An estimated 25 million students went back to school last June 13 – which means that moms all over the country also go back to school duty, planning ahead how to manage their time with all the tasks on hand like washing and ironing uniforms, preparing healthy meals and baons while staying within budget, and how to wake the kids up and get them excited for the new school year.
A key in coping with all these challenges is organization, but many moms find this a great challenge – easier said than done actually. Good thing there is Hanabishi, a leading brand of quality and affordable home products, which provided some practical advice to all moms out there
Stick to a shopping list
Look out for back-to-school sales and take advantage of the discounts and promos on bulk purchases such as getting three pairs of socks for the price of two. Weigh the pros and cons. Like for instance, some undershirts might seem cheaper by the dozen but do you really need a dozen?
Prevent impulse buying by making a list of school items and stick to that list. And before you get overly excited about a store sale, check with the Department of Trade and Industry’s 2016 Price Guide for School Supplies or “Gabay sa Presyo ng School Supplies” to make sure the family is really getting a bargain.
Reuse and recycle
Check if Junior’s bag from last school year is still useful and just needs a little cleaning or a few replacements or repairs here and there from the neighborhood fix-it shop. And while making a shopping list, make an inventory of items that can be recycled (like clear books or composition notebook) and try to give them a creative “makeover.” In fact, you can even challenge the kids to be creative by giving new life to old school items.
Put the ‘fast’ in breakfast
It’s the most important meal of the day, but breakfast doesn’t have to take ages to prepare. You can pre-cook meals during the weekend or the night before, freeze them then reheat in the Hanabishi microwave oven, which features a non-ionizing radio frequency – meaning it is safe and won’t cause cancer. Using the Hanabishi microwave oven will save a lot of time since it will only take a minute or two to come up with a hot breakfast. All moms have to do is pop the food in the microwave and leave it so she can multitask and save more time.
On days when pre-cooked meals are not available for reheating and it’s too early to run to the bakery for some hot pan de sal, make use of the Hanabishi toaster oven. It has a timer, auto-shut off feature and an automatic temperature limit to prevent burning the bread.
Another timesaving tool is the Hanabishi water kettle with its leak-proof body and heavy-duty heating element that concentrates heat on the water container to accelerate the heating process. Cleaning up is also easy, thanks to its washable water tank and net filter.
Plan ahead
Time is of the essence, so plan things ahead to avoid early morning stress. Lay out clothes, shoes, socks, bags and items that are easy to forget such as ID’s, projects and water bottles the night before. And as an extra measure, set the clock five to 10 minutes ahead so everybody gets out the door earlier.
Outsmart the weather
Make the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration your best friend and get updated. PAG-ASA recently announced that the rainy season could last until October or November this year. With La Niña set to bring excessive rainfall starting August, it will be a rough battle drying up clothes, especially the school uniform that kids wear on a daily basis. Finding a suitable washer is therefore a must. Good thing there is the Hanabishi top load washing machine with its quick-wash, auto-sensing, and fully-automatic programs that do not need manual intervention during washing, rinsing and drying for a no-hassle washing routine.
Breathe
When the alarm clock doesn’t go off, the traffic becomes exceptionally bad, or the kids are more slow than usual, don’t panic. Stressing about the situation only makes it worse and might cause mistakes (like putting on mismatched socks on your pre-schooler), leading to more delays. After the kids are safely in school, slow down with a cup of freshly brewed coffee with the Hanabishi coffee maker. After all, moms deserve a little indulgence before facing other tasks for the rest of the day.
For more information about Hanabishi, please visit www.myhanabishi.com/shop/ and like MyHanabishiAppliances on Facebook.
