Image by heathertea via Flickr

Between jobs, grocery shopping, cleaning and other household chores, busy mom's never seem to have enough time in the day to get it all done. Add in things like Little League and school meetings, and there simply aren't enough hours in the day! However, there are things you can do at home to make some of you jobs easier and save some of your precious time.

1. Make a weekly or monthly menu. Plan out meals and ways to use leftovers ahead of time. Plan in a couple nights a month for take-out or pizza. Once you have a weekly or monthly plan done, you can use it over and over. This will save you time when trying to think up 'what's for dinner tonight'.

2. Save time shopping by making a pre-printed shopping list. It's easy to know what you need to buy each week when you use your menu from the previous tip. It's also a good idea to keep the list hanging in the kitchen so you can make a note of anything you're running low on. Grocery shopping takes less time when you already know what you need to buy. And, no more late night trips to the convenience store to pick up milk for breakfast the next day!

3. Pay bills online. It's so much faster to do, and there's no worry about running out of stamps or last minute trips to the post office.

4. Use aluminum foil to cover baking pans and toaster oven trays to prevent stuck on messes and make clean up a breeze. And after dinner, just fold the foil up over the leftovers - no need for storage containers!

5. Are your mornings hectic? Get as much ready as you can the night before: Set out clothes for work or school, prepare school lunches, plug in your cell phone to charge.

6. No time to cook? Use Dutch ovens and slow cookers to save yourself some time. Serve healthy, hearty meals for your family that cook while you're doing other things. Chicken dishes, roasts or casseroles are among the dishes that are super easy to prepare all in one dish.

Want to learn more about using round French ovens to save time in the kitchen? Stop my Le Creuset Round French Oven site and find out more about their use.