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How to Be an Organized Mom: Simple Habits

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Simple habits to help you be a more organized mom. Things you can start doing today that will make mom life easier.

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How to Be an Organized Mom

Have you ever wondered how some moms just seem to totally have it together?

If you’re struggling to keep things organized as a mom, this article will help you come up with some solutions you can implement to help you take back control of your mom life.

After observing super organized moms for over 5 years now, we came up with a list of habits super organized moms have in common so you can use some of their tricks yourself.

Read through the whole list and pick two or three new habits you can start today.

Quick Links to Habits of Highly Organized Moms

  1. Use Routines
  2. Get Up Early and Get Ready
  3. Meal Plan
  4. Start Meal Prep at Breakfast
  5. Consistent Lunch and Dinner Times
  6. Do One Load of Laundry a Day
  7. Get Help
  8. Visual Checklists for Everyone
  9. Use Screen Time as a Reward
  10. Schedule Time to Relax
  11. Say No and Set Boundaries
  12. Use a Planner 
  13. Set Up a Home Command Center
  14. Use a Home Management Binder
  15. Start a Quick Pickup Habit
  16. Roll Over Tasks
  17. Adapt and Be Flexible

Use Routines

home management plan on desk

Simple routines are the secret weapon of all organized moms.

When you start using routines, everything gets easier because you don’t have to make so many decisions every day.

There’s a clear, consistent pattern that you follow every day, and that makes your days flow easier.

Routines take the decision-making out of daily tasks, and set clear expectations for everyone in your family.

Just starting out with routines? Go here to grab a free home management routines workbook to help you plan out routines that will work for you.

Get Up Early and Get Ready

Even if you’re not a morning person, it’s really nice to wake up early and get ready for the day in peace.

Use the morning time alone to read, work on a special project, or just enjoy the quiet.

Don’t plan on leaving the house? Getting ready can still make you feel better – and you’ll be prepared if someone comes to your door, or you want to video chat with someone.

Related: Coffee and Clean Kitchen – A Great Way to Start the Day

Meal Plan

Having a meal plan each week saves you time and money.

It also keeps you from having to make last-minute decisions about what to have for dinner.

When you meal plan for a week, you can grocery shop with a list and save money by only grocery shopping for what you need.

Go here to learn more about making a simple meal plan.

Start Meal Prep at Breakfast

Organizing Moms

Mornings are the perfect time to get some meal prep for the rest of the day done.

Even if you only have time to take meat out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge, everything you do in the mornings for meal prep makes getting food on the table easier later in the day.

And if you have a meal plan set up for the week, all it takes is a quick glance at your plan to know what you could do in the mornings to start making meals for later in the day.

Depending on how much time you have, you can:

  • Chop vegetables and/or fruit
  • Start a meal in the crock pot
  • Set out the ingredients you’ll need later in the day
  • Throw together a salad

Anything you can do ahead of time will save you valuable time later on.

Consistent Lunch and Dinner Times

Organized moms keep pretty consistent lunch and dinner times. This does a few things:

  • Everyone knows when they need to be home for meals
  • You won’t get as many “When are we eating?” questions
  • After a while you’ll get used to your meal times, and naturally start to feel hungry when it’s time to eat!

Scheduled meal times also “anchor” your days, and help you have a better sense of how much time has passed.

If your kids are in school, you can also try to have weekend lunches at the same time they’d eat while in school. This isn’t always possible, but having a somewhat consistent lunch time really cuts down on behavior issues for some!

Do One Load of Laundry a Day

folding clothes in organized laundry room

Laundry is a never-ending chore, but it’s also something you can incorporate into your daily routine. 

When you do one load of laundry, start to finish, each day, it feels much more manageable than if you try to do it all in one day.

Go here to learn more about the benefits of doing laundry daily.

Get Help

cleaning floor

You do not have to do this all on your own. In fact, most super organized moms actually have a lot of help.

But even if you feel like there’s literally no one around who will give you a helping hand, there are things you can do to make your life easier.

Here are some ideas:

Visual Checklists for Everyone

chore chart

Once you’ve decided how you want to divide up responsibilities in your house, make a visual checklist for everyone involved.

I have a checklist for myself, and I made a simple chore chart for our kids.

Doing chores is a great way for kids to learn life skills and feel like they are contributing to the well-being of the whole family.

Use Screen Time as a Reward

screen time

Getting pushback about chores?

That’s pretty normal.

Try using screen time as a “reward” for doing chores.

We’ve had pretty good luck with allowing some screen time only after chores are completed.

That makes it a win-win for everyone!

Schedule Time to Relax

cup of tea

Even if you just take 5 minutes to walk down to the mailbox, having some quiet time to look forward to can lift your spirits.

Some people like to schedule time to walk every day.

Other schedule time to play on social media for a while.

Whatever you do, find something that you enjoy, and try to carve out some time to make it happen.

Say No and Set Boundaries

say no

Super organized moms know that saying no is the key to not feeling overwhelmed.

It’s hard to say no and it takes a lot of practice to get good at it.

Here’s a great article about the importance of saying no and setting boundaries.

Use a Planner 

The Daily Planning Sheets Collection gives you the flexibility to build your planner according to your own needs.

Almost all organized moms rely on their planners to be their “brains” that hold all of the things they need to remember.

Whether you prefer digital planners or paper planners, having a central location to store all of your appointments and reminders and actually using it instantly makes you feel more organized!

Recommended resources:

  • Daily Planning Sheets – practical planning pages that help you organize your days
  • Cozi – a free digital planner that helps you keep your whole family organized
  • Find the Best Planner for You – planner reviews to help you find something that fits your specific needs

Set Up a Home Command Center

Command central. Helps keep all of your papers, appointments, commitments and thoughts organized.

Find a place in your house where you can do all things home management and family-related.

This helps you keep everything organized, and gives you a central location where you can use an inbox for all incoming papers, reminders, etc.

Go here to see how to set up a command central in your home.

Use a Home Management Binder

what to include in a home management binder

A home management binder will help you remember everything home maintenance-related – especially those things that tend to fall through the cracks like furnace checkups and cleaning out gutters.

Click here to see how to set up your own home management binder.

Start a Quick Pickup Habit

weekly home management routine

Organized moms get in the routine of doing quick pickups at least once a day.

Even taking 5 minutes each day to put things away, straighten up, and clear off surfaces makes a huge difference!

Try doing a quick 5-minute pickup each night and see what a difference it makes.

Roll Over Tasks

roll over tasks

Sometimes, you’re just not going to get to everything you want to do.

Organized moms know that this happens, and they roll over tasks to the next day or the next week.

There’s no use in beating yourself up for not getting everything done.

You’re doing your best!

Roll over unfinished tasks, or consider eliminating tasks that are “nice to have” but not essential.

Related: How to Build Your Essential Routine

Adapt and Be Flexible

be flexible

Your routines and habits aren’t set in stone forever.

If something isn’t working, change it!

Use home management as a tool to make your life easier, instead of as a stressor.

Read: How to Get Better at Home Management

More tips for Organized Moms

how to be an organized mom

The post How to Be an Organized Mom: Simple Habits appeared first on Organizing Moms.


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