The irony? Some of the first people who answered were my friends on Facebook – one of my biggest time suckers if I’m not careful. (Anyone else? Or am I alone in this?)

I know you are going to expect me to say things like “Give up 30 minutes of TV,” and for some of us, that may be required, but I also know that your 60 minutes of Glee may be the only real downtime that you have. (And by downtime, I mean watching Glee, folding laundry, paying bills on your laptop and packing kids school lunches in the next room…)

So here are a few things that have been working for me lately. (As technology changes, so does my list of how to save time.)

1. Getting Groceries Delivered  When I’m on deadline for writing a book, and showering suddenly becomes optional, I go to my saved list on Safeway.com and have my groceries delivered to me. Sometimes I get coupons in my e-mail for free delivery, and sometimes it costs me around $7. But, if $7 can be traded for a shower, I’m on board. Another variation on this is to swap off with a neighbor for that mid-week Oh no we are out of milk and peanut butter. Be sure to give detailed lists so it doesn’t create more problems than it’s worth.
2. Making the Kids Do It  OK, if your child is 18 months, skip this tip. Wait – no! Read it! Be planning in advance when your kids can take over certain chores – dishes, garbage, vacuuming, sweeping and mopping. Training ‘em early, train ‘em young, train ‘em often…
3. Limit Computer Time  I am now trying to give myself a two hour window each night where I don’t get on the computer for work, play or Facebook.  When 90% of your job is on your HP laptop, that can be a challenge, but I have found that if I know I am going to have a definite end to my work day, I tend to get more things finished than if I fool myself into believing I have all night.
4. Make an Appointment with Your TV  Remember when we were growing up and we knew we had to be home on Thursday nights because that was the night that The Cosby Show was on (OK, maybe it was just me who had a thing for Heathcliff…)? Now I never know what night anything is on because our TIVO is recording something, every moment of the day. How great – I can watch anytime I want. The problem? I can watch anytime I want. I am setting aside some time to watch the shows I really love (Modern Family, Kell on Earth, 30 Rock etc.) and shutting off the TV so I don’t watch hours of Dateline on ID. (OK, if I am sick in bed with a cold I will have an ID marathon…)
5. Nighttime Routines Setting the coffee the night before, putting out my walk-the-dog tennies, packing up my bag to put by the front door the night before, all of these little items not only get me out the door faster in the morning, but they let me sleep better the night before as I don’t wake up every three minutes thinking to myself “Wait, did I remember to…?”

Q4U – What is the best time-saving tip you have been using lately? Please share your wisdom in the comments below. I would love to put together a resource of all the best ideas – won’t you contribute your brilliance?

So I asked readers of my newsletter what some of their favorite kid dates were. Here are just some of my favorite answers… (more to come over the next couple of posts.)

We have several things that we do with our kids in tow, but I have one favorite date in mind.  We order in a pizza, rent a movie, start a fire and roast some marshmallows (maybe even do smores), blow up a mattress and watch a movie by the fire with the kiddos.  We then put the kids down to bed and sleep in the living room on the blow-up mattress by the fire by ourselves.  It is a lot of fun and makes great memories for the kiddos too.

MISTY CARRUTH

We go to a local shopping area in Allen, Texas.  They have a really big fenced in outdoor play area for the kids. There are also restaurants and ice cream/coffee shops nearby.  We get dinner/dessert for all and head to the play area.  There are picnic tables and all inside.  So, we let the kids run and play and hubby and I get a date while the kids occupy themselves with the play area.  We can see them from one end to the other when we sit in the middle.  It never seems to be crowded and because it is outdoors you get to take advantage of stargazing while enjoying each others company.

Janeen

I like to get a bunch of nickles and little Dixie paper cups and head to the local fish hatchery where we buy fish food and feed the fish.  There are rows and rows of fish and they fight for the food.  We love doing that.

We love to go to the drive-in movies and get a  pizza or subs sandwiches and have a tail gate party before the movie stars.

Linda Kaehler

Q4U – What are some of your favorite kid-appropriate dates?

Have you entered our dating contest? You could win some very big prizes! Check out this blog post and see how to enter!

]]> http://blog.kathilipp.com/2010/03/real-men-date-and-apparently-get-facials/feed/ 1 http://blog.kathilipp.com/2010/03/real-men-date-and-apparently-get-facials/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kathilipp/KUHK/~3/J5JyYXOBPKA/ http://blog.kathilipp.com/2010/03/what-your-babysitter-wish-you-would-have-told-them/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:09:56 +0000 kathilipp http://blog.kathilipp.com/?p=1626 My assistant, Monica, has been doing a lot of babysitting recently for many families from her church, for friends and friends of friends.  I’ve asked her to write a little about what babysitters wish the parents would have done/told her.
Recently I have been doing a lot of babysitting.  I went from doing it about once a month to 2-3 times a week.  I have absolutely loved it as it lets me get to know the kids better from church (I’m the Children’s Ministry Director) and it lets me get to be a part of families that might not be open to setting foot in a church.  The kids have ranged in age from just a few months to twelve years old and some of the kids i’ve known since they were born and others I met for the first time as I walked into their homes.

• Lists. I LOVE lists.  While babysitting, lists in my opinion are a way to help keep children in their day to day routine, while their parents are away.  It is great to know the times for everything (snack, bath, meals, bed) as well as little notes like favorite cups/plates or books that will help make meal or bedtime more smooth.  It’s great to have it on a list because you can refer back to it throughout your time there rather than having to rack your brain for what the parent said as they were trying to leave the house.
• How stuff works. Stuff that is second nature to you might be the first time that your babysitter has seen this particular model.  I’m a little embarrassed to admit this one, but dropping the sides of some cribs is difficult.  They all have their own special tricks and when you have a sleeping (or nearly asleep child in your arms) its not the best time to figure out how to drop the side of the crib.  While some sitters might not have a problem with this, I’m quite short and can’t really reach over the side of the crib.  I’m also sure that i’m not the only one who has struggled with a baby gate that’s both child and 27 year old proof.  (There was one time I was pretty sure I was going to be stuck upstairs until the parents got home because I could not figure out how to operate the gate–good thing there was an 8 year old to show me how it worked!)  I also have some very fancy friends who have technical entertainment systems and it’s always nice to have a quick tutorial if they are going to be out late and the kids will be in bed early.
• Pay. This is an awkward one.  I don’t really have a rate as some people ask.  It is even more awkward when they ask you with an open checkbook.  It’s always easier and less awkward when the parent either states what they are able to pay upfront or the price is agreed upon before hand.  I usually just tell the parent to pay me whatever they are comfortable with or able to.
• Clean or dirty. Is the dishwasher clean or dirty?  I hate parents having to come home to a sinkful of dishes, so it’s nice to know if the dishwasher is clean or dirty.  When I’m in doubt, I just end up hand washing everything.