Tuesday's Time Saving {Exit Strategy} Tip

I haven't done a Time Saving Tip in a while, have I? Probably because I can't help others be efficient if I'm drowning in my own poor time management! It only took 5 months (today's Jason's 5 month birthday!) but I'm finally getting my life and my routine back under control. And I have a new tip to share that's been a sanity saver for me.

I doubt I'm the only one who struggles to get everyone ready and out the door. Let alone arriving at my destination on time. If I get everyone ready too early, I've noticed that I will try to do one more quick thing before getting into the van, then suddenly I'm barking orders to get everyone buckled up and on our way.

Now that I have three little people (and an extra big person in the evenings and on weekends) to wrangle together, I've come up with a great trick to keep everyone from getting distracted or wandering away once I'm ready to leave.

Lately, once the big kids have their jackets and shoes on, I've been sending them to the garage to get into the van. But now that it's getting warmer (soon to be 100+++ degrees in the garage and smothering hot in the back of the van, even with the doors open) I needed a new strategy.

So my NEW thing is this: whoever is ready to walk out the door now sits on the couch until it's time to leave. I have a couple of books for the kids to look through while they wait, but usually the baby is sitting in his car seat nearby and the prefer to oogle at him.

Keeping them still and in one location has been a life saver. No one's running back upstairs for "one more thing" or standing in the open refrigerator or getting out a new bucket of toys in the playroom. They sit. Quietly, at that! Which allows me to fly around the kitchen filling water bottles, grabbing snacks and gathering coupons/the camera/the diaper bag without tripping over short people at my heels.

I still have to remind them to sit on the couch once their ready to go, but they've been happy to comply, especially since they realize that they stay out of trouble there.

Bonus Time Saving Tip #1: If we're on our way somewhere that's really time sensitive (like the bus stop or pre-school), I set my oven timer to go off about a minute before we need to walk out the door. When the timer buzzes, everyone heads to the front door or the van (depending), I turn off the timer, grab my purse and the baby and we leave. Time seems to get away from me so quickly anymore; this has REALLY helped me!

Bonus Time Saving Tip #2: When we come home from church or somewhere that I know that Jason's diaper bag was used, I immediately go through to make sure everything is ready for next time. I keep diapers and wipes in my purse for everyday errands and only use the diaper bag if I'm leaving Jason in someone else's care. So once we're home, I put the used bottle in the sink, check for dirty burp cloths or a change of clothes to replace and stick a couple new diapers inside before putting the bag on its hook in the pantry.