Saturday Productivity: The Double Ups

Last week I posted my personal Saturday Productivity posts here. Number 5 on the list was to Double Up during laundry. For me this is a no-brainer, and hopefully it's something that you already do. How they work is I start the laundry, set the timer on my phone, and instead of sitting in front of the tv while I wait for the laundry to be done (we use a laundry facility), I get things done!

Here are my Double Up Duties. Some weeks the laundry gets done partway through these, but that doesn't mean I stop doing them. Most weeks it's the to-dos that get neglected, or bumped back. I do not do them in the same order every week, so don't feel like you have to if it's just not working for you. Also, you might not have to do some of these, but have other things that do need doing.

•  Clean the House

I start with the bedroom because I want it clean and ready to go by the time my husband gets home. This is purely for selfish reasons, I don't want to finish everything and start with my relaxing only to have to get myself back in cleaning mode at 5:00 p.m..

I work my way through the house leaving the bathroom for last. Mostly because I will shower after all the cleaning is done, so I clean the shower while I'm showering (I've found this to be wonderfully efficient for me).

I don't mind vacuuming at 6 am if that's when I'm ready to vacuum because I have neighbors who don't have a problem vacuuming at 11 pm when I need to be sleeping. However, sometimes I don't get that far in the process and vacuuming has to wait until after my husband wakes up in the afternoons. Which I don't mind as long as the rest of the house is clean.

• Clean out the fridge and start the dishwasher

This next step sets me up for the one after it, as well as the final Saturday morning duty I have. I clean out the fridge for leftovers or expired food. Then I finish loading the dishwasher from last night with the newly empty containers and start the dishwasher. This can be part of the cleaning the kitchen part of cleaning the house, but I like listing it as a separate step, just so I can cross two other things off my to-do list for the day. 

• Meal Plan and Grocery List

After cleaning out the fridge, I will go through what is left as well as what we have in our freezer and staples in the cupboard. Using what we already have, I make a meal plan. This involves looking up recipes sometimes, as long as I don't get distracted by cat videos or sewing/knitting blogs, I am allowed to get on Pinterest to look at my Food to Make or Accomplished board or search using the foods I have on hand for recipes. (This week's search was 'broccoli'.)

On pay weeks (my husband and I both get paid the same week, him on Tuesday, me on Friday) I will do the staples stock up. This includes things like flour and sugar, 'cream of' soups, rice, toilet paper, detergent, toothpaste, etc. I also try to meal plan for the two weeks we have until the next paycheck, but this doesn't always never happens. 

Then, I go through the planned meals, what will be used from staples and the freezer, and other small things we might need (like toilet paper) and make a basic grocery list. I then will look through the recipes for the week and add anything we need that we don't already have (sometimes I run into a spice that we don't already have, little things like that). 

This list is ready to go when it comes time to get groceries later on. 

• Tackle the To Do's 

I have some wonderful hobbies, a great job that I love (sometimes hate), and lots of other things going on. I like being busy. It's part of what my dad calls the "Go Gene". So I use this time to tackle the to-do list.

My list usually includes things like finishing up a custom order, getting pictures taken of things for the etsy shop, facebook, or here. Writing blog posts, getting packages ready for shipping. I also am a moderator for a swap group on Ravelry and this is a great time to check in on it for the day.

Since technology is great, I can also use this time to write posts on the Facebook business page, listings on Etsy, and here on the blog, and schedule them for the week. That way I don't have to scramble late on a Thursday night to post something on Facebook.

• This is also a great prep time for getting everything together that I need for out of the house errands if it's a grocery week. 

• During all of the Double Ups I listen to podcasts. One podcast I listen to has multiple episodes a week, and several of the others I am behind on. These couple of hours during laundry are great for catching up on podcasts. Plus, my phone is mobile, I can put it in my pocket or connect to the speaker and still listen while I'm scrubbing the toilet or putting away laundry in the bedroom. I am not chained to the living room like I would be with a t.v. show!