Leah: [00:00:00] I’m Leah Remillet and this is the Balancing Busy podcast where we take every area of our lives and figure out how to infuse more balance. In episode 103, I talked about three ways, no, it was four ways that I buy back time in my business. Today, I want to talk about how I buy back time at home. So I’m super excited.

Let’s get ready to jump in. [00:01:00] 

So if you want all the details about buying back time in your business, you’re going to want to go to episode 103. We talked about tech,, we talked about outsourcing, we talked about education, and one that would surprise everyone, we talked about how raising your prices can actually save you time.

So, you’re going to want to go to episode 103 to get all the details on all of that. But today, I want to focus on buying back time. At home, if I can combine getting more time from my business and getting more time from my home, oh wow, the white space that it can create. And that’s what I want for you.

It is what has happened for me and it has made all the difference. I went from Feeling like I never had an extra second, even, anywhere in my life, whether we were talking about with my clients, with the administrative side of my business, I mean, every part of my business. And then I’d walk into my home, I’d leave the office and walk into the house [00:02:00] and again, it just felt like everything was falling apart and I didn’t have time for any of that also.

I’m looking around, I’m like, I need to do this, this, and this. But when? So let’s talk about that when and how we free ourselves up a bit when we’re talking about home. Number one, delivery services. You know how much I love a delivery service because that is hours that I am not spending running errands, going to the grocery store.

If it can be delivered, let it be delivered. Are they going to pick as good as produce as you? No, they are not. Let’s just call it for what it is. Are they going to get it wrong every once in a while? Yes, again, let’s call it for what it is. But overall, is it going to save you hours and hours and hours?

Absolutely. Now, the other big thing that everybody wants to say is, but is it going to cost [00:03:00] more? Not necessarily. I mean, with options like Walmart Plus out there, no, it really doesn’t have to cost more. Now, I use a combination of Instacart, Walmart Plus. I love Instacart because I can do Costco. And I have to tell you, the funniest thing happened today.

So, we are unexpectedly having someone over for dinner today that we literally, you know, found out this morning. Really excited about it. But I was like, okay, I better actually shift dinner for tonight. So I sent my hubby to Costco. I needed him to pick up four things. Okay. Four things. That’s it. He came home.

It took three trips to get everything out of the car. I was like, honey, what happened? And we’re laughing so hard and he tells me that he told the gal helping him check out that he said, do you think I’m going to be in trouble? I was only supposed to get four things. And guess what [00:04:00] she said to him? She said, this is why I do delivery.

And he of course starts laughing and he’s like, my wife literally teaches that. And she’s like, yep, it saves me money. And I’m like that case in point. That is my point. Could you be possibly spending a little bit more overall? Yes, absolutely. You’re paying a service fee. I’ve put the exact items from my local grocery store into my app and then gone and bought them at the store just to see, like, just pure curiosity.

Okay, what’s the comparison on the two totals? Yes, it is a little bit more to do delivery. But when I am doing delivery, I stick to my list when I’m at the store. I don’t. So it actually becomes more expensive. And when I send my husband to the store, it becomes a lot more expensive. All right. So number one delivery services between Instacart, which can do [00:05:00] Costco now and Walmart Plus and Amazon Prime and everything else.

I literally don’t need to walk into a store ever again. And with the exception of those of you who actually love grocery shopping, this is the way to go. All right, number two, using those pretty awesome tech gadgets that help make our houses cleaner. If you haven’t tried any of these, they’re awesome. So for example, the Roomba that can, there’s one, did you know there’s one that can mop also?

That is amazing. So you can have one vacuuming, you can have one mopping. For all of us who have massive hardwood floors, now we have one that can sweep and mop at the same time. It is amazing. Awesome, to just have it on a timer in the app, it goes off three times a week and my home is being vacuumed. It’s being mopped.

It’s being taken care of and it’s without me. That is hours that [00:06:00] I’m saving or just sanity that I’m saving because maybe I would never get around to vacuuming or mopping, but the Roomba does and therefore it happens. And I feel better in my home. It feels more peaceful. It feels more clean. It feels better.

I love it. 

Okay. Let’s get in to number three. So, I have never been excellent at meal planning or prepping. I do a very rough meal plan on Sunday nights really quickly, but it’s just never been my skill. I think there are some people who are really, really good at it. You see these videos where they’re doing all this meal prep and all these things and I’m in awe of it, but it’s just never something I’ve been able to stay consistent at.

Using a meal kit service though has been really, really helpful and powerful. So just being able to Get three meals delivered a week. Making sure that we pick them, we like them. Everything’s in its individual bag. It makes prep and cooking so fast. I know [00:07:00] at least three of those dinners what we’re having.

It just makes life easier. So finding solutions that allow to So you to not have to think so hard or work so hard to get the desired outcome. What’s my desired outcome? Us having dinner as a family. That’s what I want. And so being able to use something like a meal kit service really does make that possible and it saves me a lot of time.

And number four, the last one, I don’t even know if I said four, I might’ve said three, but I don’t care. We have to talk about this is buying back time at home. This isn’t going to cost you anything. Letting your family help. And no, I don’t think we need to pay them. I believe that we should be coming together as a family, that that’s teaching them work ethic, it’s teaching them appreciation and gratitude, and so many other good things, it is important to let our family help.

We are [00:08:00] busy. They are busy, but so are we. And it is okay. In fact, it’s more than okay. It really is important for their development and their growth and their confidence to let them help. And that for sure saves up time. If you are trying to do everything by yourself, uh, it’s a lot. But when we delegate and when we let our family help us, Oh, it makes such a difference.

And that tip is free because your family can help you because they love you. Now, will you maybe get some complaining and some griping and all those things? Yeah, possibly. But that’s when you have a real conversation about, Hey, here’s all the things that I have on my plate, and this really means a lot to me.

When you guys help, here’s what I’m asking you to do. And then when they do help. Give them so much praise, so much [00:09:00] appreciation, so much gratitude. Let them know what it means to you and stay consistent with asking them for that help, with having those expectations that this really is important that we come together as a family.

So let’s recap. Buying back time at home. Number one, delivery services. Number two, those amazing robot vacuums. Ours are named Fred and George. We have one upstairs and downstairs. They’re on a timer. It’s fantastic. Number three, vacuuming. Find what works for you. I am not incredible at meal planning or meal prepping, but using meal kit services has been a really powerful way for me to be able to simplify, to get the desired result I want, which is family dinner, but not to have to be in it and on it all the time.

And it saves me a lot of time. And number four, let your [00:10:00] family help. Ask them to help. require them to help even. Do it with love. Do it with gratitude. But yes, they’re busy. But as one of my students said, so are we. And getting that help It’s actually really, really important for their development too. And you know, the more that my family helps me, honestly, the happier I am.

I am a happier, better mom when my house is clean. That’s the bottom line. Like, you want to see the best version of mom? The day the house is spotless, there’s something in the crock pot. I know exactly what’s happening with everything. It feels incredible. You want to see me at my worst? It’s when there’s way too much going on.

I’m stretched too thin. I’m trying to be in too many places at once. And I’m looking around and the house is a disaster. The dishwasher is full. So is the sink. Laundry hasn’t been done. All of that chaos, it’s exhausting and it’s [00:11:00] really, really hard to feel balanced when that is what we’re living in. In order to feel balanced, there has to be calm.

There has to be peace. And by getting help from the family, we can create that. 

I love focusing on business and building my business and growing it and all those good things. And I love helping entrepreneurial women do the same thing. But I also love and think it is so critical that we focus on and give priority to our homes because there is nothing that matters more. than our homes.

Ultimately, when it’s all said and done, it is our family that means everything. And when we prioritize, when we work to make systems, when we work to find ways to make our home more of a haven, it is such a blessing. It is such a blessing and it’s not just a blessing for us. [00:12:00] Although it absolutely is, it’s for everybody who lives there and who comes into our homes.

And that’s worth taking the time, putting in the effort, even making some investments. Like, I mean, Roombas are really expensive. Although I will say I bought my first one used. I bought it on Craigslist, but I don’t know if that’s a thing anymore. Maybe like Facebook Marketplace, right? So I bought my first one used and I was so grateful and it made such a difference.

So I hope you will try one of these, all of them. Buy back some time for yourself, for your family, so that you can spend more quality time together and have more of that peaceful haven that I know you’re craving. That’s it for this episode on the Balancing Busy Podcast. We are going to have so much more goodness coming to you next week as we take another area of our lives and tackle how to [00:13:00] infuse more balance so that we never have to sacrifice our home, our health, or our happiness, and yet we can have time for the things that we love, that matter, our businesses, our relationships, our homes, and everything else.

in between. I’ll see you next time.