Mom Hacks 101: Time-Saving Tips for Busy Moms
We’re moms and we’re busy. Sometimes we feel like we’ve finally got the hang of our entire family’s schedule and then, all of a sudden, it changes. It can be stressful to feel like you’re not doing your absolute best. We all want to be the best version of ourselves for our families. Motherhood can feel like flying and keeping your head above the water simultaneously. That is why I have compiled this list of time-saving tips for busy moms. I too am a busy mom and these little routine modifications that I’ve implemented have made a world of a difference in the flow of my life.. I am able to be more productive in less time so that I have more time for the things that really matter.
Note to the reader: As I was reflecting on all of the simple little tweaks that I have made in my life to make things easier I realized that each tip falls into a general category. Therefore, I have decided to separate this article into three categories: home organization, meal prep, and time-savers. If you feel as though you are fine in one area yet struggling in another you can read on to whichever area of life is most applicable to you!
Home Organization
Aesthetic bins for clutter
As we all know, weeknights can get hectic. This tip addresses the clutter that can accumulate in your home when you simply do not have time to put everything back in its place. This is also extremely helpful for the mamas with younger kids that are learning responsibility but take a little longer to clean up their messes.
First, you must purchase some of those cutesy little cube bins that fit the aesthetic of your home. I bought six or eight in total. Next, you will strategically place them around your home in places where they can fit. For example I have one on the bookshelf, one on our shoe shelf, one on our kitchen bench, etc. You should have at least one in each room. Throughout the week when you are tidying up, anything that does not belong to you can go into one of the bins ( I separate them into husband and girls). That way you are not spending all of your time cleaning up after others that are competent to do so on their own and the mess is out of eyesight giving you calm and order in your home. Over the weekend at some point you can have a “cleaning party” in which the kiddos can put away the things that you have put into their bins.
Toy bins underneath beds
This tip has been one of the biggest game changers in our home. For those of you that don’t know, I have two daughters. At a certain point I found myself spending waaay too much time organizing their toys back into their places, trying to keep them separated based on who they belonged to, and trying to keep all of the little pieces where they belonged. Not cute, not fun. One day it hit me. WHY was I dedicating so much time and energy to the same issue over and over again with no real change to how things were organized and kept? Response: cue the toy bins!
This tip has been one of the biggest game changers in our home. For those of you that don’t know, I have two daughters. At a certain point I found myself spending waaay too much time organizing their toys back into their places, trying to keep them separated based on who they belonged to, and trying to keep all of the little pieces where they belonged. Not cute, not fun. One day it hit me. WHY was I dedicating so much time and energy to the same issue over and over again with no real change to how things were organized and kept? Response: cue the toy bins!
We keep two toy bins underneath each girly’s bed. At the end of each day they are responsible for sorting through their toys and putting their own toys back into their bins and sliding the bins back underneath their beds. It isn’t a completely flawless system, but their floor is clear every night and that is a win in my book!
Meal Prep
Meal Plan in Advance
Write down all of your anticipated meals. For me this looks like: writing down all of the breakfasts we will have throughout the week, writing what Sage will be taking for school lunch, and writing down all of the dinners that I plan to cook throughout the week. This could be further simplified by having your children get school lunches if that is an option or streamlining dinners by following a meal rotation. I am still figuring out what works best for us in regards to those two options.
Once you have your meals and snacks planned for the week. Write out the individual foods/ ingredients you will need for each thing. Rather than writing down each food I simply open up my Walmart or Instacart app to add each thing to our grocery order. If you plan to order your groceries (which I will mention in the next tip) this is where you can do that).
Write down your meals/ menu for the week. This tip is crucial for me when it comes to reminding me what I need to prep/ pull out of the freezer. I can also peel/ chop/ marinade certain foods ahead of time. I might switch it around a few times but I typically follow our menu to a T.
Grocery pick up or delivery
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Grocery orders have helped me so much in terms of stress, time-management, and staying organized. I always do my grocery orders on Friday or Saturday morning.so that i have adequate time to make lunches and prep food on Saturday or Sunday. You can opt for pickup or delivery which is an added bonus!
Meal prep breakfasts and lunches
Each Sunday I dedicate about an hour to preparing all of Sage’s and my lunches for the week. I meet with her to get her input on what she wants to take and what she’s currently loving and not into anymore. If you have a five-year-old you know their opinions change from day-to-day. I store all of our lunches in the fridge so that when it’s time to pack them each night I can simply grab what I need and put it into our bags.
Time-Savers
Intentional screen time
Before the past year or so I was more strict when it came to my girls’ screen time. Sage was allowed to watch one movie on Saturdays and one movie on Sundays and that was all. She didn’t have any screen time ever before the age of two. Now that I have both girls and I am only home (while awake) for about four hours a day on weekdays, I have become a bit more lenient.
Neither of my girls have owned or will own an iPad or tablet anytime soon. However, we have added twenty to forty minutes of watching a quality show into our evening routine. This twenty to forty minutes of having both girls occupied and in one space allows me to wash dishes, clean the kitchen, and get things ready for the following day. Without this part of our routine in place it was hard for them to settle down enough to allow me to do what I needed to do
Stick to chore schedule
This tip has become one of my non-negotiables. I have a simple chore schedule that I stick to and that’s that. I don’t question whether I want to do the chores. I don’t make up excuses or give real reasons as to why I am not going to do the chores. I just do them. I know that if I procrastinate or don’t do the things that are essential to my and my family’s well-being it is onlly hurting me in the end. In the cases that I do manage to wriggle out of doing something I know I should, I always always always feel disappointed in myself and stressed out for doing so. Choose a couple of non-negotioable chores in your household, determine when you will do them, and then just do them whether you “feel like it” or not.
My (super simple) non-negotiable chore schedule is as follows:
Capitalize on drive time to learn
I don’t know about you all, but I spend a LOT of time commuting to and from the places I need to be. If I had to guess I spend about an hour and a half in my car per day. I used to rue this wasted time. But now, I ensure that it is not time wasted. I dedicate at least half of my drive time each day to bettering myself and growing my knowledge. At the beginning of the year I committed to reading/ listening to 50 different books that would lend to my self-improvement (I am currently on my ninth). I purchase audiobooks or listening time through the Spotify app and work my way through my books each day that I am driving. It is helpful in achieving my goals and I appreciate that some of the knowledge may be seeping into my daughters’ subconscious. It’s a win-win.
Timers. For. Everything.
We use timers for: Sage cleaning up messes, me cleaning up messes, us doing chores, the girls finishing activities, indications of when something needs to start or end (like watching a show, going to take a shower, etc.), and more. At one point or another Sage (my five-year-old) got really good at following the cues of timers and since that point our transitions have become infinitely more easy. Once you and your kiddos get used to using timers they become an essential tool to getting any- and everything done.