Our dining room table is covered with partially put together Halloween costumes, we have just pulled out winter coats in preparation for snow tomorrow, the kitchen counters are filled with treats to bring for this week’s class parties. I keep telling myself “as soon as this week is over, things are going to get back to normal around here!” But the truth is, this is our normal. It is always chaos in our house. We are well into the busiest time of year, which means time to pull out every trick in the book in order to keep it together, so I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite mom hacks & time saving tips to make the day to day just a little bit less stressful.
1. Making a weekly calendar + set alarms for everything. The first and most important alarm is the one that gets you up for the day before your kiddos, squeezing in just one sip of coffee before somebody is climbing on you or asking for something is always a win. My day gets away from me so fast, I set alarms to help me block time, remind me to prep for dinner, switch laundry, pick up the kids from school, etc. so I can stay as focused as possible while I am working. Brandon and I also use a shared Google calendar so we both know what is happening and we can stay organized. Except for when things get put on the calendar in the wrong time zone, then we forget to go to parent teacher conferences.
2. Let someone else do your grocery shopping. We started using SHIPT grocery delivery service around the time we moved into our house & it is hands down my favorite time saving hack EVER. You order groceries through the app from whatever local stores that the service offers (I do both Hy-Vee and Target) & your groceries are delivered by a SHIPT shopper in around two hours! We meal plan on Saturdays, and then I have all of our groceries ordered and delivered that afternoon. It gives me back at least two hours on the weekends, and I typically place a random order once or twice throughout the week as well if I forgot a few things. The best part, it is only $49 for the entire YEAR for unlimited grocery orders.
3. Meal prep & planning. We try to meal prep as much as possible for the week ahead every Sunday, cutting fruit & veggies for the girls lunches and making anything like rotisserie chicken or breakfast burritos that we eat during the week. Something that we have also found so helpful is just planning our meals around our weeknight activities, saving the meals that take the longest to cook for nights we are all home and quick meals (or plan to go out to eat) on nights we are out running errands for the kids activities. I used to just plan the week’s worth of meals but now actually figuring them out for each day ahead of time saves a ton of time & makes the weeknights flow so much easier. We are sad to say goodbye to grilling season but ready to bust out that slow cooker for all the cozy, cold weather nights!
4. Set out clothes the night before. Mornings are always a challenge, and even though we feel like our evenings are crazy, the kids are truly so much more cooperative about their clothes when we are getting ready for bed. They all put everything on the bench in the hallway so in the morning there is no question about their outfits, and we will have already settled the debate about why they can’t wear pajamas, gymnastics leotards or swimsuits to school.
5. Establish a wellness routine & get kids in bed early. Nothing sets you back or stresses you out quite like getting sick, or having a sick kid. The most important thing we can do during Fall & Winter seasons is to have a good wellness routine for our families & make sure everyone gets a good nights sleep. We are diligent about hand sanitizer, use essential oils for wellness & good sleep habits, take elderberry & vitamin d supplements, and try to get the kids in bed no later than 8:00 pm on school nights. Also, if any of the kids start to feel run down, I never hesitate to keep them home from school so they can refuel. Once someone is sick in the family, it tends to make it’s rounds, so getting ahead of it is key.
Do you find any of these things helpful? Would love to hear your best mom hacks, share them below for others to read if you have a moment! XO
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