With most Filipino students
going back to school on June 13, millions of moms across the country are
starting to brace themselves for the new school year ahead. Just like, or more
so than the students themselves, moms are in need of time, budget and stress
management strategies during school days, what with meals to cook, school
uniforms to prepare, kids to wake up, and “baons” to pack.
Being
organized goes a long way in surmounting these challenges. But where to begin?
Hanabishi, a leading brand of quality and affordable home products, proves to
be quite a practical partner during these stressful times. Here, Hanabishi
provides some helpful advice.
Stick
to a shopping list
Back-to-school sales in various stores are up. It’s time to
take advantage of the discounts and promos on bulk purchases such as getting
three pairs of socks for the price of two. There are pitfalls to this, though. Sometimes,
undershirts might seem cheaper by the dozen but what if 5 pieces are enough? Or,
maybe Junior’s bag from last school year can still be used this year.
To curb impulsive buying, the
whole family can make a list of school items that can still be used to
determine the items that really need to be bought. The key is to stick to the
list. Also, before getting overly excited about a store sale, first check the Department of Trade and Industry’s 2016
Price Guide for School Supplies or “Gabay sa Presyo ng School
Supplies” to make sure the family is really getting a bargain.
Put
the ‘fast’ in breakfast
Even though it is the most
important meal of the day, breakfast doesn’t have to take an hour in the
morning to prepare. Meals can be pre-cooked during the weekend or the night
before, frozen, then reheated in the Hanabishi
microwave oven, which features a non-ionizing radio frequency. This means
it’s safe and won’t cause cancer. With the Hanabishi microwave oven, it will
only take a minute or two to come up with a hot breakfast, plus moms can simply
pop in the food and leave it so she can multitask and save more time.
On other days when a
pre-cooked meal is not available for reheating and it’s too early to run to the bakery for some hot pandesal, turn to the
Hanabishi toaster oven. It has a timer, auto-shut off feature and an automatic
temperature limit to prevent burning the bread.
Another time-saving tool is
the Hanabishi water kettle. It has a leak-proof
body and heavy duty heating element that concentrates heat to the water
container to accelerate the process of heating. Cleaning up is also easy-peasy
thanks to its washable water tank and net filter.
Time
is of the essence
Plan things ahead to avoid
early morning stress. Don’t wait for the last minute to book a school bus or
service as those may get quickly fully booked. Lay out clothes, shoes, socks,
bags and items that are easy to forget such as ID’s, projects and water bottles
the night before. And as an extra measure, set the clock 5 to 10 minutes ahead so
everybody gets to be out the door earlier.
Outsmart
the weather
The Philippine Atmospheric
Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) announced on May
24 that the rainy season may last until October or November this year. With La
Niña set to bring excessive rainfall starting August, it will be a rough battle
drying up clothes, especially the school uniform that kids wear on a daily
basis. Finding a suitable washer is therefore a must.
The Hanabishi top load washing machine has quick-wash, auto-sensing,
and fully-automatic programs that do not need manual intervention during
washing, rinsing and drying for a no-hassle washing routine.
Just
breathe
When the alarm clock doesn’t
go off, the traffic becomes exceptionally bad, or the kids just get extra slow,
it is important not to panic. Stressing about it doesn’t help, and might even
cause mistakes (such as putting on socks that don’t match) leading to more delays.
And after the kids are already in school, what’s wrong with slowing down with a
cup of freshly brewed coffee made using the Hanabishi coffee maker? All moms
deserve a little indulgence before facing tasks the rest of the day.
