.
During potty training, we keep a toddler potty in the car in case of emergencies. I learned this tip the hard way. It is especially helpful to have a few coffee filters and diaper disposal bags on hand for the car in case of a toddler poop emergency. There is no harm in doubling or tripling them up either!
13. Hershey syrup can make medicine taste better.
One of my children struggles with taking medicine. Often when medicine is required, there are tears, screams, and sometimes even vomiting. Our pediatrician recommended mixing the yucky-tasting medicine with Hershey’s Chocolate syrup. This trick has worked wonders for us.
14. Put all stuffed animals in a bean bag chair.
Over the years, we have accumulated a lot of stuffed animals. This is probably the understatement of the year. The amount of time we spent cleaning up and re-organizing stuffed animals was mind-blowing. Now, when our stuffed animals aren’t in use, we simply zip them all up in this Stuffed Animal Storage Bean Bag Chair. It looks so cute in the kids’ rooms, and it doubles as a comfy place to sit.
15. Use mattress pads to protect the bed.
My kids have double and queen beds, so we use two of these waterproof mattress pads under the sheets which cover most of the mattress. I keep an extra in the closet in case it is needed in the middle of the night. This makes changing sheets due to an accident or illness much easier.
16. Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel Lice Prevention Conditioning Spray
We spray this Rosemary Repel Lice Prevention Leave-In Conditioning Spray on our daughter’s long hair before school. So far, no lice. Enough said.
17. Disposable Placemats
These disposable placemats have been so great when I am short on time. I simply ball them up and toss them after meals. There is way less mess for me to clean.
I hope these hacks will save you as much time as they have saved me! What is your favorite time-saving hack? Share it in the comments. Let’s help each other out.
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Great list. I followed many of the tips you listed like the coffee filter in the potty, the onesie secret and the stuffed animal storage. The lice spray is a new one and now that my daughter is in preschool this is something I’m defiantly going to check out. Goes to show that when you encounter a list make sure to read it carefully because chances are there will always be something new to learn.
Hi Noteworthy Mommy! Thank you so much. I am so glad you found the list helpful and that you also have tried some of these tips! It’s great to hear they also work well for others!
I wish I knew about the coffee filter and bean bag tips sooner. So awesome!
Hi Rosey! Thank you so much! I agree! I would have used the trick with my oldest for sure!
I will never forget hearing the onesie trick for the first time. It was like a light bulb came on. They can’t expect us to figure that stuff out when we’re sleep-deprived. The coffee filter in the infant potty trick is an awesome one that never occurred to me. Great post!
Hi Anissa! Thank you so much for your sweet words! I feel the same way! When I first learned of the trick I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before. I will also blame it on the sleep deprivation!
I did not learn that onesie trick until my second child. A friend of mine showed me that all you had to do was slide it down (I thought they were just crazy making the necks so large on onesies). Duh. Great tips! I definitely wish I had some of these when my little ones were babies.
Hi Megan! Thank you so much! I appreciate your sweet words! I agree, I learned with my second and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before!
Wow love these tips! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Monica! Thank you! You are so welcome!