It can be difficult to be organized when you are a mom. There are always a million obligations pulling you in a billion different directions. In your “free-time” you cook, clean, and get ready for the next round of activities and obligations. This is why it is so important to be organized, and the following six secrets will help:
1. Start a routine. It does not matter how disorganized you have been in the past, you can change that today. How? Start by beginning a routine. For example, have your meals at the same time each day. Plan a way to handle yourself in the morning. For example, you may get your kids up 15 minutes before breakfast is ready, and let them know they need to have their beds made, and clothes picked out before they can eat. A bedtime routine is critical as well, and an after school routine will mean homework gets completed before kids go to play.
2. Take a break. Organized moms know to take time off if they start to get overwhelmed. You can still be super mom and do it all, even if you take a night off and get your toe nails done, or let dad take over the duties of getting the kids to bed so that you can soak in a hot tub. You won’t stay organized and on top of things for long if you let stress overtake your life.
3. Have places for things. The best way to stay organized as a mom is to have a place for everything, and help your family consistently put things where they belong. This means, when they walk in the door from school, don’t let them drop their backpacks on the floor, rather have them hang them on the hook assigned to them, or put them in their cubby, etc. It means that no one should have to search for socks in the morning because there will be a spot in their closet or dresser designated to socks. If you have a place for everything, you spend less time looking for stuff, and more time enjoying being a mom.
4. Plan your meals. Organized moms do not have time to always prepare a five star dinner, but that doesn’t mean they have to serve fast food each night. Instead, they can avoid any problems by planning out what they are going to serve for the week, do all of their shopping at one time, and know what they will need to do to get dinner on the table. This may mean they wash lettuce for the week all on one day, and freeze the different meat options, but remember to pull them out of the freezer in time to defrost on the day they are to be consumed. The idea is, if you know what you are going to serve, you can prepare it quickly and efficiently, and have everything to do so on hand.
5. Planners. Organized moms have a calendar, a planner, a phone, or something that helps them to keep track of what they have coming up, what they need to do that day, and what is in the back of their mind. If they know that every Tuesday their daughter has ballet, and the see it written down every time they open their planner, then there is less chance of Tuesday coming around before they locate and wash the dance clothes. So, write it down, keep lists, and stay organized!
6. Organized moms get help from their families. The children know the rules, and the consequences of breaking them. For example, a rule may be that if they want a ride to something, they have to make mom aware of it at least 2 days in advance. The morning of will not guarantee a ride. Setting these kinds of rules eliminates many of the typical problems that plague moms such as uniforms needing to be washed the day of a game, or homework being done minutes before running out the door to school.
Parenting viewpoints from parents in the trenches, because parenting doesn’t come with a manual. In addition to