Call me Lazy

My life these days is all about convenience. What's the most efficient way to manage my family, household, work-life and lifestyle and still get to spend quality time with everyone, sleep and be happy? It's all about delegating. No, I'm definitely not my Mother's Daughter in this aspect -- she did it all and then some. I'll never know how she did it all, and made it look good. Me? I'm guilty of finding the easier road and well, I need a little help from my friends: taskrabbit, instacart and some fabulous online shopping retailers.  Sure, I could lug kids in and out of the car a bazillion times over the weekend (as they get bored and more bored) but then I'd miss the chance to lay by the pool for 15 minutes while the kids naps overlap (we haven't perfected that just yet).  Why go through all of that when I have these awesome tools at my fingertips. Remember that saying we talked about earlier, "if Mama ain't happy..." or that other one, "happy wife, happy life"?  We can keep going:  "Work smarter, not harder"! Management and efficiency can be pretty cool if you use it for good and not evil.

Now before I go filling you in on all of my little secrets, please remember that yes, I can physically do this stuff myself and I will continue to for the most part, but sometimes it's just easier this way.  Plus, even as controlling particular as I may be I'm not a really picky person and if it is something that I need specifically, then of course I do it myself.

Use these or don't -- it's nice to know that they are out there though if you ever need them. Disclaimer: all of these sites run their own background checks and no, I am not getting anything from them...these are my own thoughts.

INSTACART:

Seriously, this one is a gem! Grocery delivery based on your area! We have the option of Costco, HEB (local grocery store) and Whole Foods!  You go online and click til your hearts content on milk, eggs, produce, meat, etc. You can even put in specific requests if you want.  There's a minimal delivery fee based on your total OR you can sign up for Instaprime (sort of like amazon prime) where you pay $99 for a year of "free" delivery.  They deliver between 7am and midnight, based on the time that you request! Plus, they are trained in finding good produce/meat and if you get something that you disagree you can report it and they will refund you. I tried this service for the first time last week and let me just say:  SUPER CONVENIENT!  It was a rainy afternoon, Tucker had gotten out and I had both kids while Tim was working late and groceries (as requested) arrived 20 minutes after we got home. The way that instacart makes their money is by charging more for the individual items, but they have to make their money right?

This isn't something that I'll do all of the time, but here's my thought:  If I stock up on big grocery trips 2 times a month and then throw some smaller produce/dairy trips in via instacart as needed we should be good to go. Even better, if we're heading out of town -- order ahead of time and then throw it in a cooler before the road trip.  Or if you've been on vacation and you are coming home late on Sunday but want to be ready for the week...Instacart! If your family is sick and you need soup and crackers or pedialyte and diapers...Instacart!

TASKRABBIT:

There are a couple of different apps out there like this one, but so far this is the only one I have tried. I had something that I needed to do for Payton/Cameron at their school that required pictures. With everything going digital, I didn't have any to use so I needed prints, but couldn't wait for the shipping time so I ordered them from Target. That same day was nuts at work so I couldn't slip away at lunch to go and pick them up, nor did I want to lug the kids to Target (where I would have definitely spent more money anyway) after work. Seriously, we had dinner, bath and bedtime to deal with and really I just wasn't in the mood. So I put it up as a "job" or a task at taskrabbit. You can either put it out there with a price, or you choose to have people bid on your task. I chose to have people bid on it. Long story short, I had my pictures picked up at Target and delivered to me within an hour for $7. Seriously, genius!  The tasks can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be and sometimes when there isn't enough time in the day little things like this can make all the difference. I was able to spend my time on the project for Payton and Cameron and really, that's way better than our traveling mess zooming through Target!  Can you just imagine my tasks when they're doing their first science project? Eek. 

I've already told you about my online shopping for diapers and household items.

Next up I'll be trying my hand at the at home dry cleaning delivery. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

If you're shaking your head at my silly ways, that's ok -- we all have our preferences and we all handle things differently. 

If you're thinking to yourself, wow - that's impressive. Thanks, I admit it, I think so too!

Call me lazy, call me smart -- either way, I'm getting stuff done and still smiling.  Our world is changing and although I love the idea of perusing the grocery store and taking my time looking at every cool item at Target, I really would rather spend my time laughing with my husband, reading books with my kids or going for a run to clear my head.

Lazy is a relative term.