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Be Efficient
12. Keep a cooler and a basket in your trunk. The cooler is to keep frozen and cold foods cold while you're running errands; the basket is to enable you to carry parcels into the house without making umpteen trips.13. Learn to run errands with your kids and not go crazy. There are few things more stressful than being stuck in traffic with ice cream melting in the trunk and a two-year-old melting down in the backseat. But today you're more likely than ever to be running your errands with kids, given government statistics showing that kids under five spend up to 65 minutes a day in cars. To cope:
- Run your errands at the right time of day for the kid. If you've got a toddler, that's morning, before naptime.
- Stock the car with snacks, juices, and toys. Keep a cooler up front with cool drinks and cut-up fruit that you can hand back to your toddler when he or she gets fussy. Keep the car stocked with a bag of toys that only come out when you're running errands.
- Keep an extra diaper bag in the car. This way, you don't have to worry about forgetting something, Make sure the bag is stocked with diapers, wipes, change of clothes, diaper medicines, crackers, even a couple of videos if you're lucky enough to have a DVD or VCR in your minivan.
- Combine errands for you with a treat for your child. It could be lunch out, an ice cream, or a side trip to the park.
- Don't forget your child during the errand running. So during grocery shopping, for instance, play patty-cake and peekaboo while your child is in the cart. Turn trips to the post office and dry cleaner into learning experiences. Many proprietors will even give you and your child a tour if it's not too busy.
- Play games while you're shopping. Give your school-age child a calculator and have him total up the cost of the groceries as you toss them into your cart. Let preschoolers put nonbreakable items into the cart. Toddlers can pick which color tissues to buy.
- Bring the right equipment for infants. That's a backpack type of carrier, or a front sling, both of which leave your hands free.
- Play a mind game with older kids to keep them disciplined and keep your mind focused and relaxed. One good game is "jotto." You each pick a word with five letters, no two the same, and have to guess the other's word by stating five-letter words and being told how many letters match. Keeping track in your head is challenging, but fun.
14. Run your errands mindfully. That is, rein in your racing mind and focus solely on the task at hand. Start by walking slowly and deliberately to and from your car to the stores. As you grocery shop, focus on the colors of the produce, the rich scents from the bakery, the abundant luxury that is an American grocery store. Pay attention to each step, each movement. By living mindfully in the moment -- even while picking out brussels sprouts -- you are performing what relaxation experts call walking meditation. Do errands this way and you'll find yourself far more calm and engaged, and at the end, less exhausted and frustrated.
15. Buy yourself a treat. Your kids aren't the only ones who need a little motivation during errand running. So make sure you add one more item to your list -- something nice for you. It could be flowers, a scented bath soap, an imported brand of beer, or a fancy cheese. Life is too short to limit it to Velveeta.
16. Use your time running errands to take a break from noise. Turn off your cell phone, your car radio, leave the MP3 player at home. Instead, as you drive from store to store, listen to the silence and let your own thoughts have a chance to come out. This quiet time will help recharge the energy that gets sapped by the overwhelming stimuli of daily life.
17. Keep several bottles of water in the freezer. When it's time to run errands in the summertime, grab one of them to take with you. You'll have plenty of icy-cold water to drink throughout your errands.
18. Listen to inspirational tapes or books on tape in the car while running errands. It's a whole lot more relaxing than the commercials, the deejays, and the intensity of everyday radio.
19. Alternate tasks with your neighbors or kids' friends. For instance, one week you do the grocery shopping for your neighbor; the next week, she does. Or she watches your kids while you run the errands for both families (or vice versa). Another option: Run errands with a friend. Not only will you benefit from the social support, but your kids will be much better behaved having a friend along.
20. If you're a dad, run errands with your kid. A University of California study finds that children who clean, cook, and run household errands with their fathers are better behaved and have more friends. An added bonus: The wives of these men find them more sexually attractive.
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