I received this sweet note from a mommy of young kiddos.
How do you find the time between laundry, dishes, cooking, and surviving to accomplish everything? I feel overwhelmed at the idea of being organized enough to accomplish it all. Any suggestions on how you make it work?
As moms we all get overwhelmed with all the tasks that need to be done. (i.e. You are normal!)
Between school, playing with the kiddos, spending time with hubby – where does housework fit in? I mean, we all need to eat and have clean clothes, but when does one find the time to get it all done?
Since adding hours to the day isn’t an option, here are some hints I have found helpful. Please add to my ideas by leaving a comment below!
1. Lower Expectations
The larger our family grew, the more my perfectionist expectations had to change. My expectations for our home had to change from “perfectly clean” to “picked up.” It isn’t that I stopped dusting and vacuuming, but the frequency dropped from what I desired to what was needed. And that is okay.
2. Involve the Whole family
Being intentional with your child isn’t just about games, outside play, and reading books. When our kids were young, they loved to help with housekeeping and meal making. I’d give them dust rags for the baseboards or a squirt bottle filled with water to clean the bathroom. Getting to help gave them purpose and trained them to have servant hearts. Now that the kids are older they have specific chores each day to do which is building a work ethic and responsibility..
3. Put Away Before Getting Out New
We have always had the family “rule” that no new toys are gotten out until old toys are put away. This is one of the biggest tips that I can give new mommas to help manage the chaos.
4. Put Away the First Time
I try to put items away correctly the first time instead of setting them down to deal with later. Because, once a pile is started on a cabinet, it is easier to add to the pile instead of deal with it. And I am training the kids to do the same. Put away. Don’t just move an item.
5. Give Yourself Grace
While I am not a supporter of children using electronics, an infrequent JellyTelly video* or Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood never hurt a child. Use the special electronic time to get your head above water understanding that we all need “help” to make it happen sometimes. *Use code ABCJT1 for a free 5 weeks of JellyTelly.
6. Freezing meals
Freezer meals continues to be an ultimate lifesaver for my sanity. Whenever I make a meal, I typically make one or two extras to freeze.
It doesn’t take much more time and the mess is the same. Then on those evenings that I don’t have time to make a meal, I can pull out a healthy option from my freezer instead of running through the drive through. See more about creating a Freezer Meal Exchange Group.
7. Give everything a space
I am aware that the latest organizing articles and websites refute this but I believe if everything has a “home” it is easier to put items away. Also, train everyone in your family to know where that “home” is. Putting pictures or labels on baskets and boxes can help.
8. Rise Before Your Kiddos Do
While this is hard during certain seasons, if I had the opportunity to go back to a house full of littles, I would get out of bed before my children instead of trying to grab a few more minutes of sleep. We trained our kiddos to stay in their rooms until 7:00 a.m. This gives me time to get ready for the day and have my quiet time. When I am ready for whatever the day holds before the kiddos get out of bed, the entire day goes better.
9. Be Realistic
Remember what is important in life and understand that God has placed you where you are. Life isn’t going to predictable or neat and tidy.
10. Start Monday Morning on the Right Foot
Weekends are important times for me to catch my breath. We “Sabbath” from Saturday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Then at 4:00 on Sunday nights we get everything ready for the week ahead. Beginning Monday morning with dirty dishes and laundry in baskets throws my whole week off.
11. Get rid of clutter
You can’t stay on top of things if you have too much! Minimizing was so freeing for me and me family. We got rid of extra, shared what we didn’t use anymore, and received freedom from removing too much stuff.
12. Be Intentional with Time
The Be Intentional Planner has been a big part of me utilizing my time wisely. It helps me stay focused, stick to the most important tasks, and make sure that everything is finished in a timely manner. (The Be Intentional Planner in two sizes will be available to order on the www.ABCJesusLovesMe.com website in October.)
13. Follow a Cleaning Routine
When our kiddos were young, I created a cleaning schedule to make the tasks not so taunting. But if schedules fail you, try a number or rotating schedule. This option removes the stress of time.
14. Tame the Laundry Giant
Five years ago, after much practice, trial and error, and tweaking I came up with an idea that drastically reduced the amount of time that I spent on the mounds of laundry that we created. It continues to be a huge help to our family.
There we have it. 14 tips that help me manage our home.
What tips can you add? Please share!
Need moreencouragement as a momma? I invite you to Beaumont, Texas (between Houston and Lafayette, LA) for the next ABCJLM Conference on October 5-6th. Learn how to parent and teach intentionally, get the most out of ABCJLM, create a learning environment, what to teach, and how to teach!
Today is the last day to $AVE with Early Registration. https://abcjesuslovesme.com/texas-conference/
If getting up way before your family is overwhelming, try for 15 minutes earlier than you normally do. Then build on that.
I also recommend that 15 minutes if you have school-age kids and mornings are continually overwhelming or a rush or frustrating. Get them up 15 minutes earlier.
Great idea! And, I love how 15 minutes isn’t overwhelming but can make a huge difference.
A friend also suggested to me a few years ago to use naptime to make meals. That really helped me avoid that “witching hour” i’ve been too busy to help with homework or read to my kids or just be present.
Very good advise!
What’s the laundry secret? This post has been so helpful to me! It’s not overwhelming “do more things”, but rather the advise on how to do the same things in an easier, streamlined, intentional way. Thank you!
I’m so glad that it has been helpful. This is what I do for laundry – https://ouroutofsynclife.com/2015/02/how-to-tame-laundry-giant.html It has been very time saving for me!
For instance, I listen to podcasts while I do dishes or laundry. I set a timer to see how long it takes me to do tasks so I don’t keep putting off stuff that really only takes minutes. I have my children be responsible for certain zones each day so that keeping up with a household of eight people isn’t nearly as overwhelming. Yep, we are not perfect at it, but I keep telling myself it is a process and we are not giving up. I have three narrow, tall baskets for sorting dirty clothes into as soon as they are taken off, and each set of kids that share a room has them too—darks, whites, lights. So clothing is already sorted and that’s one hurdle out of the way. Older kids are taught to do their own laundry. When clothing is clean (sometimes after washing more than once because, yes, we get distracted and forget to move clothes to the dryer—I am working on remembering to tell Siri to start a timer so I remember to check and move the clothing on), it’s neatly laid in a basket (so we don’t have to iron), and then sorted—neatly—into a pile for each person and they fold and put away (sometimes, we are still working on the clothes making it all the way to the dresser drawers every time) their own clothing. I do this where everyone wants to sit down so they can’t sit until they fold and put away their clothes. ??
Great ideas!