It is easy to believe the misconception that stay at home moms have all the time in the world on their hands. As a stay at home mom myself, I have first hand experience that it can be very hectic and busy staying at home with the children. I happen to have three young boys, ages 5, 2 and 1 and they keep this stay at home mom running around like crazy. It is easy for a stay at home mom to get caught up in her day and quickly lose track of the time. I have created some simple steps to help any stay at home mom feel more at ease and get all the things on the to do list checked off!
My fist tip for a stay at home mom is to wake up early. I hate this tip, but it serves it’s purpose. When I only had one child, I slept when he slept and woke when he woke. Somehow, I still felt drained, but none the less it was my son’s schedule that dictated mine. I have never been the type of woman to wake at the crack of dawn to prepare a full course breakfast before anyone in the house woke up, but I am inspired by those woman. It is sometimes a chore to get out of bed before the kids drag me out of it, but I find that I get so much more done, when I am up before they are. Even if it is only by a half hour, it is still time in a stay at home moms day that wasn’t there before!
I know this may have been told to you before, but making a check list really does help a mom out. It is so easy for a stay at home mother to forget that she needed to run to the store or even that it was a goal to go through the closets and pack away old clothes. No matter the chore at hand, a stay at home mother has a better chance of getting it all done if it’s written down in black and white! Plus putting those check marks next to each item that is to be completed should feel very rewarding and allow you to breathe a breath of accomplishment. A stay at home mom can also get into a routine in a addition to the list, like cleaning the bathroom every Tuesday, vacuming the upstairs on Monday and Friday and so on. Once you master a schule, all those other things that need to get done out of the ordinary still need to be on a list to be sure they get done!
And speaking of rewards and accomplishments, it is import to devote some “mommy time” to yourself. If you are a stay at home mom, you might know that the phrase “mommy time” sounds just as far away as summer vacation in the dead of winter. But if you make just a few minutes for yourself everyday, you will feel renewed and be able to give yourself fully to your family. Being a stay at home mom often feels like caring for everyone else and yourself last. However it is such an honor to be able to take care of and tend to your family. A stay at home mom should fell good about the work they do and make it known by looking and feeling the part. Take ten minutes to paint your nails or twenty minutes exercising. You need to be able to focus on your health and well being too!
Managing a household is no simple chore for a stay at home mom, but it definitely can be done. Stay at home moms need to watch for things that distract them from their work. Because I am a stay at home mother, it’s easy for people to constantly call me wanting to stay on the phone for hours, I just can’t do it. Sure I’ll talk for twenty minutes here and there, but I just don’t have time to talk about politics, gas prices and news headlines all day long. Making sure your time is productive is key in mastering the stay at home mom success. When you have younger kids, it gets really hard, but trust in time you will get better as they get older and can do more for themselves. Never be afraid to enlist a helping hand, even if the helping hand is only a toddler. My five year old hangs shirts on hangers, puts away socks, gives me the dishes off the table and makes his own bed. He will occasionally help me pick out the outfits for his younger brothers and get the mail!
Other distractions that can tun a stay at home moms attention away from the task at hand is TV, the computer or even taking TOO much time playing with the kids! Being a stay at home mother isn’t about staying in your Pj’s all day playing board games and puzzles with your young ones. It is a benefit that a stay at home mother CAN do that in addition to keeping her home and maintaining her household.
Staying at home with the children is a blessing, and it should be fully appreciated. But a stay at home mom can only grasp that if she feels that she is mastering the list. If your home looks topsy turvy and dinner is decided on a whim, laundry is done when you realize you have no socks and dishes are done when you find yourself washing a bowl and spoon to eat cereal, than you can’t take pride in your work and title of a stay at home mom. I know, because I can painfully admit to all of those undone chores listed above. Thankfully, and by the grace of God, I have been able to truly understand and value the work a woman in the home can do and have learned how to get (most of) it done.
