As a busy working parent, it’s easy to feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day to fit everything in. So how do you make the most of the time you do have? We asked our Family Room bloggers to share the strategies that save them time and energy as they juggle the demands of working parenthood. 

Time-Saving Strategies for Busy Families

“Try and avoid the clothing battles. I find that if I don’t care what the kids wear to school (within reason – especially weather appropriateness) then we cut out a lot of time lost in negotiations.” - Emily

“Always have a plan. On Sundays we take a look at the calendar and talk about everyone’s crazy schedules – when is mom working early or late, what days is dad traveling, what special activities does our little guy have during the week, who is going to yoga or Crossfit on which nights, etc. Sitting down and setting up a game plan makes us both more relaxed going into the week, knowing that we’re not winging it every day. Of course, our best-laid plans are sure to change, but starting the week off organized helps us look forward to the week ahead rather than experiencing the “Sunday night blues.”- Marisa

“I keep my fridge neat. It drives me crazy when I can’t find items in the refrigerator. Prior to my weekly food shopping trip, I clean out the old food from the refrigerator and take an inventory of what we have and what we need. Then, I stock our new groceries in their designated shelves or drawers so everything is easy to find (for me and the family).” - Amy

“Pizza :) In all seriousness, as a working mom whose husband travels quite often, I rely on some shortcut dinners, like Taco Bar and Make Your Own Sandwich Night, that don’t require much thought or prep work. I also love that they get the kids involved, too!” - Melissa

"My husband and I have a shared email account, so we sync that calendar on our phones to stay on top of appointments, events, late meetings at work, etc. We also use an app for our to-dos and grocery and shopping lists. We like that it syncs across multiple phones, so we can add both add to it or check items off at the same time. I’ll admit that I personally find paper lists easier while grocery shopping, but the ability to split up at the store and check items off as we go to get through shopping in half the time is a huge benefit!" - Laura

“I prep as much of my son’s lunches as I can on Sundays. I pick one fruit and one veggie for his weekly lunches and prep them ahead of time in his lunch containers. I then keep the prepped veggie and fruit alongside yogurt pouches in a drawer in the fridge. When I make lunches each day I then just grab one of each for his lunch box. I also double up on dinner as all of us (my husband, son and I) eat dinner leftovers for lunch the next day most days; by packing it up after dinner the night before in our lunch containers pulling together lunches the next day takes me less than 10 minutes.” - Aili