We all know that being a stay-at-home mom is a very challenging job. Anything you can do to save a few extra minutes a day will help you maintain your sanity. You can use the time you saved for self-care and relaxation. You can also spend it making memories with your kids.
I have been a stay-at-home mom for a few years now. I’ve also built up a mom tribe of other stay-at-home moms. We regularly share hacks that we use at home to help us save time and energy on chores, cooking, cleaning, and childcare.
Below, I have compiled a list of hacks I’ve learned over the years. Keep reading to learn more.
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Stay-at-Home Mom Hacks For Cleaning and Organization
Clean your kitchen, Do dishes, and empty the dishwasher before bed
Having a clean kitchen in the evening is beneficial for many reasons. You wake up the next day with a clean slate to start your day.
Doing the dishes before bed ensures that there will be no mountain of things to clean when you wake up. If your dishwasher empties, you can place dirty dishes directly back into it instead of filling up the sink.
Clean up as you go
This hack helps me avoid overwhelming myself with loads of things to clean up around the house. When I encounter something out of place, I immediately put it where it belongs.
I clean up “hot spots” in my home several times during the day. Hot spots are areas of the house where clutter tends to accumulate. For us, it’s the entryway table and the bookshelf.
By the end of the day, those locations have so much stuff on them that It spills to the floor. So I’ve taken it upon myself to clean things up as soon as I see them accumulating.
I take out the trash several times a day and clean up toys. I also pick up shoes, and anything else out of place as the day progresses.
Get a robot vacuum
Robot vacuums are great because they help keep your house clean without much effort. One of my least favorite chores is vacuuming.
When the kids were younger, food never stayed in their high chairs. This meant that I was always cleaning the floors. Getting a robot vacuum like the irobot Roomber i3 was a lifesaver.
Get a toy organizer
As your children age, they start to accumulate toys. Not having a proper place to keep toys is a huge mistake I made in the beginning. I was constantly stepping over them, and finding them in odd places.
I found this awesome toy organizer from amazon called humble crew deep and wide enough to hold my kids’ toys. I have several of them around the house.
Clean one room a day to avoid overwhelming yourself
With all the work that we have to do as stay-at-home moms, it’s almost impossible to clean every single room of the house and still get other work done. What helped me was cleaning one room one day a week.
For example, I clean the living room on Monday, my bedroom on Tuesday, and the kid’s room on Wednesday. See my Easy Daily Cleaning Schedule For Stay-at-Home Moms for more details.
Doing it like this helps me achieve other tasks like cooking, educating my kids, going outdoors, and enjoying some self-care time.
Declutter Toys, Books, and Clothes that are no longer in use
The idea of getting rid of old clothes, books, and toys fills some parents with dread. You may think to yourself “what if I have another child? I need those items for them”. The truth is, you will find those items again when you need them.
I gave away half of my firstborn’s toys and clothes when he turned 8 months. I became pregnant 4 months later. I was able to get a replacement for most of the items I gave away using Facebook groups. Check out your local “buy nothing Facebook group” for barely used/new items being given away.
Decluttering helps create space in your home for things you actually need. It also teaches your kids the lesson of giving to those in need.
Assign kids chores
This one is more of a necessity than a hack. Giving older kids chores teaches them about responsibility. It also helps them feel like a contributing member of the household according to MSU.
Children can start doing chores as early as 2 years old. They can help empty out the dishwasher by putting silverware away. Kids as young as 5 years old can make their bed (even if not perfectly). Giving your kids chores will help lessen your workload each day.
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Stay-at-Home Mom Hacks For Cooking and Meal Prep
Cook meals in bulk
I don’t know about you but cooking every day is not fun when you have so much to do. I find that cooking my meals in bulk saves me a lot more time during the week.
For my kid’s lunches, I make muffins and fritters in bulk enough to last 7 days. I mix things up for the rest of the week by giving sandwiches and PB&J. This way, they don’t get bored with lunch.
For dinner, I cook two bulk meals. Enough to last one week each. For example, I will make spaghetti and meatballs on Sunday, and fried rice with chicken on Tuesday. This way, we can interchange what we eat for dinner.
Use an Instant Pot to save time
Instant Pot is great because it reduces the amount of time it takes to cook a meal. There are also many instant pot recipes on the web you can use.
I personally like the 7-in-1 instant pot because it acts as a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer and so much more. For more time-saving appliances every SAHM should have, check out 27 Must-Have Stay-at-Home Mom Essentials: According to 115 Stay-at-Home Moms
Grocery delivery service
I suggest finding ways to cut down on going to the grocery store because grocery shopping can take a lot of your time when you have kids.
The best way to save time with grocery shopping is to get your groceries delivered to your door. Some people I know use the Walmart grocery delivery service.
I personally prefer Instacart because you can choose your items from multiple stores in your area. So you can get one big grocery delivery with items from Costco, Key food, and Shoprite.
Meal Delivery Service
Meal delivery services are great for those days when you don’t feel like cooking too much. Not all meal delivery services are good for reducing cooking time.
I really like the service that What a Crock Meals provides. All their meals are made so you can heat them up in the crock pot. No prep is needed. They have portion sizes large enough to feed a family of six.
Money-Saving Hacks For Stay-at-Home Moms
Buy store-brand items and groceries on sale
This hack sounds like a no-brainer, but I know some people who only buy brand-name grocery items. If you want to save money and help out your working spouse, then I suggest buying store-brand items.
Store-brand items taste the same and usually cost less than the brand name. Another way to save money is to buy items on sale. I like to buy the meat on sale that week and plan my sides around that meat. It may mean eating pork for a week, but at least it’ll be cheap.
Download the BrandClub app
BrandClub is an app that gives you money back for every item you shop online. It’s like Rakuten but it focuses on items from the same brand.
BrandClub syncs to your Amazon, Walmart, and Target app. It also syncs to other popular sites you shop at so it can track your spending. You then get cash back for every branded item you purchase.
Let’s say you only buy Huggies diapers from Amazon. If you have the BrandClub app, you will earn money back after you shop as a thank-you for sticking to that particular brand.
Check out the screenshots below of how much I earned after just downloading the app.
use my referral code to join BrandClub here
Download the Field Agent App
Field Agent is a great way for stay-at-home moms to earn extra money. It’s an app that gives you various tasks to complete for a chance to make real money.
Some tasks include store audits, where you check for the status of a product on a store shelf. You also have secret shopping where you buy a product and get reimbursed and paid for your work. There are endless amounts of tasks you can do for a payout.
You get 4 hours or more to complete each task, which is great when you’re busy with kids. Below is a sample of a task from the Field Agent App. You can download the Field Agent app here
Limit eating out
Who doesn’t like going out to eat or ordering in? As great as that sounds, doing it too often will cost you a lot of money.
My suggestion is to limit eating out to once every two weeks. This way, you save more money. When you do go out, it will be more exciting and enjoyable because you don’t do it every day.
Buy second-hand clothes
Having only one breadwinner means money is limited. So shopping for second-hand clothes will help you save money. Most of the clothes my kids have are hand-me-downs from their cousins.
When we do need new items, I check my local goodwill or Buy-Nothing group on Facebook before heading to the store. When I shop in stores, I try to buy only the items on sale.
If my kids really need something and I can’t find it on sale, at Goodwill or the Buy-Nothing group, then I’ll pay full price.
Buy bulk groceries in bulk from Wholesale Clubs
Another way to save money is by buying groceries in bulk. Stores like Costco, BJ’s, and other wholesale clubs sell items a little cheaper because they’re selling large quantities at a time. Buying one tissue box from the supermarket will cost more than buying a bulk of 30 tissues from Costco.
Get a side hustle for extra income
Having a side hustle is a great way to make money to support your family. There are so many side gigs you can pursue. Check out my article 12 Best Side Jobs For Stay-at-Home Moms to get ideas on what you can start doing today.
Stay-at-Home Mom Hacks For Self-care
Take at least one nap a day
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “sleep while your kids sleep” before. At the beginning of my life as a stay-at-home mom, I didn’t follow this advice. I used to work while they slept. This lead me to be completely exhausted and burnt out very quickly.
Now, I’ve learned to drop everything and take a nap when they’re napping. On the days when I’m not tired, I use the opportunity to practice mindfulness meditation in bed. I always feel refreshed after doing this. Sometimes I end up falling asleep.
Take an hr for yourself before bed to de-stress
I don’t just jump into bed at the end of the night. After I’ve put the kids to bed and cleaned up the kitchen, I prepare for my 1 hour of relaxation. I sit with a cup of tea, light a scented candle and enjoy. Sometimes, I watch a TV show by myself without disturbance.
Go to bed early
Going to bed early is one of the ways I maintain my sanity in the morning. My husband works very late hours so he usually sleeps in every morning. That means I’m the one who wakes up early to care for the kids. He usually takes over in the afternoon.
I go to bed between 10:30 PM to 11:30 PM. Whatever “early” means to you, follow that schedule. That way you won’t be too tired the next day.
Get a hobby
One of the most important things you can do for yourself as a stay-at-home mom is to get a hobby. This lifestyle can get very isolating and lonely if you don’t have other things to focus on.
It’s hard switching from working 9 to 5, to staying home with kids all day. You need to make sure you have something that fulfills you outside of being a mom.
Blogging was a hobby I started a few months after my eldest son was born. Having a safe place to share helpful resources with other SAHMs gives me fulfillment.
To learn about some hobbies you can start today, check out 29 Fun Stay-at-Home Mom Hobby Ideas (money-making hobbies included)
Get other SAHM friends
As I’ve said before, staying at home can be isolating. Having other women like you who are in the same situations in life will make things easier.
After I left my job to stay home, I struggled with depression. It was hard keeping in contact with all my work colleagues. We eventually lost touch. My working mom friends didn’t really understand my new life. I found that I had no one to share my daily struggles with.
It wasn’t until I found my group of SAHM friends that I started coming out of my depressed funk. We spend time together at least once a week. Our Kids have playdates. I now have people in my corner that understand me completely.
Check out 17 Proven Ways To Make Mom Friends (Loneliness No More) to help you find your mom friends today.
Don’t turn down help when offered
If someone offers to help you in any way, take them up on it. When I first became a mom, I was determined to do things on my own. I wanted to hone my parenting skills, so I would turn down help when it was offered.
I regret doing that now because I was a zombie for the first 4 months of my son’s life. It really does take a village to raise a child.
Now when someone offers to watch my kids for a few hours, I take them up on it. When my inlaws offer to help me around the house, I say HELL YES! Help is rare as a SAHM, so take it when it’s offered, and don’t be afraid to ask when you need it.
Conclusion
Remember that not all the hacks will work for everyone, so take what works and leave the rest. I hope the stay-at-home mom hacks I listed will help make life easier for you in your journey as a stay-at-home mom.
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