Hannah Maggs is a blogger partnering with Bosch Home Appliances. We are happy for Hannah giving us a glimpse into her daily life as a busy mum. Explore her first Bosch Stories exclusive blog post on time-saving mum hacks with Bosch appliances.

Now, I’m safe to assume that if you’re reading this that it’s likely you’re a parent looking to save some time and create more balance. Well I recently partnered up with Bosch to show how we achieve Kokoro at home as part of my favourite top 5 time-saving mum hacks. Kokoro means heart, mind and balance and I’m here to show you how Bosch appliances help us achieve a little more peace of mind at home during our busy lives.

*Hack no. 1: Zip Up Baby-grows

I’m not sure why I only discovered these on our second baby, but they are such an amazing hack. For night time changes – they just speed everything up. Say goodbye to fumbling around in the dark desperately trying to match up poppers when you could both be winding back down to the warm embrace of sleep. One quick zip and you’re set. They’re also great to pop into changing bags for days out – if you ever have a leakage situation. They’re quick, easy and are just super comfy for your baby too.

*Hack no. 2: Evening Prep

If you know you’ll be off somewhere in the morning with the kiddos in tow, get everything ready the night before. Pack your changing bag and snacks, leave them by the door or buggy and lay out outfits for yourself and the children. It sounds really silly but it’ll buy you some extra time in the morning so you can go at a more relaxing and slower pace rather than scrambling to get everything together.

*Hack no. 3: Grab and go Breakfast Muffins with Bosch

For Roo, I just usually whip up a bit of banana in the morning. Though for the rest of us on early morning nursery days, it’s the good old breakfast muffin which we can grab and go as we fly out of the door! Just a little bit of weekend baking prep and it makes breakfast easier on days when we need to head out to the nursery.

The favourites in the Michalak household are these banana and blueberry muffins. They’re pretty wholesome and perfect for little people. The recipe I use is this one here if you fancy getting prepped for your morning rush too:
• 1 medium egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 55 g soft light brown sugar
• 1 large, very ripe banana, well mashed
• Two generous handfuls of blueberries
• 55 ml sunflower oil
• 85 g wholemeal flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt (omit for under 1 year olds)

*Hack no. 4: Make tidying toys before bedtime into a race

The last thing I want to do when both the boys are tucked up in bed, is tidy up after them. So this leads me on to hack number 4, and this one takes advantage of the fact that my eldest son Grayson is 4. He has a competitive streak so he just loves when anything is made into a game or a competition. If I say let’s have a race to see who can put the most toys back in the toy box tonight, he unknowingly helps me tidy up all his mess. With the toys all packed away, we feel like the living area is an adult space again ready for the evening.

*Hack no 5: Play hide and seek to find time to tidy up the room, answer emails or message back friends.

I’ve been using this gem for as long as Grayson has been able to play hide and seek properly – it’s a great way to get on top of things, particularly my work emails! As long as he can hear me counting and pretending to look around for him, he has no idea what I’m really up to. Ah, the life of a multitasking work from home mama.

Want to find out more about the Michalaks’ journey to finding Kokoro?
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