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Labor Day is coming up and the slow paced days of summer are drawing to an end. With the onset of early autumn comes a much faster paced life of back-to-school, the end of summer vacations (and possibly summer hours if you are lucky enough to have them), and the march forward to the busy year-end holiday season.
With that in mind I have come up with a few ideas that can save you precious time, yet still put an economical and delicious meal on the table. You see, I need this little kick in the pants myself. This summer I have taken it pretty easy, and in the process have become a bit disorganized. There is no better time than a three-day weekend to get back on track.
The slow cooker is one of your best time-saving friends in the kitchen. Everyone knows that the slow cooker is all about simplifying your life – there is nothing better than coming in the door to a home cooked meal that smells and tastes like it took all day long to make. And if you take a chunk of time this Labor Day weekend to put the following ideas into action, you can spend all of Monday relaxing in preparation for a busy fall.
1. Organization: This really is the key to saving lots of time in the kitchen. If all your most used spices, pantry items, pots and pans, and other kitchen equipment are well organized and have an easy to find home, you will save a lot of searching time. I also keep my cookbooks in the kitchen, along with one binder full of my favorite recipes and one with recipes I intend to try.
2. Efficency: Goes hand in hand with the concept of organization. When you use something such as a jar of spice (with the exception of salt and pepper which I always keep a supply of right at my fingertips), put it back right away rather than placing it on the counter to put away later. This simple act will reduce two steps to one and keep your kitchen neat at the same time, and can be applied in many other ways.
Another time-saver is to prep the ingredients for your recipe ahead of time. You might spend one day each week getting as much advance work done as possible so that, during the busy week, you can put a recipe together for the crockpot at a moment’s notice. Getting all of your ingredients prepared ahead of time (in chef’s terms, mise en place) is the way heavy volume cooking is done in many restaurants. You might be surprised how much it saves.
3. Planning Ahead: To streamline shopping and food preparation you can create a weekly meal plan that combines old favorites with recipes you have been eager to try.
4. Convenience: If your time is limited and your budget allows, you can purchase many types of fruits and veggies already cut up. I have even seen soup vegetables (onion, carrots, and celery) in bags in the produce section ready for a recipe. Another great time-saver is frozen veggies which eliminate the need to peel and slice.
5. Online Shopping: You can now do grocery shopping on the web. In fact, I just saw a delivery truck from my local store pull up the street to a neighbor’s house. The delivery service usually comes at a fee, but it can definitely be worth the expense when you add up all the time you might spend getting to the store and walking aisle by aisle.
My favorite store also offers a free service where you can create your shopping list online and then sort it into a printable list by each aisle and section. It’s great for those of us (like myself) who are shopping-impaired and often find themselves running back for a forgotten item. You can save a master list with your weekly items and then just add other items you need each week. I intend to spend some time this weekend putting mine together, along with some of these other simplifying strategies.
Although we know it’s impossible to have more than 24 hours each day, these tips can eliminate meal time stress and seem to add more hours to your life. Have a wonderful and relaxing Labor Day!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/951-simplify-labor-day/
Simplify Your Life In Time For Labor Day
Labor Day is coming up and the slow paced days of summer are drawing to an end. With the onset of early autumn comes a much faster paced life of back-to-school, the end of summer vacations (and possibly summer hours if you are lucky enough to have them), and the march forward to the busy year-end holiday season.
With that in mind I have come up with a few ideas that can save you precious time, yet still put an economical and delicious meal on the table. You see, I need this little kick in the pants myself. This summer I have taken it pretty easy, and in the process have become a bit disorganized. There is no better time than a three-day weekend to get back on track.
The slow cooker is one of your best time-saving friends in the kitchen. Everyone knows that the slow cooker is all about simplifying your life – there is nothing better than coming in the door to a home cooked meal that smells and tastes like it took all day long to make. And if you take a chunk of time this Labor Day weekend to put the following ideas into action, you can spend all of Monday relaxing in preparation for a busy fall.
1. Organization: This really is the key to saving lots of time in the kitchen. If all your most used spices, pantry items, pots and pans, and other kitchen equipment are well organized and have an easy to find home, you will save a lot of searching time. I also keep my cookbooks in the kitchen, along with one binder full of my favorite recipes and one with recipes I intend to try.
2. Efficency: Goes hand in hand with the concept of organization. When you use something such as a jar of spice (with the exception of salt and pepper which I always keep a supply of right at my fingertips), put it back right away rather than placing it on the counter to put away later. This simple act will reduce two steps to one and keep your kitchen neat at the same time, and can be applied in many other ways.
Another time-saver is to prep the ingredients for your recipe ahead of time. You might spend one day each week getting as much advance work done as possible so that, during the busy week, you can put a recipe together for the crockpot at a moment’s notice. Getting all of your ingredients prepared ahead of time (in chef’s terms, mise en place) is the way heavy volume cooking is done in many restaurants. You might be surprised how much it saves.
3. Planning Ahead: To streamline shopping and food preparation you can create a weekly meal plan that combines old favorites with recipes you have been eager to try.
4. Convenience: If your time is limited and your budget allows, you can purchase many types of fruits and veggies already cut up. I have even seen soup vegetables (onion, carrots, and celery) in bags in the produce section ready for a recipe. Another great time-saver is frozen veggies which eliminate the need to peel and slice.
5. Online Shopping: You can now do grocery shopping on the web. In fact, I just saw a delivery truck from my local store pull up the street to a neighbor’s house. The delivery service usually comes at a fee, but it can definitely be worth the expense when you add up all the time you might spend getting to the store and walking aisle by aisle.
My favorite store also offers a free service where you can create your shopping list online and then sort it into a printable list by each aisle and section. It’s great for those of us (like myself) who are shopping-impaired and often find themselves running back for a forgotten item. You can save a master list with your weekly items and then just add other items you need each week. I intend to spend some time this weekend putting mine together, along with some of these other simplifying strategies.
Although we know it’s impossible to have more than 24 hours each day, these tips can eliminate meal time stress and seem to add more hours to your life. Have a wonderful and relaxing Labor Day!
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/951-simplify-labor-day/