Feeling stressed? How to stay organized as a mom for GOOD!

As a mother, do you ever feel like you are barely keeping your head above water? Being overwhelmed and stressed as a parent is not uncommon. In fact, it’s normal. But there are some simple things you can do to alleviate the day-to-day chaos and find balance once again. Here’s the best way to get started. Check it out!

So, I’ve got five kids. Like many stay-at-home moms and busy moms, sometimes I want to crawl into a cave and suck my thumb. Those are the bad days. However, most days don’t have to be like that. Through the years, I’ve learned how to be a more organized mom. Here’s some tips to stay organized as a mom and gain back your daily routine and your sanity.

Tip #1: Prioritize your to-do list

Everyone has a to-do list, but do you take the time to prioritize it? Many times, we get so overwhelmed with everything we have to do that we forget to start with the most important thing.

So here’s the first step. As a daily routine, I write down my daily tasks that I need to get done. Then, I put a number one next to the most important task. Next, I put a number two next to the task that is second in importance. I follow this process until every task is numbered according to importance. Finally, I don’t start working on item number two until number one is completed. You can rest assured that you will be getting everything done on your list, starting with the most important. This is an awesome morning routine to try starting. Check out this weekly family calendar white board to keep the entire family on track.

Tip #2: Only go grocery shopping once per week

Choose a day of the week in which you make a grocery list that will sustain your family for the entire week. Yes, this involves meal planning for weekly meals as well. My favorite day to do this is Monday morning. It forces me to be organized. I know in my head that I have meals planned for the whole week so I can stop stressing at 5 p.m. when everyone is hungry. Plus, I always spend at least $100 every time I go to the store. If I’m running to the store four or five times a week, that’s a lot of unnecessary money down the drain.

Tip #3: Delegate the household chores

A clean house is important. So, you shouldn’t have to do a load of laundry, wash all the dishes, clean the bathrooms, tidy the house, take our the garbage and vacuum every single day. The best way to fix this is to use your family. Here’s some of the best cleaning tips to keeping the chores manageable in your home:

• Laundry: Kids ages 8 and up do their own laundry. If you have tiny kids, try to do one load per day so it doesn’t get overwhelming.
• Chore day: Have a designated day when the kids do 5-10 chores after school.
• Dishes: Everyone is assigned one night when they have to do the dishes.
• 5-minute pickup: Gather the family before bed and everyone helps tidy the whole house. You’ll have less clutter around the house too.
• Diaper duty: You and your husband take turns changing the poopy diapers. It’s only fair.
• Chore wheel: It it’s hard to remember who does what, make a chore wheel that divides different tasks. It organizes the entire home.

Tip #4: Eliminate the unnecessary and learn to say no

Sometimes we feel like we have to do it all. But you don’t. So, you can tell your son’s teacher that you don’t have time to be the room mother this year. Or, you don’t have to homeschool each of your children just because that’s what everyone else is doing. Figure out what is truly essential and eliminate the rest.

Tip #5: Take time for yourself every day

Everyone needs a good work-life balance and mom life is a full-time job. But taking time for yourself doesn’t mean vegging on social media. Find a little bit of time each day to get some exercise, be by yourself and recharge your battery. When you have little kids, sometimes that is during nap time and that’s okay. This helps give you the energy to conquer the rest of the day. This might seem like a daunting task, but you can do it.

Tip #6: Don’t forget about family time

Sometimes we’re so busy trying to be organized, that we forget about spending time with each family member. This takes a little bit of time management but it’s worth it. At the end of the day, use the quiet time to read a book together, play a game or just talk about your day. Getting used to spending this quality time at specific times each day are the moments that are truly the most important.

I hope these ideas will help you as you navigate home life and work to be an organized mom. Let me know if you have any additional ideas on how to be organized as a mom in the comments below.

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