Being a mom really is a full-time job, and being an organized mom should come with overtime pay!
Research shows that 85% of women spend an average of 2.7 hours per day working on household activities such as cooking, household management, and general housework.
Additionally, in households that have kids 6 years of age and under, most moms spent an average of 1.1 hours focusing on physical care activities such as feeding and bathing the kids.
This goes to show that some moms are trying to keep a household running smoothly while they have a day job. If you want to maintain your sanity while running a household, it is important to have a plan.
We will discuss 11 habits adopted by organized moms to help them manage their households more efficiently, even when they might not even have time to tie their own shoes.
1. Make a List of What Needs to Be Done
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” −Real Happy Mom
Let’s start at the beginning.
To avoid becoming overwhelmed or appearing like you are scrambling, it is crucial to be aware of what you are up against. Before the week begins, ensure that all the family meetings and undertakings for the coming week have been mapped out.
You can also take this opportunity to plan the entire week’s menu and collect whatever you will need from the store. I like to call it the weekly reset.
By making a list, you will be able to stay organized and track your progress. Write everything in a centralized place so you can chip away at any task that is completed.
If you have a partner around, make sure you involve them and have their input when coming up with the list. Having a to-do list also helps in prioritizing what needs to be done. And what mom doesn’t love the satisfaction of being able to cross things off?
2. Involve Everyone in the Household
“A happy mother is a good mother, and if work makes you hum, your whole family sings along.” −Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober
Organized moms create a chore wheel and have their kids help out. If you have younger kids who understand what is going on, you can assign them light chores such as washing dishes, sweeping, or even cleaning their room. You will save time with the help of the kids.
Create a chore wheel that is clearly illustrated so that everyone is aware of what is expected of them. By involving your kids in the household chores, you help them develop a sense of responsibility.
Organized moms also know that they can’t do everything, and it is important to realize when you need help. This is when you need to start delegating some of these duties. On the other hand, an organized mom will also know when others require their assistance.
3. Institute a Family Command Center
“Life doesn’t come with a manual; it comes with a mother.” −Southern Living
Yes, the manual for your family really does come from mom. If you want to join the League of Organized Moms, you should establish a family command center. This offers a centralized location for your to-do lists, chore wheels, the week’s dinner menu, and the family schedule.
You can also use your command center to store car keys, permission slips, backpacks, and much more so nothing gets lost or overlooked. You should design your command center according to your family’s needs.
4. Take Notes
“There is no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” −Jill Churchill
To be an organized mom, it is vital for you to always take notes. You can use a tablet, phone, or traditional pencil and paper. When you take notes, you reduce the amount of information you have to store in your head. A pencil and notebook are preferred since you might need to write something down while you are on a call, so you can’t use the phone.
Although you might have made your plans, things change, which is why the information noted down can be used to update the family schedule when necessary.
An organized mom should be able to adapt to changes, as things don’t always go as planned.
5. Wash a Load of Laundry Daily
“And remember that behind every successful woman is a basket of dirty laundry.” −rediscoveredfamilies.com
Most moms are tempted to do laundry at the end of every week. However, organized moms know that doing laundry weekly means there are a lot of clothes to wash during the weekend.
You can find time in the evening to do a bit of laundry immediately after you arrive home or before you start dinner, especially if you are a working mom.
You can also encourage your kids to organize their clothes before going to bed. Whenever possible, you can fold clothes while assisting with homework or watching TV.
By doing laundry every day, the task is less likely to overwhelm you at the end of a busy week when all you want to do is take a breather and relax.
6. Set Healthy Boundaries
“I am tuned into my needs and prioritize self-care.” −Real Happy Moms
Organized moms have learned to only say yes to activities that can be reasonably handled. A mom needs to say no sometimes instead of spreading herself thin with responsibilities and commitments.
Sometimes, you don’t even have to give an excuse for saying no. If something doesn’t fit into your schedule, avoid taking that extra responsibility.
7. Make Preparations for School and Work the Night Before
“There’s something really empowering about going, ‘Hell, I can do this! I can do this all!’ That’s the wonderful thing about mothers: you can because you must, and you just do.” −Kate Winslet
Highly organized moms understand that taking time to prepare the night before translates into less chaotic weekday mornings and a smoother morning routine.
Encourage your kids to pack their bags and put them next to the front door before running off to bed on a school night. And don’t forget shoes. I can’t tell you how much time has been spent on an already busy morning trying to match shoes!
Once the children are asleep, you can prepare their school lunches and get yourself ready for the next day. Meal planning and meal prep before a busy week is also helpful. This kind of prep work the night or weekend before a crazy week reduces the number of activities you have to do.
8. Purge Regularly
“Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out.” −Marie Kondo
It’s common knowledge that the more clutter you have, the more chaotic your house becomes. That is the reason why it is crucial to dispose of or donate items you no longer use, such as clothes, sports gear, or books you keep telling yourself you will read again but you know you’ll never actually get to it.
Daily clutter, like receipts, expired coupons, or junk mail, should be disposed of immediately. Avoid the urge to stuff it into a drawer.
Remember, you don’t have to dispose of everything. Come up with an ongoing system of sorting things into different categories that include items to be recycled, disposed of, donated, or sold.
You should always evaluate your environment and ensure that it is not cluttered, as a neat and more organized environment increases productivity.
9. Stick With What Works for You
“Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” −Nishan Panwar
It’s easy to become distracted or swayed by other systems, and you may be tempted to change your system or values that might have been working. Sometimes, people, especially children, respond well to routines, but this shouldn’t mean you can’t change a system that isn’t working.
10. Seek Professional Help
“You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing.” −Unknown
As a busy mom, you are probably no stranger to putting all the pressure on yourself to get things done. It doesn’t have to be this way.
If you have enough financial resources available, you can hire professionals or resourceful consultants to help with some of the tasks that may be weighing you down and affecting your routine.
You can outsource professionals to do housekeeping, laundry, and even grocery shopping. You can also hire a nanny to help with the kids and prepare dinner.
However, with these tough economic times, there is no need to spend money on housekeeping if you are capable of doing the chores with the help of the kids or your partner.
11. Take Some Time Off
“If you don’t have time for what matters, stop doing things that don’t.” −Courtney Carver.
Organized moms are still human beings, and they need some downtime. I can attest to this! Working continuously without setting aside time to rest may lead to burnout, which can result in the whole system collapsing.
You can relax by meditating, catching up with friends over coffee, or doing any other relaxing activity that is not related to your never ending to-do list. You need to take care of yourself as an organized mom before you can take care of the entire chaotic household.
Once you have come up with the system that works best for you, keep at it. You can only borrow from another system if it’s suitable for your household. No one is perfect, and there is no perfect mom. All you have to do is ensure that you do your best and appreciate the little victories when they come.
If you don’t complete a certain task on your to-do list, don’t beat yourself up. You can always roll those tasks over to the next day’s schedule. Break everything down into manageable bites so you don’t look like a crazed mom trying to do too much at once!