The Secret Weapon of Successful Working Moms? Outsource everything.

 

It’s got to be at least ten times harder to complete basic households tasks when you have kids. Have you hired a babysitter just so you can wander around Target….alone? Heaven.

Whether you work outside the home or not, it’s OK to get help! You can’t make more time, but you can choose how to spend it. Make your life easier today by getting help for just one task that you hate. This working mom’s outsourcing manual will give you tons of ideas!

 

Mama, you cannot do everything on your own. If you do enjoy a task, like clothes shopping, by all means keep doing it! If you don’t like a particular chore, though, consider automating or outsourcing it to simplify your life. You’ll increase the time you can spend with your kids, at work, or both – and that’s nothing to feel guilty about.

I’ve put together a complete working mom outsourcing guide for you. It covers everything from hiring someone to shop for your groceries to working with a clothes shopping service. Many of the ideas are free or very low cost! Check it out and think creatively about how you might make more time in your life for the things you value the most.

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Household Chores to Outsource

Grocery Ordering & Pickup

Cost: Free to $100/year

Service: Many Wal-Marts now offer free curbside grocery pickup. I use the grocery store that’s located on my route home from work, and they charge $100/year for unlimited orders. It’s an absolute steal. I submit between 1 and 3 orders a week, so it comes out to about a dollar an order. Grocery pickup is quick, saves me the hassle of unloading the kids and helps me avoid impulse purchases. I can also price-compare extremely easily. I’ve been doing this for 6 years and it pays for itself every year.

Meal Planning

Cost: Free to $170/year

Service: For those of use who don’t love cooking, need to get out of a rut, or just don’t want to devote our time to meal-planning, there are some interesting meal-planning services out there. These services provide recipes and weekly grocery lists. This is definitely something that I may look into in the future, since I’m sure my kids are getting tired of the three meals I can cook. Fortunately, my husband is has a knack for cooking and makes some yummy food. Dough Roller has a great round-up of affordable meal plans. Take a look if you’d like to switch up your family dinners!

Reorder household staples using Amazon Dash Button

Cost: $4.99/button with special refund offer for Prime members

Service: I order all of my household staples via an Amazon Dash Button (affiliate). I have Dash buttons for laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags and dishwasher detergent. These do come with a down side, which is that the price could change without you knowing since the button submits the order. I have personally never noticed any crazy swings in the price of these items. I’m sure I could get them for a better price elsewhere for more effort, but I know myself. And I would just end up running out of TP constantly.

Errand-running via Task Rabbit or Local Errand Service

Cost: Varies by errand

Service: If you need help with general errands or chores, you can try out a service like Task Rabbit or a local errand service. I found a bunch in my area with a quick Google search. This can be great if you have a task, chore or errand that needs to be accomplished during business hours…while you’re at work. I haven’t personally tried this particular outsourcing option, but I always have the information in my back pocket just in case.

Home Maintenance Tasks to Outsource

House cleaning

Cost: Varies widely by market – ask around in your area

Service: The very first thing I did after I started my full-time job during grad school was hire someone to clean the house. It’s something I’m not very good at, it’s not very fun, and it just didn’t happen when we were left to our own devices. Almost 10 years later, it’s still worth every penny to us.

Cleaning services do vary pretty widely in what they provide, so make sure that you clarify everything in advance. Some services will provide their own cleaning supplies, while some will ask you to buy specific items. Some are willing to make beds or load the dishwasher.

I had one cleaner that would also fold the laundry for an additional fee. I have always worked with individuals, who are usually more flexible. I’ve heard good things about some corporate cleaning services, too, but I’ve found them to be higher priced. Still, you may prefer the quality assurance that comes with a larger cleaning company. Definitely ask your neighbors and friends for recommendations!

Landscaping

Cost: Varies widely by market – ask around in your areas

Service: Landscaping services can include mowing the lawn, trimming bushes, planting flowers, putting down mulch, and treating your lawn and flowerbed for weeds. Some companies will provide all of these services, while some cover only a few.

We’ve gone through a number of lawn services over the years, and it’s usually been $15-$45 per mow, plus additional for other tasks. The crews are generally super efficient, and have riding mowers and other equipment that get it done in a fraction of the time it would take us to do it with a regular lawn mower.

Shoveling snow

Cost: Reasonable

Service: Check out Nextdoor or your neighborhood Facebook group for teenagers doing odd jobs. We’ve had a number of neighborhood teenagers shovel our driveway after a snowstorm, and it’s great! Money for them and a clean driveway for us.

Dog walking

Cost: $15 per walk to $30 per walk

Service: If you work outside of the home, and can’t get back to walk your dog during the day, you’ll definitely want a dog walker! Prices range from about $15 – $30 per walk, plus a little extra per additional dog. Doggie Daycare is another reasonable option, wearing your pup out for around $30 a day.

Interior decorating

Cost: $60 to $250 per room, or by the hour

Service: Online interior decorating services are apparently a thing now. I am design-challenged and am dying to try one of these out! I hear good things about Havenly and Laurel & Wolfe. If you want your house to look like grown adults live there, but you don’t have time to be analyzing paint colors and throw pillows, check out one of these services (and tell me about in the comments or on Instagram, pretty please)!

Donations, Recycling & Shipping Services

USPS Free Package Pickup

Cost: Free

Service: The US Postal Service will pick up pre-paid packages for free. All you have to do is go online and schedule a pickup. It is so convenient. Plus, your mail person gets some sort of extra credit for these pickups and will love you for scheduling them (I talked to our mail lady about it). This service makes online returns so much easier!

Vietnam Veterans of America Donation Pickup

Cost: Free

Service: Vietnam Veterans of America provides a donation pickup service in many parts of the country. It’s offered where I live in NC. Simply schedule a pickup online, then leave your donations outside on the pickup day. They will leave a receipt for your taxes if you request it. This is a great service, and eliminates a hurdle in donating unused stuff!

Town Discarded Items Pickup

Cost: Free

Service: My town offers free curbside pick up of extra cardboard, discarded household appliances, Christmas trees, yard clippings and more. It’s definitely worth checking with your city or garbage service provider to see if they pick up special items as well. I didn’t know about this service until I got a flyer while dropping a load of cardboard at the recycling center. If you can save yourself a trip to the landfill, that’s a win!

Clothing & Laundry Help

Clothing Shopping Service for Women and Men

Cost: $20 styling fee for Stitchfix, $25 styling fee for Trunk Club, $0 styling fee for M.M. LaFleur Bento Box

Service: There are tons of options out there for women and men wanting to outsource their clothes shopping. I’ve personally tried Stitchfix, Trunk Club and M.M. LaFleur’s Bento Box. StitchFix is good for casual wear and separates on the more casual side of office attire. I liked that StitchFix allowed me to try some styles I wouldn’t have normally picked. That being said, I don’t think the clothes are high-quality for the price. I’ve gotten StitchFix shipments anywhere from once a month to once a quarter.

I tried Nordstrom’s Trunk Club service, which has a $25 styling fee. I thought the stylist was super responsive. She was spot-on with my style – so much so that most of the items in the box were too similar to things I already had in my closet. Still, the Nordstrom clothes are higher quality and I would definitely try this again. Trunk Club also offers clothing trunks for men.

The M.M. LaFleur Bento box is another great option for work clothing, with a $0 styling fee. Professional women LOVE M.M. LaFleur for simple, wearable, high-quality pieces. If you want to look nice but don’t want to step foot in a mall, these clothing delivery services are definitely for you!

Rockets of Awesome for Kids

Cost: $20 styling fee

Service: Rockets of Awesome is a clothing box for kids. There’s a $20 styling fee, and the service sends 4 shipments a year. Sizing goes from 3-12, so it covers a wide ranges of ages. I haven’t tried this one yet, but the clothes look cute and I have to admit the the relentless Facebook ads are getting to me.

Dry cleaning pickup

Cost: Free + cost of dry cleaning

Service: Many dry cleaners offer free home pick and drop off. If you do a lot of dry cleaning, it’s probably worthwhile to seek out one of these cleaners. I’ve found that the prices for dry cleaning are a bit higher if they offer pick up and drop off, but it may be worth it if you go to the dry cleaner frequently!

I haven’t used a service like this before, since the dry cleaner was on my morning coffee shop route before my daughter started kindergarten. Now our morning routine has changed, I haven’t taken the cleaning out in ages, and I may need to reconsider the pickup service!

Laundry wash & fold

Cost: $1/lb to $3/lb

Service: Laundry wash and fold service is reasonably affordable if you don’t have laundry in your apartment, or you just hate doing it. A quick search turned up a number of these services in my area, although they tend to be near our local university.

My husband uses a wash & fold when he’s traveling to the same place every week. He doesn’t have to carry the laundry home or wash it, and we’re all happy with that! This type of service can be very cost-effective for tiny baby clothes, since they don’t weigh much.

Financial Assistance & Automation

Low-balance bank account alerts

Cost: Free

Service: Set up your bank account alerts to notify you when your balance drops below a certain amount. This is very important when you use automatic bill pay. I have a few different thresholds that trigger an alert.

Automated weekly bank account balance updates

Cost: Free

Service: If possible, set up a weekly account balance alert from your bank even if the account balance is higher than the low-balance threshold.

Automatic bill-pay

Cost: Free

Service: Automate as many bills as possible, and take them out of your head. Just keep an eye on your account balance when large payments (like your mortgage) are about to be made.

Twice weekly scheduled bill pay appointments for anything that can’t or shouldn’t be automated

Cost: Free

Service: Set aside time to pay bills about twice a month, and the list the bills that need to get paid in each batch. This helps you keep everything straight. Credit cards and any bills that don’t have an auto-pay option get paid during this time.

Kid Stuff to Outsource

Transportation to/from school and activities

Cost: Varies

Service: In my area, there are a bunch of companies popping up that offer rides for kids going to school, home or after-school activities. This service seems like it’s targeted toward families with two working parents and older kids involved in sports. I’m not sure how much I would trust such a service, but some of my co-workers have said good things.

Birthday parties

Cost: $200 – $400

Service: I am not ashamed to outsource birthday parties. I love all-inclusive venues. The kids have fun, the parents can socialize and – best of all – I don’t have to clean up afterward. This is a great option if your child wants a big party, and you have the budget but not the time.

How Much to Outsource? That’s for you to decide!

I want to repeat – if you enjoy an activity, don’t hire help for it! If you get a kick out of planning your kids’ birthday parties, and you pin ideas for months, keep doing that. It brings you joy! If you really don’t mind folding laundry, but you haaate cleaning toilets, maybe a cleaning service is for you.

Keep an open mind on those chores that you don’t enjoy. You may be surprised how inexpensive it is to outsource that activity and how much it frees up your time! Why not make your life easier where you can? If you have an outsourcing idea that I haven’t thought of, please help a busy mama out by sharing in the comments!