My husband and I were talking about the most important thing to us earlier today and we both put ‘time’ at the top of the list. It’s such a finite resource that I’ve always made it a priority and I’ve realised that there are many things I do to save time. And, as you can guess from the name of my blog, saving money is another thing that I like to focus on. So, in today’s post, I’m going to admit to some rather messy habits that I have, which save me both time and money – here goes..!
1 NOT PAIRING SOCKS
All my life I’ve paired up socks before putting them away in my underwear drawer. But a couple of weeks ago, I was in such a rush to put my clean washing away that I just scooped up all the socks from the drying rack and plonked them straight into the drawer. And, you know what? It wasn’t a problem.
The next time I needed a pair of socks, I could easily spot two matching ones to grab and put on. No rummaging required, no time lost. If I continue not pairing socks, I reckon it’ll save me about ten minutes a week for the rest of my life. Ditto folding underwear. And don’t even get me started on ironing socks and pants! Just don’t do it, okay??
2 RE-USING TEABAGS
Not much of a time-saver but definitely a money saver. I know we’re looking at pence-per-teabag, but it’s also helpful to the environment to use less, right? I had always used every teabag just once in the past – the box even says ‘one-cup’ on it, so I stuck to that rule. But, if you think back to our parent’s and grandparent’s days, teabags were regularly used for more than one cup. Especially if brewed in a teapot.
For the past 6 months I’ve been making a second cup of tea out of every tegbag and I haven’t noticed any difference in the quality of my tea. If my husband and I both want a cup, he gets the ‘first brewing’ because he likes a stronger cuppa, whereas I always have a milky tea so it makes no difference to me if I’m having the second brewing. I haven’t gone as far as a third cup, but I might give it a go…
3 NOT CLEANING MIRRORS
I’ve recently been looking into the Fly Lady home cleaning method via Steph’s YouTube channel The Secret Slob. And I was surprised to discover that shining your mirrors is supposed to be a weekly thing. I probably clean my bathroom mirror when it’s mucky, but not as part of a routine. I actually can’t remember the last time I wiped my bedroom mirror. And the light-up mirror inside my DIY alcove dressing table has never been cleaned. I must be saving time by not cleaning mirrors every week, right?
4 REUSING CLOTHES WITH HOLES
I’m really not bothered about wearing my clothes until they are completely worn out. I will happily pull on leggings with holes in and then patch them up when I next get out my sewing needle. If an item of clothing gets really bad, then I’ll still wear it but for cleaning, gardening or decorating. It would have to be in a pretty disgusting state for me to actually throw it in the recycling bin and purchase a new version. I’ve had t-shirts that I’ve upcycled multiple times over the years (which is a handy way to cover up stains!) and they are still in my ‘mucky clothes’ drawer.
5 NOT FOLDING FITTED SHEETS
It’s difficult to do and who really cares if a fitted sheet gets crumped in teh cupboard? It’s going to be stretched over my mattress and will look perfectly flat so there’s never any need to waste time folding a fitted sheet. And while we’re on the subject, it has to be a pretty special occasion for me to want to iron duvet covers and pillowcases. Guests coming to stay is probably the only time my linens will ever see an iron. And blimey, it takes a long time.
6 NOT DRYING THE WASHING UP
I’ll let it drip dry. I never dry up. Who has the time to stand there and dry up after having washed up in the first place? I come back to it an hour or so later – probably when I’m making a second cup of tea from that teabag – and then I’ll put away the dry pans while the kettle boils. Multi-tasking, see? Sure it looks messy on the sink drainer for a little while but it hasn’t taken up any of my spare time.
What other household hacks or reusing tips do you have for saving time and money? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to find some new messy habits to adopt!
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