Oh my gosh! I know we don’t like to complain, but if we could just grab a minute between school runs, work, after school clubs, pet care, cleaning, fetching, carrying, that would be absolutely swell. I mean, who else just feels as though their ‘to do’ list is never ending?

I always start the year with good intentions for time management, but without adopting a sergeant major position in my own brain – yes, I talk to myself, too – it’s impossible to keep up with everything there is to do. A standard weekday is non-stop, weekends are non-existent, and I definitely don’t remember what a lie in is like.

Was that a chorus of ‘I hear you’ that I just heard? I think it was.

So, with the very best intentions at heart, I want to do my bit for all the parents out there who don’t even get to pee in peace. Here are five little tips (life hacks, you might call them) that take the pressure off a tiny titch, and keep you going just one more day

Give grass the elbow

If you have time to do the gardening, then you are on the wrong blog post. Seriously. Pruning and planting and whatnot? Who has time for that? I don’t even have time for my lawn, and all it wants is mowing.

Give grass the elbow and opt for artificial grass from Grass Direct as they have everything from budget to premium grass, just team it with some pretty pebbles and voila, no need for weekly maintenance.

Friday night chippy tea

Your eldest’s best friend may well be going home to a plate of sea bass with quinoa rice salad, but that doesn’t sound like a Friday night to me.

After a week full of school runs, pick-ups, drop-offs, work stress, deadlines, and more, forget washing up, forget cooking, head to the chippy and eat out of the paper, around the fire, with the TV on. Taste the delight. Go on.

Learn to love leather

Upholstered fabric is oh-so stunning, and we all want a showroom home, somewhere down deep at the bottom of our shallow hearts. It’s true.

But have you ever actually met kids? Now is not the time for fabric. Save it for your retirement. Leather is the way, and the only way. Spills, sick… all that icky kiddy stuff can be wiped away and forgotten. All hail wet wipes.

Masquerading ‘me time’

‘Hey kids, do you fancy popping to the play area?’ Win-win!

Out of the house for a few hours, rather than turning their rooms upside down, they can run riot in the play area. While they have the time of their lives, entertained with ball pits and swing ropes, you can sneak in some me time. Take a book, grab a latte, and make the most of those minutes.

Swap how you shop

No parent should brave a supermarket with any children under the age of five. It should almost be a law. Just don’t do it to yourself. If you have more than two children under the age of five, it’s a miracle if you make it out alive.

Sign up to a delivery saver and have your shopping delivered to your doorstep. It’s absolutely fool proof. You can even have a glass of wine cup of tea while you shop. Bliss.

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