One question a lot of busy moms ask is, “How can I spend less time in my kitchen?”

Of course, it feels a bit redundant to say “busy moms” because if you’re a mom, there’s a good chance you’re far busier than you’d like to be! And one room most of us spend a lot more time in than we’d like is the kitchen.

If you’ve already implemented helpful time savers like meal prep and meal planning but still need to save time in the kitchen, enlisting the help of your family can make all the difference. I know, I know: having kids “help” with the cooking can make it take even longer in many cases, but it is possible to include them and actually be more efficient. Check out these five fun and easy ways for busy moms to share the load.

1. Get help setting and clearing the table

If your kids are still too young to help out with cooking, assign them the daily task of setting and clearing the table. You’ll get to spend some time together if they set the table while you’re finishing up cooking. When the meal is over, have them start clearing the table. Younger kids can simply transport plates and cups to the kitchen counter, while those who are old enough can load them into the dishwasher for you. It may only save a few minutes before and after dinner, but it can add up quickly! 

2. Ask everyone what they want to eat

Meal planning is a big time saver – once you know what you’re going to make. With a list of meals in hand, it’s just a question of slotting them into the right days and working out which ingredients to buy. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to get stuck on the “what to cook” part of the equation. If you ask each person in your household to name something they’d like to eat in the upcoming week, you’ll have a great starting point, even if you have to modify some of their suggestions. Plus, everyone is far more likely to actually eat their dinner when it’s something they’ve requested!

3. Cook together once a week

Keep a running list of recipes that work really well as group efforts, and start cooking one once a week with the whole family. This will make it go faster while giving you a chance to bond. Some examples might be stews or curries (younger kids can measure out the ingredients while you chop meat) and homemade pizzas (you make the dough or buy premade, then each person can top their own pizza). This is a great weekend activity, especially in winter.

4. Find age-appropriate ways younger kids can help

You definitely don’t want to give your kindergartener a knife, but there are quite a few tasks they can help with that can add up to some decent time savings. For example, they can rinse vegetables and fruits, pick herbs like parsley or cilantro off the stem, form patties, tear up lettuce for salad, mash vegetables and scrub potatoes. Don’t be discouraged if they seem to take ages to do these tasks at first – they’ll get much better with practice! Make sure you ask them to get started way ahead, so you’re not ‘late’ making dinner because they’re still picking the cilantro off the stem patiently 😂

5. Get help with non-cooking kitchen tasks

One of the best kitchen hacks for busy moms is to clean as you go, but this is often easier said than done – unless you have some extra pairs of hands! While you handle dangerous steps like flipping food over on a hot oven tray or chopping and slicing, your kids can help you keep the kitchen from descending into total chaos. This might mean sweeping and using the dustpan, putting away the ingredients you’ve already used, sealing up bags you’ve opened to keep them fresh, or wiping down the counter. 

If you want to save time in the kitchen, kids can help in more ways than you might have realised! And, it’s such a great habit and skill for them to learn!

Love,

Nakita