Are you tired of doing chores all the time? Do you wish there was more time in the day? Here’s a Daily Stay at Home Mom Schedule that has helped me for years.
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 in doing things almost like on autopilot.
I am talking about my Stay at Home Mom schedule in this post. This routine helps me stay on top of things – not just do the chores, connect with my children through quality time but time for self care too. I follow this schedule all through year – no matter if my children are at school or at home for the holidays.
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.
Moms need a Stay at Home Schedule to 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.
- 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.
How to make a Stay at Home Mom Schedule that works for you
As I said earlier, we already have a list of things that we do daily. It is only about prioritizing and understanding how to find time to do everything our life!
So, here is how to create a simple routine for yourself.
STEP1: Decide when you will sleep?
I know this sounds so counterproductive but trust me on this, if you don’t sleep enough or you make unrealistic goals for how less you will sleep, no routine or schedule in the world is going to help you be productive.
Moms need to sleep well.
With little babies and toddlers in the home, most mothers are on survival mode. If you think you can get by with less sleep like staying up late or waking up SUPER early, you will fail with that kind of schedule. In fact, I think you won’t ever use it.
So… decide:
- when will you go to bed at night?
- When will you get up in the morning?
Write it down.
STEP2: Make a list of things you have to do everyday.
There are things that we do everyday. For example, stuff like:
- making breakfast, lunch and dinner. This has to be done at it’s appointed time, right?
- laundry
- sending kids to school and picking them up.
- bedtimes for kids
- bath times
- homework or homeschool
You may have to refer back to your children’s routines too. Add these all to your list with the timings in front.
STEP 3: Add in Self Care
By self care, I mean eating, taking a shower, looking presentable, finding time for hubby (the love of your life!!) and your little munchkins (for cuddle time!), prayer and your hobbies (what’s life if you don’t have something to pull out of it that is YOU).
Write down how you can squeeze in things for yourself.
It helps me when I habit-stack self care with my regular must-do chores. For example: I dress up as soon as I get up in the morning. So before, I enter my kitchen I am tidy and clean. Of course that means, I have to wake up a little early but that’s my me-time.
In the afternoon while my kids nap, I lay with them reading or cuddling. (You can see more examples in my routine below.)
Last Step: Rewrite your routine
From the two steps above, you now have:
- Your everyday must do chores
- Your want to do things
Now let’s rewrite it and sort through to make a final schedule for yourself.
Write everything in order of how it should ideally happen. This is the Time Blocking method. For example: Breakfast and breakfast duties between 8-9am. Lunch between noon and 1 pm. Bedtime routine starts at 7pm. Laundry at 10-11am everyday.
This way you have a basic idea of when things should be done. You can help your older children understand this too.
This is how you make basic Stay at Home Mom schedule. It is a routine chart that is personalized for you and your family. You will have structure to your day so you won’t be spending all day thinking when to squeeze in things.
A Sample Stay At Home Mom Routine that involves the children
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. I have been following this since the time I had two preschoolers and an elementary school child.
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 don’t always follow it but when I do, I do manage to get MOST of it done. It is a habit for me now. I do what I can and not worry about what I couldn’t. 🙂
Please remember that this routine, is an example of how I do things at MY season of life. You may or may not relate with it. I hope you can follow my method above and use the example below to design your own.
The essential things to note in a Schedule
Wake Up:
I get up at 4.45am during School days and 6am when there is no school. Some weekends, I’ll sleep in. No matter when I get up, I just follow this step by step.
Kids get up at 5.15am during school days as bus comes at 6am. During the holidays they get up between 6-8am.
Breakfast Lunch and Dinner:
Breakfast is at 8.30-9am during holidays. Lunch is always at 2-2.30pm. Dinner is at 7.30pm.
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.
My Morning Routine with Kids
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 working, 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.
My 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 some religious studies, prayer and learning. During school days they do homework too and then come for religion.
Art, Craft or Homework: After an hour, the kids love to draw and make… they will use their inventions and crafts when they go outside to play.
My Evening Routine.
The kids bedtime routine is 8.30pm, so after sunset, they come home and have dinner (that I may have been making… ) they have dinner duties.
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.
After kids are in bed: Hubby and I will be online on Social media… I may be planning my next day routine or 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…
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.
That’s my daily stay at home mom routine with children. I’d love to know how you like it. Will this work for you?
Related:
How to Read with Your Child Everyday (Even When You Are a Busy Mother)!