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Time-Saving Tips to Make Your Life as a Busy Mom Easier

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February 21, 2012

Are you a busy mom? I don’t know many moms who aren’t – but being busy can be stressful. Ease up on your stress with these time-saving tips:

Be Organized

You know that old phrase, “A place for everything and everything in it’s place”? Well, I am a big believer in that. I do have a place for everything and everything goes to its place at the end of the day. Books go on the bookshelves, dishes to the sink, clothes in the hamper, etc. I also try to keep all paper items in the trash or filed away, otherwise it covers all the counters. Being organized is easy and effortless. It’s really just common-courtesy. Being organized ready lessens cleaning time later.

Clean as you Go

Basically, I pick up something everytime I leave a room and drop it off where it goes on the way to the room I was going to. For example: When I get finished in the kitchen, I pick up the dirty dish towels and rags, (and any other dirty clothes that have found their way in there), and bring them to the hamper on my way to the family room. When I leave the family room, I pick up a few of the toys and drop them off in the kids room on my way to the office. Doing things a little at a time throughout the day takes almost no effort and keeps the house looking cleaner all day.

Avoid Overload

Learn to avoid overload. Overload leads to stress. When you are stressed, you have the potential to make rash decisions. Rash decisions lead to careless mistakes that can take lots of time to fix. This kind of falls under the category of “Doing thing right the first time.” I know some people out there don’t think so, but it is okay to say “no.” When I learned that, it was like a chorus singing just for me. If you are busy already, avoid extra things that are going to make you even more busy. Believe me, your family will thank you when you are in a great mood because you avoided losing your “me-time” to someone else.

Be Prepared

This is a valuable time saver. It means having the kids’ clothes laid out the night before, having a diaper bag ready to go in the front closet by the door, chopping veggies and having other dinner time prep stuff done ahead of time, having an empty dishwasher all the time so that dirty dishes can go directly in there instead of the sink, etc. These are simple things to do and they can give you a lot more free time.

Take Advantage of Naptime

I use the kids’ naptime to take care of all my phone calls, prep for dinner, take a shower, etc. You’d be surprised how much you can get done in a half-hour or hour. With no kids fighting for your undivided attention, things move along pretty quickly.

Include the Kids

I include my kids in everything…cleaning, cooking and baking, dishes, laundry, etc. When I am cooking, they bring me things out the fridge that I need and put the things back when I am done with them. When I’m doing dishes, they put up their plates, blowls and sippy cups. When I’m doing laundry they fold their own clothes and the towels. It may seem like a lot, but it’s not…they love to help out. And if they don’t, I don’t make them.

Clean Out the Refrigerator

Seriously…this is one tip that seems like common sense, yet so many people, (myself included), can’t seem to keep up. Throwing out old food and condiments saves a lot of time when cooking. There’s nothing worse than planning a meal based on what’s in your refrigerator, and then realizing that your main ingredient is out of date. Dinner would then turn into a shopping trip…which takes more time away from you and pushes dinner up to a later hour.

Relax

Realize, (and come to terms with the fact), that you are an adult. That means you can do whatever you want. If you didn’t have time to get to everything in one day, relax. Other people can either help out with something or stay quiet about it. I’m a mom…I made my peace with toys on the floor and things being not perfect a long time ago. As long as my floors are clean and the dishes aren’t piled up on the counter, I’m fine. It’s ok to be okay with small messes. It’s your house and you are an adult.

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