Research shows that more than 50% of mothers work outside of the home.
If you’re juggling both business and babies, you know that life can feel like a circus act, sometimes! Making sure everyone’s dressed, fed and content is a major feat, not to mention the job-related duties you have to handle.
The good news? There are a few easy steps that can help you simplify your schedule and control the chaos.
Today, we’re sharing nine hacks for working moms everywhere. Take a much-deserved break and check out our list.
1. Start Meal Planning
How much of your valuable time do you spend thinking up spur-of-the-moment recipes? It’s hard to stay present at a 4:00 p.m. meeting when you just realized you forgot to take the roast out of the freezer.
To save time, money and your sanity, try to plan at least a few meals in advance. Choose three to five recipes over the weekend, and shop for your groceries on Sunday. Bonus points if you can incorporate the leftovers from one meal into the next!
After only one internet search, you’ll find there are a few different ways to meal plan. Here’s a quick beginner’s guide to help you learn the ropes.
2. Create a Family Calendar
It can be stressful to keep up with important dates for your kids’ school, sports, and extracurricular activities. Add to that your own work schedule and it’s easy to drop the ball.
Instead of managing multiple different planners and spreading yourself thin, it helps to consolidate all events into a shared family calendar.
You might find that it works best to keep an oversized paper version hanging in the kitchen, so people can pencil in updates as necessary. Or, if you have older kids, there are plenty of mobile apps that let you coordinate with a few clicks.
3. Use Grocery Services
Gone are the days when you had to wrangle the brood into the supermarket, still in your office clothes. Now, grocery stores around the country are clueing in to the fact that families are more on-the-go than ever before.
As such, they’ve made it more convenient to shop their aisles.
Take grocery pickup services, for example. Many food retailers, including Wal-Mart, will allow you to “shop” online for your groceries. After you place your order, you can drive up to the store, pop your trunk, and an associate will load your car up for you.
As an added luxury, there are now myriad stores offering grocery delivery services, so you don’t even need to leave your house to get the staples you need! From AmazonFresh and Instacart to Thrive Market, there’s an option to meet every budget.
4. Learn to Delegate
As soon as your children are old enough, let them help you keep up with the household.
Use a Sharpie to create a simple chore chart on the back of an old cookie sheet. Resist the urge to go overboard, and stick to one or two simple chores a day that they can handle. Buy an inexpensive pack of fun magnets and let them add one to their row each time they complete a task.
Not only does this teach self-discipline at a young age, it also shows your children the work that goes into some of the privileges they may take for granted.
5. Two Words: Amazon Prime
There are very few material possessions that we can’t wait two days to receive. If you find yourself running out every few days to pick up something new from the store, consider how much time you could save by shopping on Amazon instead.
While investing in an annual subscription to Amazon Prime will earn you incredible shipping benefits, you’ll also get access to other music, movie and shopping perks. You’ll also save on diapers, wipes, baby food and more via Amazon Family!
6. Book a House Cleaning Service
At the end of an exhausting work week, the last thing you want to do is come home and dust the mantle or scrub the toilets.
Here’s an insider tip: You don’t have to.
Your time off the clock is best spent making memories with your family. You should be able to spend your weekends going on fun adventures together, not scrubbing, rinsing, or mopping. When you give these household chores over to a trusted professional, you can take back your free time and make the most of every moment.
It’s time to book a cleaning service and reclaim your spare time!
7. Don’t Be Afraid to Say “No”
In your efforts to please everyone, are you running yourself ragged?
Remember that not every birthday party, social gathering, family get-together or PTO meeting is a dire necessity. The same goes for requests to volunteer, donate, or participate in school events.
You know your commitments better than anyone, so prioritize those that are the most meaningful and don’t sweat the other stuff.
If someone bristles at your refusal, you don’t need to launch into a lengthy explanation or even offer any reasoning at all. A simple, “No, thank you” is gracious and concise.
8. Prepare the Night Before
It’s 7:00 a.m. The kids need to be at school in 30 minutes, you’re still finishing the brief for your morning conference and your youngest can’t find his shoes.
While there are some last-minute snafus that will inevitably pop up, you can help curb most of this craziness by taking a few minutes to get things ready the night before.
Plan a quick and simple breakfast, and leave all of the items out or within quick reach in the refrigerator. You can even go ahead and assemble some meals, such as overnight oats.
Take the same approach with your clothes. Have every member of the family lay out what they’re going to wear the next day. That way, your mornings can run like a well-oiled machine.
9. Buy Gifts When You See Them
There’s nothing like the stress of brainstorming a gift for your preschooler’s friend a mere one hour before his party.
Rather than risk showing up empty-handed, look throughout the year for toys, trinkets, and other presents that friends and family members would adore. If you have a spare closet at your house, you can stash the goodies there!
This way, when you get home late from work and there’s a celebration starting in 20 minutes, you know you’re always prepared.
Try These Hacks for Working Moms Today
It’s absolutely possible to have a thriving career and an incredible home life! The women you see crushing it don’t have superhero powers or access to some deeply guarded secret.
Rather, they’ve simply learned to tap into the hacks for working moms that make sense for their families.
Let Us Help
If you’re ready to restore calm and find balance, we’d love to help.
For 25 years, we’ve helped connect customers with cleaning professionals ready to tackle their household grime, sippy cup spills and all. Request a booking today and feel like the superhero you are!
Our registered professional housekeepers are experienced, background-checked, and top-rated. Plus, we can book you a cleaner who will work with your schedule and clean the way you want! Contact our local office in Santa Cruz, San Diego, or San Jose for your personalized housekeeping service.
