Simple Schedule for Stay at Home Moms

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Are you looking for a daily mom routine that helps you get things done? This schedule for stay at home moms is how I manage my four kids and work. This is what a typical day in my life looks like looks like.

No matter whether you are a routines person or not, there is one thing I am sure we can all agree: Little habits everyday can help us keep on top of things almost like on autopilot.

My routine is basically a sequence of little rhythms through the day. I don’t have any set “wake up at o’clock and do this at this time” kind of a routine. I like to keep things quite flexible.

I prefer to have a sequence of daily habits that I do one after the other. This, I have found works in not with my productivity, but also in connecting with my children through quality one on one time and most days (believe it or not!) I also manage to get some self care in!

Why Routine Scheduling is the the best way to get things done

I discovered the importance of setting routines when my second baby was a few months old. I was an overwhelmed mother at that time. It was very difficult for me to cook, clean and even keep up with her three year old brother.

I thought it was the children who were taking up all my time… but that was not the case! It was me who was running about putting out fires. 

The dishes were always waiting for me, the laundry hadn’t been done or folded, bathrooms were dirty, beds unmade… I felt like I was failing as a homemaker and mother.

When I focussed on keeping my home clean and getting the house in order, I felt like my children were forever demanding my attention. 

They wanted me to play with them, read to them, craft… but I had no time! 

‘How do moms with more children do this?’ I wondered. Have you ever noticed how they just know what to do when..?

I was a mother of two children at that time.  

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Recommended reading: How to do your kitchen work when you have babies and toddlers.

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How routines can help mothers be better homemakers

What we mothers don’t realize is that we already have a routine or a ‘sequence of chores’ that we do daily.

However, what we don’t realize is that we have a choice.

• We can choose when to do those chores ourselves or
• We can let the circumstances dictate when we SHOULD do them.

Before I understood that I needed to create a schedule for myself, I was letting things dictate me. 

• I would do the laundry three times a week. It was usually whatever pile of clothes sorted was the biggest. 
• I would clean my kitchen when my oven or floors got dirty because hey! who has time to do it everyday with little children in the household. The result was that when I had to clean, it took me a good two to three hours to clean from top to bottom. 
• There was food and produce in the fridge and pantry going bad or expired. (Now I use this method to keep my kitchen in order.)
• My kids weren’t cranky as such but they would throw massive tantrums or were often sleeping with me in my bed at night. I was struggling to get them to sleep in their own beds.

There were so many things wrong in my home. I needed a system that would help me get things done and still have time for myself.

I’d like to share my daily Stay at Home Mom Schedule with you as a sample. This is a routine that I follow everyday. This routine also helped me in homeschooling my toddlers till they were 4 years old.

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A Sample Stay At Home Mom Schedule that involves the children

This schedule that I use is based on some daily habits that I have created for myself. It helps me do things automatically one after the other now.

Do I get everything done with this schedule?

Well… yes, most days. I am not a perfect human being but on a perfect day, I do manage to get MOST of the things done. It is a habit for me now. I do what I can and not worry about what I couldn’t. 🙂

Stay at Home Mom Schedule Morning Routine with Kids

Wake Up

My morning are usually very busy. I try to get most of my stuff done at this time.r

Morning Run

My morning routine involves waking up, making breakfast, thinking about my day, a little spot cleaning and then study time.

When children are at home, it is much more relaxed. During school days, I’ll be frantically running about getting the lunch ready or making sure everyone is on time, even though I may have done my 10 minute routine the night before. I really appreciate the Summers!

Here’s what my morning routine looks like:

Wake Up: I always pray as soon as I get up. That takes a about 15-20 minutes for me. Then, if my husband is up, I will open the windows and make the bed. If he is still sleeping, I’ll just move the curtains and the window as I leave the room. 

Freshen up: Before heading to the bathroom, I will go to my children’s room, turn off their AC, open a window and leave. (My kids are 6, 7 and 12 years old right now.) 

Start the Laundry: After freshening up, as I leave the bathroom, I will start the laundry. 

Kitchen time: While the washer is running, I go to the kitchen, put away the dry dishes from the washing the night before and then I will just brush the counters and sweep the kitchen before starting breakfast. 

By the time my breakfast is done, almost everyone is up. The kids will come and give me a hug and kiss. They will get dressed, make their beds following their own routine. 

Breakfast and tea: They help set the breakfast table and then we all have breakfast. After breakfast, kids put away the dishes while I make tea for Hubby and myself while doing the dishes and setting the lunch items out. 

Think about the day: After breakfast, I take 30 minutes to think about my day. The kids have this as part of their routine too. They can read a book, be interested in a puzzle or just chitchat while mom is busy. 

Usually this is the time when I check my mail and messages. I will quickly check my calendar for things – today and tomorrow, and also update things that I hadn’t added before. 

Home Blessing: After 30 minutes, hubby may have left for work or may be reading the paper. The kids and I do some Home blessing. 

Home Blessing is the term that we use for tidying our home. It includes putting things away, dusting and sweeping. We have a simple to do list that we work on. Basically, we want to clean in 20 minutes or less so that we have a clean house to start with. This is listed in my children’s routines too.

Self care: After that time, I will go in to take a shower or if someone else wants to take one. Kids have worksheets and workbooks to do at this time. 

Work time: It is almost 9.30am when we start working (during the Summer). The rule is that they work for 45 minutes with a 10 minute break in between for a juice or snacks. This is the same routine that has evolved from my toddler and baby routines. 

When they are done they can have free play time. 

While the kids are busy, I am working in my office on blog posts or I just lounge about Social Media. Sometimes, we go out in the morning at this time.

Stay at Home Mom Schedule – Afternoon Routine

Kitchen time: Our afternoon routine starts at noon. I start cooking, the kids start dusting and vacuuming, This is also the time when the laundry is to be line dried. The kids will be vacuuming and helping me do our ’10 minute declutter something’ routine. It takes me about 1-2 hours in the kitchen so kids are just in and out around me. 

Relates: See how I save time in the kitchen.

When I had toddlers, our TV was in the living room hall. I’d sometimes turn it on for them to watch at this time. They’d be munching on fruit or vegetable sticks if they got restless. This habit has followed on now. If they are done with their chores, I let them watch an hour of TV or screen time while I am in the kitchen. 

Lunch: Lunch is at 2-2.30 pm. Hubby comes for lunch. During school days, this is when children arrive. They will quickly wash up, change dresses and come for lunch.

Quiet time: After lunch from 2.30pm, we have a quiet time till 3.30pm. They can read a book, play quietly in the bed or nap. That’s what I do too. I will sometimes read to them at this hour but mostly we are all having some time to ourselves. 

Recommended: My simple hack to have time to read to your children everyday.

Study hour: At 3.30 pm we do our learning. During school days this sis when they work on their assignments and do homework.

Art, Craft or Extracurricular Classes After an hour, my kids love to draw and make so we try to include some kind of activity everyday… they will use their inventions and crafts when they go outside to play. If they have Swimming or Soccer classes, this is where they will be.

Stay at Home Mom Schedule –Evening Routine. 

The kids bedtime routine is 8.30pm, so after sunset, they come home and have dinner (that I made at lunch time in the morning!). Before dinner, kids have dinner duties.

Bedtime: 

My children sleep between 8-9pm. As toddlers and babies they slept at 7-7.30pm. Hubby and I sleep around 10-11ish pm.

7.30pm: We will all eat and  then they start their bedtime routine of putting the clothes away (from the laundry), getting their beds ready and then book time. 

I will read to them at this time.

Related: Encouraging children to read with Books that Rhyme

Then they have to stay in their room and in their bed. If they get loud or out of bed, they know mom will turn the lights off. They will be asleep soon.

Before bedtime: When I go to the bathroom, I will swish it, wipe the sinks and then come to my room pray and go to bed. I follow a bedtime fast cleaning routine that takes just 10-20 minutes. It includes preparing for the next day and also picking things up.

Our Bedtime routine: Hubby and I may be checking Social media or reading books… I usually plan my next day routine or get working on my hobbies. Sometimes, I listen to my courses or audiobooks while I do the dishes or work in the kitchen. Mostly, I like to just sit on my bed and crochet or tat at this time.

If hubby is free, we will chitchat or sit quietly scrolling on our phones forwarding each other funny memes or generally, talking about our day…

That’s it! That’s my daily stay at home mom routine with children.

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