4 More Clever Ways To Use A Kitchen Timer

Recently, we showed you 5 Clever Ways To Use A Kitchen. Since then, we've had messages form our many Chef Remi Kitchen Timer customers who have shared some other clever ways they are using their timers.

Read on and be inspired!

1 Create regular 'me time'

When you're running a household, it's easy to conveniently forget to take time out for yourself.

Do this constantly and you will wear yourself down. And an unhappy you will become glaringly obvious to your family, and will affect their happiness.

Set your timer for an hour, and then make a pact with yourself that this time is purely for you.

Don't kid yourself that doing the dishes will make you feel better. They're dishes. They're not going to sprout wings and fly around the kitchen causing havoc if you leave them in the sink for an hour.

Go take a relaxing bath, read another chapter of that book you've been meaning to finish, go and take a walk outside because it's sunny......whatever it is, it's just about your well being for once, and NOT your family's.

Believe us, your family will actually be happier having a more rested, stress-free wife or mom around!

Time your yoga / Pilates poses

If you do Pilates or yoga, you'll know that it's not so much about getting into specific positions, as it is about holding a pose and breathing.

But this can be quite difficult to do when you have no idea how long you have been in a pose. Set your kitchen timer and you'll know you need to stay in a pose and breathe till you hear the buzzer.

This is also great as you advance and become more flexible as you'll be able to increase the time gradually and see how much better you are getting at holding poses for longer.

Time your conversations with your partner.

Take a leaf out of the books of the wisest therapists and marriage counselors. Time your difficult conversations with your partner.

If you've ever been to couples therapy, you'll notice the therapist will give you enough time to make your point, but then swiftly move to your partner for them to respond.

Now, this doesn't mean every time you want to bring something up, you need to book yourself in with a therapist!

Instead, you'll find your humble kitchen timer can act like a pseudo-therapist. No, it won't talk back, or ask probing questions, but what it will do is make you get to your point much faster, and you'll be more pragmatic in your language.

Conversations become less about venting or getting emotional, and much more about working together to find a solution. And that's one of the secrets of a long lasting, happy relationship!

Create 'calm down' time for you and your family members

Very similar to timing difficult conversations, your kitchen timer can be used to give you, your partner or your children 'time out'.

When things get heated, most people know that taking some time out is great for diffusing tension (and ensuring that more emotional petrol isn't doused on to an already burning flame!)

However, one bad side effect of someone deciding to take time out is that it can make the other person feel very ignored, if there is no agreement to 'pick up from where we left off'.

They may have had more points to make, or felt that they were not heard correctly, and you taking time out, however well meaning, can seem like you just want them to shut up and go away – not helpful for any lasting resolution!

Instead, tell your partner or child you want some time out, and then you'll be back as soon as the buzzer rings (e.g. in 30 minutes).

Allow your partner, teenager or child to also have the privilege of taking some time out, knowing that no one is being ignored, and they will not be accused of ignoring anyone.

You'll be thrilled at how this technique transforms tension within family relationships. You get the benefit of everyone cooling down, but without the build up of resentment which often happens when someone feels ignored.

Have you used your timer for any of the above uses? How did it go? And do you have any other unusual uses for your kitchen timer that’s not on our list? Tell us! How do YOU use your Chef Remi Kitchen Timer??