Knowing the Benefits of Amazon Prime for Busy Working Moms can make your life so much easier! The tricky balancing act we all engage in as we try to manage both career and family is so much better if we can take advantage of any time-saving shortcuts.
When friends at a professional moms’ networking event raved about Amazon Prime, we knew it could be the answer to some of our prayers. After closely analyzing the service, reading the reviews and further consulting in-the-know friends, we rejoiced in finding that Amazon Prime delivers toilet paper and Drano right to our door.
This convenient service gives us time to make that school concert, instead of running up and down the grocery aisles only to discover that our vertically challenged selves can’t reach what we need because it’s all the way in the back on the top shelf.
Although Amazon got some blow-back when it raised its Amazon Prime annual rate from $79 to $99 a year (they do have mom discounts), we are finding that it is well worth it. (To find out if it is worth it for you, Slate.com has a Prime calculator.) Amazon Prime gives you free two-day shipping, which is pretty reliable in our area, and instant access to thousands of videos and Kindle titles. You can even try it for free for 30 days.
We love how the products arrive quickly, and it’s fun to let the children to open the boxes. Their disappointment when they realize the package contains only Tylenol and a shower curtain liner quickly turns to laughter over the bubble wrap. Who knew that bubble wrap could be so enchanting? Who needs all those fancy tech gadgets? Our family dance night that included some vigorous bubble wrap stomping followed by the classic movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Amazon Prime was a big success.
We have experienced some unfortunate glitches while ordering on Amazon Prime, though, and we thought it would be instructive to share some of those. Many of the lessons are common sense, but we do hope knowing them will help with the daily juggle of kids, work and the (sometimes) neglected husband. (Don’t forget that your knight in shining armor still needs some TLC and clean boxers, too.)
Benefits of Amazon Prime for Busy Working Moms:
- Don’t forget to read the fine print: Carefully read the product description to make sure the color, size and construction of the product are what you need. If you are over 35, put on your reading glasses or enlarge the photo and look very closely at the colors and the ingredients. Our children laughed when we ordered a set of white cereal bowls that looked exactly like dog bowls. While we love dogs, we know we will never adopt ten of them! Sometimes it is not a bad idea to order one of the products in advance before you buy multiples in order to be sure it is what you want. The two-day delivery service is better than the exchange policy and return line at most stores.
Accidentally Ordered Cereal Bowls that Resemble Dog Bowls
- Along the same lines, we thought that buying stockings on-line would be a huge time-saver, but again, we forgot to look carefully. Wouldn’t you think that “Barely There” is the same shade as “Nude”? Well, we can tell you that it is not! The stockings that arrived looked like another spray tan gone bad. Luckily, though, our successful purchases greatly outnumber our mistakes.
- Use 1-click to gain even faster service: If you pre-select a default address, payment method and shipping speed, your purchases sail through without extra hassle. We cherish this option so much that we have given Amazon Prime memberships as gifts. This is the perfect treat for a close friend, and if she already has a membership, she can exchange the present for a gift card.
- Take advantage of the parental controls: Not only does Amazon Prime offer over 300 titles that are not available on Netflix, it allows parents to control the content that their children can watch and also where they can watch it. You can allow your kids to watch programming only on the TV, when you are around to snuggle.
One of Our Successes: Comfy Shoes for Walking to Work
Another cool feature of Amazon Prime is if you tweet #amazoncart and list a specific item, it can be quickly added to your cart.
Recently Amazon made news when it announced that it was researching using drones for insanely fast delivery. We will believe it when we see it! Given that computers were the size of libraries when we were kids, however, we remain open to the probability that future technology will surely revolutionize this simple service.
What do you think about using drones for package delivery?
In the meantime, though, we hope that the Benefits of Amazon Prime for Busy Working Moms will help make your life a little easier!
Let us know if you’re an Amazon Prime customer and what your favorite Amazon products are.
Related articles:
I’m obsessed with Amazon Prime, I love it! I was introduced to it several years ago & now that they have video/movie streaming it’s the best-est. When I was pregnant with my son in 1999 that was the last time I went to the mall to do my Holiday Shopping, since then I’ve done it all online (wish Prime had been there back then). I probably do 85% of my shopping online now including groceries (Peapod). Sometimes I worry that I’m agoraphobic (afraid to go out) but I know that isn’t the case, LOL! Let’s have lunch soon!! XO