Are you a stay at home mom, ready to be as organized as possible? I’ve got you! I know there’s a common misconception that being a stay at home mom is easy, but it is far from it. You’re home with the kids, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the shopping, errands, trying to make sure your kids develop into kind, amazing humans.. .it can be exhausting and overwhelming! That’s why I’ve put together this article, to help you be organized and help with time management. As someone who’s been both a stay at home mom and a work at home mom, I’ve got you! Keep reading for all of my organized stay at home mom tips and tricks.
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How to be an Organized Stay at Home Mom
Create a Schedule
Easier said than done, right? When I say create a schedule, I don’t mean a regimented minute by the minute schedule. What I’m talking about here is creating a loose block schedule. Breakfast from 8-9, clean-up breakfast dishes from 9-9:15, storytime at the library/park with friends/coffee shop and play date with friends from 10-12, lunch and nap from 12-3, kind of schedule.
If you’re able to have a plan for the day, it goes much smoother and easier than if you’re constantly trying to wing it. Ask me how I know! I became a stay at home mom in 2010, when I had my oldest child. I would get so bored and feel like I had to constantly be cleaning until I came up with a day to day routine. Plus my son absolutely thrived with it. In 2012, I had my oldest daughter and our days were able to run so much smoother because we had a loose day to day routine that my son already knew and loved.
Yours doesn’t need to be the same as your friends or families though! If you’re the type of family to sleep in, take that into account. If you love hiking or bicycling, make sure to include that. If you have to run errands or clean in the afternoons or mornings, make sure to put that in there. Just writing it out will help keep you organized. You can grab my free daily planner here that will help with staying organized too!
Tricks to Make Errands Easier
My number one tip for any and all errands…if it can be picked up or delivered, do it. If you can pop the kids in the car and not make them get out, your stress levels will be so much better! Target pick-up, Walmart drive up, Amazon fresh drive-up are all amazing, plus they all deliver with different services. Seriously, do it. Don’t feel bad about ordering your entire grocery order with InstaCart or Target drive-up and having someone else do your shopping. Are you a bit particular about produce, etc? Make sure to include it in the notes so the shopper knows.
I personally only do 2-3 errands at a time so I don’t have to run out of the house every single day and drag the kids along with me. Nothing makes errands worse than irritated, upset kiddos! Also…snacks. Pack snacks and water for everyone.
Meal Planning Made Easy
Did anyone else not think about how once they had kid’s they’d be in charge of meals for the next million years? I certainly didn’t! We don’t eat out much in our family, maybe once a week for dinner. So meal planning helps a ton! You could easily google ‘free meal plans’ but I personally love eMeals. They make it all so simple too! You pick the type of meal plan you’re looking for- no red meat, vegan, low sodium, no dietary needs, etc- and then they show you the different recipes. You select which recipes you want to make that week, then it can send all of the ingredients needed to Walmart (or Target…) for pickup or delivery! Isn’t that amazing?!
If you’re following a gluten free or beachbody meal plan, definitely check out Confessions of a Fit Foodie! Everything she shares is delicious, healthy and gluten free. Plus if you’re a subscriber she sends out weekly meal plans and then shares them to her site a few days later. Her homemade Healthy Thin Mints are out of this world!
Take Time for Yourself
It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day of life and forget about ourselves. We get too busy taking care of everyone else that we put our needs and wants to the wayside. But it’s important that we always make sure to take time for ourselves and I don’t mean by getting a shower in or brushing your teeth- that’s just good personal hygiene.
What I mean is going for a run or getting a yoga session in, maybe getting coffee or dinner with your friends, scheduling a few hours on a weekend to just go wander around your favorite stores by yourself. Even better? Have a girl’s weekend with your besties! Pick some place close by if you all live in one town (lucky!) or somewhere in the middle if you’re spread out. Hotels.com has amazing deals and you can get 1 free night for every 10 nights you’ve stayed in hotels. I’ve been a member (it’s free) since 2012 and have utilized those free nights while moving, weekend trips with the family and for girl’s weekends. It’s worth signing up!
I know it can be hard to get away and get a few hours for yourself, but it’s so worth it to feel refreshed and like yourself. Try it at least once a month and see how much better you feel and can jump back into being ‘mom’ again.
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