Five Tips For Keeping Your Sanity At Home

I used to be an amazingly organized machine. At work, I was notoriously known as the efficient one. My bosses loved me, but many of the mom employees didn’t—most likely because they couldn’t keep up. Now that I’m a mom, I completely understand—things just don’t always go according to plan. Parenting is a constant adjustment, and it’s hard to stay organized and juggle multiple hats (or jobs!) at once. Here are some of my easy-to-follow sanity tips:

1. Get up early

I know this sounds insane, but, yes, I’m suggesting you actually get up earlier than the kids! I stole this idea from a client of mine who told me that she wakes up early every day to meditate and do yoga. As for me, I write. I get up and make coffee before the house is full of Sesame Street and banana tossing. Plus, getting a lot done in the morning is a great feeling. By the time 4pm rolls around, you won’t be super stressed trying to finish that project.

2. Dedicate one day a week as an off-day

I usually take Wednesdays off to be a mom. I tell my clients up front that I’m still a mom, and I need to devote one day during the week to being so. I don’t schedule any meetings or phone calls on that day, and I always try to plan a play date or fun activity (a trip to the zoo, a day at the beach) for me and my son. This also helps with deadlines—I always make sure my work is caught up because I want to be able to actually enjoy the day. Try it!

3. Create lists, lists and more lists

Being a mom can put a wrench in your plans. Just when you think you’re catching up, you have to make an emergency visit to the doctor to see if that chalk your son stuck in his eye will make him go blind. Yes, you’ve heard it before, but lists really do work. There is something so gratifying about crossing things off of a list—and, at the end of the day, you can see that you actually did accomplish something. Start by making two lists. The main one should be of major things you need to accomplish; the second can be daily lists of errands and work projects that need completed. I usually do these at night before I go to bed. That way, I have it ready to go in the morning and I know what I need to do to start the day.

4. Stop making things harder on yourself

Other moms are constantly telling me how my house is always (for the most part) well-kept. I learned this from my grandma—put things back where you got them. Stop making more work for yourself. You have a toddler to clean up after, so the last thing you need to do is clean up after yourself. If you take the milk out, put it back. If you use a spoon, wash it and put it to dry. It sounds like a basic everyday routine, but watch yourself to see how many things you don’t put away, and have to in bulk at the end of the day.

5. Get a dry erase calendar

How many times have you reminded your husband that you have an event on Saturday afternoon only to hear him say, “But I have a football party with the guys that day.” Trying to keep everyone’s life in order is much easier when you can see it. The calendar lets you write down events, work trips and appointments, so there’s no overlapping. And, my rule is, whoever writes it on the calendar first wins that date.

Do you have tips for staying organized and sane at home? Share them below!

Originally seen on MommyNearest.com