Quick and sometimes obvious time savers..

sillyvixen · 30 November 2017 at 12:22AM

I wrap gifts as I buy them, and I start buying 6 months in advance using paper bought in January sales) a few mins here or there wrapping seems like nothing at all, where 2 1/2 hours wrapping in the week before christmas when i should be cleaning, sorting out the spare room or doing food prep seems like a huge amount of time. I keep a list of what I have wrapped. And am usually wrapping homemade fresh shortbread for stockings on chrismas eve but everything else is done.

sillyvixen · 30 November 2017 at 12:32AM

Another thing we do at church is a Christmas card board, gin've a donation a write a card to the whole fellowship, rather than spend hours giving cards to loads of people, also as saves on the chance of forgetting someone, and if people are not around the greetings are printed in the church magazine so people feel included even if you did not see them before chrismas.

Oh and the money you would have spent on loads of cards goes to charity. An you can still send an individual card if you want to. We give and get cards from the junior church group and recieve a few from other members.

kboss2010 · 30 November 2017 at 12:40AM

Gift bags - 5 coloured or brown paper bags from Hobbycraft for £2.50 - kids all get the same size gift & all look the same when handed out!

I second the chalkboard in the kitchen to jot down when things run out in cupboards.

I always keep a wash bag with all the travel-sized essentials for a trip in the cupboard so it's just ready to grab & go for travel/gym/overnight stay & u won't 4get ur toothbrush!

I have a box on the table by the door to dump wallets, change, phones etc. & key hooks so things don't go missing when u r in a rush. *make sure it's secure if it's anywhere within sight or reach of your letterbox & a fishing pole

Fill the kettle, put coffee in the cafetiere & pack lunch b4 bed.

I follow bento-style lunches so I don't have to spend ages "making" things (e.g. tiny tub of cottage cheese, oatcakes, handful of grapes & nuts, a small piece of fruit & crisps or chocolate bar - very little assembly required!)

Over-cook for each meal & freeze at least 1 portion of each dish for a collection quick freezer meals on busy days.

Batch cook quiches & scones (sweet or savoury), slice & freeze for snacks.

Easy, cheap soup recipe - bag of frozen peas & 3 ham stock cubes in 500 ml boiling water - cook & blend.

Elliesmum · 30 November 2017 at 12:41AM

Pollycat wrote: »

We always keep the gift bags - birthday and Christmas - and recycle them round friends and family.

My Mum and I have been swapping the same gift bag for 10 years. It's very battered, but it's a tradition now.

EM x

VfM4meplse · 30 November 2017 at 1:46AM

Elliesmum wrote: »

My Mum and I have been swapping the same gift bag for 10 years. It's very battered, but it's a tradition now.

EM x

It will have to go some way to beat Gladstone’s battered budget box.

richj · 30 November 2017 at 8:04AM

we have an online shopping list document that is shared to loads of devices. We then add items as we think of them, so hopefully things don't get forgotten when we go shopping. it usually works great and we have a lot less of those'we forgot to get' moments as we drive home.

Eenymeeny · 30 November 2017 at 10:30AM

Thank you, thank you, some great tips there and just what I was hoping for, a lot of time saving tips gathered together for easy reference. I'll certainly be using a lot of them. Some things are just woven into your life aren't they?
I always return the shopping bags straight to the car boot after emptying so they are always there and I don't have to buy new ones. Bird seed is decanted and kept in a screw top jar at the back door ready for distributing when I take washing out or have my daily sojourn 'down the garden' (Every day, rain or shine, it does my soul good

)
Tidying the car where I sit as passenger means that we can get necessary items into the glove box and papers and cans are lifted out and put into the bin when we return to the drive.
I also keep duplicates of items like toilet rolls and cleaning materials upstairs and downstairs so they are readily available and save running up and down stairs for one item.
PS. Love the tea towel bottle wrapping idea. I'm going to use that one for a young couple who usually receive a bottle of wine each. Lovely idea, and I'll make sure that they know they are both allowed to use them!;)

Primrose · 30 November 2017 at 11:04AM

A sudden cessation of Christmas cards is awkward to handle. You don't know whether the person died (especially if they're elderly or have been unwell) or have just stopped sending cards through cost or some other reason.
We didn't send cards one year because of illness. Somebody just rang and said "I was ringing up to check you weren't dead!" That made me laugh. Nothing like being direct !

VfM4meplse · 30 November 2017 at 12:01PM

Primrose wrote: »

A sudden cessation of Christmas cards is awkward to handle. You don't know whether the person died (especially if they're elderly or have been unwell) or have just stopped sending cards through cost or some other reason.
We didn't send cards one year because of illness. Somebody just rang and said "I was ringing up to check you weren't dead!" That made me laugh. Nothing like being direct !

That probably one thing that can be said in favour of social media - it’s easier to work it out discreetly.

Primrose · 30 November 2017 at 12:12PM

I guess those of us who choose not to engage with social media could discreetly pass away and nobody would know we,ve gone ! I know a few elderly people. (ie older than me) who live alone, don,t have immediate family and don’t even use email. At least with email you can often use a ‘read receipt’ to check the email has been opened and read.

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Quick and sometimes obvious time savers..

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