The ultimate stay-at-home mom survival guide

Being a stay at home mom is hard! It seems to be a misconception that being a stay at home mom is easy and something we should be enjoying every moment of. While we do enjoy moments, most of us moms are just trying to survive the day. Everything is not always rainbows and sunshine, its hard work!

From the moment we wake up in the morning to the moment we lay our heads on our pillow at night, we probably havent taken a moment to breathe (or used the bathroom alone). There never seem to be enough hours in the day but at the same time, bedtime cant come fast enough some days. Do you find yourself feeling like this some time?

Ive made a list of survival tips for stay at home moms so you can be more at peace with your day. I know how grueling this job can be when it is often portrayed to be the opposite.

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Table of Contents

Here are my tips on how to survive the day as a mom

1-Plan meals

Planning out your meals for the week can be a life saver. You dont have to stick to it 100%, but it will help you write a grocery list you can stick to and you will be less likely to order out, if you are guilty of that like I am. Eating out is not bad, but there is a more budget friendly way to do it if you plan out when you will be ordering out and when you will be cooking dinner at home. I find it more approachable to plan for 3-4 meals I will cook at home and leave a little room for leftovers and takeout. We almost always cook those 3 meals, where as if we were to plan for 5 meals, we might not cook them all and end up wasting some of the groceries we bought. Everyone knows what they can handle so the trick is to plan accordingly.

I love this notepad for filling out weekly. It has one side for weekly meals and one side for your grocery list that you can rip off. It has a magnetic strip on the back so you can stick it right on your refrigerator as a reminder.

2-Easy meals are your best friend

Investing in an instant pot or a crock pot may just save your sanity. Utilize these tools to their fullest potential. You can find some really good meals that you can throw in the crockpot in the morning and have dinner ready without a lot of effort. The best part is they usually make a lot so you will have leftovers for lunch or another night of dinner. One pot and instant pot meals should also be another staple and they take no time at all to prep and there is hardly any clean up after.

This is the crockpot we have and we use it constantly. Some of the best money I have ever spent! An instant pot is a great investment as well, we have and love this one.

3-Teach kids to play independently

This is so important not only for stay-at-home moms survival, but also your childs development. Encouraging independent play will allow you time to get things done around the house without screens (although use those when you need to) while also developing your childs brains and imagination.

4-Utilize grocery delivery or pickup

This is such a nice tool to have at our fingertips these days. Instead of strolling the isles at the grocery store loading up on items that werent on your list; instead order your groceries online while you are making your meal plan for the week. Do this the night before and everything will be ready for you to pick up or have delivered to you the next day. This will ensure that you are ordering exactly what you need, and its saving you the time you would normally spend at the grocery store. This will end up saving you time and money. If you choose grocery pickup, this is a great opportunity to get everyone out of the house for a little bit and go for a drive.

5-Order online

Subscriptions are not always the best depending on what they are, but I find them to be such time savers when it comes to diapers, wipes and other household products you would normally need to go to the store for. Amazon is an amazing thing to utilize as a stay-at-home mom because you are saving yourself a trip, and you arent running the risk or diapers running out because you already have it scheduled.

6-Get out of the house at least once per day

This seriously saves my sanity some days. You know those days where everything seems to be going wrong, your toddler has had tantrum after tantrum, and you can hardly see where you are walking because your house is such a mess?

Sometimes a change of environment is exactly what everyone needs to reset and change their mindset. Go for a walk around the neighborhood or to the park, take a trip to the store, pop in for a visit to see grandma and grandpa, or even just hang out in the backyard for a bit. Even if its only for a short time, it can really make a big difference in your day.

7-Make the most of nap time or quiet time

This might very well being the only time during the day where you have some time to yourself so you might as well take advantage of it. There are ways you can maximize nap time to do things for yourself while also being productive. Its all about prioritizing your time in the right way beforehand.

8-Minimize toys

It may seem like you need all the toys out as a stay-at-home mom in order to keep your kids entertained during the day. But it may actually have the opposite effect. When there are too many toy options this can lead to short attention spans, unwanted clutter, and downright chaos. Instead, keep a few toys out at a time and put the rest away. Rotate them out as needed, and it will feel like a new toy every time. When there is less to choose from kids are generally more involved, and it will keep their attention for a longer time span. There is also a lot less to pick up at the end of the day!

This is a great toy shelf for a play room, bedroom or main living spaces. It looks nice, is kid height, and fits baskets perfectly.

9-Get organized

When it comes to being a stay-at-home mom becoming organized is key. Planning out your day, writing lists, meal planning, and having a schedule is going to help your day run smoother. You may not stick to it completely but at least you have something to refer back to so nothing is forgotten.

10-Ask for help if you need it

There is nothing wrong with hiring help or asking a relative to babysit for a few hours. Stay-at-home moms often feel like they shouldnt be asking for help because this is their only job. But in reality, that couldnt be farther from the truth. We have a lot more then childcare on our plates. There is nothing wrong with having a little help so you have time to accomplish other things, sometimes its nice to just clean the house without kids running around.

11-Clean to avoid cleaning later

I know that sounds like common sense but it needs to be said anyway. When you clean something up right away, this will save you a lot of time later on down the road. It only take a few minutes to put a few plates in the dishwasher, instead of letting it build up throughout the day and tackling a whole sink of dishes after dinner.

One of the best investments I ever made was the bissel steam mop. I use it almost daily after meals and after the kids are in bed. It cleans my floors so nicely without a lot of effort on my part.

Let’s make stay-at-home mom life a little easier

It can be hard to survive the day to day hustle of being a stay-at-home mom. With a lot of tasks on our plate and never enough time in the day, I hope you find this stay-at-home mom survival guide helpful! Let me know in the comments if there is anything that helps you survive the day.