At this stage of my life, I am reviewing everything I can to make it easier, improve my health, my quality of life and extend my life span.
With 5 kids who range from 18 years old to 8 months old, me turning 41 and knowing I want to live a long, healthy life, I know I need to make changes.
I want to be here and actively involved in my kids lives for as long as I can be and I won’t if I continue as is.
Some of the changes are things I used to do when I only had 2 kids (who are now 17 and 18) but others are things I’ve learned recently.
Outsourcing is one of those things I used to do more of but over the past 5 years when I had 3 more kids, less got outsourced and more fell on me as finances went to other goals.
My older two kids became champions which was expensive, I struggled to get daycare for my kids and I could not work as much with my younger kids.
As such, I had to scale back my expenses so outsourcing went out the window and my stress levels increased.
We moved from Sydney to Perth recently so are in the middle of reorganising our lives and outsourcing again.
What is Outsourcing?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, outsourcing is the process of arranging for somebody outside a company to do work or provide goods for that company.
When it comes to your home, this means hiring other people to do tasks for you.
Outsourcing in business and your personal life frees up your time and energy for other things that are more important to you.
What Can Be Outsourced?
Cleaning, gardening and laundry are some of the most commonly outsourced tasks. Ordering meal kits or completely cooked meals, grocery shopping, paying bills, picking up dry cleaning, and even personal shopping can all be outsourced.
Thanks to apps such as Airtasker, you can outsource almost anything.
How To Outsource
Write down the tasks or chores you hate doing, that take a long time to do or you find it hard to find the time to do them.
Look at how long it takes you to do each thing, how often it needs to be done then research the cost of outsourcing.
You can use a time tracker such as Toggl to see how long it takes you to do everything.
Choose one task to begin with, then as you free up time, energy and hopefully make more money as a result, outsource more.
Find where to outsource either by hiring a professional service such as a cleaning company or use an app such as Airtasker or check in local community groups.
Ask for recommendations, read reviews, make sure you have a solid contract in place to protect you and them then get started.
Other Outsourcing Tips
It can be an adjustment for some people who are used to being in control of everything or who like things done a certain way.
Here are a few extra tips for outsourcing that helped me.
Gain Time and Money
Remember a professional can often complete a task better and faster than you can.
If you pay someone $30hr to do a task that takes them 3 hours it is $90. But if you can make more per hour e.g. $40 or $50, you are ahead financially.
Even more if that task would take you 4 or 5 hours to complete compared to the 3 hours it takes them.
Have Clear Guidelines
Once you know you want to outsource, start tracking how you do things, how long it takes and what is needed.
This way, when you do outsource you have a guide to compare it to and something to use when discussing what needs to be done.
Having clear expectations and an agreement outlining everything reduces the issues.
Be Prepared to Change
The first person you hire might not be the right fit for you but don’t let that put you off outsourcing.
Try again with more specific instructions or guidance, otherwise try with someone else.
There have been times I found the perfect person and other times I had to let people go and keep trying.
It is difficult at first to learn how to interview, what to watch out for and to let someone go but they are valuable skills you need.
What I Outsource and Why
I started small but when I was a CEO and at a few other times in my life, I had quite a few things outsourced in my personal life as well as business.
Here are the things I have outsourced for my personal life and will be as I set up with our new life in Western Australia.
Meal Kits
A meal kit service has often been a lifesaver for us at times because of our busy lifestyle.
Selecting our meals for the next few weeks at a time, having it delivered and only needing to do a basic top-up for groceries is great.
It was the easiest thing to start with because you can get free or discounted meal kits to try them and see which one you prefer.
My favourite is QuiteLike but it’s not available in Western Australia yet.
HelloFresh will be the service I start with when we move into our house there.
I have big discounts and reviews of all the meal kits I’ve used on The Thrifty Issue.
Gardens
My older kids like taking care of our indoor plants but hate weeding or mowing the lawn or anything along those lines.
They can do it but we all hate it.
My younger kids help with weeding but I don’t always have time.
The climate in Perth is different to the tropical/subtropical climate we’ve been used to in Noosa, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands etc.
All of these reasons are why I outsource some of the gardening.
We will do the aspects we enjoy such as indoor plants, watering, trimming, progating etc but the tasks such as mowing the lawn, any major clean up or work will be outsourced.
I’m also considering a robot lawnmower.
Cleaning
We clean up after ourselves but at times getting the deeper cleaning done can be time consuming.
Our floors are done daily, sometimes more, because with so many kids, they can get dirty fast and it is a sensory issue for my kids and me. A robot vacuum/mop helps keep on top of this although I still like to do a deeper clean at times.
Doing a deeper clean of bathrooms, walls, windows etc takes a lot of time and I am better off hiring someone.
I make sure all my kids are capable of all chores around the house but it is not the best use of any of our time.
Cleaning includes some laundry. The day they come, the beds are stripped and bedding thrown in the wash.
They remake our beds and when the other bedding is dry, it is put away. We have 2 sets each so one on the bed and one being washed or stored for the next week.
Car Wash
Kids will absolutely destroy your car if they eat and drink in it or do any sports. Living by the beach also contributes to mess in the car.
Cleaning it weekly has been a battle with my kids. At times, my little ones are keen to do it but my older ones are less interested.
Taking it to the carwash once a week while I tidy it daily has been the best option for us.
Sometimes it’s a full detail at the carwash when we are shopping, othertimes it is the drive through car wash because my car is old.
If I had a new car, I would not take it through one of those and would only get it done professionally if I am not doing it myself.
Deliveries
Ordering the rest of our grocery shop online to be delivered is a huge timesaver. This combined with meal kits, drastically reduced the time spent planning and shopping.
Some things we use regularly I have on a subscription service, others I order weekly.
There are apps to help you compare prices, annual delivery fees make it cheap to get it delivered when you want and I can still order from wherever is cheapest.
With this, I am trying to be conscious of where I shop and order from locally owned places not big companies, where possible.
Mobile Services
A number of services can come to you so things can be done while you work from home. Car servicing, car washing and pet grooming are a few examples.
You can save travel time with hair and beauty services too but some people prefer the experience of going to the salon. Also, if they drop bleach or ruin something in your home, chances are they won’t pay to fix it.
I had my own mobile hair and beauty business in Sydney years ago and people loved it. I brought everything including a professional sink and made sure everything of theirs was protected.
See which services can come to you to save you time going everywhere.
