How to be More Productive as a Stay At Home Mom

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As a stay at home mom, have you found it hard to be productive? Does it ever seem as if you are doing the same thing over and over, day after day, and never getting anything accomplished? Do you have piles of clean laundry on the couch, dirty dishes on the counter, and toys all over the floor? Would you be mortified if someone stopped over right now? I know I have been in this exact same position way too often.

I’m home all day with the kids, so it seems like I should be able to keep a clean house, but so many times the day just gets away from me.

Here’s a visual for you:

You are trying to wash the dishes, but your crying baby wants you to hold them. They should be napping, but you didn’t have the time to lay them down. Now, you place your baby on your hip and go switch the laundry, but because your baby doesn’t want to be put down you can’t fold the laundry.

So you throw the clean laundry into a basket and go to pick up the toys that your other child just pulled out of the bins. In that time, the 2 year old (who also should be napping) has pulled out more toys, taken all the books off the bookshelf and decided to undress and redress themselves, leaving you with extra laundry.

By this time, the clean laundry that you pulled out from the dryer is all over the floor. You clean that up and go try to finish the dishes. You look at the clock and see it’s time to make lunch. In that exact same moment your baby decides she needs to be nursed NOW.

Does this sound familiar? Just writing down this oh-too-familiar scenario has me feeling a little stressed. How about you?

The reality is, being a stay at home mother is way harder than I ever imagined. Growing up, I came from a large family, where we all had specified chores and the whole house could be cleaned in a quick 20 minutes – productive, quick and easy. Now, during the day it’s just me and my babies. If I try to go about my day without any set schedule, I often find myself running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off.

Being productive as a stay at home parent can be difficult. We have good days and bad days, but many of us wonder how we can be productive at home with little kids running around.

So, what’s the solution, you ask? Here are five of my favorites:

Organization!

Having an organized home can help you in so many ways. Have a place for everything in your house. Whether it’s where you place the cereal boxes, a bin for the kids’ toys, or a key hook for you to place your keys on when you come home, always have a set place for every single item.  This step is essential for keeping a clean house. 

Schedules!

Having a plan for your day can give you the structure you have been missing. Whether you make your schedule hour by hour or block by block – have a plan in place! This is your routine. Schedule certain days to do specific tasks, for example, cleaning your bathrooms on Tuesday. This can help you achieve your goals and help you keep a clean and happy household.

Checklists!

Checklists are a wonderful way to get things accomplished. You can make a checklist for almost anything. By making a list such as a to do list, chore list, and cleaning list you can set a goal and be able to check that goal off so you don’t have to worry about it again all week.

Timers and Reminders!

This may sound silly, but setting a timer for yourself to get a job done in a set amount of time can give you that extra push you are needing. Set reminders on your calendar for individual tasks that need to be done. Implementing these practices can help you stay on task and have a more productive day.

Get into the Habit!

According to the dictionary, “a habit is a regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” Get into good habits such as waking up at a certain time, cleaning specific rooms on a specific day and washing the dishes as you cook. Practice makes perfect – or at least close to it. Stay consistent and pretty soon you won’t even have to think about it!

Conclusion

Have tools in place to help you change the way you run your household. When trying to fix something that is broken you typically need a tool or two to fix that broken item. 

These are my favorite tools! They are tools that can help you fix your cleaning practices, set a routine for yourself, and help your household run a little more smoothly.

Download these tools, print them out (maybe even laminate them) and place them where you can see them!

Let us know how they work for you.