Six Time-Saving Shortcuts to a Better Life

desk computer with time display on top of work desk with books and papers on it
Life is a beautiful, wonderful, crazy-busy experience in which we work hard and play harder, leaving precious little time to simply breathe. Sometimes life can feel overwhelming and complicated, rather than fulfilling and peaceful. That’s why in the blog below we’re suggesting six time-saving shortcuts to make your life easier.
Of course one easy way to make, not just your life, but also your community better is by supporting the Vietnam Veterans of America. Just CLICK HERE to schedule your free donation pickup today and on the day you choose, a Pickup Please truck will come to your house and take away your unwanted clothes, jewelry, and other household items, and put them to use helping America’s veterans in your community. Now, that’s what we call easy!


How much time do you think you spend doing daily, weekly, and monthly tasks? For example, how many hours per week do you spend roaming the aisle of your supermarket? According to the Time Use Institute, the average shopping trip takes 41 minutes. If you multiply that by the national average of 1-and-a-half weekly trips, that’s over 53 hours per year you’re spending in the grocery store. That’s right, over a week of potential vacation time is spent waiting in line with a food cart.

How about planning, cooking, and cleaning up meals? Studies say that people spend on average 51 minutes per day, per meal. That works out to 310 hours per year — nearly 13 full days are spent making and cleaning up just one meal a day!

The time we spend per year on simple tasks add up, so here are some great ways to cut down on the hours you spend doing routine tasks and free up more time to spend with your loved ones — or maybe just give yourself time to take a long bath.

woman with baby in her lap in blue striped onesie

Grocery Delivery Service: Grocery delivery services are making life easier for families all across the country. All you have to do is login to the grocery delivery app or site, select your items, pay for them, and then sit back and wait for your doorbell to ring. In as little as an hour, your bags full of all the items you’ve chosen are delivered to your home. Check with your favorite grocery store to see which service they recommend or are affiliated with.


Pro Tip: With some grocery apps, you can save time and skip the delivery fee by picking up your pre-collected items at the store. Why not place your order before taking your kids to the park and swing by on your way home and pick up your dinner fixings? They’ll be waiting for you!


Meal Delivery Service: Cooking is a great family activity, but when it happens every night it can become a chore. Think about silencing the grumbling by using a meal delivery service a few nights a week. Some services deliver fresh ingredients for you to make quick and yummy dinners. Other services deliver fully cooked meals. Stop going right to pizza again and look up services that offer delivery from your local restaurants.

aerial view of half a box of pizza open with tomatoes and corn and cheese

Online Bill Pay: Most of us are used to paying our credit cards with automatic online bill pay… yet many of us fail to do the same with most all of our other recurring bills. Sure, it can be a pain to set up, but think of the hours you’ll free up each month by automatically paying your utility bills, car payment, insurance, and loans. Nearly every payment you now make by writing a check, finding an envelope and stamp, and dropping in a mailbox can instead be made automatically online, and often for a discount.  

On-site Car Cleaning: It’s a Saturday morning and the sun is shining and the birds are chirping but instead of being out enjoying Mother Nature, you’re instead waiting and waiting for your car at the car wash. There is a hassle-free way to get this annoying task done during the week. Go online to book a mobile car wash and you can have your vehicle made spiffy clean while you hang out at home or work…there’s just something about that feeling you get when you walk out to find your car waiting for you all clean and sparkling!

Online Car Shopping: Maybe you’re thinking it’s time to replace that car instead of just getting it washed. Is there anything more stressful than trying to find the perfect new car, at the perfect price, ready for you to drive away? Weekend after weekend, instead of enjoying family and friends, you can easily find yourself driving from one dealer to the next, searching through rows and rows of cars. There is a much better way, one that will save you time, aggravation, and give you that joyful, “new car” feeling right away. There are several car purchasing services online that allow you to not only locate the exact make and model, but also allows your local dealers to bid for your business, so you can save thousands of dollars. Instead of you driving from salesperson to salesperson, they come to you via your electronic device. All you have to do is choose the dealer that meets your requirements and head on over to pick up your new car.

Pre-Purchase Movie Tickets: Now that you’ve got all this free time on your hands, a movie date might be on your agenda. You guessed it — you can even save time doing that, as most local cinemas allow you to buy your tickets (and in some cases reserve your seats) before you arrive at the theatre. You’ll feel like a celebrity when you stroll past the people in line at the ticket booth and head right to the ticket scanner!

movie theater popcorn in plastic container

Free Donation Pick Up: We’ve saved the best for last! One of the easiest and most convenient services offered today is Pickup Please! Our 100 percent free donation pick up service comes to your home, on the day of your choice, and picks up your donations. Instead of packing your donation boxes and bags in your car, driving to the donation center, and unloading all your stuff, how about simply scheduling a free pick up? Other busy families rave about how easy Pickup Please makes their lives and how great they feel donating to a worthy cause, such as the Vietnam Veterans of America.

It’s time to put technology to use helping you to save time, money, and assist veterans in your community. Once you do, we hope you enjoy your movie!