How to Get More Time for Knitting : 5 Top Tips.....

Well of course this post is a little tongue in cheek - but I do get asked a lot how I manage to find time for knitting since I work full time - have a 40 minute commute each way and have two children (or 3 if you count the man of the house!) There is of course no magic answer and ignoring the housework just won't cut it (although I do have to put my hand up and say that I do have a cleaner - well I figure working full time I can afford that little luxury!) - and with washing and cooking to boot - that does not leave a big chunk of time for knitting. I mostly always knit if I am watching TV of course........

So here are my 5 top tips for saving time - thus giving you more time to knit!

Current WIP and I love it and want to finish it before the end of July!

1. Speeding up in the shower!

I am a HUGE fan of Nivea in-shower lotion!  I use it every morning whilst I have conditioner on my hair (prob no more than 30 seconds!) and then shower the whole lot off!  I have very dry skin and living in the middle east does not help that, but I have found this to be a fantastic product, does what it says it does, cheap and most importantly available in the UAE as well as the rest of the world!

I go for the blue one for dry skin

2.  Saving time on my hair!

Ok so my hair is a pain..... its thick and has a mind of its own and guess what.... it hates humidity........ and if its something we have in large amounts in the UAE its darn humidity!  Not only that, the heat makes your head sweat, especially this time of year when all venturing outside means wearing a hat or risking a burnt scalp (yep there is no good way of putting sunscreen in your hair to protect your head, without looking like you have not washed your hair for a month!).  So I have to wash my hair very often.  However recently I discovered Lee Stafford Blow Dry Faster spray (had to get it from the UK), and the Babyliss Big Hair brush.  These two treasures have cut down drying time from 15 mins to 5 and styling is done at the same time.  This not only saves time but also in the summer time, by the time your hair is dry you also risk breaking out in a fresh sweat from the heat of the dryer.......sigh...

Try them - you will see what I mean.......

I promise you won't look like you have 80"s hair!

Have to import from the UK but its worth it!

3.  Saving Tea Time

Now I know that not everyone needs a water cooler - but over here we do.  Water from the taps usually tastes vile and its not generally rain water (we don't get much!).  So everyone drinks mineral water.  Recently we got a new water cooler and its saved me so much time!  For tea or coffee I can just use the hot water button and its absolutely hot enough to save me from having to put the kettle on! (I do admit however that on a number of occasions I have accidentally pressed the cold button for tea and proved myself an utter fool!)

I love the way the bottle is in the bottom!!

4.  The 10 Item Wardrobe

Get yourself over to The Daily Connoisseur and check out Jennifer's blog posts on using a 10 Item Wardrobe. Now don't panic - you don't need to have ONLY 10 items, but 10 main pieces per season which you can mix and match with t-shirts, jackets and of course knitwear.  Jennifer works from home and is a mum with a fabulous figure - so just about the opposite to me! - but I have adapted this method for home and work and reduced my wardrobe to just the items which mix and match and which make me look my best.  I first read about this method in Lessons from Madame Chic which I downloaded on the way back from a business trip to Paris, where I noticed that the older the ladies get the more chic they look!  Jennifer is an American who spent some time in Paris and I loved the book.  Its not for everyone, but suits my control freak nature :)  Now I can go and pick out something from my wardrobe in 20 seconds and know everything will do its job!

5.  Go Pomodoro!

I love this concept, which bases itself on the original little tomato timer we grew up with.....

The idea is that you download an App (plenty of versions available from IOS or Android) for your phone which acts as the timer and you can do your chores in blocks of 25 mins with 5, 10 or 15 mins break.  Now of course I should use the 25 mins for work and the breaks for knitting........but it works perfectly the other way around too of course!



Well I hope you enjoyed that little tongue in cheek guide - I would love to know how you find time for knitting??