Now before you assume, this is NOT a sarcastic post. These are genuinely productive tips of home management I've learnt from my mother in law and I am very grateful for it! I've come a long way from being a naive young daughter in law to an 'experienced' one <wink!>.
So let's just begin!
1. Optimum use of space
If you've been to Mumbai, you know there is a heavy dearth of space. You need to make the best use of space available or you're as good as living in a warehouse :D
I learnt to make use of every inch of space in all the nooks and crannies of the house, thanks to her. Now I know how to store things without making the entire space look cluttered and also have all the necessary items in the house. Which gets me to the next point.
2. Decluttering
Long before Marie Kondo started teaching the world about decluttering, my mother in law had strictly been following the basic principles of decluttering. Discard the things that you have kept only as memorabilia but are of no use to you.
If you have tons of a specific category of items, keep one of the lot and get rid of the rest. Say, lots of cards from one person. Or lot many candles, soft toys,.. get the drift? Select and keep the ones you really love and donate the rest.
Similarly for expensive gifts. Yes, we all get gifts which are very expensive and given by a loved one - but - let's face it - we don't like a lot of them and we will never use them, and yet they lie in our cupboards for ever and ever. So before we die and our descendants throw them all unused and untouched, it is better we give the stuff to someone else who makes good use of it while we are still alive. <Eureka moment>!
3. Multi tasking
Well, I think most mothers and so are mothers in law, experts at this. For managing home in the best way and saving maximum time it is important to do more than one thing at a time.
So while your laundry is getting done, you might finish your cooking. While the milk is boiling, you can chop those veggies. And as the tea is boiling, you could wipe off the counter. When cooking this tip comes into great use.
Say for a meal of four items, chapati, curry, rice and dal, first wash the rice and dal, and while they soak a bit, knead the dough. While the dough sets, keep the dal to boil. Fry the sabzi. As the vegetable is cooking, cook the rice and get things ready for the tadka for dal. As soon as the sabzi and rice are ready, dal is tempered and then you can make rotis.
Of course this is just an example, and you could alter the technique to suit your needs in different situations. Multi tasking is the way to go!
4. Just do it
Often times we think more about doing something and doing the actual work takes much less time. It has happened with me more often than not, and it's not a good place to be in! So mummyji says, don't think too much, once you remember something just do it. Once you start thinking, you just keep thinking more and it lands you nowhere.
5. Keep trying
Yup, this applies to all areas of life, still I will mention it here! This does come in the context of managing home and cooking.
I have this aversion to cooking, or rather had. I am neither a food lover nor do I love to cook. So I am always afraid of trying anything new. My mother in law has always encouraged me to keep trying. She says, "you may go wrong once or twice, a few items may get wasted, but someday you will get it right. Nobody is a born expert!" So I am able to cook reasonably well now <chuckle>.
That's all for now. If there is anything you have learnt from your mother in law, do share in the comments below! And whether you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it :).
Take care!
