I’m all for trying to be organised as a family – I always have wonderfully good intentions at the start of the week. Monday – I’ve written everything down, and planned my kids time within an inch of their lives.
Friday. I can just about plan the glass of wine at the end of the evening, and we are lucky if we have managed to get a takeaway for dinner.
BUT there are some thing that you can do to make it LOOK LIKE you are killing it, and are, in fact, little miss organised mom. The state of chaos is merely an illusion you have cultivated to make yourself more popular in the playground, and beyond.
Buy yourself a stair basket
via MEME
This meme sums it up for me. Putting things on the stairs in the vain hope that they will be taken upstairs. At. Some. Point.
However, there is something amazing, and life changing. It is called a stair basket. And amazingly, if you put things in the basket during the course of the day that need taking up stairs, they do, in fact, generally find their way up the stairs by the end of the day. Whether it is you, your partner, and possibly even the kids as they get older, taking them.
It is, genuinely, some form of household miracle. Try it. *Mind blown*
Meal planning is a must
We have a massively busy household, with lots of activities in the evening. Fitting in food around the sports and after schools clubs is a logistical headache. If we think in advance about where we have to be when, and how long we have to fit that meal in, we are much more likely to a) eat a healthy thought-out meal, and b) reduce the waste we have.
Meal planning really is the ONLY answer; couple it with online shopping, and you are well ahead in the organised mom stakes.
Depending on how you feel, you can even stick to a steady rotation of 6-8 weeks of recipes, and ingredients, so the time you spend meal planning is kept to a minimum too. That’s GOT to be a result! 🥗😆
Get a shared calendar
In the age of modern technology, we have no excuses for forgetting appointments, yet I STILL manage it. And do you know why?
“Because it wasn’t in the calendar…!”
Me or my other half if we forget something *ever*
It it isn’t written down in the shared calendar for the whole family that we have on the kitchen wall. It ISN’T HAPPENING.
Anyone can look at this and know that we all know what is happening that week. It only falls on its bottom, if one of us forgets to put something in it, and then we know we are in for it.
Clearly, we are old school, however, there are plenty of families that use Google Calendars to manage their time, and perhaps a family planner, or an app. Whatever the shared calendar that works for you; go for it. As long as you have one.
We pity you if you don’t – you CAN’T be an organised mom or family without one. Just. Not. Possible.
Rock your school bag storage
Fed up of tripping over the school bags in the hallway?
I am NOT claiming credit for this one, or indeed the other ideas here, though we do them – plenty of other moms do too. But THIS is simply genius:
There are plenty of other moms who have done similar on Pinterest. However, compared to some of the other ideas that you might see on Pinterest. This is attainable, sensible, and, frankly, genius.
Anything that stops you braking your neck on your kids school bag as GOT to be a win-win, right?
Don’t be afraid to get a cleaner
Don’t worry about getting a cleaner. Look at the cost, and see if you can afford it, weighing up the time it saves you, and what you might be able to achieve if you have one as part of their cost equation.
It isn’t for everything, and it also isn’t something that is affordable for all.
But there is no shame in having someone else help you out. Particularly if you work out all the other stuff you could be doing for the family in the time you save.
We hope that these ideas have assisted you, why not check out some of the other articles on the site that give you a few other ideas for family life:
- 5 mom hacks that you have to do NOW,
- Fitness hacks for kids,
- How to reduce your kids sugar intake easily and fast, without them even noticing (ish), and
- 10 tips to help working moms get back in the swing of things.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and we hope to see you soon. If you like this article – why not subscribe to our newsletter too?
Helen
Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!