Weekend Time Savers

[lpkitten]

What things do you do on the weekend to save you time and money during the week? I find that by planning ahead on Sunday, I can save myself a lot of time and headache during the week.

Here's a few things I try to do on Sunday:

1. I plan out the week's meal schedule and make something that will have lots of leftovers (like soup, spaghetti) so that I can pack it up for lunch during the week. That way I won't need to go out and buy my lunch.

2. I plan what I'll be wearing to work. I create outfits and make sure that everything I'll be wearing during the week is clean and ironed so I don't have to fuss around with it in the morning or do laundry during the week. That way, I don't feel as if "I don't have anything to wear" and I won't go out and buy new clothes.

What about you? Any thing you plan ahead on the weekend to save you time and money?

[Megan]

I try to get the house cleaned up as much as possible. It might not save money, but it gives me added peace. I also mentally plan out five lunches. I may not know what I'm bringing to eat every day, but I know that I have enough lunch-type food for the week.

I also try to batch cook on the weekends, at least one big meal. I'm a big fan of crockpot cooking, though now that it's warming up, I find myself less drawn to soups and stews.

[amyschiff]

I also do house cleaning when I can. Weekends are also for laundry and grocery shopping. I've gotten onto a alternating schedule: one weekend is groceries, the next is laundry. Things go so fast during the week, I'd never have time to do it.

[Dani]

I like to set a timer for one hour when I get home. I start a load of laundry, go for my jog, vacuum, clean one bathroom, pull some weeds, wash the dogs, pack lunches, start dinner, whatever. I like to put on music while I work to make the time pass, and I usually knock out 3-4 items. I can get so much done in an hour per weeknight, and then I don't have to spend my entire weekend on chores.

[lucille]

We try to squeeze things like laundry and groceries in during the week so we can use weekends for big projects or doing something we want to do.

[jayfromfree411]

Not having kids, my temptation is to sleep in as late as possible on weekend mornings. Always, I regret it: oh my god, where did the morning go?! As painful as it might be, now I only set the alarm clock for one hour later than on the weekdays. Gives me a lot more weekend time to get things done.

[SouthShoreGirl]

I try to do some chores during the week as well so it's less overwhelming on the weekends. I try to go to the grocery store early in the day on Saturdays or Sundays before everything is gone!

I like to plan my meals out as well, and especially so there will be leftovers for the work week.

[shrimptastic]

I grocery shop on Tuesdays when the stores aren't so crowded, but on Sunday I get my coupons and list ready to rock and look up recipes (recipezaar.com) that I want to try. I also determine what store has the best deals for the week and plan to shop there. (on a side note and rant, has anyone else noticed grocery stores only have "deals" on garbage in the summertime - soda, chips, mayo, ice cream?)

I do the more tedious things on weekends, like "detail" instead of broad swipe vacuuming and dusting, cleaning blinds (ugh), and filing.

To ready myself for the next week, I repack my work tote as I'm cleaning, plan lunches and suppers, make sure the laundry is done and put away, nap, and indulge in a movie or two and a few beers, cuz that's what weekends are really about. :-)

Those of you with children, as I tell my co-workers every single week: "I do not know how you do it (get everything done)!"

[purplefdu]

Originally Posted by shrimptastic

I grocery shop on Tuesdays when the stores aren't so crowded, but on Sunday I get my coupons and list ready to rock and look up recipes (recipezaar.com) that I want to try. I also determine what store has the best deals for the week and plan to shop there. (on a side note and rant, has anyone else noticed grocery stores only have "deals" on garbage in the summertime - soda, chips, mayo, ice cream?)

You're not looking hard enough or catching the markdowns and other special promotions perhaps? Meat and produce markdowns typically are done when they open and go fast, often in the first 30mins-an hour. Sometimes it just takes some digging (or trading) to get the coupons for organics or natural foods you usually eat, although there may be no coupons out there.

Make sure to sign up for mailing lists from your favorite store. I get a home mailer every month or so with my favorite grocer's organic brand coupons, including a $/$$ coupon.

I cut my coupons and plan my trips every weekend. I can manage laundry, groceries and 2-3 other stops easily in a couple hours time. So long as everything is in stock I am looking for (or I can get a rain check) the only thing we have to to Sunday is get breakfast (at our Moose Lodge for $5 each) and a couple papers.

[Mary Webber]

I'm with Ipkitten... if you can get the meals and clothes planned for the week, you've saved a huge chunk of time and decison-making aggravation every day!

Instead of continuing the week's frenzy in a home setting, I like to take Sunday morning completely OFF... reading several Sunday papers, etc. It may not sound as though that's going to save any money during the coming week, but recharging is important too.