by Kara | Jun 24, 2024 | Grocery, Health, Home, Organizational, Outsourcing, Residential
When you’re responsible for managing your home and all the related chores, it can seem like your to-do list just keeps getting longer and longer. Not only are there daily and weekly tasks to perform, such as doing laundry and shopping for groceries, but you also have home renovation projects you would love to get off the ground—and off your to-do list.
Though you may be feeling overwhelmed with working, raising a family, and managing your household, you can make life more manageable with a household assistant. In fact, a Pepper’s assistant can take on everyday chores and so much more, including managing vendors, planning travel, and helping make your dream projects a reality.
Day-to-Day Responsibilities of a Household Assistant
If you’ve been wondering whether you need a household assistant or have enough work to keep an assistant busy, consider this: Research has found that the average person spends nearly two hours a day on household chores. And 80 percent of people will spend nearly a year of their lives on these chores!
Though you may have a lot of household responsibilities on your plate, a skilled assistant can give you some of your time back and ensure everything gets done right. Your household assistant can do all of the chores you would love to never do again, including:
- Preparing meals and cleaning up
- Shopping for groceries
- Making returns
- Doing laundry and dropping off dry cleaning
- Making and rescheduling appointments
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Go Beyond Typical Household Chores
Household assistants can work wonders performing everyday household tasks, but they can also help with one-off and longer-term projects. Whether you’ve got a spare room you would like to reimagine or some items in storage you want to organize, your assistant can help.
These projects can include:
“I want to mention what a fantastic personal assistant Billie is to me. We were on vacation last week, and she managed my household and vendors flawlessly. With very little direction, she redecorated my office. I asked her to make it nice and functional and—my goodness—did she ever!”
—Anura, client
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Shrink Your To-Do List and Add More Time to Your Day
By outsourcing household chores, you can get tasks done without rushing and feeling frazzled at the end of each day. Working with a Pepper’s household assistant allows you to spend more time with family and personal interests and less time carrying the mental load of everything that needs to get done in a day.
Pepper’s assistants are trustworthy, considerate, and resourceful, striking the optimal balance between keeping you informed while working independently. Your assistant will take your to-do list and keep track of your ideas, favorite stores, and must-have grocery items. Even if you’ve never had household help before, you’re likely to find a Pepper’s household assistant is exactly what you need to reclaim your free time.
“The gift of this is that I’ve been ‘managing’ myself … and learning a lot of things about some of my own work habits, which has allowed me to actually make some changes. Because many of my other tasks have been managed and handled by [my PA], I have a sense of peace while I’m investigating this other part of my life. Very, very valuable.”
—Libby, client
Manage Household Chores and Much More
Delegating your household chores means freeing up time to do what you love and worrying less about constant home upkeep. With a Pepper’s personal assistant, you won’t just have reliable help for daily chores; you’ll also have a partner to help you manage the home projects you always wanted to complete but never had the time to do.
To discover the full potential of a household assistant, check out Chores and Beyond: A Case Study Exploring the Full Potential of What a Household Assistant Can Do for You.
by Kara | Jun 6, 2024 | Grocery, Health, Home, Organizational, Residential
If you’re responsible for preparing nutritious and satisfying family meals, you know how challenging it can be to plan, shop, and ensure everything gets on the table on time. But there’s help available!
By creating a detailed monthly meal plan, you can transform chaotic mealtimes into stress-free moments. And with a household assistant by your side, family dinners become even more seamless and satisfying for everyone.
Benefits of a Monthly Meal Plan
Creating a family meal plan is generally better than coming up with something to make and eat on the fly. But if the idea of developing a detailed plan for your family’s meals seems daunting, just know there are many available resources to help you. You can create your own template or use family meal planner templates and weekly meal plan printables. Sites such as Canva and 101Planners offer free, downloadable meal prep templates.
With a meal plan in place, you can realize the following benefits:
Save time.
Planning meals in advance gives you more time to cook and enjoy meals with your family. You already know the day’s meals, so you can get right to defrosting, cutting vegetables, and preheating the oven instead of taking time debating meal options.
Make mealtime less stressful.
With a set meal plan, you don’t need to plan on the fly, feel rushed, or work under pressure. You can take your time and ensure meals come out as you envisioned.
You may eat healthier.
A recent study found that American families spend about 20 percent more on restaurant food than they spend on groceries. Meal planning reduces the odds of throwing your hands up and deciding to go out or order a quicker—but potentially less healthy—meal.
You could save money.
Planning your family menu makes grocery shopping more efficient. You can buy in bulk where it’s practical and purchase produce items when they’re in season or on sale. One mom says she cuts down on food waste and saves $500/month by meal planning.
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Three Game-Changing Family Meal Planning Ideas
If you would like to simplify daily meal prep and give monthly meal planning a try, here’s how you can get started:
1. Build your family menu plan template.
An editable monthly template allows you to avoid starting from scratch every month. Some elements to include in your template are:
- A list of potential meals
- All the ingredients you’ll need for each meal
- A list of items you’ll need to replenish routinely versus staples you always have on hand
To stay consistent, pick a time each month or week to create and update your meal plan. If you have a household assistant to help, they can match your shopping list with what’s already in your fridge and pantry, do the shopping, and handle the daily meal prep for you.
2. Consider meal choices that mesh with your schedule.
Since each day is different, it’s a good idea to determine which meals are better for busy days and which are more appropriate for days you anticipate having more time to pull meals together.
For example, you may decide to have designated days for cooking, ordering in, and going out. You can also have days when you’ll prepare meals from a food delivery service such as Blue Apron or HelloFresh. And don’t forget leftovers! They can be great for those days when you have no time to cook, order in, or go out.
3. Incorporate a variety of food.
Planning 30 days of meals allows you to build variety into your plan. You can categorize meals by:
- Cooking time
- Cooking method: Hands-on versus slow cooker and one-pot meals
- Complexity level: Meals your partner or older children can handle and those you’ll need to prepare
- Cuisine: A mix of Italian, Indian, or whatever you choose reduces the chance of hearing “Not chicken again!” from the family
- Meal type: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts
As your monthly meal plan comes together, it may be beneficial to post it for everyone in the family to see. If you’re running late or busy at mealtime, someone else can cook or at least get the meal started before you arrive.
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How a Pepper’s Household Assistant Can Help
Pepper’s household assistants are quick learners capable of executing your monthly meal plan, so you don’t have to do everything yourself. They’re well-trained and work independently, saving you time and money without sacrificing quality.
In addition to all the other household chores a Pepper’s household assistant can perform, your assistant can also take on these tasks:
- Planning meals based on your input and direction
- Shopping for groceries (including at the faraway shops you usually don’t have time to visit)
- Organizing your refrigerator and pantry
- Keeping a list of your preferred food brands, stores, and other preferences, such as organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and so forth
- Performing meal prep
All you have to do is come in and cook. Alternatively, if you need an assistant who cooks, Pepper’s can help you with that, too!
Simplify Your Life with a Household Assistant
Meal planning is just one of the many time-consuming tasks a household assistant can manage to make your household run smoother and give you more time for the things that matter most in your life. To learn more, download our guide, What Your Life Could Look Like With a Household Assistant.
by Kara | May 30, 2024 | Home, Organizational, Residential
If you’ve decided you need household help but aren’t sure you have enough for a household assistant to do, think again. Besides doing laundry, tackling meal prep, and handling other everyday chores, a skilled household assistant can organize your home inside and out and help you tackle the dream projects you always hoped would be possible.
Everything a Household Assistant Can Do
Chances are, if you’ve considered a household assistant, it’s because you’ve felt the pressure many busy professionals and overwhelmed moms feel—your to-do list keeps getting longer, and it seems there’s never enough time in the day. All the behind-the-scenes planning and anticipating you do often leaves you little time for yourself and the things you love.
But there’s hope. Even if you thought household assistants were just for celebrities or that you didn’t have enough for an assistant to do, there are several ways an assistant can organize your home and give you your time back. In fact, in all the homes Pepper’s assistants have worked in over the last 12-plus years, they’ve never had a problem finding enough to do!
At Pepper’s, we have a team of more than 30 highly skilled personal assistants ready to help you tackle a broad array of household tasks and projects. Upon entering your home, your assistant will look for opportunities to make improvements, organize household chores, and create a system for completing them efficiently. You’ll have a household guide that outlines everything from your favorite grocery store to the location of your water shut-off valve.
You can rely on your household assistant to handle tasks such as:
- Planning travel (including packing and unpacking)
- Decorating for holidays
- Doing laundry (including making dry cleaning runs)
- Planning and managing home parties
- Shopping for groceries and running errands
- Preparing food
- Taking out trash and recycling
- Scheduling and supervising on-site vendors
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Your household assistant can also take your home organization and special project ideas and make them a reality. Examples include creating a home art space, transforming outdoor areas to be more enjoyable, and finding home service contractors for maintenance and repair jobs.
The support you receive from a Pepper’s household assistant isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s flexible to adapt to your specific needs. And if we don’t have a household assistant that fits the criteria you seek, we’ll find one. So, if you need an assistant who cooks, we’ll find someone who can cook your preferred cuisine. And if you need an assistant that’s great with pets, no problem! Our goal is to help you build a collaborative, stress-free relationship that meets your immediate and ongoing needs.
Steps You Can Take to Determine Your Household Help Needs
It’s not always easy to visualize what a household assistant can do for you day to day. That’s why Pepper’s assistants are trained to work with you at your pace, offering support and suggestions to ensure a smooth transition of chores from you to your assistant.
A great way to create a clearer picture of what your life could look like with a household assistant is to start with a list. Itemize all the things that you would love to never do again that someone could do for you. It might be doing laundry, standing in line at Costco, decluttering countertops, or making Amazon returns. Whatever it is, add it to your list.
As you continue this process, you’ll begin to see you’re probably spending more time on household chores than you realized. One study found that unpaid household chores took an average of 21.5 hours per week—three hours a day!
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Tackle Household Chores and Much More
Imagine what you could do with three more hours in your day. You could spend more time with family and friends, reconnect with an old hobby, or even find a new one.
These are the kinds of benefits Libby Wagner enjoyed once she began working with her Pepper’s household assistant. In a case study of Libby’s experience, we discuss how her assistant took time-consuming chores off Libby’s to-do list and helped her complete dream projects that made her home more enjoyable. Having household help transformed her home and life.
“I’m able to spend the time I need to on my business, which is a lot, and then I get to enjoy my home and my life and the precious unstructured time that I have not taken up with doing errands and chores,” she said.
To learn more about Libby’s experience with her Pepper’s household assistant, download the full case study.
by Kara | May 13, 2024 | Home, Organizational
Spring is the perfect time to refresh and rejuvenate your home after the winter months. The garden is coming back to life, and it’s becoming warm enough to open the windows and let in some fresh air.
With the help of our handy checklist, you can manage your household and keep everything clean, organized, and operating smoothly.
Spring Household Maintenance Planner for Working Moms
As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” However, it’s easy to forget or put off home maintenance if you don’t have a list of what to check for and a method for keeping everything organized. One survey found that 68 percent of homeowners don’t have an annual home maintenance checklist or routine.
Completing your annual spring-cleaning is easier with an “organize my house” checklist and some prioritizing in advance. In fact, there are a variety of tools out there to help busy moms plan and schedule household tasks. They include:
- Apps such as Trello and Asana
- Home management books
- Free printables for home organization
No matter what method you use to prioritize and schedule your home maintenance to-dos, consider adding the following items to your checklist:
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Exterior Repairs and Maintenance
- Check for damage to your home’s exterior, including the foundation, siding, roof, and gutters, and identify vendors to help with repairs.
- Inspect caulking around doors and windows and reseal as needed.
- Identify any areas of pest or insect damage and schedule a preventative or remedial exterminator visit.
- Spruce up outdoor spaces by cleaning patio furniture, power-washing decks and walkways, and testing exterior lighting.
- Begin cleanup of lawn and consider hiring a professional landscaper for pruning, mulching, and garden planting.
- Clean out the outdoor grill and firepit.
- Schedule lawn irrigation system startup and annual testing.
- Schedule pool opening.
Interior Decluttering and Maintenance
- Do a walk-through of each room and determine what needs to be reorganized.
- Donate or sell items you no longer need.
- Identify furniture and furnishings in need of repair or replacement.
- Deep-clean carpets and reseal wood floors as needed.
- Clean windows, drapes, and other upholstery to remove built-up dirt and allergens.
- Dust surfaces throughout each room.
- Test and replace batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms.
- Organize garage and storage spaces as needed.
HVAC, Plumbing, and Appliance Maintenance
- Schedule a professional inspection and cleaning for your HVAC and plumbing equipment, including:
- Furnace/boiler
- Chimney interior
- Septic and well systems
- Sump pump
- Water softener
- Dehumidification system
- Replace HVAC air filters and clean heating/cooling vents and returns.
- Inspect faucets, toilets, and pipes for leaks and signs of damage and repair as needed.
- Clean and descale dishwasher, washing machine, and other appliances to maintain efficiency.
- Replace refrigerator water filters as needed.
- Run an oven self-cleaning cycle.
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How Pepper’s Personal Assistants Helps Busy Moms
Keeping up with household maintenance can feel overwhelming. And if you’re managing household chores, childcare, and your career, you may be like many moms who feel even more stretched. In one survey, 93 percent of moms reported feeling burned out.
Thankfully, there’s hope. At Pepper’s Personal Assistants, we understand how hectic your schedule can be as a working mom, and we’re here to help you plan and organize your lengthy to-do list. One of our highly skilled household assistants can help you easily tackle your spring checklist, so you get it all done and have more time for the people and things you love. From organizing clutter to scheduling maintenance appointments and supervising repairs, your assistant can handle it all. (You don’t even have to be home for it to get done).
To see how much time you can get back in your day, download our free resource: What Your Life Could Look Like with a Household Assistant.
by Kara | May 9, 2024 | Organizational, Parenting
If your wife is responsible for raising the kids, managing the household, or working outside the home, she likely has far too much on her plate. Not only must she handle the day-to-day of a never-ending to-do list, but she also has to carry the mental load of making sure it all gets done and on time.
However, the overwhelmed mom in your life doesn’t have to manage these tasks alone. You can do a lot to support her and ensure she doesn’t feel responsible for making everything happen.
Why Overwhelmed Moms Need Support
Parenting comes with many challenges for moms and dads, and it’s not always easy for either parent. But moms often bear much of the responsibility for parenting and household management—even if they’re also working a full-time job.
A Gallup survey of married and cohabitating couples found that despite women making up nearly half of the workforce, they handle most of the childcare responsibilities and nearly all household chores except car maintenance and yard work.
Moms are often responsible for:
- Managing kids’ activities (homework help, school pickup and drop-off, play dates, and so on)
- Scheduling appointments
- Performing household chores, such as cleaning, meal prep, and laundry
- Shopping for groceries and running other errands
- Organizing family events and vacations
In any given week, full-time working moms can quickly become overwhelmed. They must keep up with laundry, cook, and manage a cleaning schedule to avoid being paralyzed by a messy house. They also carry the mental load of all the behind-the-scenes work that keeps everything running, such as:
- Managing the household calendar
- Anticipating child and household needs several days and weeks in advance
- Evaluating the pros and cons of childcare and household decisions and making those decisions
- Monitoring household operations and child-related tasks and stepping in when things don’t go as expected or new tasks come up
For many women, this constant mental juggling can lead to stress, exhaustion, and resentment, which can negatively affect their mental health. A CVS Health/Harris Poll survey found that working mothers have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression far more than the general population (42 percent versus 28 percent).
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Ways to Support Stressed and Overwhelmed Moms
With the mental load of all their household and childcare responsibilities, it’s no wonder many overwhelmed moms are also becoming frustrated. In a 2023 Skimm survey, 64 percent of women agreed with the statement, “I am tired of trying to be a super mom, super wife, and/or super employee.”
The pace of life and all its responsibilities are unlikely to slow down, but here are some ways to take the pressure off your wife to be “super” everything:
1. Acknowledge and show empathy for how she’s feeling.
Often, people struggling in any area of life want to be heard. If your wife feels stressed, overwhelmed, or burned out by the mental load of childcare and household chores, listen to her concerns and show her that you care.
You can do this by:
- Assuring your wife that her struggles are valid and understandable
- Reassuring her that feeling overwhelmed is not a sign of failure
- Reminding her that she’s not alone
2. Lighten her mental load.
Multiple studies have shown that women carry more of the mental load of childcare and household duties. While there are many causes—societal expectations, unequal division of labor, and others—it’s better to focus on possible solutions and what you can do to help.
Here are some ideas:
- Talk about it: Discuss what you can do to help take some tasks off her plate.
- Share accountability: Recognize that helping isn’t occasionally taking on a task. It’s taking complete ownership of something from start to finish, so she doesn’t have to worry about it.
- Encourage her to delegate: Help your wife understand she doesn’t have to do everything herself. When she does delegate, be consistent in your support and show her you can be relied on to follow through on your commitments.
3. Get help from a household assistant.
Outsourcing household chores helps overwhelmed moms cross more off the household to-do list without doing it all themselves. With a household assistant, the busy mom in your life also gets more time to spend with family and other passions.
A household assistant can perform tasks such as:
- Laundry
- Grocery shopping, running errands, and making returns
- Paying bills
- Making and rescheduling appointments
- Supervising repair technicians and taking deliveries
- Planning family travel and other activities
Become a More Supportive Partner
There are only 24 hours in a day, and busy working moms shouldn’t spend every minute of it planning, organizing, and performing household tasks. With your help and partnership, you can lighten the mental load of managing childcare and household responsibilities, giving your wife more time for family and self-care.
To learn more, download our e-book, What Your Life Could Look Like with a Household Assistant.
