Comments on: Podcast: Outsourcing discussion

By: Episode 26: How She Outsources - How She Moms

Episode 26: How She Outsources - How She Moms — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 23:11:19 +0000

[…] and co-host of the podcast The Best of Both Worlds talked about outsourcing way back in episode 8. She says, “Unless you are sewing your own clothes, you have chosen to outsource that to […]

By: Outsourcing: What problems can money fix? - Women in Pharma Careers

Outsourcing: What problems can money fix? - Women in Pharma Careers — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 05:11:24 +0000

[…] outlined in the podcast's Episode 8 on outsourcing, we already outsource if we buy our food from the grocery store instead of growing it ourselves and […]

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 19:12:46 +0000

In reply to Byrd. @Byrd- very true that a short commute can cover for a host of ills. After all, you might have the time to do some of the things other people outsource if you're not in the car for 2 hours a day!

By: Byrd

Byrd — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 18:51:56 +0000

I know this thread is way old but I’m behind on podcast episodes. I wanted to comment particularly on outsourcing gardening tasks (beyond routine lawn care). I’ve had good success doing that with a local upscale gardening center / greenhouse. They are more expensive than alternatives… but since they show up and the alternatives don’t, is this really a fair comparison? Have had them mulch, replace landscaping plants, add new landscaping, etc. They don’t mind doing little one-off things.

Another note, I live in a semi rural area where we don’t have a lot of the services you mention (grocery delivery!!) — BUT — I have a 10 minute commute. So maybe there are some offsets.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 15:31:06 +0000

I don’t outsource as much as you both do, but I do a little bit. I commented above about how I outsource to my children 🙂 I also have a 2x-month cleaning service — the clean house alone is worth it for me, whether or not it saves time.
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I’m more of a systems-in-place person than an outsourcer, partly because of the limited options (I live on a restricted-access military base, in a very-not-urban area). I like to automate or semi-automate most of my household decisions and tasks. I like to say “use the robots” — both literally and figuratively. We have a Roomba, and I use the timer settings on the dishwasher and the washing machine, but I also just have base fill-in-the-blank plans for things like meal planning, like Sarah mentioned.
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We live in an area that doesn’t have grocery delivery OR curbside pickup! I have managed to find a couple of sources for things to dramatically reduce my Target trips — Grove Collaborative is a great household-product subscription service, so I never have to remember to buy dish soap or toilet paper (use the robots). I tried a meal-planning service, but it was more work trying to customize it for our family’s tastes and time than it was worth, so now I just have a standard shopping list set up in store order and will add the few items I need for meals, so a trip takes 30 minutes.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 15:22:35 +0000

In reply to Brooke Kent.

Yes! I was going to come comment on outsourcing to my children. We don’t pay them for doing household chores because I don’t want them to decide they have a choice to do them or not, but my kids (4 and 7) have a set of chores they do.
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For me, it’s not so much a time-saver right now as it will be later. It’s really as much about teaching them to be contributors to the household team (they are boys) as it is getting things off my plate I don’t like to do 🙂
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Right now, they pack their own lunches (within my guidelines — sandwich, fruit, dairy, but it’s their choice what from each category) and they empty the kid-safe stuff from the dishwasher. They’re also responsible for picking up their own toys and tidying up both their rooms and public spaces in the house, and helping fold/put away laundry.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 23:50:15 +0000

I love your comment on what it teaches kids! So true.

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 00:18:31 +0000

In reply to MB.

@MB- I think major markets have it, but not everywhere. Most major urban ones are serviced by Fresh Direct type services. When I was in NYC, we could place an order for any grocery item and specify a 2-hour delivery window (so, say, Saturday 7-9 am).

If you have a major supermarket chain near you they might do it, or at least have curb side type pick -up — place your order and they bring it out at a specified time. I haven’t tried that so I don’t know how seamless it is.

By: MB

MB — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:35:33 +0000

I dislike shopping in stores. Too much of a timewaster. I too order a lot online, but my struggle is with fresh groceries (dairy, fruit, etc.) How do you outsource grocery shopping? I live in northeast Wisconsin & I have not heard of that.

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 17:42:51 +0000

In reply to Virginia. @Virginia - congrats on the loan repayment application going through. That is a great payoff of time invested! And yes, leaning into your careers in the early years can have huge payoffs later on. I'm so glad you found 168 Hours helpful for developing your time management philosophy.