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 SELF CARE FOR PARENTS

Stage 3

Time Saving by Planning Meals Ahead

Making Family Life Easy 3

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The time and money used for ongoing planning of meals and small shopping trips can be instead used for something more worthwhile: e.g.

  • Home renovations/ housework

  • Education/ self development

  • Fitness

  • Assisting child success

  • Socialising and relaxation: engaging in fun activities that help build relationships

  • Paying off a mortgage much earlier

  • Having savings that would otherwise not exist

  • The creation of choice

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Woman Working

Online shopping can be a great advantage if you're organized.

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You may really benefit from using my menu planning system to outsource your biggest monthly shop.

 

I realized if I used the almost three months I saved by not dropping in to the shops and used the saved time for something for myself e.g.  exercising or reading, my quality of life was better.

 

Also if it cost me only $5 in fuel to get there that can be an additional cost of $10400 over my working life. And that's a really good holiday.

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Now while this may sound really pedantic I've used simple data to illustrate that it's the cumulative effects of what I did, on a regular basis, that made a huge difference to our health, finances and quality of life.

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I can't tell you how many friends and family I've shared my organizational strategies with over the years because they saw how well they worked and asked me for them.

Flower

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For those who need meals on the table within minutes of walking in the door click  below:

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You may be able to congratulate yourself because you know that you don’t waste food; however you may have to drop into the supermarket more often because you run out of something. This usually means a detour of around twenty minutes (at least) by the time you park the car, walk in, locate the items, get through the checkout walk back out, drive home, unpack the car and then unpack the items. And realistically it's likely to take you much longer than that.

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TIME SAVER:

Just for interest sake (one day when I was feeling a little bit too pedantic) I worked out  if I didn't stop off at the supermarket, (just once a week,) over my working life, I would spend a minimum of 84 working days less grocery shopping (based on just a 20 minute diversion on the way home.)

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That's nearly three months of my life.

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But how often can shopping take much longer? I know this 3 month estimate is really conservative

 

And this 84 days is in excess of the times that I already did the grocery shopping.

Now you might be feeling that you don't have the energy to put this meal organization in place to eat healthy and I get it.

 

I felt exactly the same way.  But for me the long term benefits far outweighed any short-term inconvenience.

​I also found on days when I was working late, and needing dinner prepared 'super fast,' it posed yet another huge set of  challenges for me.

 

If that's how it is for you, I'd suggest looking at 'Healthy Meals on the Table in Minutes.' You may find ideas there before continuing with planning your menu.

 

They address organizational aspects specific  to overcoming planning healthy meals when you're arriving home late.

And I encourage you to consider the Real Cost of Takeaways.

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Some of the other links below give insight into what worked well for me. You can use them as is, or as a springboard for your own ideas.

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Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website.

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This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems.

 

Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

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