Parenting
SponsoredAll Ages9 Comments
As a stay at home mom, and an admittedly, addicted blogger. I try to do things as quickly as possible. (This is just my nature, I’ve always been this way.)
I’ve learned to involve the kids in what I’m doing. They love to help. Include them. This sometimes counteracts the getting it done quickly, but it keeps them busy while I can get it done.
When I can’t involve them, there are a few tricks I’ve learned to get everything done, and still stay (somewhat) healthy and (somewhat) sane, in my three looooooong short years of motherhood:
- Doing laundry one day a week. This is a new concept for me, but it’s very freeing (Thank you Happy Hooligans for posting your tip on The Play Network). Choose a day to do laundry and just get it done. Don’t drag out the folding and putting away, get it done and have a mess-free laundry room as well as clean clothes instead of, where is that shirt? is it clean? is it in the hamper? This way you know you washed it and where it is. If its not clean, its put away, if its not there, its dirty. An extra tip is to not fold your sheets! Wash them and put them directly on your bed. Let the dirty ones sit in a hamper until next week.
- Make the dishwasher simpler by loading it to unload it. Organize it as you’re putting dirty dishes in. For example, group all the spoons together, forks together, etc.
- Make snacks and lunches easy and quick. My go to snacks are dried berries (cranberries, blueberries, etc.) with a couple of graham crackers. Lunches are almost always accompanied with a fruit cup in 100% fruit juice, or some nutritious Activia yogurt.I’ve started adding frozen yogurt bites to Henry’s oatmeal at breakfast. Its fascinating for him to watch it melt in the hot oatmeal, and plus it cools it down a little!(Henry needs all the regulation he can get, so we try to eat Activia Selects daily. They help naturally regulate when consumed daily for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthylifestyle! Plus Henry loves Activia Selects, as does George! We’re lately on a Activia Selects French kick – the ones with strawberry fruit bites in the bottom of the cup! Yum!)
- This Frozen Berry Smoothie from The Outlaw Mom looks delicious! We never make smoothies, but I think I need to try it!
- Become friends with freezer meals, or slow cooker meals.
- Know what you’re making for dinner at least by lunch time that day. If you’re really organized, make a weekly or monthly meal planner. (I’ve tried many times, but never stick to it.) Having somewhat of a plan helps make your meal healthier too, as well as quick!
- I run errands while out on walks. Living in a small town does have its advantages, I can walk to every place I need to go. Killing two birds with one stone: My exercise for the day, as well as getting things done.
- Just relax and have fun with the kids. The toys will get put away later, or better yet, another day.
How do you manage to get it all done?
“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by MomCentral Consulting on behalf of Dannon Activia Selects Yogurt Series and received a coupon to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.”
WANT TO SAVE THIS ACTIVITY?
Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox so you can access this activity later! Plus, you'll get simple activities from us every week!
katepickle says
Hmmm I am toying with that laundry idea… but I'm not sure it will work for us right now as we don't have a dryer, and with all the rain here I'd not be able to get it dry…. but hmm… it does sound like an interesting plan.
I am a menu planner… I do a monthly menu plan because we do a monthly big shop (we have to drive into the city for some things so only do it once a month). I don't always stick to my plan but it makes me feel less crazed to at least have it to fall back on.
Toddler Approved says
Good tips!! I never seem to get anything done some days :) I can't seem to get myself to do laundry once a week… but instead of folding everything, I have foldable laundry containers for each person. We sort the clothes into the containers (my 3 yr old helps me), and then I take the containers to each room and dump out the clothes. Then we go from room to room and play while I fold the clothes and put them right into the drawers. My son helps sometimes and then sometimes he just plays with the toys in his room while I fold. He's happy, because I'm close by, and I'm happy, because I'm getting the laundry put away. :)
I also now hire someone to clean my house every other week. I decided that I'd sacrifice a few things for me so that I could afford to skip the deep cleaning and play with the kids instead :) I love it! It is my one luxury.
Laurie Cooper says
Some good tips here – thanks for sharing!
The Outlaw Mom says
This is a great list, Jamie! I love number 7. I have to remind myself of that often and just realize that it can all be done later and the best thing is to just enjoy the moment and play. Thanks for mentioning our smoothie! It's really delicious and fun to do together :-)
I'm going to try once a week laundry, but we are at the couple of loads a day, so I'm not sure how I'll manage!
Melissa Taylor says
um, I guess my answer would be that I don't get it all done. I can't do laundry once a week b/c we don't have a dryer and I hang everything to dry in our basement lines since our neighborhood won't allow a clothes line.
I like Kristen's idea of bins – one day my goal is to not live out of the hamper – to put everything away!
Kristin@Sense of Wonder says
This is a great list, I have also started the tip about not folding or hanging up the kids clothes. I went out and bought a bunch of stackable bins, one for shirts, one for bottoms, one for jammies and so on. Laundry comes out and goes right in the bins. No folding, no hanging (I can't bring my self to do it with MY clothes though)
happyhooligans says
So glad you're trying the once a week laundry, Jamie! It's awesome isn't it? I actually look forward to laundry day now. Love the ideas you've posted here. I do the monthly menu plan. I get out the calendar and write a meal in for every night (it helps to go through the cupboards and freezers first, and then plan around what you already have). It's another one of those liberating things – not having to scramble at 4 oclock to figure out what dinner is. Plus, with a houseful of Hooligans, every day, the whole dinner thing can be challenging at the best of times.
Anyway, thanks for sharing the great ideas! (love the frozen yogurt cubes! Those would be so much better than ice cubes in a smoothie!
Lovingmama says
I have decided that I will never get it all done =) I'd love to only do laundry one day, but we are cloth diapering and I hang 90 % of my clothes on the line to dry! Enlisting the whole family to help works the best. It is never perfect, but I try =) Stopping by from Moms Loop Community