Tips for Making Errands Easier
If you’re like me, you probably view errands as a necessary evil and would rather be spending time at home instead of the back of a long customer service line. Here are a few tips to help make your errands a little easier and less stressful:
Make a list. Just like with groceries, making a list for all the errands that you need to run is helpful with being efficient and minimizing impulse purchases, especially for trips to stores like Target and Wal-Mart.
Condense. If possible, condense errands into one trip on one day. It can feel a little less painful getting a chunk of errands done at once rather than one at a time.
Map it out. Determine all the places you need to go and make a map (either mentally or visually) to pick the best order to your errands. This can avoid running back and forth all over town, saving gas and time.
Avoid high traffic times. If possible, try to avoid running errands during rush hour or other times that stores are busy.
Make a coupon folder. If coupons are your thing, consider having a designated folder or envelope to store them. It may be helpful to keep one folder in your car and one at home depending on how you do your shopping. Keep only the coupons you actually think that you will use by the expiration date. Go through them once a month to remove expired coupons and review which ones you may want to use quickly.
Shop online. It’s amazing what can be purchased online these days. You can shop for everything from your weekly groceries with home delivery to a hard to find gift. The best part is that you don’t need to leave the comfort of your home. Utilize online coupon sites such as retailmenot.com to find extra ways to save on shipping and the total purchase price.
 | | Recommended Application
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For iPhone users, there is an application called iRunErrands that can help make errands easier. iRunErrands finds the closest errand spots around you and lists, maps, calls, and even gets directions to the place of business where you have to run your errand.
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| | Holiday Gift Idea
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Need a gift for the person who has everything? Buy them the gift of organization. See our website for more details.
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For help with these tips or another organizing project, please contact us!
Wishing you and your family a happy holiday season!
Kind regards,
Jen Starbuck
Organizing Consultant | |
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