Thanks to Dollar Shave Club for sponsoring this blog post
In the last few years, as a busy, working mom, I’ve discovered some things I can easily outsource to give myself a little more time for the things I want to do. These are six things I’ve outsourced that bring my life a lot of joy (because I’m not doing them)!
Outsourcing gives me back my time.
In the last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about OUTSOURCING. As busy moms, working women, wives, grandmothers, etc, and personally as a work-from-home mom, I’ve found that outsourcing is something I have unknowingly implemented in an effort to save my sanity and give myself back some time.
I’m reminded of that quote,
“You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.”
A few weeks ago my sister, Janssen, read 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than you Think. She’s been talking a lot about it, and one particular thing has stuck with me. Outsourcing. The book discusses how we can outsource a lot of things in our day to day lives in order to save time for things we really want to do.
It’s had me thinking the last few weeks about things I’ve outsourced in my life to help give myself more time for other things I actually want to do.
Let me tell you the things I outsource
Today I’ve teamed up with Dollar Shave Club to share six things that I’m outsourcing this year, and I’m interested to hear if, after reading this, what things you outsource or want to outsource this year.
1. Buying razors.
I have spent the last 20 years of my life (since I started shaving my legs) dealing with dull, sometimes rusting, blades in my razors. Here’s the thing about razors. They’re expensive. Also every time I discover that my razor is dull, it takes me approximately six months to remember to replace it. *Face palm*
I’m so excited to finally have signed up for a subscription to Dollar Shave Club because they send new razors right to my door without me having to think about it. Outsourcing at its finest!
The Dollar Shave Club starter kit is only FIVE DOLLARS (what!) and here’s what is included:
- a super sturdy razor handle
- two blade heads (with 6 blades each)
- a tube of prep scrub
- shave butter
- post-shave dew
My favorite out of the kit is definitely the prep scrub because it exfoliates dead skin to prep for shaving, plus it helps prevent ingrown hairs. You guys must try this stuff!
I seriously wish all beauty and bathroom products would show up at my door every month or two so I didn’t have to remember to buy all of them on my own. It’s a complete game changer and helps my life run smoothly (and my legs stay smooth!) without any work on my part.
Dollar Shave Club also sells lots of other personal care items, from shower products to deodorant!
Grab their starter kit for only $5 at dollarshaveclub.com/merrick.
Also, here are a few photos of what the kit looks like so you know what to expect.
2. Grocery pickup
With three children, two businesses, and lots of other responsibilities, I decided in 2019 to outsource grocery shopping and do grocery pickup. I still do the occasional specialty store run, but for my weekly grocery trips I do it all via grocery pickup.
It. is. life. changing.
I make a menu (and I know there are lots of meal planning services out there, so you could outsource this too!), order my groceries on their website, and then go pick up the groceries the next morning. Actually, I sometimes even send my babysitter to pick them up for me. Double outsourcing for the win.
It’s astounding how outsourcing this one thing has given me back so much time. Also it has saved me loads of money because I just order what’s on my list and I’m not swayed by all the random things inside the grocery store (or the things that catch my 3 year old’s eye).
3. Ironing my husband’s shirts
This chore was the bane of my existence for over ten years of our marriage. Ironing is Philip’s least favorite chore in the whole world, so I happily volunteered to do it for him when we got married. For the first few years, it wasn’t at a big deal, but as my schedule got busier and more children came along, my weekly ironing session while blissfully watching TV turned into a last minute scramble every night before bed to make sure he had a pressed shirt for work the next morning.
Literally I loathed this job and dreaded it every night.
Finally, about three years ago, I felt like it was a financially and emotionally sound idea to outsource my ironing to the dry cleaners. We now send all of his work shirts to the dry cleaner where they are cleaned and perfectly pressed — by someone else, hallelujah — and I’ve found renewed happiness at bedtime. It’s worth every single penny.
4. Deep cleaning my house
As a busy working mom, I’m juggling a lot of things during the week. So the weekends have become sacred time for our family where we play, adventure, and travel together. I don’t want to spend every weekend dusting my blinds and scrubbing my floors.
So a few years ago, we outsourced our deep cleaning to a house keeper. She comes twice a month and does all the nitty gritty cleaning projects that I don’t want to do. On the weeks she doesn’t come, the boys have assigned Saturday morning chores, like collecting the trash, cleaning their mirrors, sinks, and toilets, and other jobs to make sure they don’t miss these life skills. It takes them about one hour and then we have the rest of the weekend to play.
I know hiring a cleaner doesn’t fit into everyone’s budgets, and for years it was not it ours. But this is something we feel like is worth the expense in order for Philip and me to have more time with our boys during this stage of our lives.
5. The boys in our family do the dishes
I think Philip doing the dishes was an unspoken agreement when we got married and I was cooking dinner every night. I honestly can’t remember a time when he didn’t do the dishes.
But after cooking dinner for the family every night, the boys are in charge of dish duty. Everyone clears their plates and puts them in the dishwasher, and Philip makes sure the dishwasher is started and the kitchen is clean.
After a full day of work and an hour of cooking, it’s a great thing to outsource the dishes to my family.
6. Packing school lunches
My boys take a packed lunch to school everyday. We decided early on that they could purchase lunch at the school once per week and bring a homemade lunch the other days.
For years, I packed their lunches every evening before going to bed, or early the next morning as we rushed out the door. But I was always annoyed when they’d come home and hadn’t eaten most of it.
So I outsourced it to them!
They are in charge of packing their own lunches (including my 3 year old) every night. My only requirement is that they pack one fruit and one vegetable, and the rest can be whatever random things they want that they will actually eat.
It’s amazing how outsourcing has given them a sense of responsibility, taught them some life skills, and also helps them eat better in the lunchroom because they have things they want to eat.
What are you outsourcing in your life?
I’d love to know what things you are outsourcing in your home and in your life to help your routines run more smoothly and get back a little more of your time.
Also, do yourself a favor and take one thing off your plate: grab the Dollar Shave Club starter kit for $5 so you have brand new, high quality razors showing up to your door before your old razor goes completely dull. GAME CHANGER!
You might also like:
photos by Aubrey Stock
3. Ironing my husband’s shirts
This chore was the bane of my existence for over ten years of our marriage. Ironing is Philip’s least favorite chore in the whole world, so I happily volunteered to do it for him when we got married. For the first few years, it wasn’t at a big deal, but as my schedule got busier and more children came along, my weekly ironing session while blissfully watching TV turned into a last minute scramble every night before bed to make sure he had a pressed shirt for work the next morning.
Literally I loathed this job and dreaded it every night.
Finally, about three years ago, I felt like it was a financially and emotionally sound idea to outsource my ironing to the dry cleaners. We now send all of his work shirts to the dry cleaner where they are cleaned and perfectly pressed — by someone else, hallelujah — and I’ve found renewed happiness at bedtime. It’s worth every single penny.
4. Deep cleaning my house
As a busy working mom, I’m juggling a lot of things during the week. So the weekends have become sacred time for our family where we play, adventure, and travel together. I don’t want to spend every weekend dusting my blinds and scrubbing my floors.
So a few years ago, we outsourced our deep cleaning to a house keeper. She comes twice a month and does all the nitty gritty cleaning projects that I don’t want to do. On the weeks she doesn’t come, the boys have assigned Saturday morning chores, like collecting the trash, cleaning their mirrors, sinks, and toilets, and other jobs to make sure they don’t miss these life skills. It takes them about one hour and then we have the rest of the weekend to play.
I know hiring a cleaner doesn’t fit into everyone’s budgets, and for years it was not it ours. But this is something we feel like is worth the expense in order for Philip and me to have more time with our boys during this stage of our lives.
5. The boys in our family do the dishes
I think Philip doing the dishes was an unspoken agreement when we got married and I was cooking dinner every night. I honestly can’t remember a time when he didn’t do the dishes.
But after cooking dinner for the family every night, the boys are in charge of dish duty. Everyone clears their plates and puts them in the dishwasher, and Philip makes sure the dishwasher is started and the kitchen is clean.
After a full day of work and an hour of cooking, it’s a great thing to outsource the dishes to my family.
6. Packing school lunches
My boys take a packed lunch to school everyday. We decided early on that they could purchase lunch at the school once per week and bring a homemade lunch the other days.
For years, I packed their lunches every evening before going to bed, or early the next morning as we rushed out the door. But I was always annoyed when they’d come home and hadn’t eaten most of it.
So I outsourced it to them!
They are in charge of packing their own lunches (including my 3 year old) every night. My only requirement is that they pack one fruit and one vegetable, and the rest can be whatever random things they want that they will actually eat.
It’s amazing how outsourcing has given them a sense of responsibility, taught them some life skills, and also helps them eat better in the lunchroom because they have things they want to eat.
What are you outsourcing in your life?
I’d love to know what things you are outsourcing in your home and in your life to help your routines run more smoothly and get back a little more of your time.
Also, do yourself a favor and take one thing off your plate: grab the Dollar Shave Club starter kit for $5 at dollarshaveclub.com/merrick so you have brand new, high quality razors showing up to your door before your old razor goes completely dull. GAME CHANGER!
You might also like:
photos by Aubrey Stock
Love this! I outsource my feminine HyGieNe products. I use a company called lola and it’s a life changer. I also use amazon to regu send household product like Tp, paper towels, and cleaning supplies.
I’d rAther heAr about all the work and business things you Outsource like assistants, PR fIrm, photography, editing, etc.
It is really necessary to pass such things on to others so that you have at least some time for yourself. Especially in the era of all kinds of technology, how great the same dishwasher helps out! The main thing is to provide it with the necessary service so that it will serve you for a long time. If you even noticed dishwasher leaking, or any other troubles – now it’s easy enough to fix it yourself. But it is better not to wait for this, but to provide it with the necessary service in a timely manner
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