Moms have it all: love, kisses, schedules, shopping, car pools, laundry, cooking, work, homework, hugs. One thing many don’t get enough of is time. Technology—and some experts—to the rescue.
Marie Ramírez, a professional organizer in Evanston, Ill., and Harriet Schechter, owner of Miracle Worker Organizing Service in Santa Barbara, Calif., chose their favorite high-tech ways to organize and save time; we added a few gizmos to help smooth life’s wrinkles.
Telephones. “I leave a phone book in the car, and when the kids are at swimming or judo lessons, I make my calls on my cellular phone, which is free after 5 o’clock,” Ramírez says. “Otherwise, I’d spend time sitting and waiting for them.”
A cordless headset phone makes a great home companion, says Schechter, author of Let Go of Clutter (McGraw-Hill, 2001) and two other organizing books. “It makes it easy to walk around doing chores—laundry, dishes, putting away groceries—while chatting. It’s much more versatile and courteous to use than a speaker phone.”
Computers. Not only can a household schedule of sports, lessons and car pools be put on a spreadsheet each week, but computers can store important lists. “I keep a list of what to take on vacations,” Ramírez says. “I keep another list of information for baby-sitters.”
Ramírez also orders groceries online. The service keeps a record of her previous order, lets her pick combinations such as four green and four ripe bananas, and delivers. “You actually save money by ordering online because you plan your meals better,” she says. “You don’t come home with a lot of miscellaneous sale items that don’t go with anything else in the cupboard.”
She puts her handheld computer, or PDA, to work making gift lists throughout the year. “If I see something in a store in January that would be good for somebody’s birthday at the end of the year, I write it in.”
Sometimes, old-fashioned low-tech builds a foundation for saving time. Schechter suggests looking back and planning ahead. “Take five minutes at the end of each day or first thing in the morning to take stock of the previous day and plan the day ahead,” she says. “Whether you use a Palm Pilot or a planner book, the main thing is to do this daily.”
Encourage family members to pick up toys and clothing, Ramírez urges. “The best thing in my house is shoe organizers with pockets,” she says. “I have them all over the house. There’s one for socks. The kids have them for small toys—you can fit a whole little Lego set in each pocket.”
The ultimate helpers: everybody in the family. Give kids rules such as “clear the floor before bedtime,” Schechter suggests. And build in responsibility, Ramírez says; if the family keeps track of activities on a chalkboard or dry-erase board, those who forget to write plans down may have to alter them.
Responsibility can start at the top. “I helped one family where the mom’s a doctor and the dad works a busy schedule at CBS,” Ramírez says. “If either of them forgets to write down their schedule and a time conflict arises, that person is responsible for finding a baby-sitter.”
Holly Ocasio Rizzo is a free-lance writer who lives in San Clemente, Calif.