I do my laundry at night... hanging up the clothes on the clothesline downstairs. Right now I am using the a/c (it's October at almost 90!) so it is dry by morning. Even if I am not running the a/c (or soon the heat), I can leave my clothes hanging up, not worrying about wrinkles. I have only used my iron 4 times in 3 years! (and mainly not on clothes). I guess that is my time/ $ saver.
 

gardengirl:

I love dashing through the store sans kids so I can get what's on my list and no more. 

Hear, hear.  I often leave the girls with their dad for some quality time while I blaze through the shops.

The other time saver I use every day is I check my menu list against the weather and what we're doing and get dinner started in some small way early in the morning.  That way I'm not frazzled during the "witching hours" of 4-6pm, when all little children seem to be full of energy and want to help with everything!

Also on many Saturdays my neighbor and I do some cleaning or gardening together for a couple of hours.  We get a chance to chat while doing chores we hate, like washing windows, cleaning miniblinds, etc.  We save time and stress by doing it together.

I think my price book will save me time soon, in addition to saving me money.

I keep my price book in a spreadsheet, each item gets a row and has the item's name, price per unit, unit, store, date, and comments.

I've added a column for a check mark if I need the item and the aisle number in the store, so eventually I can sort on these two columns and my shopping list will be done and I will know which aisle I can skip and will also eliminate backtracking.

2Cor521
 

Laundry is a little overwhelming so I've been using those color catchers- that way I don't have to sort colors. I reuse them until they disappear :) I try to get John to bring home meat already ground so we don't have to grind it ourselves and so I can quickly freeze in baggies.  I"m also guilty of using disposable diapers as I'm already pretty deep in laundry.  IN Fact I even thew out some underwear because it really wasn't worth the washing separately 3x to get clean enough to reuse, plus it would tie up the washer while I got the job done- trash got the job done now. 

Frozen fries and tots are big time savers as we have small potatoes that require much extra washing. I have to choose which days I have time to really scrub them- one lady uses her washing machine but once again- mine is already busy.   When I make soap or other messy activities I try to do a lot at one time. That way I just get it over  with and clean up one big mess. 

Keeping messy items childproofed is another biggy for time saving.  The only thing my kids ruined this morning was a whole box of toothpicks.  I just swept them in the trash as they were contaminated and not worth my time to even rebox them.  That's why I keep small syrups on the table and salt and pepper, etc. less mess when "something" happens.  Buying bread will save me time but definately costs more money and it's not as filling.  

 I can what is expensive, syrups, fancy jellies and juices, or all natural fruit cocktail but buy the beans and corn already canned at this stage. Bean flours can save you time as you can make refried beans pretty quick- grind and cook in 5 minutes.  Gotta change the laundry :)

joan of ark
 

I am sooo grateful for homeschooling.  I love spending time with my family and my new 4 mo. old gd.  I try to cut time in the kitchen as much as possible.  I use the crockpot as much as I can.  I also use the grill.  This cuts down on pots and pans and can cook while I do other things.  I try to double up on cooking, chopping, browning and shopping for things we use frequently.  I try to cook double batches of chili, soups, casseroles and sauces when possible.  I try to chop and freeze things like onions, celery, and other fruits or veggies.  I will brown ground beef in double or triple batches.  I shop when things are on sale and then process them at home to make cooking quicker and easier.  I boil extra eggs for adding to green salads or tuna or chicken salads.  I try to wash as I go and I don't mind asking for help if I need it.  My children when they were small, ( I miss that age)  always made an appetizer to serve before dinner.  It was as simple as grapes on a plate, cheese and crackers or something they made from a recipe.  I also make two batches of tea and cookies at a time.  This way their is always something to offer those unexpected guest or my dh when he comes home from another hot day at work. 

I also like to save time in the laundry room.  I have 1 basket in each person's closet, when it is full they will wash either 1load of whites or 1load of jeans themselves and then they may place the other laundry in the family baskets.  1 for whites, 1 for jeans and dark clothes, and 1 for linens and blankets.  These are already sorted when I'm ready to do laundry.  Then when they are dry, I have a set of baskets like you would put childrens toys in.  They are plastic.  My husbands clothes are on top so he does not have to bend over for them.  Mine are next and then my dd and my ds.  Now that my dd has married I use the middle one for linens that need to be put away.  Everyone but my husband puts away their own clothes and everyone does at least 1 load of their own laundry a week.  It really helped when both were home but now my 16 year old almost always does his own laundry.  They started when each turned 8.  Both children could make tea and my dd could cook almost anything but fried foods by the time she was 10. 

In the bathroom, I always try to keep things in stock so their are no quick trips to the store to grab things or no screams from the bathroom (Mom, theres no paper) .  I usually clean the shower while I'm in their, since I'm already wet.  I use what ever soap I'm using.

One other quick tip is to keep a small amount of cash and a full tank of gas..  We never know when an emergecy or an unexpected trip will arise.  Needing gas in the middle of the night is not always easy or safe to get,  especially for the ladies.  Hope this helps someone.  Have a great productive day. 

Joan, I did the same thing with underwear! My dd had to be pushed into underwear (stubborn, nothing else re potty training, was 4), it was about 2mths of pooping in underwear.  If just the underwear that was dirty, I threw it away. I made sure after the first couple of times, I put away the good Dora etc underwear and just kept the cheaper & older stuff in the drawer.  I fiqured for the $1 or less per pair, it was cheaper then running the washing machine on hot for just a pair of underwear.   I used cloth diapers most of the time with my daughter (mom & mil preferred disposible diapers, they had enough of cloth when we were little and there was no choice) but when my son came along and woke me up 6 times a night (til he was 18mths, now 1 -4 times a nite) and we were sick a lot, forget it! that extra loads and work, I couldn't face it.

If you have a dishwaher, I group the utensils accordingly.  All the knifes go in one slot, all the spoons go in another and so on, that way when you are unloading the dishwasher it saves a lot of time not having to sort the utensils.  Just grab the spoons and throw in the spoon slot in the drawer and so on.  I also unload the dishwasher right before I fix dinner using anything out of it first to cook or to set the table before putting everything else away.

Jenn

 Jaon- I never ever sort laundry- all that stuff people wear and towels all gets tossed in!  I have never had a problem- most of our clothes are thrift store or hand-me-down, there is no color to run in them.  Dh does his work clothes seperate on the weekend, and I do take out the baby clothes to do seperate in Dreft cause I love the smell, and think that those things should go in warm-warm, everything else goes in two big combined loads a day, on warm-cold, on regular.  They all get clean, and are fine.

Tracy 

This is an obvious one, but I never thought of it until someone explained it to me.  Our ladies group takes turns cleaning the church in teams, and their big mantra was "let the product do the work for you!"  Spray down the bathroom with your choice of cleaners, and then walk away for 5 or 10 minutes, and let the stuff work before you start in scrubbing.  Walk around the kitchen and spritz those sticky spots on the floor with some soapy water, and let it sit before you start to mop.  Let the dishes soak in the hot, soapy water while you watch the news.  This was my favorite, cleaning the much used stove, wipe all over with clear hot water, then spray on your choice of cleaners, let it sit, etc.  The water helps the cleaner spread around, you don't need as much.  Works for us!

joan of ark:

Laundry is a little overwhelming so I've been using those color catchers- that way I don't have to sort colors.

I just started doing this last week. Sorting laundry IS overwhelming when there are 5 people -- and 3 of them are grownups! I started doing laundry for each person (one person per day) and it is sooo much easier. I do sort whites though, because I like to bleach them -- oh, and some reds too, especially if they are new. Otherwise, everything else just hits the washer all together. One load per day -- no more than two in the winter when clothes cover more and are bulkier.